Need help

[debbyheppy]

Hello my name is Debby,we have just rescued a beautiful bearded dragon ,unfortunately we have no experiecne with reptiles at all, could somebody give us some advice on how many locusts a day he should be having ,he is approx 6 months old,and how many mealworms he should have, any help would be much appreciated, THANKYOU.

 

[vickson420]

Hello my name is Debby,we have just rescued a beautiful bearded dragon ,unfortunately we have no experiecne with reptiles at all, could somebody give us some advice on how many locusts a day he should be having ,he is approx 6 months old,and how many mealworms he should have, any help would be much appreciated, THANKYOU.

Hello and Welcome to the Forum.Congratulations on the new beardie.At this age Debbie the general rule of thumb is to allow the beardie to eat as many feeders as he would like in a 15 minute period 2xper day.I would not recommend using mealworms as a feeder at all however as they carry a very high rate of impaction and have very little nutritional value.A few other great feeders are phoenix worms,butterworms,silk worms,crickets,goliath worms,supers(if your beardie is over 16 inches only) and there a various roach species like dubia you can feed as well.Do you have vitamins to dust your feeders with?Any other questions?Also be sure to give a bowl of fresh greens daily.Here is a great link to all the veggies that are and are NOT suitable for your beardie.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

-Vicky

 

[duke11]

Hi Debby and welcome to BD.org! Have you given your dragon a name yet?

About the locusts, he should be getting as much as he can eat in 5-10 minutes I believe. He's getting older because he's 6 months. I would give him fresh salad every day to get him used to eating that. When they're adults, bearded dragons eat mostly vegetable matter. About 40% insects and 60% plant matter. Here's a great site that tells you about all the vegetables you can feed him: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html. Scroll down a little to find the big chart of veggies.

I would only recommend mealworms as a treat to be used in moderation because of their hard chitin shell and little nutritional value. I'd stick with the locusts as his main staple. You should also be dusting your insects with vitamin supplements. I get Repcal calcium and Repcal multivitamins, the pink and blue containers. On the first link I gave you there is a small chart at the top of the page that tells you how many times a week you should be dusting.

Also, what UVB light are you using? MVB, tube, coil, or compact? Include the brand and UVB percentage. (example: reptisun 10.0)
What is your basking temperature? (temperature reading right on top of his basking spot)
What is your cool side temperature? (temp reading on the side with no heat lamps)

Anyway, sorry about all the questions and good luck with him!

 

[debbyheppy]

thank you for the help,the links are also a real help as for the temperatures of the tank i am not sure at the moment ,i have no temperature gauge,i have him set up in a 3 foot tank which has been his home since tiny so i presume he must be happy as it stands at the moment.I am however having a custom made tank which will be 6ft x 1.5ft x1.5 ft,and i am unsure as to the size of tube and heater bulb i will need,any advise is so much appreciated thankyou .

 

[duke11]

Whoops sorry, didn't realize I posted the same info as vickson!

 

[vickson420]

thank you for the help,the links are also a real help as for the temperatures of the tank i am not sure at the moment ,i have no temperature gauge,i have him set up in a 3 foot tank which has been his home since tiny so i presume he must be happy as it stands at the moment.I am however having a custom made tank which will be 6ft x 1.5ft x1.5 ft,and i am unsure as to the size of tube and heater bulb i will need,any advise is so much appreciated thankyou .

Hello again
I strongly recommend you go out and get a digital thermometer with a probe.Do not get a stick on guage or dial as you really need to make sure your measuring the basking SURFACE temp which should be anywhere from 95F-110F.It is of utmost importance,if the temps are too low he will be unable to digest his food and become impacted.If they are too high he will become dehydrated and avoid his basking area and this could be serious.Its terriffic that your getting him such a nice enclosure,as to the size of the bulbs basically you want the UVB tube(which should be a reptiSUN 10.0 if at all possible) to cover 3/4 of the tank so ideally 48 inches of coverage however if you cannot manage this then you could get away with 36 inches just make sure his basking area can get him to within 6-8 inches of the tube.As for the heat bulb this is going to be a trial an error scenario as there is no set bulb wattage because external elements apply as well.You do not need to go crazy and spend a fortune on expensive reptibulbs.Any ordinary household or flood bulb will do as long as it is bright white light and reaches the desired temps.Be sure to allow the probe to rest directly on the basking surface for at least 45 minuts and check it several times through out the day until the desired temperature is achieved.

-Vicky

thank you for the help,the links are also a real help as for the temperatures of the tank i am not sure at the moment ,i have no temperature gauge,i have him set up in a 3 foot tank which has been his home since tiny so i presume he must be happy as it stands at the moment.I am however having a custom made tank which will be 6ft x 1.5ft x1.5 ft,and i am unsure as to the size of tube and heater bulb i will need,any advise is so much appreciated thankyou .

No worries there,multiple sources is good reinforcement :mrgreen:

 

[zebraflavencs]

Hi Debbie ! Welcome to the Family !
I would also like to add that in that size viv, the current as well as the custom, you can use an Arcadia 12% that is available in the UK, if I am reading correctly, if not disregard that advice. Here is that link:
http://www.shelledwarriorsshop.co.uk/arcadia-d3-reptile-tube-12-353-p.asp

However what is also available are Mercury Vapor Bulbs. These offer heat as well as UVB, which in conjunction with calcium (without D3) helps your dragon be healthy, have bright colors, and full of energy !
Here is a link to check out :
http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-sb-100-watt-flood-low-lamp.php

You also have several choices for feeders in the Uk ( again making this assumption) the Locust, woodies, black crix,and phoenix worms, as staples for the dragons' diet.

here is a link that offers several types of feeders as well as treat feeders, and yes they ship to the UK.
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/

Hope this helps !
Janie.

 

[vickson420]

Oh Yes absolutely the Arcadia is a fantastic bulb.I didnt realize you were in the UK.Also my all time favorites are MVB bulbs so sorry for not mentioning those.Thank you for the back up Janie :wink:

 

[duke11]

I'm a fan of the temp gun. They're a lot easier than digital w/probe thermometers because Duke would always knock his probe down.

 

[debbyheppy]

thanks to you all for the help,the 6ftx18inx20in vivarium is almost built and looking quite good now ,taken on board all the advice that you have given me,just 1 last thing i need to know,do i buy a new heat mat or is there some sort of lighting that could be used,if so what are the pro's and cons.
repti-glow 10.0x 15 18ins in the 3 foot tank
60watts heat bulb(household)
and a heat mat
hotspot of tank is 105 and cool 75
all help and suggestions welcome,
once again thanks for all the help

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Hello and Welcome!!

 

[vickson420]

Glad to hear its coming along.Actually I dont ever recommend using a heat mat or heat rock of any kind with beardies.It can actually be a danger for them as they measure the temps from their parietal eye(aka third eye)which is located at the top of their head.A beardie will not know its overheating or being burned if the source is coming from underneath until its too late.I would just up the wattage of the heat bulb if needed.

 

[debbyheppy]

what about through the night? :?:

 

[vickson420]

what about through the night? :?:

As long as temps dont fall below 65F then there is no heat required.If they do fall below that you can invest in a ceramic heat emitter.

 

[duke11]

When I first got Duke, he had a heat pad. This was before I came here. If you feel it, it is so hot. I almost burned myself!