ajdelaney10":uzi7of4h said:2. I will be having student hold him, but since they sleep during the day, Just to add, Beardies aren't nocturnal creatures, they are very much diurnal. I’m worried about reaching in to pick him up for kids to hold, and wake him while he’s sleeping. How do i know if he’s sleeping and when not to pick him up? How long does he sleep? He seems to be sitting on his decoration cactus most of the day (which is on the opposite side of the tank as he heat lamp, which is another reason I’m worried it’s too hot over there) I just got him today! So when I say I’m new, I’m really new! Well welcome to the wonderful world of dragons! View media item 60810 Cisco says Hello.
3. Lastly, I heard they hibernate? How do I know when he needs to and does he do it automatically or do I need to know when to turn off heat lamps and try and hint to him it’s time to hibernate? I Wouldn't try to push it, just let him do it when he feels it's natural to brumate.
Sorry, these are all probably dumb questions, but I just want to make sure I am doing everything right so he’s well cared for!!! That's good.They are very high maintenance animals who will deserve a lot of attention, but they will be worth it.
Thank you in advance!!!
I Agree, Feel free to ask any questions, we all love to help!SydneyGaia":2bx9tp8q said:Hey, I'm a STEM teacher in PA!
Anyway, most of that kit that PetCo sells should be discarded. Pretty much none of it is suitable for a beardie - even the enclosure is much too small. An adult beardie should be in a 4'x2'x2' enclosure.
As for temps: 95-105 in the basking spot (can be more 110 for a baby)
85-90 on the warm side
low 80s on the cool side
^ This is all during the day
Babys should be eating dozens (3-6+ per day, divided, realistically) of small crickets or dubia roaches 2-3x/day, along with daily fresh veggies and a few soaks per week. The food should be able to fit between their eyes to avoid impaction.
Beardies are diurnal, meaning that they sleep at night and are awake during the day, so no worries there.
UVB is EXTREMELY important for beardies, or they can develop metabolic bone disease - you also want to dust crickets in calcium & Vit D powder, and then a few a week in Herptivite powder (multivitamin).
Take a fecal to a vet so that you can get rid of any parasites or bacterias in their stool.
Brumation (reptilian form of hibernation) usually does not occur every year, and many argue should not occur in captivity (definitely should not be encouraged, at least). The reason brumation occurs in the wild is because food becomes more scarce during the winter and days become shorter -- those are two things that are not really the case when in captivity. So, by keeping the feedings and temps up, your students can enjoy the beardie's antics even in the middle of the winter.
Unless if the ambient temp in the terrarium drops below 65 at night, you do not need to heat the beardie at night. Any red light is also a no-go for beardies, as are heat pads and heat rocks (beardies cannot feel heat with their bellies to regulate themselves on heat rocks, which can result in severe burns). IF you must heat the terrarium at night, use a ceramic heat emitter that does not produce any light.
You can order a mega-ray MVB online and have both heat and UVB in one bulb, or have a basking bulb along with a reptisun 10.0 florescent tube UVB bulb (long tube, coil bulbs are no good).
If you do not have a thermostat (see below), at least by a timer for your lighting so that it is consistent. Give 14 hrs of light/day right now.
As long as you are not using an MVB, you can look into buying a thermostat to make life easier: http://www.mybeardeddragons.co.uk/thermostats.html - I have always been a Mega-Ray MVB guy, but will be switching to a reptisun 10.0 and incandescent heat bulb in a month once my teaching pay checks start back up, so that I can buy a thermostat.
Here is a very basic care sheet (there is a better one on her, but I need to find the bookmark): https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/caresheet/
Do not trust the care sheets from PetCo or PetSmart... do not trust them generally when it comes to beardie care... to be honest
Here is a food guide: http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html
Welcome to the beardie world - they are wonderful animals. I just had one pass after 11 years and am currently raising a new 7 month old one.
There are many more questions left to be asked and answered - shoot away!
ajdelaney10":1tuqfc68 said:2. I will be having student hold him...
ajdelaney10":2bo4bk0o said:Thank you again for all the great advice! And how
cool there’s another STEM teacher in this group!!!
It’s been 3 days now and I have a few more questions if that’s ok!
1. I just read I’m supposed to bathe my beardie (I’m thinking now that’s what you meant by a “soak” lol) and now I’m panicking because I’ve had him 3 days and he hasn’t had a bath, BUT, I was also told not to take him out and start handling him yet, to give him a week or so to get used to his new environment...SO, if I’m not supposed to handle him, should I wait a week to start bathing him?
2. How often should I be bathing him? He’s still a baby, less than a year for sure, probably less than 6 months.
3. I notice he seems confused, trying to climb out of his tank at night when the lights are lower because the glass looks like a mirror so he sees his reflection, like he’s trying to go through the glass. I am going tomorrow to buy a desert background/cling so that won’t be as prominent, but will that then traumatize him again, and therefore will need another week before handing him so he can get used to the new background now? I’m probably overthinking things...new Mom syndrome I guess lol!!
My daughters (10&12yo) are soooooooo in love...they’re begging me not to take him to my classroom in 2 weeks!!! It’s breaking my heart! Well maybe Santa will just have to bring them their own beardie for Christmas!!!
Thank you, again, in advance, for your time!!!
Honestly, the bio teacher at my school has two beardies in her room and does not leave them at the school. Same with the bio teacher at my past school - he never left his water dragon at the school. Dual homes is smart for reptiles in the classroom.Xanelic":1lfjmjdk said:I agree with sydney but of course, ceramic heat emitters exist and you can put one up if it gets too cold. Should only bring the beardie home when there is NO ONE at the school at all (weather problems, holidays, etc etc
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