Lizzy my new addition

[boxerLvr]

First off, hiyas First post, first time on. My name is Julie and i've just recently gotten a very young bearded dragon. I found out about this site by a VERY knowledgable poster from the yahoo question and answer section (thank you whoever you are!!). My friend bought this little one and isn't as experienced as he led me to believe. So now i'm the one responsible for Lizzies care and i'm scared to death!! I'm the type who researches EVERYTHING first and this was just shocking. Never had I considered a bearded dragon, but in the week she's been here, omggg I am so in love! She has so much personality and I love having her climb into my palm and not want to be placed back in her tank.

Tonight while doing yet more research, I saw something that made my eyes get wide. I've got her a shallow water dish, but I read that they don't know how to drink from it?? I then followed advice to use an eye dropper and drop a drop of water on her nose, she still didn't drink it. She's eating her crickets, but she just lays around today which is the first time i've had her that she's done that.

Heres my set up for her.. 55 gallon tank. 150 watt bulb UVA basking bulb by "All living things" (what petsmart recommended.. said was best on market??). 2 climbing store bought logs for the warm side, a big ole climbing rock in middle of tank with an area to hide in under, and a log and rock on cool side. Water dish on cool side next to the log and rock. I hope this is correct.

I'm looking forward to becoming an active member here, reading as much information as I can, and meeting new friends along the way.. Thanks for such a great site!!

 

[msmisty]

Welcome to the site ,
The way i showed my 2 beardies how to drink from there bowl. I move the water with my finger ( they dont know its there, because of there eye sight), and theyll go right to it if there thirsty, but you might want to help them if they cant reach the water,lol. If lizzie still doesnt drink, try bathing her mine drink from there bath most often, hope that help. GOOD LUCK

 

[AndyT]

Welcome! It's great that you've found this place! It is extremely helpful! Dropping water on the nose is what I'm doing now, but it doesn't seem to work well... it doesn't matter, my baby gets a bath every few days. I'm not sure that the bulb you got is "the best on the market", I have never heard of it. The best on the market is the ReptiSUN 10.0 tube light. I don't know whether or not that bulb is appropriate, as pet stores will say anything to sell merchandise... Everything else sounds great, though! What substrate do you have her on? Good luck and keep us posted!

Andy

 

[boxerLvr]

I'm using the repti sand. I'm concerned tho that she (keep saying she, but not had her sexed yet) won't touch any veggies or fruits. Hoping its just because she's young and will start.

So true that they will sell anything. When I was getting some supplies for my snake i'd asked about a heating rock i'd seen, the salesman said "don't buy it, it will kill your animal". For that, I was VERY thankful! Thanks for the tip on the bulb, have to go get yet more crickets tomorrow so will definately check on that one. Sales people say 48 crickets will last a week, guess noone told that bit of info to Lizzy!! I feed her as many as she'll take in 15 minutes. I do it 3 times a day. Might have to check on the mealworms tomorrow to give her appetite some variety. She's finally sitting up in her tank tho instead of just laying down on her log. I am afraid that due to my inexperience she was dehydrated from lack of water. After her misting, the eye dropper attempt and a short lived stint in a bath (she hasn't learned this one yet) she might start to be coming around. I'm anal when it comes to my family members (the animal ones) to make sure they have the best natural set up possible. Yeah, Lizzy's spoiled already same as the snake, the dogs and the kids. Welcome to my world of chaos

 

[AndyT]

I'm using the repti sand
So true that they will sell anything.
the salesman said "don't buy it, it will kill your animal".

This is true about heat rocks, and I'm glad that he told you. But, they apparently did not warn you about calci/repti sand. NEVER use this! It is deadly. It causes impaction if ingested, which often leads to death. You need to get her off of it ASAP. Some good substrates are Repti carpet, paper towels, and slate tile. When you go tomorrow, get some Repticaret and replace the sand. Also, I'm not sure that ReptiSUN 10.0 is available in stores. Don't let them sell you some bad product, don't use any compact fluorescent bulbs, and I don't think that Reptiglow or any other tube lights are any good at the moment. Sorry to bother you with all this, but pet stores will take advantage of any opening they get to scam people. Good luck and keep us posted!

Andy

 

[boxerLvr]

Andy, please.. BOTHER ME WITH THIS!! lol. Beardies are new to me, and I welcome any and all advice I can get! I want her to be safe and happy, heck she's already loved. Now to figure out what to do with all this sand **sigh**. Put in 4 bags of it lol. Now another question, is it safe to get the crickets from petsmart? I don't want her getting any parasites from them. With my snake I get the frozen fuzzies that are done in a sterile lab for that very reason.

 

[AndyT]

Its' good that you are ready and willing to accept advice. Some people just come on here, ask questions, and don't want to listen to the answers. Yes, I think that crickets from petsmart are safe, or at least as safe as from anywhere else.

Andy

 

[AndyT]

And sorry to make you waste four bags of sand.

 

[healthybeardie]

Welcome to you and LIzzy!

I had a similar experience from pet store selling me the wrong bulb (Repti-Glo 10.0) which was bad and giving wrong info. The set up was all wrong and cost me $$$$ plus vet visits. My end result was two beardies that were sold to me too young, not properly cared for due to my misinformation and unfortunately they did not pull through I felt terrible but later found this site and researched extensively and realized this was the place to be to get the most up-to-date current info. and have the confidence to give it a third shot! I have not regreted it either. I just wish the word would get out to the pet stores, but unfortunately its all about $ to them and not what is best for the animals. You're definitely at the right place.

Other substrate options could be repticarpet, paper towels, slate tiles. I can't remember if you shared what size viv you have - a 20 gallon is the absolute smallest for a baby, but only for the first few months, then the absolute smallest would be a 40 gallon breeder tank.

Here are some additional websites that will give you tons of good info:

nutrition/diet - www.beautifuldragons.com
lighting UVB Repti-SUN 10.0 - www.petmountain.com

A healthy baby/juvenile beardie can eat up to 50+ crickets a day easily, so the 48/week is way wrong. From what I have witnessed my neighborhood petsmart starves their beardies (it would probably cost them too much to feed them enough for them to thrive)

On-line feeders are definitely the way to go once your little guy proves he will eat that much for you:
premium crickets and Ghanns are a couple good ones (a lot cheaper than the pet stores). Mealworms are not a good feeder choice as their shell is hard to digest and can cause impaction problems (like the sand).

Oh, and the best way to hydrate is to bathe your beardie in a warm bath. They get their hydration through their vents and dont like to be misted (contrary to what the pet store told me ).
A bath a couple times a week will help them stay hydrated and help in their shedding process. When they are young they may seem a little skittish getting a bath, so you may just want to ease him into it by getting your hand nice and warm and placing him on your palm - he should love the warmth and feel of your palm, then gently place him in not beyond his elbows for starters. A sink works well.

I hope I didnt bombard you, but I know what it feels like to fall in love with the beardie and wanting to take care of it the proper way and feeling frustrated at all the contradictions.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[boxerLvr]

Thank you for the info. When I got her I moved my snake into the 40 gal tank and then clean and sterilized the tank to put Lizzy into the 55 gallon. I'll get some crickets at petsmart today since she's out.. just enough to get by until the ones i'll order online come.

I am so thankful to this site. Nowhere else have I found such great information. Sure, i've read articles, and read here and there, but here not only is there fantastic information with the links to find the other stuff, but other loving owners to offer the advice as well. I didn't know beardies get their hydration through the vents. I figured they drank water like the other animals. Again, thank you all for the great advice. I'll be totally changing out the sand today. At what age will Lizzy start eating veggies? She's about 3 inches from tip of nose to base of tail, then tail is probably about 3 inches long if that helps for her age. After Matt got her, I'd asked him how old she was, he of course didn't know. When I called the petstore, they didn't know either.

 

[tinmantribe5]

OH wow I was sold on the calcium sand to they must have seen me coming a mile a Way! Hehe
Is regular sand just as bad? I was using newspaper but the crickets,roaches would hide and it drove me nuts?
The play sand I use now has not givin me problems yet but IM a newbie for sure so that doesnt mean anything!
I have all my beardies poo-ing good and getting fat but I dont want any problems now or later any advice is welcome?

 

[AndyT]

Playsand is better than calci sand from the pet store. It has a lower risk factor for causing impaction than the pet store sand. Just keep a close eye on them while they eat and make sure their *cough* poo is free of sand. It is still a risk to have them on any sand.

Andy

 

[boxerLvr]

**waves to fellow newbie tinman**

Ok, what is "cough" poo? All sand is now out and repti eco carpet is in (oh what a chore THAT was!). Crickets ordered (then found out they don't ship on fridays yippee) so more crickets purchased. Found a vet in my town that is experienced in beardies, now to find out what their typical vet visit wellness check schedule should be.

 

[AndyT]

It's good that you did all that! It's nice to know that you love your beardie enough to do all this for him/her.

Andy

 

[healthybeardie]

Sand not only is a risk for impaction but when you think about it, a lot of wetness (pee) comes out with their bowel movements which is impossible to get out of the sand which can cause a breeding ground for parasites. For hygiene reasons, it is just easier to get rid of the sand all together. Non-adhesive shelf liners are a great alternative in that feeders cannot get under it and it is super easy to clean.