New Bearded Dragon Owner... Overall health question

[KeeperKelsey]

Hey guys I am brand new here so I hope i am doing this forum thing correctly...

I just got a bearded dragon on Thursday from an owner on Craigslist who no longer wanted him. His name is Spike and is about 10/11 months old according to the previous owner. He seems pretty healthy active and alert. I am just a little concerned because they said they would only turn on his UVB light 15 mins a day. I have been keeping it on all day along with his basking light. That is what you are supposed to do right? His basking area gets around 105 sometimes 110 if its warm outside (I live in San Diego) his cage temp is around 85

Also he is about 16/17in long. Is this a good size? I have been feeding him crickets, roaches, and superworms along with some greens. His previous owners only fed him crickets. He seems to like anything but I am still confused on how much to feed him. Usually i put greens in his cage in the morning before I go to work and then when I come home I'll feed him bugs. Yesterday he ate like 10 superworms and 6 Roaches. Is this too much, too little?

Sorry for the long post and all the questions but thanks in advance for the advice! Just trying to figure out what this cute little reptile needs!

Thanks,

Kelsey and Spike

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm glad to hear you're able to give him a good home. Living in San Diego, you have the advantage of being able to provide natural sunlight for him. Nothing we provide artificially can compete with good natural sunlight so I'd bring him outside for a little while each day so he can soak up some real rays. That will benefit his health greatly.

What was the thinking behind only 15 min per day with UVB? Seems odd. I would keep the UVB light on for most of the day at least. It's OK to set it to a timer along with the basking light and just keep them in sync if you'd like. If the UVB light came with him, I'd get a new one. They degrade over time and who knows how long this one has been in use. Better to just start fresh. What are the dimensions of his enclosure? I'll be glad to help you find a good one that will be a good match to the tank.

I'd try raising the basking light a little bit. Shoot for 100-105 in the basking area with some 90s around that and a cool side of about 75-80 if you can. A nice gradient like that will allow him to move around and self regulate. The UVB light should be mounted over on the basking side so there is a gradient with that as well.

It sounds like he's a good size and it's a good sign that he's active and hungry. I like that you're offering him a nice variety. He's at an age when he should start transitioning to mainly veges so it's also good that you're putting the salads out first so he can dig into those before bugs. 1 feeding of bugs per day is fine at this point. Just let him have what he wants in a 10 minute span or so. Over the next 6 months or so I'd start dialing that back to every other day and then every few days while still offering nice big salads every day. When he's fully grown, veges should account for around 80% of his overall diet. I like to rotate what I offer in salads depending on what's fresh at the store each week. I reference this list when I put salads together. Usually 2-3 items per salad. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[KeeperKelsey]

Thanks so much for the detailed response! We are actually basking in the sunlight right now. He loves it. He's in a 20 gallon tank right now. I was thinking of moving him to a 40 gallon soon but maybe I might try to build one out of wood for him. We'll see how that goes. And yeah I bough a light fixture to put on his back cage so I'm going to get a new ubb for it soon. Maybe order a reptisun online. I am not sure what the best one is.

Also update. Today I got home from work early and fed him like 7 crickets outside his tank as I usually do. During chasing one he stopped to poop. His poop was pretty runny and foul and had some pieces of superworms in there. He pooped Friday and it was a bit runny too. No poop Saturday and Sunday I put him in the bath with warm water and he pooped instantly. It was a bit more solid yesterday but could see some pieces of collard greens. I though at first maybe the diarrhea was just from being a bit stressed in a new home but again he's hungry and active so no weird behaviors. Just runny poo. Maybe I shuld feed him less superworms?

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Has he been pretty consistent with his poop like that? (I can't really answer anything based off this, but it might help others help you)
And I would try to get him a bigger tank as soon as you can if possible. 20 is absolutely diminutive for a dragon his size. 40 is still quite a bit small for him. A good recommended minimum for a dragon his size would be about 50-75, but the bigger that you can do, the better.
I have actually made a tank a couple of weeks ago for my Beardie, so if you are looking into making one, you can try the guide I used.
My tank thread: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=222061
the guide: https://beardies.dreamwidth.org/2145.html
It took a few days or so of actual building for us, but you could get it done in a day and let it all dry overnight.

 

[KeeperKelsey]

Yeah his poop has been like that since about Thurs/Fri.But I've only had him since Thursday evening. He still seems okay. Alert and active. He was outside in the real sun and then back in his cage. He moves between the warm and cold side. The warm side is around 105 right now and the cool side is about 83.

Thanks for the enclosure building site! That looks like a good reference. I just don't have any tools except hammer and nails. I am hoping that Home Depot can cut all the wood for me and maybe I can just get a nail gun or something. Maybe I can rent some tools. I know his cage is pretty small. The previous owner just sold me everything including him for 150$ so I thought it was a pretty good deal. Except now I think I need to get a new cage anyway and new UVB light. I added more things to his cage like some wood and rocks I got from the gardening section in home depot. He seems to really like it. More basking areas and places to hide under

I guess I can just wait a few days and see how his poop is. Maybe too many super worms. I am thinking about getting more Roaches but they kind of freak me out. lol and i still can't believe I am paying money for roaches. Roaches! lol :shock:

 

[Rampagingraptor]

I would go dubia roaches then. They are much less gross than other roaches.
Home depot should cut up the big portions, but won't do the smaller stuff. If you don't have much knowledge with building stuff, I would try to find someone you know who is able to help you.
You can also ask around here for help. I can offer suggestions as I did all of this with my dad. Be aware that it can take a while to finish.
Have you taken him to the vet yet? You should when you get the chance, especially for a beardie that wasn't cared for right. You can take a stool sample too to get tested. It costs extra, about 50 for me, but it's for his health. Make sure to find a vet that does exotics animals like bearded dragons.
Edited cause phone is stupid.

 

[KeeperKelsey]

Ok yeah thanks.

Spike's poop was runny again today but he's still active and hungry. He ate like 14 crickets today and I gave him 5 superworms. No worms yesterday. His basking light broke so I got him a new one. 75w from Home Depot that is used to heat plants. It makes his warmside 95-100 instead of 115-120 as it was before. I think h liked it. He doesn't open his mouth as much now.

He eats some greens but not a lot. Just some in the morning before I give him bugs in the evening. I hope is poop is just weird from stress and that he doesn't have any parasites ?

I'm looking into building him an enclosure this weekend. I hope it happens.

Also do you guys know a good place to order dubias roaches and or Phoenix worms at a decent price? I feel like these would be good staples. I think he's a good size but after looking at some pics I feel he is a little skinny for 11 months. I wanted to post a pic on here but I have no idea how to ?

 

[Rampagingraptor]

To post a picture, you upload it here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/#new
then you click the XIMG button when you go to make a post.
Phoenixworms.com, Dubiaroaches.com, and ABDragons are where I get most of my roaches and worms. They are all pretty good (I have only just ordered from PhoenixWorms, but I have had heard good things about it.) and I have had very few dead from them. It depends on where you live for how fast it will ship, but with the weather warming up, this isn't as much of an issue.

 

[KeeperKelsey]

Oh thanks. This is spike. I hope he's a good size and that you can see the pic. This is him basking in the sun yesterday

 

[KeeperKelsey]

Here's a another pic. Do you think he's too skinny or he's alright?

Sorry for so many random questions I just have had him for only 4 days but still not sure if he's all up to par. I think his previous owners took good care of him. Fed him crickets and kale. Now I feed him more variety.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Don't worry about asking too many questions. That's what the forum is here for!
He looks gorgeous!
He isn't too thin from the looks of it.