daisythedragon
Member
Hello everyone !
I got my first beardie on Saturday! I am a newbie so I would love to get some feedback and suggestions regarding caring for him.
I'm not sure if the pictures uploaded. Also, in the picture of his tank his lights are off in his tank because I took it at night and he was sleeping.
I have not measured him and don't know how old he is hopefully I will get to measuring him soon!
I bought a starter kit from Petsmart also where I got him from. The kit had a 40 gallon tank along with an Arcadia 100-watt basking bulb and dome, 26 watt desert UVB bulb with a dome, a hiding décor, reptile carpet, and food/ water dishes. He ate 20 small live crickets when I first got him settled in his tank. Sunday he only ate 4 because I think he was stressed out because I changed his tank from sand to tile.
At first I put sand but then did some research and said it was bad for babies so I switched it to reptile carpet on the bottom and then added 2 12x12 tiles in the tank on top of the carpet. I also got him a hammock to bask but he can't get up there on his own because I put it high in his tank but I included a piece of wood so he could climb on it to get to it. ( the piece of wood is temporary looking for a branch of some sort so its bigger and more sturdy) He doesn't sleep in any of his hiding decors I got him he just sleeps in the open so I'm not sure if that's normal behavior. I check the temperatures in the tank with a infrared gun. His cold side is 70-78 F, warm side 85-92F and basking spot is 100-102 F. I also got Repti Calcium and sprinkled it on his crickets that he ate on Sunday. I also put some carrots in there for him to snack on but he doesn't seem interested in them. I originally bought him juvenile bearded dragon whole dried mealworms but he again was not interested. I offered him liver mealworms and he did not bother with them will only take crickets! I am not sure if he is getting enough water, I do mist his tank in the morning a little bit and mist him as well. I am not sure if he is using the bathroom. I vacuumed his sand out today and put the carpet and tile and did not see any signs that he has been to the bathroom.
I have held him a couple of times and petted him in his tank and he does hand feed! For the next week though I am not going to handle him just stick to hand feeding and petting him in the tank until he gets more comfortable in his new environment and so I don't stress him out.
I am very stressed about the lightning and his supplements like calcium and vitamin d .
Should I look into a tube light that gives him uva and uvb light ( put inside his tank across the back of it) ? or just stick with the uvb dome light?
Also am not sure when I should give him baths and if I should take him to the vet?
Is it okay to turn off both lights at night while he is sleeping? It doesn't get cold in my house and I know people keep some heat on at night if it gets cold in the room.
What are some good humidity gauges to put in his tank?
What are good foods to keep in his tank all the time?
So sorry that was a lot of information I just want him to be happy and healthy.
Any suggestions would be great!!
I got my first beardie on Saturday! I am a newbie so I would love to get some feedback and suggestions regarding caring for him.
I'm not sure if the pictures uploaded. Also, in the picture of his tank his lights are off in his tank because I took it at night and he was sleeping.
I have not measured him and don't know how old he is hopefully I will get to measuring him soon!
I bought a starter kit from Petsmart also where I got him from. The kit had a 40 gallon tank along with an Arcadia 100-watt basking bulb and dome, 26 watt desert UVB bulb with a dome, a hiding décor, reptile carpet, and food/ water dishes. He ate 20 small live crickets when I first got him settled in his tank. Sunday he only ate 4 because I think he was stressed out because I changed his tank from sand to tile.
At first I put sand but then did some research and said it was bad for babies so I switched it to reptile carpet on the bottom and then added 2 12x12 tiles in the tank on top of the carpet. I also got him a hammock to bask but he can't get up there on his own because I put it high in his tank but I included a piece of wood so he could climb on it to get to it. ( the piece of wood is temporary looking for a branch of some sort so its bigger and more sturdy) He doesn't sleep in any of his hiding decors I got him he just sleeps in the open so I'm not sure if that's normal behavior. I check the temperatures in the tank with a infrared gun. His cold side is 70-78 F, warm side 85-92F and basking spot is 100-102 F. I also got Repti Calcium and sprinkled it on his crickets that he ate on Sunday. I also put some carrots in there for him to snack on but he doesn't seem interested in them. I originally bought him juvenile bearded dragon whole dried mealworms but he again was not interested. I offered him liver mealworms and he did not bother with them will only take crickets! I am not sure if he is getting enough water, I do mist his tank in the morning a little bit and mist him as well. I am not sure if he is using the bathroom. I vacuumed his sand out today and put the carpet and tile and did not see any signs that he has been to the bathroom.
I have held him a couple of times and petted him in his tank and he does hand feed! For the next week though I am not going to handle him just stick to hand feeding and petting him in the tank until he gets more comfortable in his new environment and so I don't stress him out.
I am very stressed about the lightning and his supplements like calcium and vitamin d .
Should I look into a tube light that gives him uva and uvb light ( put inside his tank across the back of it) ? or just stick with the uvb dome light?
Also am not sure when I should give him baths and if I should take him to the vet?
Is it okay to turn off both lights at night while he is sleeping? It doesn't get cold in my house and I know people keep some heat on at night if it gets cold in the room.
What are some good humidity gauges to put in his tank?
What are good foods to keep in his tank all the time?
So sorry that was a lot of information I just want him to be happy and healthy.
Any suggestions would be great!!
