New bearded dragon owner looking for advice

[Mattrg]

I have recently decided to buy my first bearded dragon I've owned stray anoles as a kid and currently own a tarantula but my knowledge of reptiles is limited. Anything helpful would be appreciated but I have a couple topics I'm havering trouble researching.
My first road block is deciding how to buy one. Though color and other cosmetic details are not as important to me as the overall health and personality of my beardie I would prefer to buy from a breeder then a pet store. The only problem is finding a breeder in my area since I've read that bearded dragons can get stressed and possibly harmed during shipping.
I have also decided to build its habitat to save money and since I've heard that wood keeps in heat better then glass So any tips on how to make it cheaper to build, easier to clean or safer/more comfortable would help.
I also have some questions about feeding. From what I've researched my plan is to keep some type of refridgeratable live food for variety and some veggies but I'm not sure how I'm gonna keep the crickets. I know beardies eat a lot and its supposed to be cheaper to buy them by the thousand. Does this mean I will need to buy a somewhat large terrarium just for crickets? I would also like to know how important dusting is as it seems like a hassle. Will it get enough vitamins if I only dust the live food I refrigerate and will most likely not feed it everyday?
Thank you for reading, any advice at all will be greatly appreciated

 

[Mattrg]

One more question. About substrate, can I use normal carpet scraps? My dad is a contractor and he throws the stuff away all the time. It would be clean pretty much straight off the roll, possibly stepped on a few times during measuring. This would really help me bring down the monthly costs and I know I've seen videos where people use some kind of carpet.

 

[Jaskotch]

I got my beardie from a breeder who shipped him to me. Handled by a knowledgeable breeder, shipping is not an issue - don't rule that approach out, because you'll have a much greater selection to choose from.
Just make sure you understand terms, and how they're going to ship (FedX or UPS is preferred).
I (as well as many others here) built my enclosure from plans that are available on the internet, and I couldn't be happier with it. http://www.freewebs.com/crossfireenclosures/
You could consider a sub-adult, they will not need to eat as many bugs as a baby- but yea, you'll still have to figure out some strategy there, all I can say is there are many, many options. Personally, I did crickets for only a couple of days, while I was waiting for dubias to arrive in the mail.
Normal carpet scraps, I would without even knowing why recommend against. The carpet you may have read about is reptile carpet- nothing like commercial carpet. Commercial carpet may have been treated with who knows what chemicals, that may outgas under the higher temperatures inside an enclosure, not to mention little toenails getting caught in carpet loops, etc. Now, if he throws away tile, that's another story!

 

[Brandonforty2]

You can get a sub-adult and not worry about too many insects. As long as it is at least 16 inches long, you can feed it superworms. You can also give dubias which are cleaner than nasty crickets. You can get a Rubbermaid container for crickets as well.

 

[Jaskotch]

yea, I gotta say, super worms are by far the most appreciated by Vincent, and the most convenient bugs for me to keep. But you have pretty much got to have a full grown lizard to feed them to. Until Vincent was big enough, he had dubias, which admittedly are super easy to keep, but unless you have a lot of reptiles, you'll quickly be overrun by them and they eat and drink a lot!

 

[Taterbug]

A baby is like a bottomless pit when fed appropriately. Older dragons are also more robust and not nearly as fragile as the little guys.

If you are up for it, dubias are great, I love my colony even though my dragon is boycotting them. Your T can eat them too superworms are well loved and easy to keep but higher in fat. Generally anything that can live a long time without eating or in the fridge will not be a healthy feeder for your dragon long term. 1000 crickets was one of the worst decisions I've ever made. Ok, that an exaggeration but I don't know how the other folks here manage it. They died, they stank and they infested my basement for what seemed like months.

Check around to see if there is a reptile show in your area. Breeders will be there to sell, and you might score a dubia colony as well. That said, reputable breeders usually don't have a problem with their shipped animals. The catch is you can't meet the dragon ahead of time if it gets shipped.

Home carpeting will likely be looped, and that will snag toes as already mentioned. Indoor/outdoor carpet may be closer to reptile carpet and not likely retreated with scotch guard or whatever, but carpet is kinda gross anyway IMHO. Tile or shelf liner is my favorite. The non adhesive liner is cheep, and lasts a long time. It also wipes up easily. Tile is more attractive and helps file down pointy little nails, but it don't like removing them to clean up under them every day.

Those plans are awesome. We used them for our cage, and used nice plywood so it's like a piece of furniture. It's a little more expensive to get nice wood, but it was worth it to me, you can use polyurethane (allow 2+ weeks to cure) for a lovely water proof seal.

 

[Brandonforty2]

A baby is like a bottomless pit when fed appropriately. Older dragons are also more robust and not nearly as fragile as the little guys.

If you are up for it, dubias are great, I love my colony even though my dragon is boycotting them. Your T can eat them too superworms are well loved and easy to keep but higher in fat. Generally anything that can live a long time without eating or in the fridge will not be a healthy feeder for your dragon long term. 1000 crickets was one of the worst decisions I've ever made. Ok, that an exaggeration but I don't know how the other folks here manage it. They died, they stank and they infested my basement for what seemed like months.

Crickets are nasty. I dealt with them for about a year. I didn't realize my beardie were ready for superworms. I now live in a smell free room with them.
When I first got my beardie, a cricket lived in the tank and became a chirping adult. It was annoying and I could never find it. I finally got it and never slept so well
Also, this is from experience but get one beardie. I love my two but we had to get another everything so we could separate them. We also burned through crickets like crazy with two.

 

[Taterbug]

the chirping... The horrible chirping. We were finding crickets climbing up the walls after we finally got rid of them. The fastest way to get a significant other to be ok with cockroaches is with 1000 crickets :3

I salute the cricket keepers in here, they are made of stuff I could never hope to be.

 

[Mattrg]

What kind of food would you recommend for an appartment? Will people in other apartments be able to hear the chirping? Keeping roaches sounds like a good alternative but will they get out and start a colony in the appartment building?

 

[Jaskotch]

well it sounds like everyone so far would not recommend crickets
roaches are the easiest, as long as you don't live in FL where they are illegal. may be other states, too, not sure. youtube has lots of illustrative videos on keeping and breeding dubias. they are not like the american cockroach- at all. they don't fly, they don't bite, they don't stink, they don't climb smooth vertical surfaces - they are very nutritious and have a high meat-to-shell ratio. in a nutshell, the perfect food. my only issue with them was that they liked my bin a little too much, and they were fruitful and multiplied. it did take several months for them to get to that point, so it's not something you have to worry about for quite awhile, it's just the reason why i finally gave my colony away. they just ate and drank toooooo much and my one beardie didn't want to eat them anymore. also, unlike super worms, they grow larger. The adults are big, and not quite as pleasant to handle as the nymphs. I had to get rid of quantities of big ones that grew too large for my beardie all the time. But I still would submit they would be the best to start with, at least for the first year of your beardie's life. fwiw
oh, and they cannot survive the cooler temperatures in most environments - so again, as long as you don't live in FL, the likelihood of them getting loose and establishing a foothold is remote. check out some youtube videos. you'll see, they're a breeze to keep.

 

[Taterbug]

They don't survive well in normal household conditions, unlike crickets who survive just fine. I keep my tub in the basement and escapees meet an untimely doom by exposure. Even the main floor of our house the end up belly up. In an apartment, no one will likely notice the chirps but you. Little dragons eat it tiny crickets, and older dragons it's best to order pre-wing since they last longer than mature adults. Only adults can chirp. It's that one or two crickets that forget out and grow to adults... you never find them again... But the chirping is there.

Dubia are illegal in Florida, but discoid roaches are not

 

[Mattrg]

Wow you have all been so helpful this forum is amazing hopefully I will be able to pay it forward soon. So I'm pretty set on these dubia roaches now but I have some more questions for anyone willing to give advice. I found a site that sells them by the pound. Would 3 pounds be enough to start a colony that could support a baby beardie after about 2 months? If not how many should i get. My Rubbermaid tote is about 12" w x 18" l x 16" tall, is a 6" by 8" repitherm u.t.h. Heating pad suitable for this? Is it safe to keep the heating pad on carpet? Can anyone recommend a good cheap thermostat? I'm thinking of getting one that I don't have to attach to a surface so I can use it for my roaches, tarantula, and beardie. Doesnt have to be fancy or look nice as long as its accurate. I know you are supposed to seperate the feeder nymphs from the adult breeders eventually, can I store some males in with the nymphs if I lose control of the ratio? Not too worried about overcrowding I figure I can use Craigslist and worst case scenario someone gets some free roaches and best case I get some spare cash. I know, I'm asking a lot. I dont expect Anyone to answer all of my questions but anything you can help me out with would be appreciated by me and my future beardie.

 

[Jaskotch]

depends on what you buy. if you get some adults in the mix, then in a couple of months you could be breeding, but then those babies have to grow out a little (they are tiny tiny)… i got mine by size, some guy on here sells them, check out the For Sale forum for that and other options. i can't stress enough though it does take MONTHS to get a breeding colony established and then more time to be producing the sizes appropriate for feeding. my timing may have been completely off, but the way it worked for me, i had to buy just about everything he ate, then i had just got in a new bunch of 500 and he went into brumation, and during the next few months, the colony got breeding and spread and you know the rest. so by the time i got a really strong breeding colony going, i didn't need it anymore! ended up giving it away, a lot of work and fair amount of $ in food and water down the drain. others may disagree, but if i had it to do over again, i wouldn't worry about getting the breeding going (which requires extra attention to heat as well as keeping sizes of roaches that you cannot feed to the beardie) and I would just buy what he needed to eat. Once you know what age and size of dragon you'll have, you'll have an idea of what he'll eat. mine ate quite a lot, but when he got to be 8 months he really slowed down. so all that effort just wasn't worth it. just my opinion and experience, of course… i'm sure in other situations, results may vary...