new dragon owner(Help!)

[mjc393]

Hi! I am confused as all hell! One of my girlfriends old roomates had a bearded dragon. I used to go in her room there and look at him a lot (love animals). Well the roomate is moving away and does not want the dragon anymore and she said that I would give it the best home... sooo I now have a 2 year old dragon staring at me from across the room. The roomate gave me all of the stuff she had for her dragon. I compiled a list of things that she gave me and made a list of things I needed... please let me know if I am missing something or need to replace one of the items.

Things I have
-Vitamin
-Quite a few crickets
-UV light
-Basking light(unsure of the wattage but I am assuming it is correct)
-mustard greens and kale
-a timer...not sure if it should be hooked up to the basking or UV light...
-Crushed walnut substrate(I believe I need to get something else I am doing a full cleaning today after I go to multiple pet stores to find different items... suggestions would be appreciated)
-A log that he basks on and hides under as well as a tall tree like thing and a watering bowl that he loves to take baths in almost daily. (I wanted to get him new items for his cage)
-Finally a cage(see below)

Things I need
-Calcium dust for the bi weekly dusting
-A misting bottle
-Insect treats(wax worms)
-Gutload for crickets(other suggestions would be appreciated)
-CAGE
-I believe the cage that Milo is in right now is too small... there is no way it is 40 gallon. I am thinking about just buying a brand new tank for Milo. I thought http://www.exo-terra.com/EN/products/glass_terrariums_i.html
looked rather nice but any other suggestions would be very much appreciated.

OK if you made it through that long list I was hoping someone could answer a few questions.

I have never owned a reptile before and thus am quite jumpy about Milo biting me... although he has started to get comfortable with me petting him and no longer puffs up or hisses at me. He has never tried to bite me nor jump at me. I still find myself a little frightened by the idea of him biting so I have been using a double lined sock to lift him up initially and then transfer him to my hand or shoulder/computer desk where he watches me for a while. I am curious if someone could describe what a bearded dragon bite feels like so I know what to expect...

Finally I am hoping people have some suggestion for being an "adoptive parent." As I have not had Milo as a baby I am worried that he won't ever trust me.

Thanks for reading this LONG post!

Matt

 

[Akeath]

you're right about the crushed walnut shells needed to be replaced, they are pretty bad for him. You can get either paper towels or textured, non adhesive shelfliner for him as a replacement.
You'll also need some more veggies for him than just kale and mustard greens. Here's a list of things you can feed him, feel free to make you're own choices from the list: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
Also, the tank you're looking at looks like it isn't the right dimensions for him. Although they do like to climb, Bearded Dragons really do need a lot of floorspace.
There are various gutloads on the market, as well as crystals for crickets (moisture) that I've heard good things about. You can also gutload with veggies (apples, carrots, etc.) if you don't want to get the storebought. That's what I do.
Also, what type of UVB light does he have? The type is very important, some of them are just awful.
I hook up my timer to both the basking light and the UV light. You'll want it on for 12-14 hours.
I've never been purposefully bitten by a Beardie. I've gotten my finger chomped when I was handfeeding, and it felt like a clothespin shut on my finger. They spit me out right away. With the biting, just know that they give a lot of warning before they will purposely bite. Just be careful when he puffs and hisses and it should never go that far, and make sure you're picking him up from the side and never from the top.
I think Beardies can recognize the difference between people. However, as long as you treat it well he should have no problem bonding with you. In my experience, Beardies divide humans not like "owner, owner's friends, etc." but, "in good human group" and "in mean human group". If you take care of him well, he'll learn to trust you quickly. It doesn't matter if he hasn't always known you.

 

[liz (little dragons)]

hi i am new here, but have quit a few dragons, and akeath is correct in saying that walnut shells are vey bad, if he eats one by mistake than he cannot digest it and then you have a blockage very nasty.

i personaly use sand many people say this is also bad but i have no problem with it. calcium sand is the best. (bird sand). I also give worms it provides the dragon with something else other than crickets and they love lokusts.

my terrariums are for an adult minimum dimensions 1 meter 20 cm by 60cm high and 50cm breadth. This gives enough room and cuts down the stress factor of a small cage. stress in a dragon can cause severe health problems.

i also have chalk powder which i put over the veggies, they love it and is very good for healthy bones and teeth. one other thing dragons love a bath in luke warm water i use a plant saucer for this, it is goed for the skin and when they shed.

i don't know if you can get andijve where you are but this is much beter than kale too much iron is bad for the digestive system, i give dandelion leaves enad the flower heads this is great dragon food and they love it. flowers form a great part of their diet in the wild when they can find them. hibiscus and calendula also is good. they love anything yellow

i hop e this helps a bit. anymore questions send me a message.

 

[Chris]

a few things.

crushed walnut is only a tiny bit worse than calci sand. teh crushed walnut locks together like a jig saw puzzle and impacts them that way. teh calci sand froms a cement plug which can also be fatal, because it contains calcium it encourages dragons to eat it..

if you want to use a particle substrate, used sifted washed playsand. of the particle substrates its the safest....if you want absolutely no risk of substrate related impactions use shelf liner like has already been mentioned.

UVB lights need to be replaced every 6 months, so chances are, it will need replacing. flouro tubes to get are repti glo 8.0 or reptisun 10, unless tyou go with an MVB.
dont get coils, tehy lose their beneficial UV within a month, dont get ESU, tehyre useless.

glass tanks dont hold heat well.
and because beardies need quite a hot basking area, having such a high tank will make it really hard to heat, not to mention he needs to get within 6-8 inches of his UVB light fro it to be useful. it must be ventilated, its best to have that @ teh top so heat and humidity can escape.

natural sun is healthy fo any animal, so i'd get him outside a couple of times a week as well.

with most beardies, once youve bonded with your beardie you'd pretty much have to scare it pretty badly to make it bite hard. (eg. one guy had his fingernail ripped off cos his beardie excaped in the car and he'd spent hours pulling the cash apart so he could reach in a grab her, she bit so hard she broke her own jaw) she was scared and stressed. sharp claws will scratch pretty badly though.
but build up a trusting relationshiip with him and he'll be fine.
most bites are accidents dfrom missingi teh food and they realise befoer they clamp down,...

bathing tips, a wash cloth on the bottom of the tub for traction, i use the bathroom sink so tehy dont feel so closed in but cant get out cos its too slippery,..

i don't know if you can get andijve where you are

not being rude, is that the same as endive? (curly green leaves)

i used a glove till my snake got a bit less snappy, (mainly cos i had trouble controling my reactions and didnt want to hurt his teeth) tehn progressed to long sleeves pulled over my hands so he'd bite into then instead, but could get used to teh feeling of my hands, and after a while he didnt coil to strike everytime he saw me so i sitched the sleeves and started handling him normally.

if youre worried, do something like that keeping your hands away from his mouth till youre comfortable with him.

oh, UV and basking lights go on anf off together 14 hours on 10 off is normal.

i hope that helps, i think the rest of your q's have already been answered, just ask if theres anything thats been missed,..!! :lol:

 

[Ozzy's Mom]

Chris has given you some great advice! If you want to know more about how bad calci-sand is for your beardie, click on the link listed above that says "check out the new Impaction article". On the 5th page there is an Xray of an impacted beardie.

Things I need
-Calcium dust for the bi weekly dusting

If you read the care sheets for a 2yr old dragon, I believe you're supposed to dust with calcium (repti-cal) about 3 times a week and vitamin (herptivite) 1-2 times per week.

Hope this helps.

 

[FabGyrl]

I adopted Lucy about 3 weeks ago and I GET REALLY FREAKED sometimes!! There will be times when I will be stroking her head and she will just JUMP or she will flare up her little beard and open her mouth :roll: I usually use gloves but do take them off from time to time... I have not been biten by her yet but I'm sure she'd love to!!!!!!! I am working on not being afrad, but I know that one bite and it will be harder to be comfortable handling her... I refuse to let my girls touch her yet... Some days are great, some are not!! :wink:
I cant offer too much advice on tank setup because I am new here, but I use half shelf liner, half sand... I use the shelf liner on the space by her food... I give her lots of the food listed on the beautiful dragons website... She needs a better UV so I am going to be purchasing the Mega Ray UV soon! A lot of times on this site I have just read other peoples topics (under health, feeding, and enclosures) to find info and beautiful dragons is a good site too that also has a forum... Take care, congrats, and good luck!!

 

[Nomad85]

Hi Matt, I will try to answer the questions you posted. The other advice has been good, I just wanted to make sure each issue got addressed.

Things I have

-Vitamin

-what kind? I like repcal and minerall.

-UV light

-What brand and model? The reptisun 10.0 is the best flourescent UVB light.

-Basking light(unsure of the wattage but I am assuming it is correct)

-Is it one of those"basking bulbs" they sell at pet stores? See if you can figure out the wattage, the important thing is to have a warm basking spot 100-115 and a gradient from warm to cool sides, mine is 85-75, with my basking surface, I just use a bricks and slate to get the surface close enough to the light to get the right temp

-mustard greens and kale

- Good, adding collard greens is a good idea as well. I like to use dandilion greens from my yard.

-a timer...not sure if it should be hooked up to the basking or UV light...

- Both, I use a 14/10(on/off) cycle 12/12 also works well.

-Crushed walnut substrate(I believe I need to get something else I am doing a full cleaning today after I go to multiple pet stores to find different items... suggestions would be appreciated)

Yeah get rid of that. the advice given before is good play sand or shelf liner.

-A log that he basks on and hides under as well as a tall tree like thing and a watering bowl that he loves to take baths in almost daily. (I wanted to get him new items for his cage)

Might be better to mind some nice rocks/bricks and use them as a basking surface, they hold heat better than logs.

Things I need

-Calcium dust for the bi weekly dusting

Repcal with d3, or Miner-all

-A misting bottle

I got mine in the gardening section of walmart.

-Insect treats(wax worms)

No waxworms! Try superworms instead, most dragons love them.

-Gutload for crickets(other suggestions would be appreciated)

- Crushed dog food is good, I use non medicated chick starter.

-CAGE
-I believe the cage that Milo is in right now is too small... there is no way it is 40 gallon. I am thinking about just buying a brand new tank for Milo. I thought http://www.exo-terra.com/EN/products/glass_terrariums_i.html
looked rather nice but any other suggestions would be very much appreciated.

- Like Chris said that cage is way to tall, floor space is more important with beardies. For a 2 year old, a 75 gallon would be good, that is what I use. If you cant do that, a 40 gallon breeder is the smallest tank I would use, and thats pretty small for an adult dragon. A 55 gallon long might be a bit better.

Here is a picture of my current setup, I am changing it all with custom built enclosures but this is what I have now.
the cage setup has changed but here is my 75 gallon its 4' by 18" floor space.

Here is my basking area

My uvb area(I use a MVB and it has to be at least 1' away, for a tube you want to get as close as you can.)

OK if you made it through that long list I was hoping someone could answer a few questions.

I am curious if someone could describe what a bearded dragon bite feels like so I know what to expect...

It hurts like a bitch. I only got biten once, and I was hand feeding my little guy, back when he was 1 year old, it wasnt a hard bite, but it does hurt, but I bet I am the only fool on this site who has ever been biten, beardies almost never bite, and the bite I got was an accident.

Here are some affordable tools that will help you take better care of your dragon.
a digital gram scale mine is a myweigh 7001- about 40 dollars do a google search or pm me and I can find the store I got it from for you.

a digital temp gun- I have the PE-1 is was 25 dollars from http://www.tempgun.com

the best advice I can give you; is to buy online, http://www.reptilesupply.com is great and you can get the uvb light supplements, cage accesories, water dishes, feeding tongs, and have them all shipped together, it save alot of money compared to a petstore.

 

[Ozzy's Mom]

It hurts like a %^#@&. I only got biten once, and I was hand feeding my little guy, back when he was 1 year old, it wasnt a hard bite, but it does hurt, but I bet I am the only fool on this site who has ever been biten, beardies almost never bite, and the bite I got was an accident.

Hehe...now I don't feel so bad. Ozzy got me a couple weeks ago. I'm not sure what a baby bite feels like since Ozzy's about a year old, but Nomad is right...it hurts!!!

When Ozzy got me, I had been giving him baytril with a syringe. I had the syringe in one hand and was opening his mouth with the thumb of my other hand. Somehow I took my eyes off my thumb to make sure the syringe was dispensing and "CHOMP"! He didn't purposely bite me....he was pissed at the syringe and thought he was biting it.

I washed it really good and covered it with neosporin....only took about 4-5 days before it went away.

 

[mjc393]

quick update:
Thanks for all the responses and help!! Milo is doing very well... I went out and bought him a 55 gallon tank, bought him a new basking tree/log thing (not wood)... although he likes his log wood hut thing much more still and will sit on that instead of the basking log... I have finally given in and moved that under the light so he basks. Although now he enjoys sleeping under the "basking" tree... go figure. I let him zip around my apartment for an hour a day or so and find it funny how many strange places I find him when I go looking. He was in the pant leg of my jeans on the floor one time. I bought some gut load for my crickets and am switching from wax worm treats to super worm/silk worms today as well as crickets and lots of veggies.

Right now I am feeding my dragon crickets 3 times a week (with calcium powder or vitamins)
and giving him veggies every day

Best thing so far was putting Milo in the tub with a bit of water. He sat in it for a good 3 minutes before charging the wall and diving at me then clung for his life. I still am not sure how he made it over the lip of the tub.

Again thanks for all the help everyone!

Matt