New Dragon.

[strangestatic]

Just bought a new beareded dragon and when I'm a little confused. He's still a little guy. I've had him for less than 24 hours but I fed him 10 crickets before bed and he ate them. Anyways, heres my questions.

1. Should I feed him 2-3 times a day?
2. I have crickets, maleworms and greens, when should I use each of these?
3. I bought ReptoCal & the Herptivite, can someone explain these to me? How often do I use them, and how do I use each one?
4. Do I leave water in his cage? They told me I could either spray it or dunk his head in water to give it some. How often should I do that?

Any advice would be appretiated.

 

[Heather85]

Just bought a new beareded dragon and when I'm a little confused. He's still a little guy. I've had him for less than 24 hours but I fed him 10 crickets before bed and he ate them. Anyways, heres my questions.

1. Should I feed him 2-3 times a day?
2. I have crickets, maleworms and greens, when should I use each of these?
3. I bought ReptoCal & the Herptivite, can someone explain these to me? How often do I use them, and how do I use each one?
4. Do I leave water in his cage? They told me I could either spray it or dunk his head in water to give it some. How often should I do that?

Any advice would be appretiated.

I feed mine 3 times a day
don't give him mealworms they are hard to digest
put the vitamins and crickets in a plastic bag and shake it up a lil to coat the crickets (do this once a day)
you can leave a water dish in there and either spray him with water or give him a bath every other day to keep him hydrated

 

[w0554096]

Here's a great list of stuff you should have when you get a new beardie. One of our members made the list, and it's very thorough.

a) tank - you could start with a 20 gallon long, but your baby will need a 40 gallon breeder quickly, so might as well just

start with that. If he is intimidated by that, you can partition it with some cardboard or something temporarily.
b) substrate of your choice (but nothing loose) - I would highly suggest slate tile. It is very similar to their natural

habitat, is cheap, easy to clean, keeps muscles toned and nails trim. Other options are reptile carpet, non-adhesive shelf

liner, and paper towel/newspaper. Your call really.
c) basking spot (rock or log, either from outside and sanitized, or bought)
d) hide (don't use this for the first couple weeks so your baby doesn't hide instead of bask and acclimate)
e) other tank furniture (a log, a fake tree, vines, fake plant... whatever you want. Just browse the pet store)
f) basking light (whatever wattage gets you to the right temps (105-115F basking spot, aiming for 110F). You can use either

a clear household bulb or a basking light from a pet store. Just make sure the bulb is not colored or coated.)
g) basking light clamp lamp fixture
h) 3M command hooks
i) under cabinet fluorescent fixture (I got mine at Walmart - I had a heavier one from Lowes, but it kept falling)
j) ReptiSun 10.0 tube
k) Digital thermometer with probe (at least 1, and they should have a hygrometer built in to measure humidity) and/or temp

gun
l) a food bowl for salad, and another for worms/roaches (no water bowl - they don't need a water bowl, and it will just

raise the humidity. Just be sure to give baths. Do not feed mealworms a bearded dragon, but you can put phoenix worms,

silkworms, dubia roaches, waxworms [treat], butterworms [treat], or hornworms [treat] in a bowl. Crickets will not stay in

a bowl)
m) If the tank gets below 65F, another dome fixture and a ceramic heat emitter (do not use a red light)
n) (Optional, but really really useful) a power strip with built in timers for lights.
o) supplements - you will need a calcium with D3 powder to be used 5 days a week, one feeding each day for a baby. As an

adult, this goes down to 3 feedings a week. You will also need a multivitamin powder. Use this two days a week, one feeding

each day for a baby. As an adult, this will drop to 1 feeding a week. I use Rep-Cal and HerptiVite, but other options work

as well.
p) If your ambient temperatures are not high enough, you may need an additional light fixture and a lower wattage household

bulb to bring up the coolside temp and add extra light.