New beardie owner with concerns

[Mushu1]

Youre giving her the small crickets right? The large ones are too big for her. Can you post a pic of her? Apologies if you already did...just let me know where to find it. Kai at 4 or 5 months was eating about 30 to 40 small crickets twice a day. I was constantly at the pet store because even gutloaded crickets dont last long. I used to buy 60 day...I had two cricket keeper tanks and I put 30 in each with the styrofoam egg carton pieces and a few of the Flukers cricket quenchers..either orange square ones or the yellow balls...in each cricket keeper to gutload and/or hydrate the crickets. Put the jar of cricket quenchers in your fridge after you put a few in the cricket keeper tank. You can feed with tweezers if your beardie wont chase them but dont force feed her. Crickets are fast and they will hide and later bite your dragon so dont leave uneaten crickets in with her...take them back out with tweezers.

Here’s a picture of her

 

[Sue E.]

I am also considering just picking up some tinsnips and cutting an opening in the top where the bulb itself is but idk if that will compromise the integrity of the top and make it less durable. I hate hate hate this setup I have right now! I was just trying to show the OP what a tube looks like because she was using a dome for a uvb and I was trying to help explain what the tubes look like. This is my dilemma right now..if you have any creative ideas on how to interior mount it over the basking spot without blocking the heat lamp, please drop them here! I am open to any and all suggestions! I cant interior mount them both because the heat lamp (even a 125) gets too hot. All this will be rectified with the new tank, both fixtures mounted inside and a new wire cage lamp for heat.

Wow. My beardie is only eating 3-5 small crickets a day. Is this the fixture and bulb I should get?

The one I use is the Reptisun t5 10.0 HO 24" (bulb tube size 22"). Pet smart sells them but the bulb included with the fixture is only 5.0 which is not strong enough. You need to buy a seperate 10.0 bulb for the fixture. It is easy to change the bulb just pop it in. Arcadia also makes good bulbs...12% or 14% I believe and I THINK the Arcadia bulb fits in the Reptisun fixture too but dont quote me. I wouldnt get any other brand than those two...some of the off brands are not good at all. You need to change your bulb every 6 to 9 months even if it is still working because it doesnt put out uvb after that time even if its on. I know its costly at first but once you are setup you are good to go for a while! If you can afford to, buy 2 in case one goes out prematurely.( they are quite reliable though) Same with heat basking bulbs...always have a backup. I use Reptl spot basking lamp also found at petsmart.

 

[KarrieRee]

Here’s a picture of her

No- I posted links for uvb's in my earlier post - please get one of those

 

[Sue E.]

Can you try the small dubia roaches? Give them to her in a dish with smooth sides..they are fast but cant climb smooth surfaces. A couple at a time...as soon as she eats those, put in a couple more. But get that tube uvb set up and running and make sure shes about 9" to 11 inches under it if the uvb fixture is on top of the screen. If you can, mount it under the screen with heat resistant zip ties or picture wire...then her distance can be 12 to 15 inches away from the light. A raised basking piece right under the center of the uvb light will take care of this. You can measure your distance with a tape measure or ruler.

 

[Mushu1]

Can I leave crickets in the terrarium during the day and remove them in the evening? It’s to much to move the decor and remove the crickets twice a day. Especially if I put in 30-50 each time. These things are so fast

 

[KarrieRee]

Can I leave crickets in the terrarium during the day and remove them in the evening? It’s to much to move the decor and remove the crickets twice a day. Especially if I put in 30-50 each time. These things are so fast

I would take most of the decor out that they can hide in only leave the basking decor in and leave the crickets in during daylight hrs- count how many you put in so you can keep count on how many hes eating and how many are left in the tank so you can get them all - they will / can bite the dragon at night- I would switch to dubias - those you can leave in they dont bite -

 

[Mushu1]

I would take most of the decor out that they can hide in only leave the basking decor in and leave the crickets in during daylight hrs- count how many you put in so you can keep count on how many hes eating and how many are left in the tank so you can get them all - they will / can bite the dragon at night- I would switch to dubias - those you can leave in they dont bite -

Thank you for your help. I will start investing in the roaches. I purchased an escape proof feeding container

 

[Mushu1]

If the enclosure is to hot i assume she will move to shade to cool down or water

 

[Mushu1]

I’m also buying the UVB you mentioned earlier

 

[KarrieRee]

If the enclosure is to hot i assume she will move to shade to cool down or water

It depends on the heat in the enclosure over all - they need a cool side of the tank during the day of 80ish -

 

[Mushu1]

Any recommendations on a background in the terrarium? I have something on the outside. There’s still a lot of reflections inside and I think confuses her. I want to place something inside so there’s no reflection

 

[KarrieRee]

Any recommendations on a background in the terrarium? I have something on the outside. There’s still a lot of reflections inside and I think confuses her. I want to place something inside so there’s no reflection

Boy not off hand - my tanks have bambo sides and back so no reflection at all - lets see if I can flag some people who might be able to help
@xp29
@AHBD

 

[xp29]

Boy not off hand - my tanks have bambo sides and back so no reflection at all - lets see if I can flag some people who might be able to help
@xp29
@AHBD

If you are handy you can cut thin poplar plywood boards to just fit inside (poplar because it's not toxic, all species of evergreen are toxic). You could even use cardboard or Styrofoam to do the same.
You can use a couple small dabs of hot glue or double side velcro to hold it in place.
If you don't have the means to cut it, if you get the exact measurements Lowes or Home Depot both may cut it for you if you buy it there.

 

[Mushu1]

If you are handy you can cut thin poplar plywood boards to just fit inside (poplar because it's not toxic, all species of evergreen are toxic). You could even use cardboard or Styrofoam to do the same.
You can use a couple small dabs of hot glue or double side velcro to hold it in place.
If you don't have the means to cut it, if you get the exact measurements Lowes or Home Depot both may cut it for you if you buy it there.

I was also thinking of using wrapping paper or laminate with double sided tape. I purchased cloth from Amazon and I’ll put it on the inside of the terrarium because when I put card board on the outside I could still see a reflection and my beardie would puff up and pounce on the glass.
Another question for you guys @KarrieRee @NickAVD @xp29 @Sue E.
How do you feed crickets and clean up afterwards? I spent close to an hour going through everything and removing all of my decor and flooring to find a bunch of hidden crickets and catching them was very difficult. Any recommendations? I want to stop buying crickets all together now and get Dubia roaches or Calci worms only. Crickets are an absolute headache

 

[KarrieRee]

I was also thinking of using wrapping paper or laminate with double sided tape. I purchased cloth from Amazon and I’ll put it on the inside of the terrarium because when I put card board on the outside I could still see a reflection and my beardie would puff up and pounce on the glass.
Another question for you guys @KarrieRee @NickAVD @xp29 @Sue E.
How do you feed crickets and clean up afterwards? I spent close to an hour going through everything and removing all of my decor and flooring to find a bunch of hidden crickets and catching them was very difficult. Any recommendations? I want to stop buying crickets all together now and get Dubia roaches or Calci worms only. Crickets are an absolute headache

Feed him in another container- no advice on the laminate or wrapping paper- we often don't recommend that in the tank--