New Owners here any Input would be great!

[Jaysamandbruno]

Hi Everyone! Well Bruno has arrived. I am very excited to say that he seems Happy and full after his first day. So here is what we got going on.He is about 1/2 foot head to tail. We have feed him 15 1/4 size crickets dusted. We have him in a 20 gallon tank which will be traded in as he gets larger. He has some grapes and had a little spinach put out, which he has not touched (but I heard he wont be interested in that for a while), but we give him the option. I have the two lights for him The UVB the heat light. I have given him a rock that doubles as a hide and a place for him to get closer to the light. The heat lamp is heating the right side of the tank to about 95-100, and the left side is at about 80. Bruno is my little baby and me and my gal Sams First pet together, so it is important to us that we can give him a good home and a nice ten years. I was thrilled to see that he is eating and Pooped after eating, is it weird that I was syked bout his first poop!? Tomorrow I will be getting him his own personal spray bottle to keep him moist. I have heard that lots of beardies like a nice warm bath, with the occasional light scrub of a soft toothbrush, should i give this a try or wait till he is bigger? Overall, I feel like we have a nice beginners set up and will grow as owners with him as he grows....I really cant wait to be able to walk him in a harness! I would just love any input from those who have input to give. I look forward to being part of this community who have the common thread of taking care and loving these awesome pets! If you can think of anything we are missing let us know, our house is always around 70-75 at night so night light is not needed and we will be cycling on and off his lights every 12 hours. Ok fire away!


Thanks!
Justin/Sam/ and ofcourse Bruno!

 

[keen77]

Hey sounds great! may want to let the little guy get nice and comfortable in his new viv before a bath. I would wait a week or so. Gave mine one tonight. just make sure it is a little warm and not over his chest. I dont use a brush just let her soak 5-10 mins while keeping a close eye. you can spary him down tomorrow though for sure! Really helps when they are sheeding. From what I've read Spinich is cool sometimes but may want to look into greens for everyday feeding. Mine LOVE Collards, Mustards, and Kale. Sounds like you guys are going to make great pet owners!

 

[jeserah]

Keen gave a good description on how to give your little dude a bath. I would bath him, if he is only 6 inches long, every other day or so though. It is very easy for a small beardie to become dehydrated, so the more baths he gets, the less you'll have to worry about dehydration.

Because your home is so warm in the evenings, you probably won't need a night time heat source, as you say. However, if you do choose to get an extra heat source, a ceramic heat emitter is the way to go. They run from 20 dollars and up, but will last a very long time.

Oh, I was wondering what supplements you're dusting your crickets with?

Congrats on your new family member, and welcome to the site!

 

[Jaysamandbruno]

Hey Guys. Thank for the input. I was wondering something, Bruno Likes to stay on his rock and sunbath when not out of the tank or running around eating, he also sleeps on it at night. I see him very rarly move over to the side of the tank that has the UVB light. I have him in a 20 gallon for now, UVB on the left side and the hear lamp on the right. Will that uvb light even if he is not under it still give himthe UVB he needs. i would assume so, but wanted to check.

 

[Jaysamandbruno]

So today is Bruno's 3rd day with us. He seems Happy has eaten about 10-15 the previous day and today only ate about 3. I would think he is still eating so not to stressed. Should I be expecting him to eat 10-20 a day, or will it really vary from day to day. I want him to be healthy!

Thanks

Justin

 

[jeserah]

He will get the UV he needs as long as it's available, so I think it should be fine. As for feeding, I think it does vary day to day. I don't recall Khan ever deciding he DIDN'T want crickets, but I do remember him deciding not to eat more than 7 or so when on the previous day he had 35, lol. Must have been full

 

[keen77]

might want to put the uvb on the same side as the heat lamp, may help keep the cool side cooler and he will be getting uvb while basking, he should be able to get within 18" of it. One of mine just doesn't seem to care for crickets but she loves roaches so that's cool.

 

[Looneytoon]

Here is my 2 cents,

Spinach very bad, and if i could find there is a very nice list on these boards that tells you all the foods to feed them. (maybe some body will see this and send u link)

Baths warm water like u would put a baby in or a little warmer, we make ares deep enough to where the can still touch with there legs in the sink but over there back. My female will actually swim in her bath time. ( and most of time u never have to clean poo out of there cage. *BONUS*)

If ur beardie only stays on the heat side and not the UVB side try sliding UVB light over a little to the heat side. What I think I have found, is what do u keep the actual whole enclosure temp, if the enclosure temp (like in the middle) is between 90 and 96 during the day, give or take they move well between each side. But also still give them a hide to get away from any light at all.

Now on the eating u will still go through a beardie is getting use to there new cage stage. always supply fresh greens and crickets daily.
Now here is a possible warning beardies sometime will learn to hate crickets if they get other meats. Crickets aren't the worst thing for ur beadies but not the best either (Cal and Proteins wise) On these boards u will find a lot of great info, and everyone is always willing to help.

So in my finale words welcome you are now in the world of the best most confusing animal of beardies.

 

[wolfncoyote]

http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=138420

Congrats on your new dragon! I've supplied a link to another post giving some great info for beginners

 

[Toyguy]

Congrats on Bruno's arrival!

Couple things that seem to catch most new owners out - what kind of UVB bulb is it, Brand and Type. I ask because the vast majority of the bulbs are too weak and some, like all of the compact fluorescents, are even harmful. What you want is the ReptiSUN 10 linear tube bulb. You can get them from PetMountain.com for about $20.

Also, he'll need to be able to get within about 8 inches of the bulb to get the correct amount of UVB.

What kind of substrate are you using?

Your hot side basking temp is a little bit low. You want to aim for around 105 degrees. What are you getting your temperatures with? The usually provided stick-on thermometers are junk and can be as much as 20 degrees off. If you have a Lowes or Walmart nearby, look for an Accurite indoor/outdoor thermometer with a wired probe. Usually about $12. It will measure both the cold and hot temps, and the humidity, all at one time.

Speaking of humidity, watch the misting. You don't want the humidity to go much above 50%. These guys are desert animals. Too moist can lead to fungus, etc. I have never misted Dash - he just gets a bath every other day. Typically he just soaks a bit, but I have brushed him with a very soft toothbrush on those times when he has poo stuck to his tail

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Here's a great website for nutritional info! Good luck with bruno!