need beardie advice

[jreed]

i am a new proud papa to two perfect little guys my kids and i have falling head over heals in love with are boys(not sure what there sex is yet but named them jay and silent bob)anyway i have read a butt load of books on them as well as many hours online i did have both in same tank until today when bob started nipping at jay so i split them up they just started eating greens about two weeks ago and seem to be active and growing but do have some questions 1 my boys are about 10inchs long can anyone tell me about how old they are(i got them from a pet store and they couldn't give me any info and what they did was not all right info i learned later) 2 i don't have any problem with keeping good temps but humidity is running around 50% sometimes as high as 70% and i cant get it to come down i live in Oregon so its always wet here i don't have a water bowl i use newspaper in the bottom of tank with a wood top with large screened holes 3 and last but by far not least my baby jay when he poohs it is formed but has a lot of liquid with it there is the white chalky part with it but there is a lot of liquid with it as i said before both the boys are active and growing fast and he seems OK but i am worried any one have some advise?

 

[Buggsy]

ok for 1) sorry we cant really. As the husbandry greatly effects their growth they could be big 3 month olds, or really small 9 month olds! Theres no real way to tell, esp if you dont know what the husbandry has been like!

2)You may need to increase the ventilation a bit more, if it a wood top does it have sliding doors? If so just open them a little at the cool end (youll need to put some card over the bottom half or you'll have an escapee!! What is the humidity of the room they are in atm??

3)It could just mean he is really hydrated, but have you had them checked for paratites etc?? Its simple enough if you take a poop sample down to the vet!

Also most pet shops dont offer the best advice, and the books are really outdated, so do you mind if i just check a few things??
what size tanks are the in?
What substrate are you using?
What UVB are you using?
What are the temps
How are you measuring them?

Cheers!

 

[jreed]

my tank is a homemade one it 17inch deep 36inch long and 19inch tall glass on four sides metal bottom the wood top has a door on hinges on each side that have most of the wood cut out and screened (this is per boy)(the tank is 73inch split in half by a piece of wood)i am planning on building a new viv for them as soon as i have time/cash i have indoor/outdoor carpet for base substrate with newspaper over the top im useing a tube uvb light i believe it is a 10 but might be .05 but i know they are both 20inch long one on each side as for temps hot side between 95-105 and cool side 85-75 degrees f i measured from nose to tip of tail.
THANK YOU FOR ANY AND ALL HELP/ADVISE
never thought we would adore them this much and want to make sure we are doing all we can for them

 

[Buggsy]

Ok so its a 10, or 5, what brand? ReptiSUn, reptiGlo etc, this should be printed on the bulb. Also is in mounted under the screen, as these can filter out 30% of the UVB.

Its a decent size for now, but good your already planning ahead!

Also for babies you want that temp higher, 105-110 basking temp.

 

[jreed]

i will check on bulb type as soon as i am home at work now and yes it is on top of the screen but will mount it inside as soon as i am home
keep the advise coming please want the best for my boys
ps i will be making adjustments to temps asap

 

[jreed]

ok my uvb lights are zilla desert 50 t8 fluorescent bulbs 18inchs long
keep the advise coming i want my boys to have the best

 

[Buggsy]

Right ok, the zilla series are not good bulbs, and this will be affecting them. Turn the off asap. You need to get the reptiSUN 10, www.petmountain.com has them very cheap, as they are in the same tank with a divider you can get a long one to go over both sections or just buy two again!

Once this has been changed you should see a really big difference in their activity and appitite!

 

[jreed]

thank you for info i will get those turned off asap do you know if the reptisun bulb will fit in the fixtures i have 18in slim and what about the reptisun compact bulb are they good to use or should i stick with the tubes ?
side note getting another member to the clan tomorrow she is a rescue from some people that thought it would be cool to have a little one til they found out that you have to take care of them she is going in my 20g long for a few till i can get new viv built this weekend

 

[Buggsy]

whats the width of the slimline, reptiSUNs are 1" wide, so any fixture, even one from a home improvement store will be fine!

Stay away from any and all compacts, they are worse than what you have now!

Glad your recusing him, but make sure he has all the same 'new' lights!

 

[jreed]

thank you so much for the help and i will for sure be getting new lights for all i just dont understand how someone cant fall totally in love with these guys they make me smile everyday thanks again