New to Reptile World

[pogismom]

Greetings! I'm a brand new-newbie to the reptile world. I have mostly furry and feathery pets. This desire to own a bearded dragon was when I spotted one at Petco two days ago...a leather back beardie that had mistakenly been shipped to them with the normals. 'Her' color was so attractive I immediately spotted her and asked to hold her. That was it. I was smitten. She just sat there calmly and let me hold her until I reluctantly put her back. My reaction to the beardie took my family by surprise since we owned so many non-reptile pets. They were pretty much against me adopting this gorgeous sweet baby beardie that they dragged me out. But after sharing the research about how family friendly they are, and easy to raise for beginners they warmed up to the idea. They just needed more information. Plus a good sale never hurts either!

I am a member of the Guinea Pig forum as well which is where I have learned so much about being a better parent to them. I am glad I found this forum, since I want to give Pogi a long, healthy, and happy life as well. (BTW Pogi means handsome in Filipino even though I don't know the gender I still think he/she is handsome). Glad to have joined!

 

[fruitloopslave]

What's the name of the guinea pig fourum

 

[DixieLonestar20x]

Congrats and welcome! Reptiles are quite a bit different than what you are used to but you obviously are willing to learn and do things the correct way! I wish I would have had a community like this forum offers when I first got into beardies and reptiles! Feel free to ask any questions/concerns you have!

Also, have you already gotten Pogi? If so, maybe you could go over your set up some and we could make sure you are starting out on the right foot as husbandry is numero uno!


- Justin

 

[pogismom]

Thank you for the warm welcome! The Guinea Pig forum is a part of the Guinea Pig Cage Store, and the Guinea Pig Market. It is guineapigcages.com/forum

I actually set up my tank prior to bringing Pogi home. She is in a 29 gallon tank, with a wire mesh cover. It was given to me by a friend so I felt it was a good place to start and will look out for something bigger and easier to manage as she gets bigger. I don't particularly like having to remove the heating sources off the lid just to open and close it all the time. I'd really like a front opening.

I have a strip florescent Zilla light bulb dessert fixture that came with a dessert 50 UVB/T8 fluorescent bulb. Plus a ceramic light clamp with a Zoo Med Repti Basking Spot lamp 100 w. Both sit on top of the mesh cover. I have a thermometer in the warmer side of the tank that is reading 90*. There is a small 'pond' on the cool side with water, plus a small bowl with small meal worms, and a dish with small pieces of chopped up kale dusted with Zoo Med Reptivite reptile vtamins w D3, a poor excuse for a hidey hut on the cool side (I made it from the slate that came with the tank...will get something else soon...though I'm not sure what size I should get or kind) and a large ceramic tree-looking replica in the basking area. All sit on top of terrarium liner.

She has been fairly low key. But I did put three baby crickets in her tank tonight and she ate one up pretty fast, but then just watched the others scurry away from her without any attempt to eat them even when they passed right under her nose. We have held her a few times already and she is pretty docile...even falling asleep in our hands as we stroked her head, back, and even under her chin. She is liking the basking area best so far. Hasn't touched the kale or mealworms yet. Then again, she may have eaten a lot while in the store. She is now looking more alert and is climbing her tree-looking thing...(swear it almost looks like that tree in Harry Potter). Not being savvy to reptiles behavior I am not sure if this is all normal behavior from just being rehomed from the pet store...skin, eyes, mouth, and body look healthy...no sign so far of the illnesses I've read to look out for when purchasing one. I do plan to wait the two week time before bringing her to my vet who does handle exotics including reptiles to make sure no parasites are present. I haven't seen any poop yet so I cannot give an evaluation on that end...no pun intended.

Do let me know if you think I am missing any vital habitat elements at this time. We brought Pogi home today around 3pm. It is now 11:30 pm. So behavior wise if anything already sounds strange do let me know. Again, glad to be on the forum!

BTW is their eyesight good? What about their hearing or sense of smell?

 

[pogismom]

I do have some questions...

Should I keep the UVA strip light and the basking light on all night? The basking light gets pretty hot. It does have a dimmer on the cord. Not sure if I should use the dimmer to turn it down but not off....I do get a little paranoid having such a hot bulb on overnight for fire hazard reasons. Is there a time of day the lights should be on? I have read 10-12 hours of day light, and 10-12 hours of sleeping without lights...but I get concerned since she is still adjusting to vary her temps too much even overnight.

Behavior wise...is it normal for them not to be as hungry or defecate when they are adjusting? When does that become a concern? How many crickets should I put in her tank or mealworms? Are those given daily or alternately every other day? When do you remove them?

Food wise...the pet stores really push kale as a part of their daily diet by from what I am reading it is only an occasional food, and not a daily green. Also do you have to mist the greens to help the powder stick? Should it stay in all day or remove after a couple of hours, or sooner? I know for my pigs and rabbit the rule is remove it as soon as they show no more interest in it to prevent bacteria from building up on it.

Do beardies have any preference in how they are handled or petted? Any places they tend to not like having touched?

I have seen something about their fat pads? Not sure how to spot what is normal on mine. Plus what are the vent looking spots on their backs near their necks? It is past their ears.

Is a daily mist necessary for them or just a weekly soak in a sink/tub?

Aside from daily maintenance of keeping the tank free of poop droppings, how often do you have to remove everything and wash it out?

I have read conflicting information on these topics and wanted to see if could be clearer guidance on them.

Many thanks!

 

[Tonja]

I would suggest you read the newbies guide to lighting as you need the reptiSUN 10.0 tube light mounted inside your tank. The other lights have been known to cause eye problems in beardies, lethargy and loss of appetite. They need proper UVB in order to utilize calcium and to make vitamin D3. They don't need misted as that can raise the humidity and in turn cause a URI. Beardies need complete darkness to get proper sleep, so turn off the lights after 12 to 14 hours. There is a great nutritional chart at beautifuldragons.com that most of us use, make sure feeders are no larger than the space between the eyes. Temps need to be taken with a temp gun or probed thermometer < basking spot 100 -110, hot 85-95 degrees and cool side 75 -65. If temps at night fall below 65 then you can use a non light heat emitter that is ceramic. Beardies need to be 6-8 inches from the uvb tube with a white light placed beside it for the health of their eyes. Fat pads are soft raised areas on the head..in the tail base and under the arms, they should be nicely filled in. The dark spots you are speaking of are their shoulder pads, all beardies have them. The vent is under the tail where they pooh and along the thighs on either side of the vent are femoral pores. Do not feed mealworms as the hard chitin shell is hard for them to digest and waxworms are very fatty so don't feed those but as a once in a while treat. Better worms are superworms provided your beardie is at least 16 inches long, butterworms, silkworms and phoenix worms. Feed him as many live prey as he will eat in 10 to 15 minutes. Remove any uneaten crickets from his tank as they can bite and munch on your baby. Beardies in most cases experience relocation stress so they may not eat as much. Salads should be offered daily and fresh offered everyday. For hydration you can bathe your baby in warm baths, no warmer than a bath for a human baby and often they will pooh in bath, they may even drink from the bath. Water is absorbed through the vent. They love throat rubs and back rubs BUT never pick your beardie up by reaching for it from above, they have a pineal eye that sees light and shadow, they may see you as a predator if you go from above. Pick him up from the side supporting his body and legs. Once a week I thoroughly clean tanks, bake wood logs for 30 mins to an hour in the oven at 250. I hope this answered all your questions and concerns. Most important is to get your UVB changed out!

 

[pogismom]

Thank you VERY much for addressing all my questions! I did read the Newbie Lighting guide prior to setting up the tank, but I went with the advice of the store assistants who had beardies themselves. I will see what I can do to try and mount the light differently.

I had heard that crickets can bite. It appears only one of the three are still around this morning. Will give her more soon. The mealworms are smaller than the average ones, but they do have that exoskeleton that seems to be shedding in the bowl too...will look at the beautifuldragons.com site today as well.

Again, thank you for helping me get a better understanding of how to properly take care of my baby beardie

 

[Tonja]

You are very welcome. I hung my uvb in my tank using heavy duty Velcro, others have used the 3M command hooks. Just as a side note, the UVBs vary greatly and sometimes the pet stores give wrong advice. The reptisun 10.0 and arcadia 10 d3 are most recommended here as some of the others cause lethargy, loss of appetite and eye problems in beardies. Compacts and coils are the worst for beardies. It has to do with the output of uvb as some do not have the proper wave length for beardies. Even though it may be for desert animals it may not be right for beardies.

Which UVB light should I use?

The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia).
UVB lights should be replaced every 6 months.
**Note: Fluorescent light bulbs contain mercury, so you shouldn't throw away your used ReptiSuns. Take them to a facility that will dispose of them for you. Some hardware stores such as Home Depot may take your used bulbs for you.
The UVB bulb should be changed out every 6 months as it loses uvb output over time.

 

[pogismom]

Thank you Tonja! Love your photo BTW!

I want to post a pix of my tank set up but haven't figured out how to do that...

 

[pogismom]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fko335vs0qly560/pogi tank.JPG

Hope this works...this is my tank set up for Pogi on my dropbox

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ynpqb1vsotvf5uj/Pogi Top Tank.JPG

Here is the lighting set up too...

These should give a clearer picture of her habitat

 

[Tonja]

I love your tank. Looks like you will have one happy beardie in that tank. Reason for mounting the uvb inside the tank is that the screen covering blocks a good deal of the uvb and we want our beardies to get the full benefits of the uvb. Personally I cant wait for warmer weather so mine can go outside for uvb. EMily loves being outside in her bin soaking up rays. I haven't had Emmett outside as he is a baby and just got him on the 28th of Dec. Being in Colorado we have long winters and lots of snow so they cannot be out. Anyway, have a great day and glad I was able to help some.