Mufasa and Norberta

I already introduced me and Fasa, but I thought you all might like to see his cuteness, lol. I also have a question for you professionals: do you have any idea what morph he is?

Here he is sleeping in his new tree, slept in it all of last night.
Mufasa will just sit on my chest and nap or watch whats going on.
One last question: Half the time he doesn't eat his crickets, is there anything I can do to help him eat?
Well, I think that's all for now!
Makayla.

 

[MufasasMomMakayla]

Just wanted to post real quick.
It's been three months today since I got Mufasa! Time flys, lol!

Here is a picture of her from today. I'm a bit worried because in the three months she hasn't grown from 4.5 inches... She's the same size as when I got her. Is that normal? Other than that she's doing great!!
A pic of Norberta so she doesn't feel left out.

She's about 6.5 inches, fat, and happily settling in. :-D
Makayla.

 

[sweetiepie9]

No, it's not normal for a baby to not grow over 3 months. Do you have a good reptile vet in your area, you should take her in. I have a friend who's beardie wasn't eating properly, found an infection in her digestive tract and after meds, she was an eating machine.

One thing you can try, which is what I've always done, is get some Carnivore Care (I get it from my vet, but you can order it on www.beardeddragon.co). Mix it with some baby food squash and bee pollen (you can get that at any health food shop, usually comes in capsules, just take it out of the capsules). For a baby I use 1/2 tsp carnivore care, 1 tsp butternut squash baby food, then 1/4 tsp bee pollen, mix it up really well with a whisk if you have one, add more squash if it's too thick and feed it thru a larger syringe (you can get 5ml syringes at any pharmacy). I've used this mix for years and still do, my 8 yr old Leo got sick and I've been feeding him this. Carnivore Care is a meal replacement that's full of protein, it's helps with digestion and also gets their appetite back.
At Mufasa's age, she should be scarfing down about 60-100 crickets or phoenix worms a day. So please look into what I've written on here. I have a great vet that's been taking care of my beardies (I rescue) for 9 years, couldn't do without her.

Let me know how all of this goes, k?

 

[sweetiepie9]

Also wanted to go over your lighting. The basking spot should be 105-108F, do you have a temp gun or a digital temp guague with probe? Those are the most accurate and you need to know what that temp is, it affects their appetite if they're too cold.

Also what UVB are you using? What's the brand? If it's a tube it should be Reptisun 10.0 or Arcadia 12% of 15%. Let me know. This could be part of Mufasa's problem.

Are your babies together? What size is your tank. If they're together, they need separate basking spots at opposite ends and a cool temp in the middle. Let me know, as this is the major reason that beardies don't grow, besides what I said before.

We will figure this out, k?
Your babies are just beautiful!

 

[MufasasMomMakayla]

Thanks so much! I will try to answer all your questions.
I really have no idea about the vet, I will start looking for one right away. I will buy the carnivore care stuff as soon as possible and start feeding her that, I get paid on Sat. I do not have a temp gun, I am using a 5.5" Dome Lamp with a ExtraTerra 60 watt bulb. They are together, the tank is a 20 L x 10 W x 12 H. (All inches). I think that's all your questions, thank you so much!
Makayla.

 

[sweetiepie9]

You're going to have to separate them soon. If Norberta gets all the basking time, then Mufasa won't eat. So as soon as possible, They're always happier on their own. You need a UVB light, basking isn't enough. UVB is sunlight for them and necessary for them. So you should be getting an 18" Reptisun 10.0 and putting it inside the tank (check DIY section to ask how you do this.)

Read the care sheet to the right as well as the lighting article to get the right info, but they have to have UVB it's essential for growing strong bones and digesting properly.

How are you feeding them, together in the tank? It would be good for you to get some sort of feeding bin to feed them separately, so they both get alot of bugs. Their bugs should be dusted with calcium 5 meals a week, then vitamin/mineral powder for 2 meals a week, That's also essential, as they won't get calcium from their bugs or greens (which they probably aren't eating yet) and they won't get all the vit/min they need from their food either.

They also need baths every 2nd day for sure but for babies I suggest daily, 20 min warm baths. They can have their baths together as long as you supervise.h

It's really important that you get them into their own tanks, so they have their own space. I have 5 dragons, 1 yr old Castiel, 1 1/2 yr old Cierra & Nathaniel (brother and sister), Gabriel 4 1/2 and Leo 8 yrs old. They each have their own 40 gallon tank with basking/UVB lighting. They all get baths every 2nd or 3rd day and still get calcium and vit/min (I use liquids). They all get dubia roaches, or super worms or both, plus collard greens and squash.

You can get an Accurite temp guage with probe at any Walmart or such in the garden section, doesn't cost much & it will give a proper temp on the basking spot after 45 min.

Let me know how it goes with getting all this organized. Once it is, you just have to get a new UVB tube every 6 mo, the rest will be done! That's the only hard part is getting everything organized at the beginning.

Keep me posted, k?

 

[MufasasMomMakayla]

Alright, I've started a shopping list, lol!
I feed them separately with a bunch of crickets and let them eat their fill. I have calcium not vitamin powder. They actually eat their greens fairly regularly, and I've been doing baths most days, even though Norberta thinks it's the end of the world. There is a dollar per gallon sale going on, what size would you say would work for each of them? Thanks again, I will definitely keep you posted.
Makayla.

 

[sweetiepie9]

A UVB is important right now, too, but if you have extra $ I'd get 2 40 gallon breeders (they cost over $100 each) and they're going to be going into that one anyway soon. Then you won't have to get any more tanks. That would be it. Then you'd need a 24" UVB tube, like I said Reptisun 10.0 (check www.petmountain.com) or Arcadia 12% or 15% (you can get that at www.lightyourreptiles.com)

It's alot but it's necessary. They're ok to stay together for a little while longer but they need sunshine, absolutely, so you can start with a tube of 18" to fit in the 20 gallon tank. I have a friend who just put them on command hooks inside the tank underneath the tank top. It's essential. If you can't get UVB right away, make sure they're in sunshine for at least 2 - 1 hour romps (with shade, too). Don't know where you live, if it's sunny when you're home. You can put them in a cardboard box so they're in sun most of the time but also have a bit of shade, too. But you can start with www.petmountain.com if you live in the States, they have good prices for the Reptisun 10.0. The Arcadia tubes are a bit more expensive but last longer.

And yes, please keep me updated. You're going to find it very different when the UVB is in the tank, they're going to soak up that sunshine and even act differently.

 

[sweetiepie9]

You can get a temp gun at www.beautifudragons.com under Store. There's also a great list of foods for dragons, including plants and flowers.

And I"m so glad they're eating their greens already, that's wonderful!

 

[MufasasMomMakayla]

Sadly I don't have extra $, so I will have to focus on getting the lighting first and get the tanks soon after. Thank you for the size!! I will start doing "sun time" today, it's pretty hot and sunny right now. And yes, they especially love kale in their salad.
Makayla.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Please don't give them kale (it's always the best loved green, too) it binds calcium so the calcium doesn't absorb. It's ok once a week but better they eat collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens or baby bok choy (shanghai bok choy). That list I sent you www.beautifuldragons.com has a wonderful Nutriton list (it's over 6 pages long) that tells you what's best for a dragons. Best veggie is any type of squash.

 

[MufasasMomMakayla]

Thank you for the list, I did not realize that about the kale, I will stop giving it so often.
Makayla.

EDIT:
So we had some sunshine today and I was able to give them probably about an hour in it, plus a bath.

Sunshine time.

Norberta was funny, she was freaking out in the bath and then I slid a finger under her hand and she just sat there holding my hand. :-D

Mufasa chilling out in the bath.

They had some gorgeous pancakes while basking and while in the bath!

Drying off in the sun after being wet, Mufasa got grouchy at me for a bit when I got her out of the bath for some reason, it was rather funny, lol.
Makayla.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Sometimes just putting your finger in the bath for support is all they need. Glad that worked for Norberta. And so glad they got sunshine. I was told once that 1 hr of sunshine is like 3 hours under a UVB light. So keep that up as long as you can.

Check out the nutrition list, you'd be amazed at what they can eat. The main thing is no dairy, can't digest it. Otherwise, that list is colour coded to tell you how often they can have each thing. I've been referred back to it for a long time.

 

[MufasasMomMakayla]

Alrighty,
So we've been doing suntime whenever we can, its been rainy and cloudy lately so we've missed a few days, but they got an hour in today. And good news, I ordered the uvb light today! It should get here Tues. I've been adjusting salad with the list you gave me Deb, thanks again for that. I'll be getting the carnivore care and temp gun this week also hopefully. So we're doing good!! Sorry I don't have any pictures today, will take some this week though.
Makayla.

 

[sweetiepie9]

So I'm glad you're getting organized with the light. Now next step will be to get another set up for Norberta. They're ok being as they're fed separately and they're young but as soon as you can. What size tank do you have now? And was it the Reptisun 10.0 that you got for them?

Keep me updated as I love to follow how babies do I haven't had a baby in my house for over 6 years, all five of my dragons are adults, so it's wonderful to be able to watch your two grow up :love5:

 

[MufasasMomMakayla]

Yes, I am working on getting another setup, it's a work in progress, lol, but soon, hopefully. The tank atm is 20 L x 10 W x 12 H (inch) and I ordered an 18" Reptisun 10.0.
I definitely will keep you updated, aw, six years is a long time, I'm enjoying watching them grow up, though it's hard to believe they'll get really big soon.
Makayla.