Ellentomologist
Hatchling Member
I have one male bearded dragon named Guacamole Kangarilla. I've had him for 6 months, but do not know his exact age. I would guess that based on his original body measurements (5.5 inches, 9 grams) that he was ~2 months at time of purchase, and is now ~8 months old. He is now 16 inches long, 261 grams, and overall seems to be a very happy, healthy boy! He's alert, energetic, eats well, sheds regularly and cleanly, and has a ton of personality.
That is not to say that I am a perfect reptile keeper, and in fact there are a lot of things that I need to change about his setup, and soon! For instance, right now he's in an oddly shaped aquarium that I was given for free at work (long story). It's about 30 gallons in volume, but it's dimensions are only as follows: roughly 13 inches tall by 18 wide and 30 long. It's a bit small in general, but definitely WAY too short, allowing him to get too close to his lighting structures, which also aren't great. He's under a coil UVB - which I KNOW isn't optimal, but this is a temporary situation that I will be fixing shortly! Plus, he seems to be doing great under it so far.
For more details on his setup, I'm just going to be answering rapid-fire here:
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Green repticarpet cut to fit flush with our oddly sized cage. He also has a reptile hamock, 3 logs, and two homemade hides.
Heating?
I switch between a white, 100 watt basking bub and a 60 watt ceramic heat emitter depending on temperature of my living situation.
What are the temps? He always has a 105*F and a 100*F space to bask in, and the temperature in the rest of his tank is a gradient of between 90-95F on the hot end and 78-84*F on the cool end (rarely below 80*F). I check these with a temp gun at least once every 3 days and they rarely differ greatly. Most of the range is due to the time I take the temps, weather it's right after the lights turned on or mid-day.
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
Currently he is getting veggies daily in the morning, right before I leave for work/class, mostly a mix of dandelion and mustard greens. Sometimes he gets some fruit as a treat, but not regularly. For bugs, I have my own colonies of superworms and dubia roaches. Since my dubia roach colony is still small, I am feeding more superworms then roaches. He gets as many bugs as he can eat once a day, every day, in the evening, and occasionally a few extras in the early afternoon if I have time to handle him first (I am trying to see if I can train him to "come", like a dog). Both insect types are gut-loaded to the best of my capacities, usually with carrot, apple, or raw squash, as those are most readily fed without fouling the colonies.
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Yes! Calcium with D3 4 times a week, vitamins 2 times a week, with one day off of both. I use Rep-Cal supplements as I was told that they are more easily metabolized and practically impossibly to "overdose" with. I am trying to brush up on my biochemistry right now to see if there is any truth to this or not.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Daily, occasionally twice a day if he has a bath (loves pooping in his bathes. Gross thing.
)
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Yes. Frequency depends, at least 2 times a week.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
He has a small water dish in his tank, always. I know this is frowned upon in general, but I have seen him drink from it on several occasions, and the humidity in his tank is still very very low. When he is shedding, I will mist him once or twice around midday and place him immediately in his basking area to dry out.
Anyway, I've been doing as much research as I can about beardies essentially whenever I can. However, two this still allude me - How do I tell if a bearded dragon is the right weight and how do I tell if a bearded dragon is properly hydrated? According to everything I've found, Guac seems to be doing well, but I'd really like more info in this! One day, probably in 3-5 years, I'd really like to start keeping larger numbers of reptiles and possibly even breeding them, so I want to learn as much about basic health as I can!
Please tell me if you have any advice and/or tips! Thank you!
EDITS: Added a few details, such as the dimensions of his current cage.
That is not to say that I am a perfect reptile keeper, and in fact there are a lot of things that I need to change about his setup, and soon! For instance, right now he's in an oddly shaped aquarium that I was given for free at work (long story). It's about 30 gallons in volume, but it's dimensions are only as follows: roughly 13 inches tall by 18 wide and 30 long. It's a bit small in general, but definitely WAY too short, allowing him to get too close to his lighting structures, which also aren't great. He's under a coil UVB - which I KNOW isn't optimal, but this is a temporary situation that I will be fixing shortly! Plus, he seems to be doing great under it so far.
For more details on his setup, I'm just going to be answering rapid-fire here:
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Green repticarpet cut to fit flush with our oddly sized cage. He also has a reptile hamock, 3 logs, and two homemade hides.
Heating?
I switch between a white, 100 watt basking bub and a 60 watt ceramic heat emitter depending on temperature of my living situation.
What are the temps? He always has a 105*F and a 100*F space to bask in, and the temperature in the rest of his tank is a gradient of between 90-95F on the hot end and 78-84*F on the cool end (rarely below 80*F). I check these with a temp gun at least once every 3 days and they rarely differ greatly. Most of the range is due to the time I take the temps, weather it's right after the lights turned on or mid-day.
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
Currently he is getting veggies daily in the morning, right before I leave for work/class, mostly a mix of dandelion and mustard greens. Sometimes he gets some fruit as a treat, but not regularly. For bugs, I have my own colonies of superworms and dubia roaches. Since my dubia roach colony is still small, I am feeding more superworms then roaches. He gets as many bugs as he can eat once a day, every day, in the evening, and occasionally a few extras in the early afternoon if I have time to handle him first (I am trying to see if I can train him to "come", like a dog). Both insect types are gut-loaded to the best of my capacities, usually with carrot, apple, or raw squash, as those are most readily fed without fouling the colonies.
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Yes! Calcium with D3 4 times a week, vitamins 2 times a week, with one day off of both. I use Rep-Cal supplements as I was told that they are more easily metabolized and practically impossibly to "overdose" with. I am trying to brush up on my biochemistry right now to see if there is any truth to this or not.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Daily, occasionally twice a day if he has a bath (loves pooping in his bathes. Gross thing.
)Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Yes. Frequency depends, at least 2 times a week.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
He has a small water dish in his tank, always. I know this is frowned upon in general, but I have seen him drink from it on several occasions, and the humidity in his tank is still very very low. When he is shedding, I will mist him once or twice around midday and place him immediately in his basking area to dry out.
Anyway, I've been doing as much research as I can about beardies essentially whenever I can. However, two this still allude me - How do I tell if a bearded dragon is the right weight and how do I tell if a bearded dragon is properly hydrated? According to everything I've found, Guac seems to be doing well, but I'd really like more info in this! One day, probably in 3-5 years, I'd really like to start keeping larger numbers of reptiles and possibly even breeding them, so I want to learn as much about basic health as I can!
Please tell me if you have any advice and/or tips! Thank you!
EDITS: Added a few details, such as the dimensions of his current cage.
