New beardie owner

[Lolita]

Today i purchased a beardie, tank, everything i needed. Im not sure on the age of the Beardie but it is about 5 Inches long, no pics yet but will have soon. I was read that baby beardies shouldnt be kept in sand,would my 5inch beardie be considered a baby an dkept on papertowels for a little? Also i am able to feed it greens/vegetables/fruits yet?

 

[Catalyst]

Today i purchased a beardie, tank, everything i needed. Im not sure on the age of the Beardie but it is about 5 Inches long, no pics yet but will have soon. I was read that baby beardies shouldnt be kept in sand,would my 5inch beardie be considered a baby an dkept on papertowels for a little? Also i am able to feed it greens/vegetables/fruits yet?

Yes, that's definately a baby. Is she 5 inches from nose to tail tip? If so, she's actually been sold to you smaller than she should be. Dragons shouldnt' be sold until they're six weeks old and six inches long. Basically that just means that she'll need a bit of extra care to make sure that she gets everything she needs.

No sand until she's an adult (12 months old or so) if you choose to use it. Solid substrates are a must for young dragons - paper towels, nonadhesive shelf liner, reptile carpet, textured tiles (slate is great) are all good choices.

Yes, you should offer her fresh greens and veggies starting right away. She may ignore them (most young dragons do, kinda like human kids) but it's still good to leave her a salad throughout the day to try out if she gets hungry. Here's some helpful pages for dragon greens and veggies:
http://www.reptilerooms.com/Sections+index-req-viewarticle-artid-98-page-1.html
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
Mostly she'll eat live bugs. She should be offered live bugs three times a day at her size, as many as she'll eat in 10 minutes per feeding or so. Make sure that the crickets are no longer than the space between her eyes and don't use meal worms.

Here are some questions so that we can get a basic overview of your setup and check things out for you:

How old is your dragon?
How long/large is it?
What size tank is he in?
What substrate (ground covering) are you using?
What do you use to heat the tank?
What are the temperatures (basking spot and cool side) in the tank?
What do you use to measure the temperatures?
Do you use a UV bulb?
If so, which kind (brand/name)and how old is it?
How close can your dragon get to the bulb?
What do you feed your dragon (please be specific)?
How often?
Do you use supplements?
If so, which ones and how often?
Do you bath or mist your dragon?
If so, how often?
Is your dragon housed alone or with another dragon?

 

[Lolita]

How old is your dragon? Unknown,under 6 weeks
How long/large is it? About 5 Inches
What size tank is he in? 10 gallon soon 30 gallon
What substrate (ground covering) are you using? Paper towels
What do you use to heat the tank? 100 wat halogen
What are the temperatures (basking spot and cool side) in the tank? 110 basking, 85 cool
What do you use to measure the temperatures? analog thermastats
Do you use a UV bulb? 18"
If so, which kind (brand/name)and how old is it? reptilseun
How close can your dragon get to the bulb? up to 6"
What do you feed your dragon (please be specific)? crickets, collard greens, mustard greens, turip greens, dandelion greens, and squash
How often? 2 times a day
Do you use supplements? not yet, soon multivitamine, calcium
If so, which ones and how often? multivitamine 5 times a week, calcium 7
Do you bath or mist your dragon? yes
If so, how often? once a week
Is your dragon housed alone or with another dragon? housed alone

 

[TyTin]

Hi nice to meet you and welcome. I also am a new Beardie owner. But have read alot of this forum and to me it sounds like your setup is ok except I would ditch the analog thermo's (they can be off by up to 15degrees) and get either a temp gun or the digital probe type they are alot more accurate and remember you want to measure the temp at the basking spot not just the air temp on the hot side. Some one please correct me if I am wrong Hope you enjoy your new Dragon.

Thanks,
TyTin

 

[Lolita]

alright well i got 2 new digital thermomaters and an infared light to keep he temp above 70* at night, it appears that he only ate 1 cricket today and rejected all the vegetables i offered him

 

[lauraslizzard]

hey Newbie!! :wave: Well your baby hould be eating more than 1 or 2 crickets, but if you just got him (up to a week) he may be going through relocation stress. If not check your temps as the analogs are way off and he may be too hot! Also Make sure the crickets are no bigger than the space beetween the eyes. Most pet store dont have crix this small so I would Recomend getting a rubbermaid tub (large) and ordering in bulk online. SOme use Premium crickets and some use Worman farms.. I have used both, but dont use crix anymore.
and dont forget to bath your baby a few times a week as your baby can get dehydrated, and it helps them poop! :bleick: But this is very important.
First baths: keep your hand in with him, or a wash rag for them to grip makes them feel secure! Please Ask ANY Questions you may still have. And I would recomend finding a vet in the area and dropping off a fecal in 2-3 weeks to check for any parisites. Especially if you got it from a pet store. They keep so many in the cage its easy to get something... and the fact most dont keep the husbandry right :?

 

[Lolita]

thanks, ill get on ordering cickets soon

i heard that as the seasons progress i should change the amount of light the beadie get a day to the amount of light outside? or is it alright to keep the light 12-14 hrs all year?

 

[lauraslizzard]

Well In the first year, I kept Keirra's at around 12 -14 hrs all year. Mine are on timers, and their lights go on around 5am and dont go off until 8:30 now going to lower it down to 8pm or so. But Drake is 2yrs and Keirra is 1yr. I know some whose lights go on around 8am and dont go off utnil 10 or 11 pm, so as long as it is somewhat satble I think you should be ok. Especially since its a baby.... oh and please post pics we love pics!! I just posted about 20!! :shock: :lol:

 

[Lolita]

i have my light on from 6:30am - 8pm. but gave him a salad of turnip, mustard, and collard greens with a few small pieces of carrot and it didnt even look like he tried eating it. When i got home at 6:30 i offered him crickets and sqush he didnt eat any of either, so he at nothing today. I think the temps are a little off, about 92 in the basking zone and 79 in the cool side. It does appear that hes shedding so i gave him a warm bath. Im getting a little worried of him not eating and when ever i see him (early morning before school 6:30 and after football at 6:30) he never seems active. Could it still possibly be from the schock of a new envirnoment?

 

[lauraslizzard]

Yes, if you just got him sunday I would think so. Also Most babies dont really eat their veggies so I wouldnt worry to much about that part... But if he doesnt start eating in a few days, maybe try some other methods and check temps again. Also Phoenix worms are a good start if they are a little reluctant to eat. So Just sit tight and give him a day or so more to settle down. Maybe try reading some of the suggestions on the health forums to see if you can find anything to help. Good Luck!

 

[brittany]

Raising your basking temp to about 107 should help a lot. Right now it's too cool for him to properly digest any food that he eats so in a way, it's not bad that he's not eating as he'd more than likely regurgitate it anyways. And for multivitamins, they only need those twice a week. If given 5 as you plan, it will be an over-dose. Under a year old dragons need calclium 5 times a week and multivitamins 2. Over a year old they need calclium 3 times a week and multivitamins once. I recomend Rep-Cal brand for both calclium (phosphorus free with D3) and multivitamins (called Herpative).

 

[Lolita]

so i offered him a salad and crickets again in the morning and he rejected both. But i raised the basking temp to about 110 and when i came home he seemed much mroe active so when i offered him crickets again he attempted to eat one, but after missing it stopped and want back to running around then to basking.

 

[Catalyst]

You can try putting the crickets in the fridge for five minutes or so before you feed them to your dragon. This slows them down and makes them easier to catch. Some small dragons can be intimidated by fast moving bugs at first.

 

[Lolita]

ah! much better today, in the morning i left him a salad like usual before i left. when i came home most of the salad was and gone and spilled everywhere, he also looked much more hydrated than before. Also he ate 6 crickets which is a good sign

 

[Catalyst]

Awesome I'm glad to hear his appetite is improving for you!