Meet Doughty

[DoughtyDragon]

Hello all - We're new to the board. I will be sharing this Username with my Girlfriend. We just bought a very young BD, and she named him Doughty.

I've cared for a Bearded Dragon several years ago and it wasn't very difficult. I have a few questions-

I've been told that we should house him in a smaller tank (55gal is pictured) because the younger dragons feel more secure in a smaller tank. Is this true? I tend to think he would like the bigger tank...?

We're trying to figure out a substrate to use - we've both decided not to use sand to avoid the risk. We we're thinking of using what's called "shelf liner" that's used in kitchen cabinets. Is there any danger in using this?

Some people have told me that the juvenile dragons will not readily accept vegetables/greens/fruits, and the majority of their diet will be small crickets during the first few months. Is this true?

Lastly, we looked all over for the dragon and found one available - we bought him while he was shedding. Are dragons more territorial/stressed while shedding? He seemed ok when we brought him home, but on day 2, he's showing darker colors on his underside. Is it just stress??

Thanks everyone

 

[Grogshla]

hey buddy
welcome to the forums and cool dragon!!

Keep him in the 55. As long as there are some places that he can hide he will be fine. They need some room to run around and explore.
Shelf liner is ok but im not sure if it has to be a certain type or something i think i read about it ages ago. Maybe some1 can help here?
Yeah dragons don't really accept vegies when they are young. Some however do. Just make sure they are on offer and if he eats them then great if not dont worry.
Yep small crickets are the best. They don't make noise, have soft shells and tons of protein. Keep him on crickets and he will be fine. Don't feed mealworms. The only other thing i would feed him when he gets older are woodies or reptiworms.
Yeah dragons can feel stressed at shedding time. He still is settling into his tank should take a week or more.

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

Welcome! Doughty is adorable! To help answer your questions...
#1 I got my beardie when she was only 8 weeks old and we built our viv which is 4x2x2 (approx 119g) We put her in it from day one and she loves it...

#2 Non adhesive shelf liner is just fine... I have tile in mine.. But u can use either..

#3 They normally don't like greens right off.. So the trick is to put the greens in their viv first before the live food.. Leave it in there maybe 30 min and hopefully they will b hungry and eat some.. It worked for me... U should always offer greens no matter what.. I just leave it in Scarletts viv for the entire day and take them out at night..

#4 YES they are grouchy while shedding..lol Sometimes they won't eat either... However he could be going through some relocation stress which is completely normal.. Usually after a couple days... Sometimes maybe a week they will level out... One other thing is they will turn dark and u will see stress marks when they are basking sometimes.. So they can absorb the heat.. Hope this helps!

 

[techdave]

I've been told that we should house him in a smaller tank (55gal is pictured) because the younger dragons feel more secure in a smaller tank. Is this true? I tend to think he would like the bigger tank...?

I also have a 55 gal. tank. When Tiamat was younger, I partitioned off about 5/8 worth, then as he got bigger, I scooted it back until was all the way.

We're trying to figure out a substrate to use - we've both decided not to use sand to avoid the risk. We we're thinking of using what's called "shelf liner" that's used in kitchen cabinets. Is there any danger in using this?

Yup, that can be used, but only the non-adhesive shelf liner.

Some people have told me that the juvenile dragons will not readily accept vegetables/greens/fruits, and the majority of their diet will be small crickets during the first few months. Is this true?

If you can, shoot for dubia roaches, they have a better meat to shell ratio and aren't susceptible to pinworms. But whichever you feed him make sure they are no bigger than the space between his eyes. Feed him as many as he can eat in 10-15 mins, 2-3 times a day. Don't forget the calcium and vitamins.

They will naturally eat about 80% protein/20% veggies for a long time while they are growing. They will naturally switch that as they get older. But like, Grogshla said, keep it available all day, until about 2 hours before their bedtime. This is a great link for a list of veggies to feed http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Lastly, we looked all over for the dragon and found one available - we bought him while he was shedding. Are dragons more territorial/stressed while shedding? He seemed ok when we brought him home, but on day 2, he's showing darker colors on his underside. Is it just stress??

Yes, it's normal. For the first couple of weeks, relocation stress is normal. Combined with a shed, he may be a little cranky for awhile.

And welcome to beardie slavery

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

I already responded to all of these questions in introductions....

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

lol.. I mean almost word for word techdave... ha

 

[techdave]

That's hilarious!!

 

[techdave]

Nice

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

Lol great minds think alike

 

[Bwalter]

Welcome, I just joined the site to. I have a little one that looks just like your little girl. I have had mine for almost a week now, and he is still stressed out but doing fine. I have mine in a 40 gallon tank and he seems fine with it. I can't give you much information, I am just learning to. Becky

 

[ReptileGuardian]

I would mark the tank off and as he gets older make it bigger. I have a 3 month old in a 30GL tank and he loves it. I am not one of those people who think the beardie needs a HUGE tank when they are that small. When I first got my two beardies they were in a 15GL tank.

I would also suggest rept-carpet. I wouldn't give them sand until they are about a year. Mine is 3 month old and still going through the licking stage so no bueno on the sand.

Yeah it might just be relocation stress. It can also be something in the room that is stressting the beardie out and you have no idea what it is. Don't over stress when your beardie is stress it will just make matter worse.

Roaches. I hate crickets they stink! lol my beardie eats repti-worms and dubia roaches as well as some lettuce. I would recommended dubias over crickets ANY day. Don't forget the calcium and vitamins!

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

We built our Viv from the very beginning to save money.. It's a 4x2x2 and Scarlett has been in it every since she was 8 weeks and has been fine... I was concerned about it being too big for her but she loves it...In the end u will end up spending more if u keep having to buy one to upgrade your beardie.. That's just my opinion..

 

[diamc]

I merged both your threads. It gets too confusing trying to respond in more that one forum, in this case Introductions and General. Please only start one thread of the same subject to also help keep the whole forum neater. If you have any questions DoughtyDragon, send me a private message.

 

[DoughtyDragon]

If you can, shoot for dubia roaches, they have a better meat to shell ratio and aren't susceptible to pinworms. But whichever you feed him make sure they are no bigger than the space between his eyes. Feed him as many as he can eat in 10-15 mins, 2-3 times a day. Don't forget the calcium and vitamins.

Roaches eh? This is the first I've heard of these. What are they? What do they look like? Where do I get them? Also- We're "Gut-Loading" the crickets (feeding them enriched cricket feed). Should I be dusting them as well?

And welcome to beardie slavery

#2 Non adhesive shelf liner is just fine... I have tile in mine.. But u can use either..

I've heard of people using Tile as Substrate before. Do you have any pictures? Is it difficult to clean?

I would also suggest rept-carpet.

We actually bought some to use- but when we took it out, it had a "packaging memory" (it wouldn't lay flat) and it wasn't big enough, not to mention expensive. Is there any merit to using this over other substrates? Am I just getting bamboozled at the pet store- is there cheaper "rept-carpet" available?

I merged both your threads. It gets too confusing trying to respond in more that one forum, in this case Introductions and General. Please only start one thread of the same subject to also help keep the whole forum neater. If you have any questions DoughtyDragon, send me a private message.

Understood. My apologies- when I originally posted it looked like the "Introductions" Forum was relatively low traffic compared to the "General" Forum, so I posted twice as not to get overlooked. Obviously I was mistaken :lol:

Thanks for the warm welcome and all the helpful responses everyone! We're happy to be members of the Forum