Newbie :D

[Okkin]

Hey guys! I'm a brand new daddy of a 4-5 month old beardie from California. I've had her for almost a month now, and she's just great. I never thought that I'd experience such joy for a reptile and I'm glad that my wife and I took the plunge! I've been around this site many times in search of advice and tips for how to raise my little girl, and I gotta say you guys are such a great and tight knit community! I'm excited to be a part of it!

Anyways, this is my baby girl Ellie! At first we had thought Ellie was a boy, so her name was previously Lionel, but after a month or so and two sheds I finally noticed a singular bump under her tail. What a surprise! She's such a sweetheart, so playful and jumpy; her favorite spot to hang out with me outside of the enclosure is on top of my head or on my shoulder. She's pooped on me three times and on my bed twice, so yes I've been initiated :lol: .

This is her home, its a 40 gallon terrarium with slate tile substrate (previously had the reptile carpet but the crickets were getting in and out of the underside too often), with a basking rock and hammock on the right and a slate tile bridge form that I made from the remains of the flooring. I feed her 15-25 crickets in the morning and around 10 in the evening about an hour before bed. I just started dusting the crickets with calcium and herptivite (did I spell that right?) and finally I have a Reptisun UVB light on top along with a red infrared basking light (yes, I know the rumors about infrared and I don't believe them). I have no clue why the image is upside down, I have tried to edit it and nothing worked but I decided to post it anyway haha! :roll:

If you guys have any tips for me, I soak information up like a sponge!
Thanks!

 

[JessPets]

Hello, and welcome to the forum! I would recommend taking out the colored light at all times, though. Other than that, it seems pretty good!

 

[Gormagon]

Welcome to the wonderful world of bearded dragons, a land of mystery, enchantment, cuddles, love and, worry! A magical realm where things always seem to change in an instant and, the moment you think you have it all figured out, the rules change! You think you own your dragon?, Ha Ha....guess again..... Like it or not, you are now a slave, lol!
They are not rumors, lol!
Dragons see in full spectrum color as long as proper UVA (brite white) light is provided. Red or any other colored lights, distort their vision making them, less active, eat less and, easily agitated. These are not just opinions, they are based on facts.
Have you ever been in a room with a red light on? Everything looks like it is in shades of brown and red. This is how your dragon sees things with that light.
Your choice, your dragon but, I would think that you would want to enhance her vision to it fullest capability. If you change it, you will see a big change in her activity, I promise!

 

[Okkin]

Gormagon, do you have a recommendation for an energy-efficient basking bulb that projects normal light like you said? The one I have is 150 watts and heats Ellie's basking spot to 110 degrees. My electric bill has been crazy!

 

[JessPets]

I just use a normal 50watt halogen- works great and last forever!

 

[Okkin]

JessPets, 50watts? That seems awfully small, my current bulb is 150 watts. I have a 40 gallon tank that's about 15-18 inches tall, will it give off the right amount of heat?

 

[Gormagon]

JessPets, 50watts? That seems awfully small, my current bulb is 150 watts. I have a 40 gallon tank that's about 15-18 inches tall, will it give off the right amount of heat?

I heat my viv with a 75w EXO-TERRA intense basking spot bulb. My viv is 2x2x4 and keeps it heated very well. A 50w should be perfect for a 40g breeder tank. I would think that the 150w is a bit to hot for that tank.

 

[JessPets]

I use a dimmer, and even with it one really low, it heats my basking spot to close to 110º. Full blast, it is 160º-180º!

 

[Okkin]

awesome! thanks everyone