new beardie

[veggie]

I just got a 5 month old beardie for christmas and I barely know anything about her. Any advice?

 

[shortygirl]

Please read the care sheets here & from http://www.reptilerooms.com & then post if you have any questions or if you need any clarification.

~Michelle

 

[Catalyst]

Definately read through those care sheets. The basics include a good UV light (reptisun 10.0 is best flourescent tube light, ESU lights are junk), a heat light (you can use a normal lightbulb for this, or a halogen flood light), good temperatures (basking spot of 105-110* and cool side of the tank 80-85*), and a good diet (live bugs offered 3x a day, crickets need to be no longer than the space between his eyes, stay away from mealworms, they're bad for baby dragons).

Also, if you could post your current set up, we can look it over for you and point out any potential problems.

how old is your dragon?
how big is your dragon?
what size tank are you using?
what substrate (ground covering) are you using?
what are you using to provide heat in the tank?
what are the temperatures in the tank?
what are you using to measure the temperatures?
do you have a UV light?
if so, which bulb do you have (it'll say on the bulb) and how close can your dragon get to it?
what are you feeding your dragon? how often?
what supplements are you using? how often?
is your dragon housed alone or with another dragon?
do you bathe your dragon? how often?

Welcome to the site

 

[veggie]

how old is your dragon? 4-5 month
how big is your dragon? 8 1/2 inches
what size tank are you using? 20 gallon
what substrate (ground covering) are you using? lizard carpeting
what are you using to provide heat in the tank? heating spotlight
what are the temperatures in the tank? 90 degrees
what are you using to measure the temperatures? flukers thermometer/hygrometer
do you have a UV light? no
if so, which bulb do you have (it'll say on the bulb) and how close can your dragon get to it?
what are you feeding your dragon? how often? crickets (small) with calcium dust, carrots, lettuce. 3X daily
what supplements are you using? how often? calcium dust, every cricket
is your dragon housed alone or with another dragon? alone
do you bathe your dragon? how often? I put her in her water once a day

 

[Morkai]

Carpet is great,

90 degrees is not enugh to digest and you need a temperature gradient. The dial or strip thermometers that stick to the side of the tank are no good for telling anything but the ambiant air temps by the glass.

You need a digital thermometer or a temp gun to measure the actual basking spot under the light - This temp should be 100-105 degrees F. You can get an indoor/outdoor digital thermometer for about 10-12 bucks from walmart's hardware dept. A good brand is Accurite.

UVB is essential and without it your dragon is likely to suffer from Metabolic Bone disease. As catalyst said the Reptisun 10 is the best fluorescent available. Do not buy any lighting made by ESU as it is junk. You can buy teh Reptisun 10 tube (not compact) online for much cheaper even with shipping than any pet store will sell it. http://www.reptilesupply.com, http://www.bigappleherp.com (do not buy their mystic bulbs, they have issues with eye swelling) or http://www.lllreptile.com all are good stores that sell the Reptisun 10 tube. Your dragon will need to get within about 6" of the bulb and you can get a steel fluorescent undercabinet fixture from lowes or home depot etc for about 20 bucks depending on length. Do not use cheap plastic fluorescent fixtures for UVB lights as it reduces the UVB output of the bulb.

Crickets are great as is the 3 times a day. Make sure you offer as many as he wants, they are cricket hoovers at that age (although relocation stress as well as lack of UVB will cause him appetite issues untill that it sorted)

Check out the nutrition page at http://www.beautifuldragons.com for a list of proper salad items. Lettuce is nutritionally worthless which is why we eat it as diet food. He needs darkleafy greens like collard, turnip and mustard)

Which calcium dust are you using? Is it a phosphourous free one? Good on the dusting though, thats great.

These guys are not cheap to setup I'm afraid but once you get everything sorted he will make a very rewarding pet They really do steal your heart and one is never enough