New Beardie owner and baby beardie!

[hermansmama]

haha! I hear him say things like that all the time that and, "you think I'm getting in THERE?!" (first bath) or whistling the mission impossible theme song as he makes a break for it off my lap through a maze of boxes ready for a yard sale, lol.

 

[FaaFaa]

I'm so glad that I'm not the only one... :lol: :lol: They really are amazing creatures aren't they?

 

[hermansmama]

I'm so addicted, and I haven't even had him for two weeks! The day I brought him home I was telling my boyfriend we should get another one, lol. He's a little bugger, that's for sure (Herman, not the bf...well...maybe him too ) he won't eat his veggies when I'm watching him, and unless he's super hungry, when I give him crickets, he just stares at me like I'm supposed to leave him to his buisness! I gave him a bath yesterday, and if I was looking at him he held still, but as soon as I'd look away there he went skittering across the floor leaving a wet trail to find him! I hope that he ends up enjoying being held and taking baths--right now I'm not so sure he wants me around at all!

 

[FaaFaa]

He's just a little guy, he'll settle in for you. Just keep working with him. It sounds like he's gonna keep you busy!

 

[hermansmama]

My boyfriend's parents just met him last night for the first time. His dad wanted nothing to do with him, but his mom scratched under his chin He behaved like a little gentleman, and didn't even try to scamper away!

I think I'm going to have to move up to a higher wattage bulb again and it's making me wonder what I'm going to do when I move him to his big tank! It goes to about 103, but that's still a bit on the cool side for babies from what I'm reading and what you said (up to 110), but it gets there sooo slowly in the morning that I'm worried he's not warm enough to digest his first meal in the morning.

 

[FaaFaa]

Maybe double check that you have the probe directly under your heat source and see what happens. When you move him into his big boy viv you may want to go with the MVB that I was telling you about before. I have a viv that is 4x2x2 and the Mega-Ray MVB and I never have to worry about Chaos's temps. His basking side stays right at about 100-102 (which is good for his age) and the cool side hovers right around 80. They are nice bulbs because it gives them everything so you only need 1 fixture and these bulbs only need to be replaced every 12 months. I have also used the T-Rex Active Heat MVB, which I actually like a little better than the Mega-Ray. You should look into them. Mega-Ray has their own websitehttp://www.reptileuv.com/ and the T-Rex is sold on a few different websites if I remember correctly.

You were talking about your boyfriends parents meeting him, and I have to say that men really do seem to be the ones who shy away. I always thought that it would be the ladies, funny huh? I have a tarantula and all the men that see her are totally freaked out by her, but not the ladies. It sounds like Herman won over your boyfriends mom though. I can't wait to hear about everything that Herman does over the next few months as he grows. These guys are absolutley amazing. Oh, and some more pics would be great too. We love pics here and I need a baby beardie fix! LOL

 

[hermansmama]

Yeah, his mom was initially the one that sounded as though she wasn't too happy we got him, but in the end she likes him a bit more than his dad does! (I'm jealous, my bf Greg would never let me have a tarantula in the house!) P.S. I'm not sure I ever actually introduced MYSELF, haha, just Herman, but I'm Megan.

I moved my probe directly underneath the light and it's picking up better temps now, thanks for the tip! As to his big boy viv, I've already started coming up with all kinds of ideas as to what to do with it!

I woke up this morning and apparently his bath helped loosen up some skin, because on all his legs the skin was shedding, and more on his tail as well! I'm glad he's finally getting it over with, I was worried it was stuck and wouldn't come off! But I came back from errands today and his legs are fresh and bright, and the shed skin is no where to be seen! Here are a few pics I took today

I started a photo thread with pics of him as well, it's....
http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=128430

 

[FaaFaa]

Hi Megan! Herman is such a cutie! I love his colors and that big baby-bobble-head is just too cute! Yeah, I hated spiders before I got Blade but now they are just so interresting to me. Their anatomy is unlike anything else, they way that their body functions and moves is so different from what we know to be "normal", but that's a whole other topic! I'm glad that you are getting all of your temps adjusted and things are working themselves out for you. Once you get the hang of it these guys aren't too bad to take care of. What are you thinking for Hermans bib boy viv? Are you going to build it yourself? I have a link somewhere for crossfire cage plans I can find it if you want it. We built one for Chaos. His cage isn't all decorated or anything, but there are pics of it (along with a ton others) in his thread if you wanna take a look. There is a link in my signature. Herman will be shedding a lot for you right now, get used to it. How is he eating for you? Are you bathing him daily? If you have any other questions, don't hesitate!

 

[hermansmama]

I know, now that I've figured all the kinks out (at least for now!) things are flowing pretty smoothly. He's been eating more and more as he grows...yesterday he had about 20 crickets in one feeding, and I'm assuming that will just go up from here on out until he's older. I'd love a link for building a viv--at the moment, once he outgrows the 10 gal, I'm going to put him in a 55 gal. fish tank I got super cheap from the paper...I know the dimensions aren't the greatest for him, but at least until I can build/get something bigger (it's only 4ft x 1 ft x 2 ft) and as long as he doesn't live there forever! I've seen some really nice home made wooden ones, and was thinking about employing my dad/landlord to help me out (both are really good at building things) once he gets a little older. How long did it take you to build yours? I have to give my dad time to get used to the idea that he'll be building it, haha! At least it will give me an excuse to go home to visit!

How often should he be shedding? I don't know if it's just me, but I think it looks like his colors are brighter then they were when I first got him, will they continue to do that as he sheds each time? The guy I got him from said he should turn the orangey color all over when he's older.

I think my b/f has finally caved in to the fact I'm addicted...he was searching with me last night to see if there were any beardies in our area that needed a new home.... (and to think when I brought Herman home he said no more animals for a year :laughing6:

I've also been thinking about raising my own food source.....I've kinda decided I hate crickets! I haven't gotten any dubia to feed him yet, but I was wondering if you had any info on them? I've been reading around a bit, but wasn't sure if it would make sense to breed them for just one beardie, and if it would be a good idea, how many I should start out with. Crickets just smell, and I'm tired of them escaping! (and paying the pet store .12 a piece!)

 

[FaaFaa]

OK let's see if I can tackle all your questions. Here is the link for the Crossfire Cage http://www.freewebs.com/crossfireenclosures/ It took me and the hubby about 3 days to build it. Ours is a little different though. We cut a hole in the top and then routered out a little lip the whole way around that way the fixture for the MVB would sit there on the top. I can take a few pics if you want, but there should be plenty on my thread, I just don't know how well they will show the top of the viv.

As Herman gets older he will eat more and more. And the shedding is a direct result of his growth, so I can't really say how often Herman will shed. Just get used to it for now because he will he shedding ALOT at this age. His colors will change as he sheds, but not forever.

You're right crickets are NASTY! I can't stand the fact that they jump or smell. They can also chew on your baby and they are a good food source, but there are better things out there. When Chaos was little I used to hatch out silkworm egss and feed him those. They are a great feeder and they contain something that will help Herman to absorb his calcium better. You can look into silkworm eggs here http://mulberryfarms.com/store/index.php They aren't too bad to hatch out. If it's something you want to do and you need help let me know. I had a dubia colony too before I moved here to FL (they aren't allowed) They are super easy to breed and take care of. They are really good for Herman too. They can't jump, climb, bite, or fly and the best part is they don't smell! Look here for roaches http://theroachguy.com/ He's got a great care sheet on them too. It will take a bit to establish a good colony that you can sustain a growing beardie on, but the more females you have the more nymphs you'll get. Oranges are a great food source for the roaches it seems to make them produce nymphs faster. Hope this helped!

 

[hermansmama]

You've been a HUGE help and I mean that I think I'm going to go for the dubia colony, I have the tub, just have to cut the hole for ventilation and put some screen on it. I was thinking today that I really don't know if Herman is a he, lol! The breeder checked before I bought him and said he was pretty sure he was, but he's so little I'm not sure how he could have decided! Oh well, if "he" turns out to be a "she" it'll just be Hermie

so yet another question, lol....I have a family get together on father's day, and was origionally thinking about taking Herman with me, but then realized that there will be 30+people there including 10 kids 8 and under...I'm wondering if it would be less stressful to leave him at home, and have to skip his afternoon feeding? We could feed him in the morning and early evening when we got home, I just am not sure I want to take him because I know allll the kids are going to want to hold him, and he's not the calmest at this point, and he's so little I don't want him getting squashed!

I told my bf last night we are building a crossfire cage for him in the next few months...he was thrilled :lol:

When should I move him to his bigger viv?

Oh, I just got tiles, and placed them on the bottom of his big viv, and have been getting conflicting info on whether I should find something to seal them with or not? I didn't grout them together, so I can take them out one by one and clean them, but I was wondering if you had any position on the matter.

P.S. Greg is hooked...we were at a pet store yesterday and he said we should buy the babie beardies they had so they get a good home for sure, haha....and I wonder where he expects to put all of them? lol, he thinks I'M the one that's addicted

 

[FaaFaa]

It's been fun helping you out, I like to offer help to those who actually want to hear what I have to say, but I think that we all feel that way. :lol: I think that dubia would be the best way to go too they are really easy. I'd still have mine if I wasn't chicken of getting caught. I wonder what they would do anyway. How long is Herman? If I remember right you will be able to tell whether Herman is a boy or girl at about 6-8 inches. There is an article on sexing on the site. Just click on the Caresheets and Articles link under the banner at the top of the page. Then if you're still not too sure you can always post a pic and ask for help. I think I would leave Herman at home on Fathers Day. He will be just fine one day without a 3rd feeding. He should be getting to the point now where he only needs 2 feeding...do you know when he hatched? You can move him to the bigger viv whenever you are ready. The only think you have to worry about is making sure that if he is a tiny guy in a huge home that he can still catch his crickets OK. Do you feed him in his viv? We had a lot of fun building the viv for Chaos. I bet you will too. I was the same way you guys were in the beginning, I even had a 2nd beardie. I had a female for awhile. I wasn't prepared for how much her presence would affect my male. After he came out of brumation he was a mess and lost lots of weight because all he wanted was to get to Lucy. I'm not saying don't get one, I'm just saying be prepared! There are tons of people that have more than 1. And I tell you what had I known that my new house was going to be so beardie friendly I wouldn't have gotten rid of Lucy, I kick myself in the butt for it everyday! As far as the tiles go I never sealed mine either, until I grouted them in that is. I just used to take them out 1 by 1 and soak them in bleach water for 5 minutes and then rinse them really well and let them dry. Just make sure if you use bleach the smell is totally gone before returning the tile to the viv, bleach fumes are toxic to beardies. You just have to make sure you are able to sanitize whatever you put in that viv. It sounds like you are having so much fun with Herman. I hope that you guys have as much fun with him as we do with Chaos.

 

[hermansmama]

We are having fun with him he's about 6 1/2 inches, I measured him yesterday--according to the breeder, he's about a month old (said he was only two weeks old when I got him)...but I'm not sure on that since he's so long? Either he's older, or going to be a big boy! Regardless, I'll see if he'll let me hold him still long enough tomorrow to check and see if I can tell any better what sex he is. Cleaning the tiles doesn't seem to bad, I probably won't seal them in that case--I'm still getting some things together for his big viv--trying to find a good size branch I can clean and put in there...so far it has a hammock, a hide, and some rocks I got from my parents house that I cleaned...

I feed him in his 10 gal. and he doesn't seem to have a problem catching crickets, sometimes I think he's just lazy and waits for me to chase them so they walk in front of him though!

Aw! I was just reading some of your old posts about Chaos and Lucy, I didn't get that far yet....I'm sorry to hear you couldn't keep her! How old is Chaos?

The people on this board seem very nice, and seem like they get to know each other really well--I realized the other day that I met Tom at the Carlise PA reptile show--I was thinking about getting a baby from him that day, but ended up getting Herman from another breeder--

 

[hermansmama]

Quick question--was offered a 75 gallon tank set up for a bearded dragon for $75? is that a fair price? it comes with a hide log, climbing tower, dishes, screen top and lamps? My b/f doesn't think we need it, but it'd be a better size for Herman as he gets bigger, and since it comes with lights and everything, it SEEMS like a good deal to me? (and what's the harm in having an extra viv just in case?) Plus I was discussing things with our landlord, and he doesn't want us to build the crossfire vivs here/doesn't think we need them so won't help (he has a ton of extra supplies, like plexiglass laying around, all the tools, etc), so I don't think I'll be able to build my own for a while until we move out and get our own place.

 

[FaaFaa]

I think that $75 is a very fair price for a 75 gal tank. Is it in good condition? You would have to make sure to disinfect everything though. You also may have to replace fixtures for the lights if they don't fit what you want. But, even if you would throw away everything EXCEPT the tank and the cover you are getting a good deal, I think. A 75 gal is a great size for Herman and it would cost a lot more than $75 to build a crossfire cage. I think you should take it!