New here and new to beardies

[SuzukiRider]

Hi there. This is my first post. I would like to introduce myself and Houdini. I've always had pets but this is my first time acquiring a bearded dragon. I bought him in July when he was 3 months old and is growing like a weed. I named him Houdini because every time I looked in his enclosure I can never see him right away, I had to really look to find him. Now that he's bigger it's easy except when he hides someplace in the house. I never thought I could love a lizard as much as I love this little guy, he's awesome and constantly cuddles with me. I can have him next to me for hours and he just snuggles and sleeps. Now that he's six months old, I'm concerned he's in brumation. Or is it too soon?

I'm considering getting a female so he can have company and a possible girlfriend. Is that recommended or do they do better alone. His home is large, a 120 or so gallon aquarium so there's tons of room for more than one beardie. Any advise would be appreciated.

When I first got him at 3 months.

On my motorcycle seat.

This is what I found when I got home from work. My favorite picture.

His home.

Another favorite. Hugging his stuffy.

 

[SuzukiRider]

Darn, the pictures didn't post. All that work for nothin.

 

[Jaxxnbeardie]

Welcome!

Hrmm..Try just copying and pasting the IMG code from photobucket

 

[FranktheTank]

Hello and Welcome! Houdini sounds awesome, and I hope you try to post the pictures again I would love to see him. Beardies are actually solitary reptiles and can be territorial. I'm not an expert, but feel very strongly that you should not house two beardies together. It's only a matter of time before they fight causing injuries or even death. One will always dominate the other for food, basking spot, and what have you. It's safer and better for the overall well being of beardies to house them separately. Most of the people on this site will agree with me. If you want to get another beardie the cage is big enough to where you could divide it in half, so Houdini would have his own space and so would the other one. I have 2 beardies and they have their own cage, we spoil the heck out of them. They have stuffies and blankies and all sorts of stuff to climb on and lounge on, their cage is better than our house!

-Kaleen

 

[SuzukiRider]

Thanks so much for the welcome and advise. I copied and pasted the full link to the pics from photobucked. I'll give it a try again tonight. I really do want to show him off, he's adorable.

I know I would never house two males but I thought it would be different with a male and female. I'm happy with just the one as it will be harder to spoil 2 I think as it will be just me doing the spoiling.

Hopefully tonight I'll have more luck with the pictures uploaded.

 

[SuzukiRider]

http://s1203.photobucket.com/albums/bb395/Nufechk/?action=view&current=DSCN0702-Copy.jpg

 

[GlueStick]

Hello and welcome to the site! Houdini is beautiful and his tank set up is amazing =) 120 gallons-a dream!

I would not recommend getting him a 'girlfriend' however, unless you were planning to breed them, in which case you would separate the female after the 'deed is done' regardless. Most reptiles, like bearded dragons, are independent animals and do not require the company of another. They do not need a 'buddy,' as these are HUMAN characteristics that we tend to put onto animals, or more specifically reptiles. I will post this thread as a way of making up your mind on the circumstance: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=154908

 

[SuzukiRider]

Thanks so much for the link and compliments. Wow, that thread is so sad, seeing those poor creatures with limbs missing. I'm not sure if I agree about the part of their brain not being developed enough for emotion. I do believe they do get attached and show affection to humans though. Houdini snuggles with me constantly. I can have him cuddling at my neck for hours. I can tell when he wants cuddle time as he tries to get out of his home. Do they ever get mean to humans? Reading that thread and looking at those pics, just solidified my decision to not get another beardie or one that will share his home. I'm still learning so I'm planning on reading as much as possible in this forum as I'm sure I will learn so much here.

I'm still determined to figure out how to post a picture.

 

[GlueStick]

The care and time you devote to any animal will determine whether the animal will ever be 'mean'. =P
However, I can say that due to the lack of handling of my female, Calypso, at an early age, that she is not much for 'snuggle' time or being picked up overall and will puff up and open her mouth at me. She has never bitten me (yet) and usually surrenders to the gesture, but does not carry that same bond I feel with my male, Aussie, who has always been devoted to since his 3 day old enter into my life =) He will and has never been 'mean' or aggressive in any shape or form (to me anyway. couldn't say much of his own reflection, haha)

You can use Photobucket.com to share pictures. Just upload pictures onto photobucket from your pc. Once upload, there will be several options that appear below the given picture. Copy and Paste the one that says IMG CODE to your submitted message on beardeddragon.org and woo la, shared picture =)

-Glue

 

[SuzukiRider]

Thank you so much Glue. I was coping the address line after hitting the Img button just above here. It's finally working. YOU ROCK!!! :headbang:

The day I took him home at 3 months.

I come home from work to see him doing this.

. Enjoying the sunshine.

Snuggling with his mom.

Snuggling his stuffy.

His home.

 

[GlueStick]

Ah see, there you go! Pictures!

Isn't it amazing how fast they can grow?
See you need a lid there mam =P
Bearded dragons are quite the jumpers and climbers.
But I really do love his setup. Looks as if there are lots to do to keep him entertained.
Now that I am looking in depth, do you have a UVB bulb at all?

Because I thought your setup was so neat, I felt like sharing my own (75gal) =P Hope you don't mind the intrusion! (as you can see, the background fell off. Believe it or not, I don't have any tape in this apartment!):

-Glue

 

[SuzukiRider]

I love your setup, especially the platform he's on.
I do have a UVB light, it's that bright light. They call it a basking light, 75% intense. The bulb itself says exo-terra Sun Glow. I don't see any UVB rating but I do hope it has it. If not, guess I'll have to go shopping again.
I do have the original lid but I don't think I'll need it, not yet anyway. The tank is over 2ft tall. I can barely get him out and have to use a stool to change his water and food dish.
I am totally amazed at how fast he's growing, it seems he was doing a full shed every 2 weeks or so. And EAT!!! Oh my lord. This boy can eat.

 

[Mirthy]

Yup you need another light for UVBs. That one will give UVAs just like all household bulbs will but you need to buy a special bulb to give him UVBs which help with calcium absorption. Very important! Since you haven't bought one yet, I'd like to toss out my recommendation for a reptisun 10 tube bulb if you live in the US. It is a VERY good bulb and I don't even own stock in them, I swear! It is made by ZooMed. Don't get the coil bulb as the uvb can be inconsistent and some of the other bulbs on the market have caused problems in the past or have too intense or not enough output. Crazy eh? These UVB bulbs say they are good for a year but generally only provide proper bearded dragon UVB for 6 months. There are meters you can buy to test them but they are insanely expensive if you only have one dragon. I hope that helps. Your dragon looks adorable and I love your set up!
EDIT:
Oops just saw you are in Canada! I'm pretty sure Reptisun 10 is still the bulb for you but I'm going to do a quick look because I know there is another bulb that folks in the UK and AU use instead of Reptisun 10 which is the equivalent. Reptiglo is a different bulb, btw.
Edit x 2: hehehe I did find an on line pet store but they are a little more pricey to US costs http://www.petsandponds.com/en/reptile-supplies/c194883/p16749871.html but they do carry the reptisun 10 so I'm guessing you can get it. Amazon.com can have some deals on them also. Hope that helps!

 

[GlueStick]

Well she does have a UVB - the Exo Terra Sun Glo. Is it something that we recommend? not entirely as the emission rates aren't completely accurate (but it is not a TERRIBLE bulb), and I'm pretty sure that you are not allowed to angle that bulb? (I think that it says on the box that the bulb can only face downward? The same with the zoomed powersun. Something about the filaments in the bulb...) I usually recommend the ReptiSUN 10.0 linear fluorescent tube as a UVB (I'm pretty sure that you can get these in Canada). Just remember to change these every 6-8 months and place them closest to the basking side/hottest side of the tank. If you look into the picture of my tank up above, my hot side and UVB is on the right side of the tank. If you choose to keep the Sun Glo, that is alright. Just make sure your reread the box for mounting instructions and, keep it within the tank like you have because as mentioned, the UV emissions aren't as strong or appropriate unless very close to the dragon. Make sure you change the Sun Glo every 8-12 months.

And I see that you have a red bulb in there. There is no use for them as bearded dragons thrive under white light (those red, blue, and black bulbs and for viewing and heating of nocturnal reptiles, not diurnal reptiles, like the bearded dragon.) If you would like to heat up the cooler side of the tank, simple white household bulbs will do =)

Yes, the dragons eat a lot! My female, Calypso, is a beast! She can eat anything at any part of the day...

-Glue

 

[Jaxxnbeardie]

The Exo Terra Sun Glo is not a UVB bulb. It is purely a basking UVA lamp that comes in 50, 75, 100, and 150 watt variants.
The Exo Terra Solar Glo is a self ballasted mercury vapor bulb, similar to the Powersun or Mega ray. This emits heat and UVB and must be changed when it goes out (filament breaks).

Just wanted to add some clarification. If you do in fact only have the Sun Glo, be sure to pick up a UVB bulb. As mentioned above the recommended bulb is the Reptisun 10.0 linear UVB fluorescent tube.

Here are the links to all three mentioned bulbs.

Sun Glo
http://www.petmountain.com/show_pro...gle&utm_medium=datafeed&utm_term=11442-500165

Solar Glo
http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Glo-Intensity-Self-Ballasted-Mercury-125-Watt/dp/B00101JIFG

Reptisun 10.0
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/11442-504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10-0-uvb-bulb.html?utm_source=gcs&utm_term=11442-504983