Hi,
I have been lurking the boards for about a month now and thought it was time I said hello and introduce Lizzy. My sister has had a bearded dragon for about seven years now, and when I saw some babies for sale on Facebook I joked to my sister 'Look I can get a baby lizard like yours!'
Of course she immediately said "Oh you SHOULD!" and talked me into it. SO the next morning I was off to pick up my new baby, not really knowing what supplies I needed. I was meeting the girl with the dragons at petco, so I got there early and got a great deal on a 10 gallon starter kit (I know now 10 gallons is too small, but it was a really good deal so I am not too upset about the bad purchase, and i use it now to feed lizzie her crickets). I picked one with a nipped tail, remembering a comment my sister said once about the ones with nipped tails and toes being the sweet ones and not aggressive. She is a sweet little girl, very sociable and loves to be held, but she is also quick and with cats in the house I am wary of handling her too often until she is larger, as she has no fear of the big furry beasts
Currently she is in a 40 gallon breeder tank with 2 heat lamps and an 18 inch reptisun 10 at the basking end of her tank. She is a great greens eater, for a while I was worried cause she would eat so much salad and not much protein, but now that she is more acclimated to her new home she has become a voracious worm/cricket eater! I keep a ceramic dish with 10-20 phoenix worms in it in the cooler side of her enclosure, near her salad and large water dish she occasionally laps from. Once or twice a day I take her out and put her in the 10 gallon tank and let her eat feast away on crickets. She used to do this a few times a day, but recently the first time I put her in with the crickets she eats TONS of them, then is not very interested if I put her in again later. I figure she knows what she needs, and she has the phoenix worms in her tank if she needs a little snack
I have an infrared thermometer to measure the temps, it runs about 95-105 on the basking side and 75-85 on the cool side. I also have a space heater near her tank set to 65 degrees overnight in case it get too cool at night. I mist her a few times a day, she really seems to enjoy it. I also spry the glass side of the tank near her hammock when i mist her cause she likes to lick the drops off the glass. I spray her salad a few times a day to help keep her hydrated as well. Sometimes i giver her a little dunk in her water dish, which she HATES, when i put her back in her tank after a cricket feed. I have tried giving her baths two times, she gets frantic and really really doesn't like it, do you think this may be something she will get more relaxed about as she gets older? I got her in late October, I really haven't tried a batch again since early November, just the little dips in her water dish.
Anyways, I just wanted to say hello and thank you for all the tips I have found here on these forums for getting the right set-up for Lizzie. Who knew everything they try and sell you at PetCo is wrong? :wink:
I have been lurking the boards for about a month now and thought it was time I said hello and introduce Lizzy. My sister has had a bearded dragon for about seven years now, and when I saw some babies for sale on Facebook I joked to my sister 'Look I can get a baby lizard like yours!'
Of course she immediately said "Oh you SHOULD!" and talked me into it. SO the next morning I was off to pick up my new baby, not really knowing what supplies I needed. I was meeting the girl with the dragons at petco, so I got there early and got a great deal on a 10 gallon starter kit (I know now 10 gallons is too small, but it was a really good deal so I am not too upset about the bad purchase, and i use it now to feed lizzie her crickets). I picked one with a nipped tail, remembering a comment my sister said once about the ones with nipped tails and toes being the sweet ones and not aggressive. She is a sweet little girl, very sociable and loves to be held, but she is also quick and with cats in the house I am wary of handling her too often until she is larger, as she has no fear of the big furry beasts
Currently she is in a 40 gallon breeder tank with 2 heat lamps and an 18 inch reptisun 10 at the basking end of her tank. She is a great greens eater, for a while I was worried cause she would eat so much salad and not much protein, but now that she is more acclimated to her new home she has become a voracious worm/cricket eater! I keep a ceramic dish with 10-20 phoenix worms in it in the cooler side of her enclosure, near her salad and large water dish she occasionally laps from. Once or twice a day I take her out and put her in the 10 gallon tank and let her eat feast away on crickets. She used to do this a few times a day, but recently the first time I put her in with the crickets she eats TONS of them, then is not very interested if I put her in again later. I figure she knows what she needs, and she has the phoenix worms in her tank if she needs a little snack
I have an infrared thermometer to measure the temps, it runs about 95-105 on the basking side and 75-85 on the cool side. I also have a space heater near her tank set to 65 degrees overnight in case it get too cool at night. I mist her a few times a day, she really seems to enjoy it. I also spry the glass side of the tank near her hammock when i mist her cause she likes to lick the drops off the glass. I spray her salad a few times a day to help keep her hydrated as well. Sometimes i giver her a little dunk in her water dish, which she HATES, when i put her back in her tank after a cricket feed. I have tried giving her baths two times, she gets frantic and really really doesn't like it, do you think this may be something she will get more relaxed about as she gets older? I got her in late October, I really haven't tried a batch again since early November, just the little dips in her water dish.
Anyways, I just wanted to say hello and thank you for all the tips I have found here on these forums for getting the right set-up for Lizzie. Who knew everything they try and sell you at PetCo is wrong? :wink:
