New dragon owner

[apkelley93]

Hey guys im completely new to the world of bearded dragons so im just going to go over when i got him and how ive been caring for him. Any tips suggestions warnings concerns are all welcome and appreciated. I bought him about 4 days ago now and have been keeping him on a 12 hour light cycle. I bought this all in one bulb that projects all light and heat needed. i have the light setup to go 9 am - 9 pm. i usually wake up around 9:45-10 and by then try to feed him some collard greens. i must say hes not a big fan of them ill get him to eat some out of my hand but he wont really touch them in the dish ( from what i notice) so i recently bought some of this salad dressing made by a company called nature zone. it says its specifically for beardies so i figured id give it a try today and no noticable difference. i must say when it comes to crickets he has no issues what so ever loves hunting them down. ive dusted them with the calcium and read up on all of that. ive bathed him twice so far first time he was a little antsy this most recent time he seemed better. maybe due to the fact i used warmer water and a cloth and gave rubbed him down for a good 5 minutes until he started getting a little crazy. i guess im really just anxious on how the next two weeks or so will be is there any advice on what to not feed them i know ice berg lettuce but i want him to get in fruits and veggies not just crickets. thanks for your time!

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Congrats on your new family member How old is he? If he's little then he won't eat veggies very much. Just keep offering it everyday. Beautifuldragons.com is a good site that has a good food guide.

 

[apkelley93]

Im not quiet sure of his age still very young. he eats roughly 30-50 crickets in a sitting. when will he begin to enjoy his greens?

 

[destiny1998]

Mine didn't really start eating their greens until they turned a year or so.

 

[CooperDragon]

Congratulations on your new buddy! With a little guy, he'll eat mainly (a LOT of) crickets for a while. At around a year or so, it will switch to about 80% veggies and 20% protein(crickets). Be sure to dust the crickets with calcium/vitamin powder to ensure he gets enough calcium. Feed as many crickets as he wants in about a 10 minute span. The number will vary so look for patterns rather than numbers. Keep offering salads but don't be discouraged if he doesn't show much interest yet. I'd ditch the salad dressing and opt for changing out the salad items often to provide variety. He'll probably start having favorites and it takes trial and error to find it. You can use this guide to find out what's best to feed him. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

Please let me know if you have any other questions, I'm glad to help in any way that I can. If you'd like to run through your setup with me I can give it a sanity check to see if anything stands out as a possible issue as well.

 

[apkelley93]

his current setup

 

[CooperDragon]

It looks like your photo was an e-mail attachment. Try uploading it to http://tinypic.com and post the IMG address here and see if that does the trick.

 

[apkelley93]

 

[CooperDragon]

Thanks! Substrate looks good. Repticarpet? Plenty of furniture to climb around on, good basking spot, and a hide (that will get small in a hurry I think, but that's OK). I see a dial thermometer on the far side, those aren't the most reliable way to measure the temps. You may want to look into an temp gun or a digital thermometer with a probe if you aren't already using them to get the most accurate temperature readings and dial everything in nicely. What kind of UVB are you using? I suggest using an Arcadia brand or ReptiSun 10.0 tube UVB mounted to the inside of the top screen to provide the best UVB output. Other than that it looks pretty good to me!

 

[apkelley93]

I use a power sun all in one bulb and an additionally heat lamp for a change in temp through out the terrarium