New user (and beardie!)

[annamaureen]

I wanted a bearded dragon as a teen but my mother never let me. That was years ago and I’ve been thinking about it again recently. I often browse the local classifieds for fun and lo and behold, someone was trying to rehome theirs. I wasn’t able to convince my mother in high school, but this time around I was able to convince my husband! I’ve had various kinds of pets but this is my first foray into reptiles, and I've been glued to the internet doing research.

The previous owner had no clue how old he was; any ideas? He’s roughly 16 inches long from nose to tail-tip. And I can’t even think of a name for him!

He ate some veggies and slept fine last night but today he has been running around, scrabbling at the sides of the tank, butting his nose into the glass, and frantically digging into the substrate. I assume he's just taking time to settle in, right?

 

[jortiz9758]

It will take him a bit to settle in,it's normal. He is a pretty good looking dragon. :mrgreen:
What type of lights do you have him under..what type are they and how old? What substrate is that that you have him on?

 

[annamaureen]

The two on either end are just regular light bulbs. The one in the middle is a UV light. Not sure how old it is but I plan on replacing it anyway. The substrate is play sand - I read that it's fine to use...?

 

[jortiz9758]

You should have the regular bulbs ( Heat) on one side of the tank only, so you provide a cool side and a gradient in his tank.
Also try and replace that UVB bulb if you don't know how old it is. The fluorescent bulbs only last about 6 months or so. Very important that he gets adequate UVB. You can order one from http://www.petmountain.com . They have them the cheapest at about $20 bucks and what you want is the Reptisun 10.0

Playsand is ok if thats what you want to use. It looked like crushed walnut shells to me for some reason which is the worst thing you can put them on.
Tile is the preferred substrate around here though. Its much easier to clean, does not harbor bacteria like loose substrates and keeps your dragons nails filed down so he is not tearing up your skin. :mrgreen:

Carry on!

 

[diamc]

Hi, welcome to the forum. That's a very handsome beardie you have, love his coloring. He looks a little stressed, perhaps the cats are scaring him which is certainly understandable. I would suggest you try to keep them away from him at least until he gets adjusted to all his changes.

jortiz9758 is right, the best UVB is the Repti-Sun 10.0 but make sure it is the strip fluorescent bulb rather than a coil or compact one. Petmountain is great to deal with and they have great prices.

I also wanted to mention to make sure that the probe end of your thermometer is actually laying on the basking spot and that you wait about 45 min for the temp to stop rising before getting the final readings. What temperatures are you getting? The basking side should be warmer so you will need a higher wattage bulb there and if the cool side is too cool, you can use a lower wattage bulb on that side. The basking temps should be about 100 for an adult and about 80 on the cool side to allow him to thermoregulate properly. It's also a good idea to have the hood for the UVB in front of or behind the basking bulb and at a distance of 6 to 8" and that way he can get he benefit of both bulbs at the same time.

Here's a site that shows the best greens/veggies to feed in case you haven't seen it: http://www.beautfifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Again, welcome aboard and let us know if you have any questions. :wink:

 

[annamaureen]

Temperatures are 98 on the hot side, 85 on the cooler side. I'm still experimenting with different watt bulbs to get it just perfect. I do plan on replacing the UV bulb since I had no idea how old it is.

 

[vickson420]

Hi and Welcome
I was just reading through and I noticed in you pics that your probes are in the air.Is that the temps from where they probes are sitting right now?If yes you need to do as Diane said and place the probe directly on the basking SURFACE and let it sit for at least 45 minutes before readin the temps otherwise you are liable to cook your beardie.I also dont recommend heat bulbs on both sides.You want one heat bulb and on UVB all on one area over the basking surface and the cool end should be left bare of lighting unless you just want to add a non UVB household spiral for light without heat.Also I recommend getting the LINEAR(not coil or compact)reptiSUN 10.0(not reptiglo) for the UVB part of the lighting.You do not want the cool end higher then 80,you want basking SURFACE at about 100-105F and you want him to be able to bask within 6-8 inches of the UVB.Welcome to the forum and glad to have you aboard(sorry for the delay in my welcome)

 

[annamaureen]

I moved my probe to actually touch the basking spot several weeks ago. And I know people keep saying "you don't need a light on both sides" but even with both lights, my temperatures are what they're supposed to be. They're both normal household lights. One is for basking and gives off a lot of heat - the other is just to light the cage, and barely gives off any heat.

 

[vickson420]

What is the wattage?Also I looked at your set up and you might want to actually raise the basking area higher which may be the other issue remember you want him to be within 6-8 inches of the UVB for optimal D3 synthesis.

 

[gandhi]

Maybe you could take one of the bulbs out, then replace the other one with a higher wattage. You can use a regular household spot bulb for this. If the cool side is the right temp but the basking spot is too hot you could take out one of the stones to make it lower? Or visa-versa and make it higher if it's not hot enough

You've probably thought of all of this already but just my two cents!

 

[annamaureen]

Since this picture was taken I've changed the tank around a fair bit... I've used bricks to raise the basking spot, and used some wire to rig the UVB light inside the tank, so he gets plenty of that!

The basking light is 200 watt, gets about 104*. The cooler side has a 34 watt bulb, and the temp in that area is about 80*.

 

[vickson420]

Since this picture was taken I've changed the tank around a fair bit... I've used bricks to raise the basking spot, and used some wire to rig the UVB light inside the tank, so he gets plenty of that!

The basking light is 200 watt, gets about 104*. The cooler side has a 34 watt bulb, and the temp in that area is about 80*.

200 watts :shock: Something is very odd hear,there is no way that tank needs a 200 watt bulb to heat the basking.I have 3 40 breeders and a 60 breeder and none of them even in the coldest times have ever needed anything more then a 100 watts at 12 inches away(I use MVB bulbs) but when I used fluorescent tubes and needed a 6 inch proximity I never went past 50.I am utterly confused by this!

 

[annamaureen]

Hmm, I don't know what to say... I tried lower watt bulbs but the 200 watt is the only thing that gets the temperature high enough. I used a 100 watt for a few days but it only got it the low nineties. Strange!

 

[vickson420]

Have you double checked your thermometer to make sure it is working correctly?

 

[gandhi]

What's the temp of your house according to that particular therm? Maybe you can judge wether it's working correctly by measuring it? Or you could put it in your fridge?