My little Beardie

[WyattsDragon]

Quick question? I recently bought a baby dragon and am still trying to make sure its comfy (that I have everything set up right) When I purchased him, the store sold me on getting a desert critter setup. So naturally I did. They sold me a 10L which Im going to upsize real quick. I have repti-carpet, a large basking rock cave, a tree thing'a ma jig. I have a 100 watt basking spot lamp and a mini reptile fixture which holds two 50 UVB fluorescent bulbs which has been keeping the temp at 110 degrees. I shut the lamps off at night and turn on the 50w Zilla black light that came with the starter kit. Recently Ive noticed my baby dragon (7inches long) sitting under the basking lamp with its mouth slightly open looking almost as panting? Its in and out of the water dish several times a day, it was just odd.
Also, Ive tried different foods and am not sold on a certin one yet, any suggestiong on what I should be feeding?
Thanks for your help!

 

[jjh1]

You dont need the black light on at night Beardies need to sleep.
I have a hammocks for both my vivs that my beardies sleep in at night made them out of baby blankets.
I also put towels around their vivs to keep the light out when my hubby is watching tv at night so they have a restful sleep.
All my lights are on a timer system, lights on at 8am lights off 8pm so they get the full amount of sleep.
The panting is that he/she is regulating their core temp meaning that they are to hot maybe.
Mine does that when she is to hot.

I feed my baby I have a 1 year old Male and a 9 month old female....
Cilantro,parsley, kale, arugala,squash,carrots,collard greens, mustard greens, I always switch it up with the veggies so they dont get tried of the same old thing.

For live food they get superworms ( We call them kingworms here) Silk worms as a treat, crixs my babies eat 50 btw the 2 every other day, I switch between the superworms and crix. all are gut loaded with vitamins and calicum and then calcium with D3 every 2nd friday.

I also give them acidophiliz 2 times aweek, and when striker my male decided nothing is good enough he gets syringed baby food usually sweetpotatoe or some banana with mixed berries and they are organic thats what I use some liquid calcium berry flavoured for him.

Athena opens her mouth so she eats anything that I put in front of her.

Hope this helps you
Joanne

 

[Kaiser]

What kind of UVB bulbs do you have (type and brand)? Also, what are the temperatures in your terrarium? You should have a temperature gradient available: one cool side (approximately 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit), one warm side (approximately 85-95 degrees Fahrenheit), and a basking area/spot on the warm side that gets up to approximately 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit (surface temperature-wise). If the whole terrarium is 110 degrees Fahrenheit, it is much too hot for your bearded dragon, which can lead to dehydration (which is a common problem in young bearded dragons). Also, how are you measuring your temperatures (ie. stick-on thermometers, digital temperature probe, temperature gun, etc.)?

The open mouth is a process of releasing heat, much like panting. It's called "gaping." It happens sometimes, but if you notice it happening regularly, that could be a sign that your terrarium is much too hot.

Also, I would get rid of the black light, as that could disturb your bearded dragon's sleep. If you need heat at night (bearded dragons can withstand temperatures as low as 65 degrees Fahrenheit at night, but optimally, should sleep at 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit), I would suggest investing in a ceramic heat emitter (CHE), which produces heat but no visible light.

Here is a good website for a list of things you can try to feed (as well as things you should not feed): http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html. Otherwise, I would personally recommend black soldier fly larvae (under the brand names of "Reptiworms" or "Phoenix Worms") as a staple live feeder. High nutritional content, excellent calciumhosphorous ratio, extremely easy to care for, no noise, with little to no smell. The only downside is they're a bit costly, and the sizes are relatively small, meaning your bearded dragon will have to consume a lot of them in order to be satiated. Other than that, I have heard (though I have no personal experience with them) that dubia roaches are one of the best staple and breedable staple live feeders available.