Meet Skipper and Obi-Wan!

[mom2cnc]

Hello!

I am a first time bearded dragon owner (or as my kids like to say bearded dragon grandmother). We brought home Obi-Wan about a month ago and Skipper 3 weeks ago for my kid's 7th and 9th birthdays. So far it's just been fantastic. We all are having so much fun, the kids are learning so much and our beardies are happy and healthy.

They are currently be housed together in a 55 gallon tank, and they seem to enjoy being caged together so I will probably upgrade them to a 100 gallon together when they grow a bit more. I was a little reluctant to get babies for the kids, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to teach them about a new species and how they grow and develop. The pet store staff took a lot of time before we brought them home to teach them about care and handling (though I do most of the care) and it's worked out well.

I have a couple questions if anyone wants to help me out. First, they don't seem to ever visit their basking rock. It is directly under a 150 watt bulb.... could it be too hot for babies (I also have a Reptisun 10.0 light)? Also, I am currently giving them crickets and kale. They are only munching a little on the kale. Any thoughts on other veggies I can start introducing? Finally, because I have two, they are going through 50 crickets every 3-4 days -- this translates to a lot of trips to the pet store for crickets. I would love to buy them 200 at a time or so, but have no idea how to keep that many crickets -- they seem to start killing each other after 2 days no matter how much I feed them. Thoughts?

This seems like a great community, I'm happy to be here!

 

[rex2311]

adorable. have fun with them.

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. They are adorable. Kale is not a good staple it binds calcium. Beautifuldragons.com is a really good site to list of what to feed. How are the temps? How do you take them? Is the uvb a tube or coil? You can order bulk crickets on line and Google how to keep them. Also beardies should not be housed together as they get older. Especially 2 males or male/ female combo. Beardies are territorial and do not like to be around each other except to mate. If they show signs of aggression/dominance toward each other then they need a divider in their tank.

 

[mom2cnc]

Thanks, destiny

Since they are so small, if I do harder veggies like summer squash, should I lightly steam it first, if not, how should I cut it? I live in Florida so cactus is pretty easy to get year round -- I'd like to try both of these this weekend.

We had some dominant behavior the first week I brought Skipper home. Obi was really bad about not letting her eat. I started removing him from the cage, feeding her and then putting him back in to eat. After two days the problem resolved itself. I have no problem putting them in 2 different cages when they get a bit bigger, so this insight is very helpful.

Also the 10.0 is a tube. The basking light is a 150 watt bulb. Lights run on timers, I have them set so the basking light shuts off at around 13 hours and the tube shuts off at 13.5 hours (to replicate a more natural setting). I will post pictures of my set up this weekend.

 

[destiny1998]

I steam the squash before I feed my dragons. They love it I tried catus no luck, but here in montana it's hard to find. So maybe since its common down there and you can offer it more often they'll get a tast for it.

 

[Pushkin]

They are sooo cute!!!!

 

[mom2cnc]

Thank you! My daughter literally rocked Skipper to bed tonight-- it was the sweetest thing.

 

[mom2cnc]

Here's a couple pictures of their home. We are searching for a second tank and stand for one of them, but right now they coexist very well. I've only seen a bit of dominance by Obi at feeding time so I've started feeding the separately. They can often be found side-by-side on the branch and in the hammock.

 

[OhDovaKin]

Hello there mom2cnc,

I absolutely love that the one little beardie is named Obi-Wan, gotta love good ol star wars! I hope very much that your pet stores info in care exceeds what i was given originally, thankfully I read up on them before getting one. From the tank set-up you seem to be doing pretty well already.

The younger dragons are going to need a little higher of a temperature than the adults will. With so much conflicting information when trying to look up answers on things i've been told ranges of 95-115. Personally, my little DovaKin [who's typing here with me now] preferred 105 degrees and wanted to be about 6-8 inches away to bask as a baby or he wouldn't go under it. The cooler side depending on time of day ranged from 76-85 as it lead to the warmer side before hitting the basking area. A temp gun will definitely be worth every penny to have since their easily portable to take around with you if you travel with them as i do mine and can check temperatures of other areas or your dragon while he is out of his tank. It needs to be warm enough so that they can digest their food and perform normal bodily functions. The one I use was fairly inexpensive and seems to be quite accurate, if anything only a degree off.
Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQ4RMQE/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I know in the summer since my beardie loves the window and sulks if his tank isn't near it i have to switch to a lower wattage bulb.

I'd look into a hygrometer too to make sure the humidity is correct to avoid shedding problems.

I remember cricket store trips, what a hassle that could become especially if you're in a state like mine where winter not only delays but force abandons shipments.
A couple questions to start:
What are you keeping the crickets in and how big is it?
What do you put in with the crickets to crawl around on?
What are you giving the crickets as food/water?
I see you said you were in Florida, I'm up in NJ. I'm sure there is somewhere closer to you to order crickets from online but i remember being so skeptical and worried my first time doing it. I have many different companies before finding one that suited my liking. With live delivery guarantee, fair pricing, no late shipments so far and a fantastic customer service department though my service was finally won. If you'd like the link to their website you can email me at [email protected]
Ordering them online is a much better option, especially price-wise. Pet stores severely overcharge and i find the quality of the cricket is diminished as well.

I agree with destiny1998, kale is no good for them, and that list is an amazing go-to for what is and isn't okay. My dragon can be quite a picky monster when it comes to his greens, though luckily he has always eaten them. When their little they only need 20% greens, but don't worry too too much if they don't want to eat it right away. You can try mixing in a tiny bit of the okay fruits or veggies that are more colorful to help intrigue them to try it, but regardless if they eat it or not you should at least offer it daily for them. Once they're older they'll switch to about 20% protein and the rest greens but for now don't stress it too bad. DovaKin Loves his dandelion greens [store bought, no pesticides which wilds could have, and farmer markets could be your best friend compared to big chain stores] and turnip greens when their in season, as staples. His usual salad consists of 6/8 dandelion and/or turnip greens, 1/8 chicory 3 times a week, and 1/8 mint leaves [mint leaves for humans at least help relieve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, indigestion, dyspepsia, and colonic muscle spasms. They're an anti-cancer agent, stop the growth of many different bacteria and are a natural source of vitamin c, a, and beta-carotene.] He is active, alert and in perfect health so something must be working.

Definitely keep an eye out for aggressive behavior, I've seen so many rescue beardies with tips of tail and toes nipped off by other dragons, it's so damn sad to see! They just kinda curl up in your hand like "please take me home, don't put me back in there, i love youuuuu pleaseeee." These silly little personality driven reptiles could bring a grown man to his knees haha.

The Reptisun 10.0 is a great go to UVB as long as it's replaced every six months working or not [the UVB is done by then.]

The main thing to remember though is that there is always more to learn and always room for improvement especially with new information and studies and products arriving each and every day. Remember that you can never know it all and to try to absorb as much as possible, better safe than sorry. Try to take them out daily and show them love, after awhile you may get the rewarding chance of them remember you and running up to meet you and acknowledging their name.

Sorry for the excessively long ramble of information, but there is just so much to say and I can never get enough of it. And hey, if I'm wrong on anything myself, I as well am always open for suggestions/corrections. Better to know and fix it than mess up terribly and be devastated.

If you have any other questions though, or need help, I'm always open to share my knowledge and experience and do whatever I can so feel free to ask. [I'm also a bit of an Insomniac so hours of the day aren't much of an issue lol]. Best of luck with your scaly children!!!!

 

[BlueMorpho]

Cute names, and cuter dragons!!
I'm glad you're planning on separating them soon. It's actually kind of fun to be able to have two completely different set-ups.
I really love how you have their tank now; it looks amazing!