New to Beardies; a Few Questions

[Rox]

Hi everyone,
I'm getting my first bearded dragon on Saturday as a surprise for my kids, and I've never even owned a reptile before. I need help! I feel a little overwhelmed at all the things I need to know -- I thought I was on track with asking a lot of questions at the pet store and checking a book out from the library, but the book and the store keep contradicting each other! So, I thought a community of actual owners would have the best answers to my final questions. Here they are, if you're able to help a nervous lizard owner out:

1. I know one side of the tank should be warmer, and the other cooler. I believe I read 80 degrees for the cooler side. But how do you regulate the heat on the cooler side? Don't you just use one heat lamp, or do you need a heat lamp on each side of the tank? (Our tank is a 90 gallon)

2. While the pet store recommended reptile carpet for the bottom of the cage, I think I'd rather use sand. The book I have says it's fine to use sandbox-type sand. Would that be just what you can buy at stores like Toys R' Us? How do you clean that out of a heavy tank when you need to? I would think you would dump it out every once in a while, but my tank is heavy. Do you think scooping most of it out and then vacuuming the rest would work?

3. My book says the lights can be a fire hazard. I was planning on putting the tank in my kids' room, since it will be their pet, but is that safe? Do any of you keep in in your children's room? If we don't put it there, our next option is downstairs in my husband's office room, but that's also carpeted. Should I have it on a bare floor in case of fire, or is it not that much of a worry?

4. Should I get a hide for the beardie? The book says they need one, but the pet store said not to get one because they might go into early brumation if they have one.

5. The store said I didn't need a night heat lamp, to just turn the regular heat lamp off at night and on in the morning. Is that true? It doesn't sound right to me.

6. What about heat pads that go under the tank? Our tank came with some, but the lady at the store said don't use them, that the beardie will get too hot because they don't feel heat through their stomachs and could sit over it too long.

7. How long can you keep them out of the cage? Will they get too cold after a while and is there some way of knowing if they're getting cold? Does it make a difference if they're being held vs. walking around on the floor?

8. If I get a water dish, should I still mist the dragon and cage with a spray bottle? Or should I just mist and skip the water dish?

9. Does their basking spot need to be right under the heat lamp, and should it be near the top of the cage, like a tall branch, so they're closest to the heat?

Sorry if this was way too many questions for one post. I didn't realize I had so many questions until I started typing. I just hope I can figure this all out by Saturday! So excited, but worried I'll forget something!

 

[Rox]

I just started looking on the "what to buy" section and found the answers to a couple of my questions there already I see that I do need a CHE for heat at night if my house gets cold enough (I'll have to pay attention to the temp in here tonight) and no heating pad.

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[Juniper]

I'm excited for you! Having a beardie is wonderful. I got my first one as a kid, and caring for her was a good lesson in responsibility, with supervision from my mom. Other people will be able to give you more and better detail than this, but there are a few things I can tell you for sure, from my own research (the areas where recent near-consensus exists among experts and experienced keepers) and my experience (I had my last beardie for twelve years and have a new baby one now).

1. The ideal temperature for the basking spot (hottest accessible part of the enclosure) depends on the beardie's age. Babies need higher basking temps, at least 100, but not more than 110. You can regulate the temperature of the basking spot by adjusting how far away the heat lamp is. Depending on the fixture, you can use a clamp or hang it from something, or you can adjust the height of whatever piece of furniture you provide for basking on (a log or rock that reaches a little higher if it's too cool, or lower if it's warm enough further down--but not too close to the lamp, so as to avoid burns).

2. Please please do not use sand. That is one thing everyone on this forum will tell you, and some of us learned through terrible experiences. I had my first bearded dragon for only two years because I also read a guidebook that told me to use sand. (Most guidebooks are not up-to-date on what we have learned about reptile husbandry, which is a newish and developing field.) She ate some sand, it blocked up her intestines (I saw the horrifying x-ray), and she died slowly and painfully. This doesn't happen to every beardie that lives on sand, but it's common, and there's not much you can do if it happens--if gentler methods like soaking or laxatives fail, as they often do with bad impactions, that just leaves surgery, which is very risky on an animal that small. They lick everything, so they will ingest at least small quantities of anything loose in their cage. Calci-sand, contrary to advertisements, is not significantly more digestible and also harbors bacteria. (It's also best to buy a beardie that has never been kept on sand, if possible, to make sure you don't buy one that is already impacted and just not showing symptoms yet.) I use 6"x6" slate tiles on the floor of my tank. They make cleaning super easy because you can just take out the one poopy tile, dump the poop, wash it off, and put it back. A two-minute ordeal, unlike cleaning pretty much any other substrate. Also cheap, and a one-time purchase, available at most home improvement stores. Babies usually poop once or twice a day, adults usually once a day or every couple days.

4. A hide is good to have, so they have a calming place to retreat to if they get stressed, but you should cover or remove it if they go in it a lot, because they might not be getting enough UV or heat. Something they can hide behind, while still reached by the UV rays, is better than something they can hide under.

5. They should not have lights on at night because it will keep them awake. My beardie lives in my room and I stay up later than him, so I cover his tank with a dark sheet after I put his lights out so he can sleep. They only need a heat source at night if the room where they live gets cooler than 65 degrees.

6. The pet store employee was right about the risks of heat pads (though it is good to double-check things you hear from pet store employees, as they don't always have the best information about exotic pets). It can be okay to use one as a night heat source as long as there are enough layers/space to keep it from burning the dragon and you've checked the surface temp, but a ceramic heat emitter is safer. You might not need a night heat source.

7. Bearded dragons get darker when they're cold to try to absorb more sunlight/heat.

8. Water dishes can sometimes make an enclosure too humid. If the tank is well-ventilated and you have relatively dry air, it might be fine. People have different positions on water bowls. Once a bearded dragon is old enough to have a mostly-plants diet, you can get them most of the hydration they need by wetting their salad before giving it to them. Before that, or if the beardie is slow to eat salad, it's kind of trial-and-error figuring out what method works best for watering that particular dragon. They all have very different feelings about baths, misting, and water bowls.

9. The basking spot should be under the heat lamp, but check the temperature in the highest spot where they can sit. I've heard varying guidelines for what's a safe distance from the light, but temperature is a good guide.

(And I know this is a lot of information, and that it's stressful sorting through conflicting advice from different sources! I'm glad you came here; there are people on this forum who know way more than me and have been very helpful and supportive and kind while I fuss over/worry about everything my new baby does. They are wonderful resources!)

 

[Rox]

Thanks so much, Juniper! I took all your advice when I went out today to get the last of what we need before we pick up our little beardie. And we did decide to go with tile, not sand. So glad I found this forum!

 

[Juniper]

Wonderful, I'm glad it was helpful! Have a lovely time with your new critter.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Good for you. Beardies are fabulous pets. Your kids will be really chuffed .... just beware a hatchy beardie has only got 2 speeds , dead stop (and looking around) or warp 10. Hatchling / baby and juvenile beardies are DELICATE so no squeezing and your kids need to gentle with new little spikey 4 legged family member, WHO will want to explore EVERYTHING and EVERYONE.

My 2 beardies were babies when got them (and only 8 g) could use all 4 feet to cuddle my thumb!
They grow FAST!!! They are now 3 years old and nearly 700g and over 24" long nose to tail and both have unique personalities. Both love cuddles (Puff especially !!).



PLEASE DO NOT USE mealworms as the only live food for it, they are a very poor food. OK as bonding and food treats though.

Crickets are a great staple live food for growing young beardie, make sure you buy crickets that are the right size for your beardie to eat (no bigger than the distance between his eyes). Gut load the crickets by leaving leafy greens (bok choi say) and carrot in the cricket keeper overnight , I also feed my crickets adult beardie pellets too - they love the pellets and I reckon it's the best way of getting pellets into a lizard (via the insects they are eating).

Is very good idea to use a good quality Ca dust and a good quality vitamin powder (to dust the insects).

IF you can find someone who has silkworms - they are a the bees' knees for a staple food for a lizard, especially a young hungry and growing one.

Regarding use of a heatpad = all 5 of my pet lizards have heatpads, and have had them since they were babies.
I use 7W heatpads for the big guys (beardies and bluetongues) and a 5W for the eastern water skink.
All are sandwiched between 2 layers of ceramic wall tiles - to even out the temperature and insulate the pads and prevent scorching , and all are on simple switching thermostats so ensure they DO NOT OVER HEAT and stay within a degree C of the aim temperatures (36oC for the beardies, 34oC for the skinks) and my pads are inside the enclosures and the main hide is on top .
I've not had any problems with mine in over 5 years of use. Very common set up here in Australia.
BTW I don't use those horrible green coloured heatpads, mine are simple film type heatpads.
My heatpad are run 24/7.
My lizards all appreciate having a nice warm place to curl up and go to sleep at night, especially in the cooler months. They of cause have the option to sleep elsewhere at night in their enclosures too.

My main source of heat was a Arcadia MVB when my beardies were little, I now use P38 spot globes for heat and white light , and now they get UVA and UVB from UVB200 CFBs. No issues here.
My lights are all on a simple electronic timer - on 6am, off 9:30pm.

Check out http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html , this is an excellent guide of foods to offer.

Start offering shredded greens (ie bok choi, etc) and chopped/ grated raw veg as soon as you have the little guy, best to put the salad/veg in first thing in the morning and leave it there at least til bed time.

Best to NOT feed the live insects to the little guy in the tub enmass, he'll be overwhelmed, and many will escape him and come out at night to disturb his sleep (and they will nibble on him if there is nothing else edible in the enclosure). Most here feed their new hatchies in a feeding tub , give the insects a few at time so he isn't overwhelmed and confused by a mass of insects crawling / hopping everywhere. This is what I did until I decided to handfeed.

 

[kingofnobbys]

1. I know one side of the tank should be warmer, and the other cooler. I believe I read 80 degrees for the cooler side. But how do you regulate the heat on the cooler side? Don't you just use one heat lamp, or do you need a heat lamp on each side of the tank? (Our tank is a 90 gallon)

Obtain a suitable sized MVB or Parr38 spot globe to get a basking spot temp about 100oF (40oC) about 8" from spot as measured using a probe or temperature gun.
The warm zone temperature and cool zone temperature will be governed by the above and by the cross tank air flow and ambient temperature of the air in the room.
Essentially a matter of trial and error.

 

[kingofnobbys]

2. While the pet store recommended reptile carpet for the bottom of the cage, I think I'd rather use sand. The book I have says it's fine to use sandbox-type sand. Would that be just what you can buy at stores like Toys R' Us? How do you clean that out of a heavy tank when you need to? I would think you would dump it out every once in a while, but my tank is heavy. Do you think scooping most of it out and then vacuuming the rest would work?

Many experienced breeders and keepers here in Australia sware by dry screened play sand as a bedding even for very young beardies and claim never to have issues with impaction.

Privately, I see all manner of potential issues with using sand.

SO when mine were hatchies I had them on good quality absorbant paper towels. Now on tiles.

 

[kingofnobbys]

3. My book says the lights can be a fire hazard. I was planning on putting the tank in my kids' room, since it will be their pet, but is that safe? Do any of you keep in in your children's room? If we don't put it there, our next option is downstairs in my husband's office room, but that's also carpeted. Should I have it on a bare floor in case of fire, or is it not that much of a worry?

If it's in a good quality ALL CERAMIC HIGH TEMPERATURE light fitting and on a timer , I can't see an issues. Smoke detectors are cheap anyway.

 

[kingofnobbys]

4. Should I get a hide for the beardie? The book says they need one, but the pet store said not to get one because they might go into early brumation if they have one.

Definitely , acrylic fake half logs are great , and can double as a basking spot too.

5. The store said I didn't need a night heat lamp, to just turn the regular heat lamp off at night and on in the morning. Is that true? It doesn't sound right to me.

If it gets cold in the house at night , a heat pad (see my prior post) is going to be appreciated, and perhaps even a good quality CHE mounted in good quality CERAMIC HIGH TEMPERATURE fitting and controlled by both a timer (to turn off during the day) and a simple switching thermostat to keep the temperature in the enclosure warm enough for the beardies overnight (not a good idea to chill young beardies in conditions under 20oC).
BEST to try to prevent a beardie from brumating in their 1st year.

 

[kingofnobbys]

7. How long can you keep them out of the cage? Will they get too cold after a while and is there some way of knowing if they're getting cold? Does it make a difference if they're being held vs. walking around on the floor?

As hatchlings we restricted out of enclosure time to hand feeding, petting and nursies/ cuddles and to let them climb all over us to explore- a favourate spot was on top of my head !!! . Would often be really active and real handful ( a few frights when they lept from one place to another - be prepared for unpredictable leaps ) and then they would find a cozy spot under my shirt, in a pocket , on my open hand or under my neck and fall asleep.

When they had grown enough so they couldn't dash under the furnature and disappear, about 3 - 4 months old we started letting them down to explore in selected safe rooms under close supervision.

Eventually we were letting our 2 out for free range time inside the house (never together though ., but accompanied by a buddy = one of the bluetongues (who are the same size) and also enjoy free range time inside the house.
This afternoon Rex was on the floor from noon until 3pm.
They DO ENJOY the freedom.

 

[kingofnobbys]

8. If I get a water dish, should I still mist the dragon and cage with a spray bottle? Or should I just mist and skip the water dish?

Mine tended to use the water dish to sit in (cool off) or as their toilet (the poo doesn't stink if under the water - cleavour lizards hey !).

I removed the beardie's water dishes before they were grown - adds to enclosure humidity and if they are eating enough insects and greens and veg , they should be well enough hydrated.
I do occasionally mist mine If it's a very hot day.

Common practice here in Australia to have no standing water / running water in a bearded dragon's enclosure.

Note bearded dragons evolved to live in very dry regions in central and subtropical Australia and can go a great many months without seeing any rain or standing/running water.