Lost our Dragon, getting another Question

[Crochetetc]

So we went about getting our first dragon the wrong way and went to petco in Nov, a small fortune in vet bills later and he passed away on Tuesday an hour after returning home from the vet.

To make things worse I feel responsible for causing such heartache for my 10 yo daughter who loved this guy. We have decided as a family to replace him since we enjoyed having him so much.

My question is how do I guarantee I am picking/getting a healthy dragon this time?

Here is our setup just in case something is wrong.

36*18*18 Exo Terra Terrarium (splurged because easier for kid to clean/access)
carpet, large tree, log, hammock
repti glo 10 tube light (6"-8" from favorite spot)
ceramic heat at night (room drops below 50 at night)
100 watt zoo med bulb for day heat
basking kept at 85-110 depending on the tree branch
humidity kept around 20-30
no water bowl inside
Feed greens high in calcium rotated weekly based on availability and freshness (sent through food processor, occasionally offered peppers and carrots for color. We feed 5 birds veggies daily so have a lot to choose from to mix it up)
Dubai roach colony
Used Rep-cal calcium once a day M-F and vitamin dust once a day S-S

 

[vtintraining]

The only thing I see as a problem would be your uvb light. You want to get a Reptisun 10.0 bulb that spans at least half of the enclosure. You do this by getting a cheap under the cabinet light fixture at walmart ( ~$10), and then getting some 3M commands hooks (mini). Make sure that the light fixture that you get is good for a T8 bulb and that the wattage is the same as the reptisun bulb. Then you take out the fixture put in the bulb and on the back there should be holes where you can put the 3M commands hooks, you then take the fixture and place it inside of the tank on like the back wall 6-8" from the basking spot (you want it inside because the mesh of the lid for the viv, will block out like 50% of the UVB light). Also reptiglo has been known to cause eye problems in beardies and it also doesnt give off the right amount of UVB.

Here is an example of how I have mine setup. Ignore the water bowl it has since been removed, after I learned that it can raise the humidity in there.

Hope this helps

 

[Esther19]

I am so sorry for your loss. The only correction in your set-up that I would recommend is a switch to a Repti-SUN tube for UVB rather than the Repti-GLO. The Repti-SUN has the correct wavelength for dragons. At some point you might choose to use tile rather than the carpet as it is easier to clean. My healthy dragon was purchased from: http://www.beardeddragons.co/shop/. Cheryl has an excellent reputation on this forum. Keep us informed of your search for a new little one to love.

 

[randommonks]

I'm sorry to hear about your beardie but it sounds like you did everything you could to save him. I'll just put it out there that I've used a Reptiglo in the past on Darwin when he was a baby and he did very well under it. Also, try to vary up the dusting schedule to something like calcium M-W, vitamin Thursday, Calicum F-Sat, Vitamin Sunday or something like that instead of blocking it to the weekend.

Honestly, there's no way to GUARANTEE that you're getting a healthy dragon. The best route to go might be to get a beardie shipped to you from a good breeder. I have a beardie from TND Dragons and the owner (Tom) is really great to work with. I've also had dealings with Beth from Greathouse Farm and she's great as well.

If you're going to go with the pet store approach, your best bet is not to try to find one to connect with. Instead, get the biggest and fattest one in the batch. When I visited Petco a few days ago, they had 2 that were close to 8" long and a very good weight. On the converse, they also had several unhealthy looking babies that were around 5" or so. I got Darwin because he was the biggest at Petsmart and the most active (in fact at one point he was hanging off the wall of his cage). Those are the ones that will typically thrive.

 

[Crochetetc]

I am sorry I meant repti sun 10 tubes, I purchased them online and we actually have it set up like the picture above. My brain is frazzled having to deal with finishing our gs cookie paperwork, work and the kiddos loss.

I am going to change from carpet to the flooring like above, looks a lot nicer.

Are they just laid in or are they stuck down?

Thanks

 

[vtintraining]

I was lucky when I went to get the tile so I used 10 6x6 tiles and they just fit in snugly. About once a month I take everything out and soak it in a disinfectant, and I clean his viv. You shouldnt use grout or stick them down with anything because you want to be able to easily remove them. If the tiles wont fit in there perfectly you may need to get them cut, but may have a hard time of it because Home Depot and Lowe's wont do it anymore (in some places). Hope this helps Ask if you have any other questions. O also you want to have a digital thermometer in there with a probe, the probe would rest on his basking spot. I got the Accurite digital thermometer for like $13 from Lowe's and I have the body of it placed on the cool side of the tank and the probe on his basking spot, and the thermometer gives me the reading of the basking spot, the cool side and the humidity in the tank

 

[Crochetetc]

I'm sorry to hear about your beardie but it sounds like you did everything you could to save him. I'll just put it out there that I've used a Reptiglo in the past on Darwin when he was a baby and he did very well under it. Also, try to vary up the dusting schedule to something like calcium M-W, vitamin Thursday, Calicum F-Sat, Vitamin Sunday or something like that instead of blocking it to the weekend.

Honestly, there's no way to GUARANTEE that you're getting a healthy dragon. The best route to go might be to get a beardie shipped to you from a good breeder. I have a beardie from TND Dragons and the owner (Tom) is really great to work with. I've also had dealings with Beth from Greathouse Farm and she's great as well.

If you're going to go with the pet store approach, your best bet is not to try to find one to connect with. Instead, get the biggest and fattest one in the batch. When I visited Petco a few days ago, they had 2 that were close to 8" long and a very good weight. On the converse, they also had several unhealthy looking babies that were around 5" or so. I got Darwin because he was the biggest at Petsmart and the most active (in fact at one point he was hanging off the wall of his cage). Those are the ones that will typically thrive.

Thanks for the suggestion, we just went with the schedule we had because it was easier for the kiddo to remember and do (with parent supervision of course) school day meant calcium, weekend meant vitamin.

I have contacted Tom and he sent me some pictures but I am nervous to commit at this point. He only ships M-T-W so I have a few days to decide. I also contacted someone local with babies and going to look at them tomorrow, but again nervous.

We are definitely not going back to any petco or petsmart for any animal again.

 

[Crochetetc]

I was lucky when I went to get the tile so I used 10 6x6 tiles and they just fit in snugly. About once a month I take everything out and soak it in a disinfectant, and I clean his viv. You shouldnt use grout or stick them down with anything because you want to be able to easily remove them. If the tiles wont fit in there perfectly you may need to get them cut, but may have a hard time of it because Home Depot and Lowe's wont do it anymore (in some places). Hope this helps Ask if you have any other questions. O also you want to have a digital thermometer in there with a probe, the probe would rest on his basking spot. I got the Accurite digital thermometer for like $13 from Lowe's and I have the body of it placed on the cool side of the tank and the probe on his basking spot, and the thermometer gives me the reading of the basking spot, the cool side and the humidity in the tank

I knew I forgot something, we do have a digital thermometer with probe held in place with a small piece of tape since our little guy would purposely knock it off, and we also got the one that you point to check temperatures. My daughter used it to verify temps daily in different parts and when bathing. Well worth the $$ spent.

 

[bunnyrut]

how small was the baby?

small babies are very fragile, and a lot just don't survive.

when you decide to get another baby, try going to a reptile expo. it will be a great experience for your 10 yo to see all the different types and pick one out.

i would suggest one that is at least 2 months old. they are still small, but not as small as the pet stores. and healthier

 

[randommonks]

I have contacted Tom and he sent me some pictures but I am nervous to commit at this point. He only ships M-T-W so I have a few days to decide. I also contacted someone local with babies and going to look at them tomorrow, but again nervous.

We are definitely not going back to any petco or petsmart for any animal again.

I understand you being nervous but it sounds like your care was spot on and that you just unfortunately had an unhealthy dragon to start. When you look at babies tomorrow, find one with bright eyes that is curious about you. Ask to see them fed to make sure you get a good eater. Try to avoid getting the runt or the smallest of the clutch, no matter how cute they are. Pick out one that is at least 6" long. The good thing about being able to visit the breeder is that you'll get to see before you buy!

 

[Crochetetc]

how small was the baby?

small babies are very fragile, and a lot just don't survive.

when you decide to get another baby, try going to a reptile expo. it will be a great experience for your 10 yo to see all the different types and pick one out.

i would suggest one that is at least 2 months old. they are still small, but not as small as the pet stores. and healthier

Our guy was probably 4-6 weeks old, 5" when we got him Nov 22 and just never grew despite how much we fed him or what we gave him. We managed to keep him alive for just 4 short months. I guess it might be called failure to thrive since he was only 8" when he passed.

 

[Crochetetc]

I have contacted Tom and he sent me some pictures but I am nervous to commit at this point. He only ships M-T-W so I have a few days to decide. I also contacted someone local with babies and going to look at them tomorrow, but again nervous.

We are definitely not going back to any petco or petsmart for any animal again.

I understand you being nervous but it sounds like your care was spot on and that you just unfortunately had an unhealthy dragon to start. When you look at babies tomorrow, find one with bright eyes that is curious about you. Ask to see them fed to make sure you get a good eater. Try to avoid getting the runt or the smallest of the clutch, no matter how cute they are. Pick out one that is at least 6" long. The good thing about being able to visit the breeder is that you'll get to see before you buy!

Thanks because I have been really concerned it was our care even though the vet assured me it wasn't.

 

[jezwolf175]

I'm sorry for your loss but it sounds like you did everything you could. Despite everything you gave him 4 wonderous months. Think about what would've happened if you hadn't got him.

I agree with going to a reptile show or visiting the breeder. You get to see them first hand. Good luck to you.

 

[Kates]

From what I understand, when you buy a beardie, there is always a risk of disease or parasites if they were housed with other beardies. Overall, just pick one out that seems to be very responsive and alert. Try and make sure it's eating. You always want to find one that is well kept as well. I go to the pet store all the time to buy crickets and they had 3 juvenile bearded dragons kept in a small 2x2x4 viv and they all had really dark stress marks. I wanted to take all of those poor babies home. ;~;

You could always wait for an expo to buy one there. Breeders seem to take pride in their work and keep their beardies clean. They also have really cool colors and breeds like leatherbacks *rambles*

I'm really sorry to hear about your loss.

 

[Crochetetc]

Wow what a difference seeing babies in a home setting verses pet store. They were so active and chasing and chomping on crickets. They were little stinkers to catch and put up a fuss when finally caught.

We took home the largest one at 8 weeks old and 6" long. He was a feisty little guy. Brought him home put him in the tank and he ran around checking things out and tried to climb the sides.

Put some dubia roaches in with the crickets we were sent home with and he chased them and licked them before deciding one was ok to eat.

I have never seen one so active. He warmed himself on his tree for about 15 minutes then proceeded to run around check everything out and crawl across his veggie bowl before pooping for us.