New beardie dragon owner need some help

[verena]

Hello everyone,
I just bought a baby beardie dragon this weekend and I need lots of help..I want to make sure that I am not hurting by beardie, due to lack of information..Let me tell you about Lola (that's its name,don't know gender though)..Lola is about 5 - 6 inches long and she is housed in a ten gallon reptile tank...(I have a 20 gallon tank, but at the pet store they told that it was too big right now for Lola). I bought a 75 watt basking light (reptiglo) and a Zilla combo/dome and placed them next to each other from left to right. I have a digital thermometer with probe in the basking area it reads 99F. The hydrometer is placed in the middle of the back glass and it reads 20%. I placed another thermometer at the opposite end from the basking spot and it is a little above 80F. I have a half log placed under the basking light with a branch on top of it, in an incline. The distance from the basking light to the top of the branch is about 6 inches. The distance from the dome to the branch is about 8-9 inches. The substrate is reptile carpet. I am feeding Lola gut-loaded crickets. She is eating about 6 a day...I also put fresh vegetables, but she does not seem to want them..There is a shallow bowl with water and I mist her a couple of times in the day.
I have read many posts and I want to make sure that the lights are appropriate and are not hurting her eyes..I also want to know if she is eating enough. I noticed today that she is not moving around too much and prefers to stays in the cove between the angled branch and the top of the half log..is this normal? I've read that they are diurnal animals..I am sorry if I am overwhelming you with information, but I really want to give Lola the best care possible, regardless of the expense. Please help.
Verena

 

[zebraflavencs]

Could you answer a few questions so we can help you with your new pet(Owner) ?
Do you have a UVB, what kind ?
What substrate are you using ?
What are you feeding ? How often ?
Do you feed greens ? What kind ?
DO you use calcium and does it have D3 ?


That being asked, ignore the ps salesperson and go ahead and move Lola into the 20. A 10 gal is really hard to maintain temps, little or no temp gradient.
For foods use this list for a happy, healthy dragon:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.c ... ition.html
You have most likely a 4-5 week old dragon.
That said, salad first thing after lights on, 2 hours later, calciumed feeder insects, 2 hours later, feeder insects, 2 hours later, last feeding. Make sure that you let Lola bask for at least 2 hours after last feeding of insects before lights out, as basking helps digestion.
Length of insects should be less than the distance between Lolas' eyes.
3-4 baths a week, help hydrate, water temps 90-100*F, level with shoulder, anus under water. Baths should be totally supervised.
Janie.

 

[VEGASLIZARD]

You may want to return the Zilla combo dome. There was a recall on that light a year ago and there is no guarantee that there are not bad lights still sitting on shelves to be bought. For a 20 gallon tank the Repti-Sun 10.0 fluorescent is what is recommended by most people on here. It is a long florecent tube. Stay away from compact and coil uv bulbs. You may want to start saving and planning now for a larger tank and the lighting that will require because your little baby will outgrow the 20 gallon by the time they are 6 mo old. A 55 gal minimum is suggested although a lot of people on here are fond of the 4x2x2 size. I believe that is about a 120 gal beardie mansion. There are plans for that size cage I believe called a cross fire on the DIY thread if you or someone you know are handy you can save a lot of money. Congratulations on your new baby...You are on your way to becoming one of many happy beardie slaves.
P.S. try bribing her to eat salad by putting some junk food in there like wax worms that they go nuts for. The movement of the worms in the salad should peak her interest. When she goes to get the worms she will also get some veggies and then will probably start to eat them by herself after several days of that.

 

[verena]

Thank you so much for all the support,
I will change her today to the bigger tank, and I am going to return the light and buy the reptisun one. Thanks. again.