New baby bearded dragon owner, Help!

[Cjbranham]

I am also a new bearded dragon owner, I was hoping for some informative tips regarding my new baby bearded dragon. His name is spartacus, around 6 inches long including tail. I currently have him in a 10 gallon tank, which was the desert starter kit, I will upgrade within a month or two, the basking tempature is 98-100 degrees Fahrenheit, the over side is around 80-85.
Feeding- I was dumping about 10 crickets in at a time but it's difficult to monitor his eating that way, so what I do now is feed him as many crickets as he will eat within 20 minutes in the morning after his lights have been on for about an hour-2 hours, Also, I feed him the same way at around 4-5 and 8-9 then lights off around 12 giving him time to digest the food, I also have a little bowl in his home filled with cut up carrots, greens, small amounts of straw berries and blue berries, occasionally I'll also feed him half a meal worm, and every other day I dust the crickets and salad bowl with a calcium supplement
Landscaping-I currently have the tan carpet on the bottom of the tank because I heard sand can cause impaction, from this information, am I doing everything right? Another note: I replace the water and veggie bowl every morning, and he also has easy access for a basking point and a hollow rock that he can go in for shelter and I'm using a 10.0 UVB light for about 12-13 hours a day, am I doing everything right?

 

[munchkins9802]

Hi there! What type of greens do you offer him?
Also, what is the UVB bulb you gave him? A 10 gallon tank really wont work more than a few weeks for him. Does he also have a basking (bright white light) next to the UVB. If you have the desert 50 series or any desert UVB bulb, you really want to replace it with the reptiSUN 10.0 (NOT GLO!!!!) , best price at http: petmountain.com


FOR CALCIUM- every other day is NOT enough. His feeders should be dusted 1x/day for 5 days with Calcium and 2 days a week with Vitamins

At his age, avoid mealworms, they are a major cause of impaction in young beardies. What type of substrate (I cant remember if you mentioned it) is on the bottom of his cage?

 

[Cjbranham]

I offer him lettuce right now, I know they hold no nutritional value but im unaware of of what types to get
The UVB is the 10.0 reptisun, I got it at pet smart, also I'm using a 75w light, it was recommended by the workers at petsmart
And ok I'll dust the crickets once a day for 5 days
And the layout on the bottom is the reptile carpet you can buy at pet stores

 

[Esther19]

This is a great source for feeding: http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[Cjbranham]

Thanks if you don't mind, I desperately need a diet plan, can someone tell me exactly what greens and veggies I should mix, and how often I should serve that to him an Im using calcium supplement with vitamin d3 is that ok? Plz give me a diet plan

 

[Claudiusx]

That site you got linked to tells you all the best veggies to feed.

You should be offering salad every day.

How old is your dragon?

-Brandon

 

[Esther19]

Collard and mustard greens are available in my area. I make mine a salad daily and spritz it with water. The salad is available to them all day. I also add a but of shredded squash (acorn or butternut) or carrots a couple times per week. You will have to see what is available where you live. The greens that are listed in green type on the list are best. Hope this helps.

 

[mistyf]

Can you double check the name of your uvb? I've never seen the reptiSUN at PetSmart, and I work there. You may have the reptiGLO, and it is not good for your beardie.

 

[munchkins9802]

I am with Misty--the only repti sun that our petsmart sells is the coil one. And even if recommended by petsmart staff, usually they have no clue. They will tell you it is okay ot put babies on sand , that they only need calcium every 2-3 ays/ Yes the one with D3 is the one you want for calcium UNLESS you have a MVB bubl.
As for greens--regular lettuce can actually give them diarrhea which is very hard on a beardie. Other ones are collards, mustard greens, dandelion greens. Go to the website mentioned above and hit the nutritionalvalue button--it will tell you what is safe to give your beardie all the time, sometime, rarely and NEver.

 

[Terrbear903]

How are you measuring your temperatures and humidity? I use both the dials you stick on the wall and a laser temperature gun. The dial on the side of the tank gives you a general idea of the temp. but used mostly for the humidity. Laser temperature gives you specific temp. Humidity between 30 and 40%. I'm no expert but when I raised my baby the temperature on the basking site were between 100 and 104°F. Temperatures fluctuate during the day and the night so I check temperatures frequently using the infrared thermal gun. I hope somebody on here talk to you about bathing your beardie. I did it for couple minutes every morning to potty train, but I admit that might have been too often.

 

[munchkins9802]

Just be wary of the stick on ones--even for humidity--they are often off by several degrees

 

[Claudiusx]

Just be wary of the stick on ones--even for humidity--they are often off by several degrees

40 degrees off in some cases :mrgreen:

-Brandon