New to Beardies need some advice

[Fantom06]

Hi all,
I just got my beardie today (about 8hours ago). I did some research before I got him, and a little more now that I have her, and have some questions. Before I got him I basically had all my questions answered by the guy at the pet store :? who I actually talked to for a good week to get the viv set up and to make sure that it was at the right temps. The guy at the pet store told me that the substrate I should use is carpet or reptilite (calci-sand) which I thought looked nicer. But, now that I have spent $150 on it I find out is dangerous for her.

I have ordered the temp gun on tempgun.com. As for the substrate, I really like the look of the sand but from what I have read on here tonight I do not want any sand, correct? and how urgent is it that I get something else in there for her. I really do not want her to get sick, but do not get paid until Friday, would she be okay until then, or do I need to change it asap?

The pet store guy suggested that I get a timer for my lights (as i did). I have finally figured out how to work it but have no clue what times to set it for.

I have one other wierd question, will a very loud alarm clock stress her too much. I only ask this because I cannot wake up to any normal alarm clock I have ever found, therefore I have a computer program that plays music through my surround sound to wake me, and she is in the room with me. I have to work on Sunday. I am not going to set it for tomorrow, in hopes that someone can tell me if I need to move her to a different room.

How old is your dragon? 1-1.5 years
How long have you had your dragon? 8hours
How long is your dragon? bout 18"
What is the sex of your dragon? Female
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 72x24x24
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? calci-sand (not for long)
Do you use UVB lights? yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Fourescent tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? repti-glo 8.0
How old is your UVB bulb? bran new
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? bout 10" if on log
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Two 150w halogen bulbs
What are the basking temps? 105
What is the cool side temp? 84
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Stick On (ordered temp-gun online tonight)
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? placed thermometer on log under basking light
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? no
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. crickets, kale, and some carots (so far)
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? Mornings and nights
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? Have not yet but was planning on it
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? none yet was looking at getting the repcal vitamins and calcium
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? so far she has went once
Do you bath your dragon? How often? have not yet
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? have dish in viv and bottle
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?no
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? no

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[NOHerp]

See the problem with the calci-sand is that it turns into stones inside the bd's belly, and also, it is made up of sharp little fragments that can damage your dragon's insides. It's best to stay away from ALL sand, because of the risk of impaction, (the way I feel is that 1% chance is still too big of a risk) but if you really must have sand, then sifted silica-free play sand is best. You can buy this at Lowe's, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, or Toys R Us, for about 5 bucks for a 30 pound bag. Everything else seems to be in order though. Welcome to the community, and good luck!! P.S. Show us some pics A.S.A.P.!!

---->> Oh, and I recommend that you get your bd off of that calci-sand pronto. Since you have to wait to get paid, just use some newspaper or paper towels until you can get the carpet or sand. Another idea you can use is tile. It lasts forever, retains a little heat to keep the cage toasty, and is easy to clean.

 

[TariStar]

Babies should not be on playsand. The impaction risk is too high until about sub adult age (there's a chart somewhere that shows how to tell...)

Reptilecarpet, newspaper, butcherpaper, paper towels... when you get paid Slate or ceramic tiles from lowes or home depot are great and durable.

 

[Fantom06]

Thanks for the advice guys. I do plan on getting tile when I get paid here in a little bit I'm going to start to remove the calci-sand, I have to go get a bucket to dump it in. but does any one know about the loud alarm? I've noticed she can hear fairly well (or at least appears too). sorry to keep asking but I don't want to hurt her poor little ears.

 

[TariStar]

I house Yavie next to the TV, she's fine. What she really hates is the vibrations from the Nintendo Wii my boyfriend put on top of her enclosure!

 

[greenknight]

I just got my first beardie 3 days ago and the pet store owner there also sold me four bags of glow in the dark calsi sand :? After looking around this site for a while and with some help from the users here I removed it and got the reptaile carpet(which he seems to love so far) I put paper towels down for the transition period the carpet I got from wal-mart is was about $4 a sheet I got 3 of them(30gal tank) minor cutting to make it fit but it was more then enough good look and let me know how you like the temp gun

 

[Catalyst]

As for the substrate, I really like the look of the sand but from what I have read on here tonight I do not want any sand, correct? and how urgent is it that I get something else in there for her. I really do not want her to get sick, but do not get paid until Friday, would she be okay until then, or do I need to change it asap?

As long as she's not licking the sand or ingesting it in any way, she should in theory be fine to stay on it for a couple of days. You could just pull all that sand out now though, and put down paper towel temporarily to get rid of any risk of her eating it between now and when you get your final substrate. If you really like sand, there are members here who successfully use washed and sifted children's playsand. If your dragon is an adult and not prone to licking at the sand, then she should be okay. Another option would be to use a solid substrate (tile, nonadhesive shelf liner, reptile carpet) and then put a removeable sandbox in for her to dig in. Or, you could do a tank that is 1/2 tiles and 1/2 sand. That way her food dishes are on tile (thus decreasing the chance of her accidentally ingesting the sand) and you still get a bit of the sand look. I personally love the look of slate and am happy to use tiles in my tank.

The pet store guy suggested that I get a timer for my lights (as i did). I have finally figured out how to work it but have no clue what times to set it for.

A dragon should have 12-14 hours of light each day. I prefer to set the lights so that they match up somewhat with my schedule. For example, at one point, my girl's lights went on after I'd already left for work because otherwise her day was over before I would have had any time to interact with her. Right now her lights go on around 7 a.m. and then off around 9 p.m.

I have one other wierd question, will a very loud alarm clock stress her too much. I only ask this because I cannot wake up to any normal alarm clock I have ever found, therefore I have a computer program that plays music through my surround sound to wake me, and she is in the room with me. I have to work on Sunday. I am not going to set it for tomorrow, in hopes that someone can tell me if I need to move her to a different room.

My dragon doesn't seem bothered by loud noises. Her tank is next to the tv in our room and above my alarm clock, which goes off loudly and repeatedly every morning (gotta love the snooze button), and she ignores them both.

How old is your dragon? 1-1.5 years
How long have you had your dragon? 8hours
How long is your dragon? bout 18"
What is the sex of your dragon? Female

That's a nice sized tank for her If you can get her a little bit closer to the UVB (6-8 inches is the suggested range) that would be good.

What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. crickets, kale, and some carots (so far)

Kale is a food that should only be used occassionally with dragons (or used in small amounts mixed in with better staple greens). Good daily staple greens include collard greens, endive, turnip greens and mustard greens among others. You should aim for a salad that's about 90% leafy greens and 10% veggies etc.

How many crickets is she getting? An adult dragon gets 30-50 bugs a week, 30ish if you use superworms and 50ish if you're sticking with crickets. A dragon becomes an adult at 12-18 months of age depending on who you talk to (their major growing is done by 12 months but they do continue to grow until about 18 months).

Hope this helps Good on you for coming out and doing some research.

 

[Fantom06]

Hey thanks for the advice man,
I have moved away from the kale and have been feeding her collard greens, endive, and carrots. And she loves it. Ill get it ready in front of her cage and she just stands there staring at me like, are you done yet, hurry up. She only eats about 7 or 8 crix a day. as for the substrate I put her on paper towels until i can get the tile. I'm really wanting to get some slate tiles for the substrate, and then like some limestone colored ones to build a little basking platform. As for pictures I should have some up as soon as i get my camera back from my moms house. I tried the cell phone thing, but you cannot make out the picture.

 

[TariStar]

Just on the notes, Carrots can cause Vitamin A toxicity, so use them sparingly. Butternut or Summer Squash would be better to feed.

 

[Fantom06]

THANK YOU, I did not know that I will stop giving them to her so much.

 

[TariStar]

No problem, its always a pleasure to help someone who's willing to listen.

 

[Fantom06]

Isis seemed to actually like it better without the carrots. Normally I put her salad in with her before work, then when I come home for lunch she has only eaten about half of it. I came home today and it was
completely gone. How about acorn squash, I know that butternut squash is ok, so I sent my friend to the store for some and ended up with acorn squash :roll: and was wondering if it was okay to feed to her?
She still doesn't seem to know what to think of me. I take her out at least once a day, she usually roams around a bit (bout 5 mins or so),doesn't find much interest in me except for a quick chin rub, then makes a mad dash for her cage, nearly colliding head first with it. Shes starting to get better about it now, she doesn't run for her cage any more now she walks to it and stares at it when she's ready to go back in. Any suggestions on how to get her to warm up to me a little better. I read stories on here about how they love to play but she doesn't seem to like being out for to long of a time.

 

[TariStar]

acorn squash is also a good staple veggie, i think all squash is. its got a 1:1 Calcium to Phosphorous ratio so calcium dust will help make it healthier.

check out http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html but remember, you don't have to feed EVERY green food, just find some that work and mix in others as surprises.

 

[Fantom06]

Cool thanks alot. On Sunday (actually Saturday night) I'm traveling to my mothers house for easter, would it be ok to put about 8-9 crix in her cage along with her salad, on Saturday night when I leave? because I will be gone when her timer turns her lights on in the morning and won't get back until late Sunday night, and I want to make sure that she gets fed.

 

[TariStar]

Just do a salad and pellets. Crickets will nibble on a dragon if not fed! (usually at night when the dragon is sleeping)