New here, no beardie yet!

[hmarie186]

My name is Heather and as the title states I don't have a dragon yet but am doing my research before ever attempting it! Everyone here seems super nice so I'm looking forward to reading and learning a lot.

A little of why I'm here:
My husband and I got into reptiles not even a year ago with our first leopard gecko. We wanted a non fur pet because of his allergies and decided on a reptile. Fast forward to last October when I rescued a very ill leopard at a chain pet store. He's now healthy and happy and growing like a weed. We love them very much and they give us LOTS of entertainment but they are pretty fragile as far as dropping their tails, which they've never done but we are always very aware of it, and their size. They seem to have very cat like personalities and are very fickle about being out with us sometimes. The youngest normally wants to be with us but our year old male is just getting very .. well, catty. That's the best I can describe them LOL! We are looking for a reptile a little more active and friendly and bearded dragons seem to fit the bill. Their larger size is appealing too!

Now I've read a lot but I still have some questions unanswered about "daily life" with a beardie that I'm hoping someone can offer some insight into.

1. We plan to buy from a breeder and are researching different ones. Looks like babies need to be fed several times a day but we work full time jobs and depending on the day we are gone early morning to late night. We can't feed an afternoon meal. Is this crucial?

2. How much time do you spend on these salads each day/week and are there some time saving tips? My parents grow fresh vegetables and fruits in the spring and summer so we will have access to a lot of things

3. It seems superworms are addicting. Should I exclude them from the diet? I already raise dubias for the leopards and am starting some green banana roaches, Lateralis and lobster roaches soon.

4. What type of cage is best? I'm getting away from tanks because they are so heavy and moving the boys into PVC cages. Are these suitable for bearded dragons as well? It would be great to be able to stack the cages, as our house is not very big and space is premium! The boys are getting their own 36x20x13 cages so pretty much a 40B. How do you set up lighting and heat for those? I have UTHs and no lights so I'm still uneducated with the UVB or Mercury vapor bulbs and basking lights etc.

5. How much attention do they need? Do they need let out every day to run around or they start getting bored and scratching the glass up?

6. Do they need to eat everyday or can we leave them for a few days while we go on weekend trips in the summer? Our geckos will be fine if we feed them the day we leave and the day we come back. I ask because we may wait to get one until October when our weekend trips and 10 day vacation is over. We can take it to my moms over the 10 days though and she'll just visit every 3 days to feed the geckos.

Ok I think that's all my questions for now. Thank you for reading my crazy novel and thank you in advance for your responses!

 

[Taterbug]

1) depends how old. I did two meals with my guy when he was little, got him as a 3 month old. Roaches can also be dish fed while you are out.

2) I just shred leafs by hand and add other things. <5minutes per morning on salads.

3) yeah... I would. Or feed them small quantities and sporadically. With that many roach colonies you'll be well on your way for variety. Maybe mix in some silkworms or soldier fly larvae if you want a "worm" to ad.

4) bigger is better. IMO 4x2x2 is a minimum size, as much space as you give will get used. Many designs can stack and there are pvc makers that have similar dimensions. I like the T5 uvb, though MVB and metal halides offer UVA too wich is a plus. Uvguide.uk.co and the uv meter owners group on yahoo! Are some of the best uv resources out there. We would be happy to help sort it out with you but its a long topic for a broad resolve like this. Some keepers even use low level uv for their leos

5) depends on the individual, I wouldn't consider it so much "attention" as enrichment and exersize opportunity. My guy is more "cat" than other dragon on here. He does his own thing, has a certain time of day he'd like to go wander etc. Cage size would also factor into how much outside time - I work full time so I give a big cage so he can still get exersize etc.

6) older dragons can do fine with more sporadic feeding. There are lots of over fed dragons out there. Little guys I'd not leave so long.