Kachu's finally home

[aurucis]

Well, after about a week now, we brought Kachu home from the pet store, hes a sandfire x red/gold mix from sandfire dragon ranch. I'm still waiting on the Critter condo we ordered, so his temporary home is a 20 gallon tank that the store let us borrow. Atm his only lighting is a 100 watt uva basking bulb.

I have many questions so lets start with mopani wood. Is it okay just to put in for now, cause he is sitting on a sweatshirt and paper towels now and i want to give him some stuff. Also, I bought rep cal calcium supp. and multi vitamin. Is it okay to dust his crickets with the calcium until i get this reptisun 10. and my permanent enclosure next week since he has no source of calcium?

What else.. Can anyone recommend any good hide away stuff, all the local stores had nothing interesting..

And finally, hes sitting on paper towels, and we have a bag of calcium sand, how long does this usually last in a Beardie enclosure, we are debating on wether we should even put it in until the perm enclosure comes in. Thanks!

And finally some pictures of Kachu.. he seems very curious of everything. Thanks for the help and I'll post further questions here.

 

[sunkist]

You need to do the calcium dusting daily while he's that little along with a multivitamin with d3 a couple of times a week. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

Calcium sand is a NO NO NO NO... NOT GOOD... paper towels, tile, newspaper, that type is good. When the dragon is BIGGER you can do sifted playsand but not calcium sand. It can cause impactions in them.

 

[outsdr2]

Hi a nice looking beardie! I would listen to Sunkist so Kachu will have a nice healthy life. welcome!

 

[aurucis]

alright thanks guys. Another question, this time with digital thermometers.. ours is pretty sensetive to location i guess. The temperature will go up and down for a little til it gets a more accurate reading correct? and how hot is too hot for the basking side?

 

[outsdr2]

Hello do you have the style that sticks to the glass or the one with the probe? the probe is much more accurate.

 

[aurucis]

it has a probe that sticks to the glass

 

[outsdr2]

it has a probe that sticks to the glass

Hello I would think anything over 110 F would be too hot. beardies can thermo regulate meaning they will move to where they will be comfortable.

 

[aurucis]

alright. I'm still waiting for an accurate reading from the thermometer but im pretty sure hes okay. I just had him out with a fleece blanket on him on my chest, he was fine for like 10 minutes then he got antsy and tried to get to my computer. Hes pretty funny

Oh yeah, Is it okay if I leave my light on over night? My room gets chilly at night and I dont want him to get to cold..

 

[dechainechel]

Hello, and welcome to the site! Bearded dragons don't sleep well, unless they have toal darkness. If the temps in your home go below 65*f at night, than you will need to invest in a ceramic heat emitter. Did you find a bsking rock/stump yet? If you did, then you want to measure the temp with the probe on the basking spot, to get an accurate reading. No hotter than 110*F. petmountain.com and lllreptile.com, have a decent selection of rocks, hides, and other decor. Good luck!

 

[aurucis]

Alright. Well I put it on his basking spot and the thermometer read 122 degrees. I thought thats not right so i stuck my hand on the wood and It was barely heated.. I guess somethings wrong with the thermometer. Maybe the 100 watt bulb isnt enough? Also, Im gonna put this in behavior too, right now hes in a temporary tank with just some mopani wood hes getting at least 6 inches from the light but hes got some terrible stress marks all over his belly and neck. He ate about 10 crickets this morning.. I dont know maybe its the lack of a UVB bulb? I dont know what to do until his permanent habitat comes in. Somebody please help as I dont want to lose him. I'm trying the best I can to keep him happy and comfortable. Thanks!!!!!

 

[aurucis]

Quick edit, got him a bigger basking bulb, and a black night light for heat as they had no ceramic heat emmiters on hand. Are black lightbulbs okay to use at night? Also, I took him out of the tank and let him sit on my stomach and his stress marks went away completely, but when i put him back in 15 minutes later he got all pissed off and ran to the glass and is staring at his reflection. And finally I noticed he closes his left eye every once and a while but not his right.. is that something I should worry about? Thanks!!