New Beardie Owner! Excited!

[FlannelBeard]

Hello all, FlannelBeard here!

My first bet was a bird, who died when I was about 10 naturally. While my family has had many pets since (no dogs), i've never had "my own" pet. Certainly not a pet who took to me personally.

Im 22 years old now, I have my own career, and my own place. I decided to finally buy a Bearded Dragon! He is just a baby, not named yet, and Im really excited to be a beardie owner!

I bought an 80 dollar tank kit. Comes with liner, the bulbs, the reflecting domes, etc. I got 12 crickets for him and Ill go tonight and buy groceries / veggies for him tonight.

He seems happy but I want to make sure im taking EXCELLENT care of him.

I dont see him climbing anything yet, and ive not seen him drink water yet but Im sure hes just getting used to everything. Hes had 2 crickets this morning before I left for work.

Does anyone have any like "must-get" supplies for him, tips on caring for a baby, etc?

More pics to come. I took this with my crappy phone. I have a nice tablet but the wifi isnt working just yet. Soon as it is, ill post more pics!!

Nice to meet you all!
-FlannelBeard

 

[lexus465]

Welcome and congrats on the new friend! Make sure to check out the care sheets on this site, they will have all the info you need to make your new friend happy!


http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/

 

[FlannelBeard]

Thank you so much! Im reading up on it now !! Really excited. Ill post more pictures as soon as I get home.

 

[hoopyscoop]

Congrats on your new beardie and welcome to the site! I'm slightly new to beardies, Fred was my first ever lizard. I actually used to be afraid of them until I held an anole, really cool little lizards! Anyway, welcome to the wonder of beardies! They are so cool!

 

[FlannelBeard]

I GOT MORE PICS!

Me and my beautiful long-term gf have decided to call him Mushu some of you may know the reference.

 

[KristineM]

Hey there! Congratulations! How's your baby doing?? Have you had a chance to look at the care sheet? Mushu is adorable...and super tiny!

 

[FlannelBeard]

Thanks! The name isnt permanent...we are waiting to see its personality develop more, but its a fun name until then we arent even sure of its gender just yet.

I did! I went and bought more appropriate supplies last night...and a ****ton of crickets and their own cricket cage / food / calcium.

I held him like that for 2 hours, slept like, well, a baby!! I think hes developing well. My only concern is water, I've not seen him drink it, but Ive misted and bathed him. I bought a smaller "dish" for him so he can find it more easily, but im still not sure he "knows" where it is.

Any suggestions? I want to make sure hes drinking plenty of water.

And yes, hes SUPER tiny. I cant wait for him to grow

 

[lexus465]

Those pics are adorable!

As long as he is getting baths and misted he should be well hydrated. Some drink water from bowls, others dripping off plants or onto their noses, of just from their food. It all depends on your dragon. I have a bowl of water in Toa's home when it's super dry out (I've never seen him drink from it, though he did sleep in it one night) but when it is more humid I just mist his greens and give him baths.

 

[KristineM]

That was my first major concern as well. Although, the only "misting" I do is on his veggies outside of his viv before placing them inside. I wouldn't keep a water dish in with him as usually they don't recognize standing water and most likely it will only increase the humidity which isn't good and can cause upper respiratory infections/problems.

My baby Batman, is only 9 weeks old and this is how we keep him hydrated:
Each day he gets a 10-15 minute bath. We started him in a large bowl with a face cloth on the bottom for traction (security). The water should be warm, test it on your wrist like you're bathing a baby. Not too warm but certainly not cold. Then we would use a Dixie cup and gently pour water down his back. The water should be below his shoulders so his head is above the water

Our little guy got severely dehydrated at one point because we just didn't know what we were doing. I learned all of this from this site and we were instructed to do this twice a day at the beginning. We have since moved him into the bath tub (still with the wash cloth under him) and now he knows to take a drink here and there and even swims

I'm sure someone will correct me if any of the info I provided you with is incorrect. As I stated though, I've learned all I know from this site and I have a happy healthy little guy now!

Good luck!! Always feel free to ask any and all questions you might have!

 

[KristineM]

Just wanted to add that I have had to put a water dish in the tank a couple of times during the day. It happens very rarely but there have been a couple of occasions where the humidity was insanely low. I don't argue that at all

 

[FlannelBeard]

I love this community already, haha!

Yeah, I dont want him not drinking water. Ill start doing baths in the morning and baths when I get off from work. Last night I gave him his first bath and he sat on my thumb, ASLEEP, during the whole thing. Soon as I put him in his cage he was really active and was running after the few crickets i put in there for him! Mushu is too funny when he eats, hell literally pick the crickets apart leg by leg then chomp them, haha.

What is the best fresh food to give him as a baby? Lettuce (not iceberg i know), carrots, green beans, etc?

Also...I need to get a UV lamp...all I have is the heating lamp and the black light lamp...I do have 2 thermometers on either side of the tank. Any info on those for a baby? Is that more for adults?

Sorry, im a beardie-noob!

 

[DTRM30]

Beautifuldragons.com has a really great site that lists good (and bad) foods for your baby. Check it out

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html

 

[FlannelBeard]

Beautifuldragons.com has a really great site that lists good (and bad) foods for your baby. Check it out

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html

This is wonderful, thank you! I made a list of the best ones and printed them off for when I get home !

 

[KristineM]

Also, this was helpful to me...the lighting is a MUST as are the temps in the enclosure:

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=148006

What are you checking the temps with? I would only be using the UVB tube and basking light...nothing for overnight unless temps drop lower than 68 (I think) and if that is the case a ceramic heat emitter is suggested.

Hope that helps!! Tons of useful info here!

 

[DTRM30]

your welcome !

For your question on UVB lighting - the recommended ones are:

ReptiSUN 10 Tube Flourescent
Arcadia 12 Tube Flourescent

Go with a bulb that runs a least around 2/3 of the size of your tank.

Do not use ReptiGLO, or any coil or compact flourescent lighting as those have been know to cause problems such as eye issues, decreases in appetitie and lead to Metabolic Bone Disease due to improper type of UVB emitted.

you can get them much cheaper by ordering on-line. Petmountain is recommended as being an inexpensive source.

You can then just pick up a flourescent fixture at Walmart or etc. for around $8-$10 (be sure it's for the correct length and type of Flourescent - there are T5, T8 and T12 bulbs - most reptile flourescent tubes are T5 or T8 - the ballast that operates the bulb is different and while it may run your bulb for a while, you won't get the maximum life out of it)

Attach the fixture in a place where your dragon can get to within 6-8" of it, it is overhead (i.e. just not where it will be horizontal with your dragon's head/eyes - mounted on the side of the tank above your dragons line of sight is OK), and not blocked by anything such as screen, plastic or otherwise (remove any plastic cover that may come with your fixture - use just bare bulb). Many recommend using 3M command hooks to hang it with.

You an also use a mercury vapor bulb - T-Rex I believe is a good brand for those. But - you need to have a MINIMUM of 12-16" between your dragon and the bulb. These emit both heat and UVB. Most use the flourescent tubes though since MVBs can also have problems such as inconsistent UVB output. MVBs need to be hung in a dome/clamp lamp fixture straight up and down. So you'll need a lamp stand. If they are mounted at an angle such as being clamped on the side of the tank with a clamp lamp dome, they are not warranted and will burn out very quickly.

- on a side note, I do use a MVB - and have a ReptiSun 10, but the ReptiSun is mounted at about 10-14" from the dragon so it's minimally effective - like being is heavy shade. (long story on that one, but the tube fixture is impossible to remove at this point in time soooo - it stays)