New to Everything Bearded Dragon

[Beausoleiljacob]

Hi Everyone,
I am very new to all the information that goes along with Bearded Dragon keeping, and before I went out and bought my little friend, I decided to research and understand it all. First of all, the biggest thing I am confused with is supplements and multivitamins. I don't understand how much, what, and how frequently I should be dosing. I know that you should use a Calcium supplement and a Multivitamin but I have been getting mixed emotions about whether to use D3 or not, some say you don't need it while other say you do! Also, what brands should I be getting? I have heard that the Rep-cal brand is one of the best. However, I don't understand how to dose with one instead of the other considering all of their products require the Herptivite. I would just like to know how much I should be using. Secondly, I am very confused with how much of what I should be feeding my bearded dragon. also have read that juvenile bearded dragons require a lot of protein and less plant matter unlike when they are older. Nevertheless, I don't know what types of lighting (Night Time, Basking, UVA&UVB - I dont know what wattage though) to get or how big of a terrarium. I have a 55 gallon that I bought from Petco originally meant for my fish but know I would really like something that I can actually interact with. In addition, as a substrate I'm not sure whether to use the Reptile carpet that looks like sand or tile. Overall, the biggest thing I really don't get is cleaning and sanitizing and which products should be used and how to do it. Thanks for all your help!

 

[Zuzu]

I'll edit this post with info and links later!

 

[Beausoleiljacob]

I'll edit this post with info and links later!

Thank You SO Much I can't wait to get my new pet!

 

[Eckabeb]

Feeding a juvenile : When it comes to feeding, try to keep bugs no bigger than the space between their eyes. Crickets (small to medium) that have been "gutloaded" or dusted with supplements, phoenix worms, silkworms, dubia roaches (small) or small (depending on dragon size) horn worms. You should feed them 2-3 times a day for 15 minutes each as much as your dragon is willing to eat.
As a side note, even though you are feeding him bugs, you still need to have a small bowl of fresh salad for him daily. Collard or mustard greens are my base, then we will occasionally add other items such as squash, mango, carrots, red peppers, etc. Check out beautifuldragons.com for a great nutrition guide. I glance at it every time I go shopping for new items to try with her.

Substrate: personally, we bought the repticarpet and put it under the tiles. The tile works great. If one gets pooped on, just take that time outside or to a shower and wash it off. Walah, easy cleaning.

Lighting : No night time lighting. Ever. Even the red bulbs they can see easily. During the day you should have a basking bulb that keeps one side of the tank (like a basking platform) between 95-105f. As for uvb/uva, coil bulbs are frowned down upon due to there being multiple incedents of those bulbs hurting your dragons eyes. We use a t5 ho 10.0 tube bulb. It sits on top of the tank (wire top) and we leave it on a time with her basking bulb, 10am-12am. After that, it's lights out. If the tempos go below 75f at night, get a che bulb. It emits heat without the light.

A 55 gallon is a great tank size for your dragon, 40 is the minimum. He needs at least one hidey place, something to bask on. That's the min of items in the rank. We have a climbing log, 2 hides, and a washcloth we use as a blankie when she goes to bed.

Good luck with your soontobe new dragon!

 

[Beausoleiljacob]

Feeding a juvenile : When it comes to feeding, try to keep bugs no bigger than the space between their eyes. Crickets (small to medium) that have been "gutloaded" or dusted with supplements, phoenix worms, silkworms, dubia roaches (small) or small (depending on dragon size) horn worms. You should feed them 2-3 times a day for 15 minutes each as much as your dragon is willing to eat.
As a side note, even though you are feeding him bugs, you still need to have a small bowl of fresh salad for him daily. Collard or mustard greens are my base, then we will occasionally add other items such as squash, mango, carrots, red peppers, etc. Check out beautifuldragons.com for a great nutrition guide. I glance at it every time I go shopping for new items to try with her.

Substrate: personally, we bought the repticarpet and put it under the tiles. The tile works great. If one gets pooped on, just take that time outside or to a shower and wash it off. Walah, easy cleaning.

Lighting : No night time lighting. Ever. Even the red bulbs they can see easily. During the day you should have a basking bulb that keeps one side of the tank (like a basking platform) between 95-105f. As for uvb/uva, coil bulbs are frowned down upon due to there being multiple incedents of those bulbs hurting your dragons eyes. We use a t5 ho 10.0 tube bulb. It sits on top of the tank (wire top) and we leave it on a time with her basking bulb, 10am-12am. After that, it's lights out. If the tempos go below 75f at night, get a che bulb. It emits heat without the light.

A 55 gallon is a great tank size for your dragon, 40 is the minimum. He needs at least one hidey place, something to bask on. That's the min of items in the rank. We have a climbing log, 2 hides, and a washcloth we use as a blankie when she goes to bed.

Good luck with your soontobe new dragon!

Thanks for all the great information. However the only thing you left out is my questions regarding supplements and vitamins. Nevertheless, I also had another question regarding lighting. What exact bulbs and what wattage should I get for my 55 gallon. Also do you recommend screen clamps. Are they needed? What brand? Also would you be able to give me a number of days of how frequently each substance should be used.

 

[SukiLove]

For the supplements, Repcal is a good brand, as well as Repashy. You want to get a calcium supplement with vitamin D3 preferably, and a multivitamin supplement. For the multivitamin I prefer to use one with beta carotene instead of vitamin A (beta carotene comes from vitamin A) because they get the benefits of vitamin A from the beta carotene without the worry of giving too much - which is toxic. When they are juveniles, you want to dust their food 5x a week with calcium and 2-3x a week with the multivitamin. Most people put the bugs in a bag and shake them so the powder sticks to them right before feeding. This only works when the bugs are fed immediately as they clean themselves off. When they get older you can back off on the calcium to 3x a week and the multivitamin 1-2xs.

 

[Drache613]

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