Newbie, need help

[KendrickLamar]

Meet Kendrick, aka Kenny, Ken, or Lamar.

The pet store we purchased him from last night said he was at least two months old. He is extremely docile and lets us hold him and take him out of his viv with no problems. He was the one scratching on the side of the glass when we picked him out.

We bought the 20 gal bearded dragon Zilla kit, that included a tank, UVB light, day light, and black night light. It came with some kind of pellet bedding. We bought an extra thermometer so that both sides of the enclosure can be monitored.

I have several questions but I will start with the most important. The pet store guy sold us was worms for his food because they were out of crickets. I was hesitant to give him any because they seemed too large, but he quickly gobbled down 3-4 of them. This morning we bought crickets and he ate 3-4, but he has not eaten anything else today. I am under the impression they need to eat 2-3 times a day, and 3 to 4 crickets seems rather light. Is it possible the wax worms were too much? Should I give him a warm bath so that he will poop? I don't see any in his enclosure at all.

Other questions:
1. How many times can we safely handle him throughout the day and for how often. He has a good disposition and seems curious.
2. Is it really important to remove crickets he doesn't eat from his enclosure? What if he doesn't eat any at all?
3. How often should he get a "bath?"
4. When do I need to upgrade his viv to a larger size?
5. How long till he is full grown?
6. Is it okay to immediately switch his bedding to the fake grass? Anything I should avoid?
7. The driftwood we bought for him to hang on doesn't provide much hiding space. And he doesn't seem to want to hide much. Should I put something in there until we buy a hiding rock, like a toilet paper tube? Would that be safe? How important is hiding?
8. Any tips for getting him to eat veggies?
9. At what age will we be able to tell if he is male or female?

Any other tips will be appreciated. I am reading everything I can. Any resources you can recommend will also be appreciated!!

 

[KendrickLamar]

Sorry, another question I have is the safety of leaving the house with these hot lights.... They lamp is very hot to the touch, is this normal?

 

[ABP1983]

Hi there! I'm sure somebody else more experienced will chime in.

I would say handling to get him used to it is a good thing. I'd use your best judgement, and if he seems stressed or agitated, leave him be.

It's also pretty important to remove uneaten food from vivs. Crickets can bite and nibble on your dragon, or die somewhere where you can't see them.

We bathe our guy once a week. Baths can also stimulate them to poop, which is very good for younger beardies if you think they eat something too big and can't pass it.

For bedding, especially younger dragons, its pretty important to avoid things that may cause impaction. The store sold us walnut shells, which were an awful choice. We used ReptiCarpet for a while, but it started to smell, now we use tile that we got from Home Depot, and we love it. A lot of people have had no problems, but we just eliminated the possibility and we use tiles.

As for hiding, our guy doesn't hide at all, so I can't offer any tips at all for that. Is he getting close enough to the heat source?

A few misc tips, the UVB bulbs that come in those kits generally aren't very good, especially if it's a coil bulb. I'd look into a ReptiSun bulb. Also what are your temps? Younger dragons like it a little warmer in their basking spot, right around 110. What is your enclosure set up? My wife and I lost our little guy ago from parasites and ADV, so we did a lot of research before we picked up Cooper Waffles, and he's thriving.

And yes, the lights can get very hot. We have a wooden top we put up around our vivarium, it helps quite a bit, and our other pets don't come into our bedroom unless we are in there too.

 

[ABP1983]

Oh yes, also, those night lights generally aren't good to be used either. You can pick up a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) if the temps drop too low. They need their time to cool off and sleep, without lights on, at night. Generally right around 65 degrees is good for them at night.

Also a rule of thumb for their food is nothing bigger than the space between their eyes. If it's too big it can cause impaction.

 

[KendrickLamar]

Thanks, looks like I need to find a new UVB and the heat emitter. We have two thermometers up, one near the highest basking point under the day light and it is usually 100-110F. The other side is 85F.

I don't know what that pellet stuff is that came in the kit.... I wonder if I should get rid of it.

I am so sorry to hear about your loss. We are already so attached to Kenny I am scared senseless that he could have something!

I am starting to think maybe I should give him a bath to see if that will make him go and be able to eat!

 

[Gormagon]

Meet Kendrick, aka Kenny, Ken, or Lamar.

The pet store we purchased him from last night said he was at least two months old. He is extremely docile and lets us hold him and take him out of his viv with no problems. He was the one scratching on the side of the glass when we picked him out.

We bought the 20 gal bearded dragon Zilla kit, that included a tank, UVB light, day light, and black night light. It came with some kind of pellet bedding. We bought an extra thermometer so that both sides of the enclosure can be monitored.
The uvb that generally comes with those so-called dragon kits are the coil type and are bad for your dragons eyes and do not provide proper uvb for your dragons health.You need to get a tube type UVB bulb. The reptisun 10.0t5 ho or the Arcadia 12%d3 are excellent choices. The black ceramic looking bulb I am assuming you got is a ceramic heat emitter or CHE, this is for use when your house temps could possible drop bellow 65° at night. Use no light emitting bulbs at night because, light disturbs their sleep and won't let him get any rest.

I have several questions but I will start with the most important. The pet store guy sold us was worms for his food because they were out of crickets. I was hesitant to give him any because they seemed too large, but he quickly gobbled down 3-4 of them. This morning we bought crickets and he ate 3-4, but he has not eaten anything else today. I am under the impression they need to eat 2-3 times a day, and 3 to 4 crickets seems rather light.
Is it possible the wax worms were too much?
Wax worms are like crack to bearded dragons, they will turn their nose up at other foods to get more wax worms. They should only be given as treats about once a month and, only a couple at a time. They are not very nutricious and are loaded with fat. Basicly they are a no no.
Should I give him a warm bath so that he will poop? I don't see any in his enclosure at all.

Other questions:
1. How many times can we safely handle him throughout the day and for how often. He has a good disposition and seems curious.
2. Is it really important to remove crickets he doesn't eat from his enclosure? What if he doesn't eat any at all?
I don't feed live bugs in the enclosure due to having to make sure they are all removed after feeding and in our viv, that would be a daunting task "to many hiding places". I feed Peaches from a mug and she loves it.
3. How often should he get a "bath?"
Once a week is fine.
4. When do I need to upgrade his viv to a larger size?
5. How long till he is full grown?
They generally will reach close to their full potential over the first 12 to18 months.
6. Is it okay to immediately switch his bedding to the fake grass? Anything I should avoid?
Avoid anything loose, many of the people on here use tile, newsprint, paper towels, or non-adhesive shelf paper'. All easy to clean and, no risk of impaction. Impaction causes paralysis and worse.....death.
7. The driftwood we bought for him to hang on doesn't provide much hiding space. And he doesn't seem to want to hide much. Should I put something in there until we buy a hiding rock, like a toilet paper tube? Would that be safe? How important is hiding?
As long as he has a place to retreat from the uvb "shady spot" he will be fine.
8. Any tips for getting him to eat veggies?
You should offer a salad every day "he might not eat it but its there if he wants it".
9. At what age will we be able to tell if he is male or female?
Usually at around 6 months it becomes easier to tell.

Any other tips will be appreciated. I am reading everything I can. Any resources you can recommend will also be appreciated!!

 

[KendrickLamar]

I love all the tips. Trying to explain to hubby why we need the tube UVB light, and he just keeps saying the kit wouldn't have it if it wasn't the right light. No matter, I will get the tube light regardless.

I am happy to say that he finally went! I took him out so hubby could chase down the leftover crickets and I gently massaged the sides of his belly, almost immediately he let it go. I assume it was normal, not watery at all, a solid tube, not smelly, with the white stuff. So that means I don't have to worry about compaction since he went, right? He has had only 3-4 crickets today. I hope that is okay.

I will try feeding from a cup to. It is getting frustrating to feed him and have to hunt all those guys down when he doesn't eat. How do you keep the crickets from jumping out of the cup?

 

[Gormagon]

I love all the tips. Trying to explain to hubby why we need the tube UVB light, and he just keeps saying the kit wouldn't have it if it wasn't the right light. No matter, I will get the tube light regardless.
Tell your hubby that we lost our first dragon"Nazdoramu" by going on bad advice and, the kit "aka junk"we got at the pet store "petsmart", bad lighting, bad "uvb", bad substrate all attributed to her death. So yes,you need a new uvb light.
I am happy to say that he finally went! I took him out so hubby could chase down the leftover crickets and I gently massaged the sides of his belly, almost immediately he let it go. I assume it was normal, not watery at all, a solid tube, not smelly, with the white stuff. So that means I don't have to worry about compaction since he went, right? He has had only 3-4 crickets today. I hope that is okay.

I will try feeding from a cup to. It is getting frustrating to feed him and have to hunt all those guys down when he doesn't eat. How do you keep the crickets from jumping out of the cup?

 

[KendrickLamar]

I love all the tips. Trying to explain to hubby why we need the tube UVB light, and he just keeps saying the kit wouldn't have it if it wasn't the right light. No matter, I will get the tube light regardless.
Tell your hubby that we lost our first dragon"Nazdoramu" by going on bad advice and, the kit "aka junk"we got at the pet store "petsmart", bad lighting, bad "uvb", bad substrate all attributed to her death. So yes,you need a new uvb light.

That is so sad - sorry for your loss. I hate to hear about all the losses, and I am not taking any chances with Kenny. I hope he will be okay though until stores are open again on Monday. I don't want to cause issues with his eyes.... Or maybe I have to order the UVB light from Amazon?

 

[KendrickLamar]

Is the bedding that came in the kit bad too? They are pellets similar to the bedding that rabbits and rodents have. I don't know if it is the same thing, but is this dangerous to him? I want to change to the fake grass anyway but we can always put down newspaper if that pellet stuff is bad.

 

[Gormagon]

Is the bedding that came in the kit bad too? They are pellets similar to the bedding that rabbits and rodents have. I don't know if it is the same thing, but is this dangerous to him? I want to change to the fake grass anyway but we can always put down newspaper if that pellet stuff is bad.

Any loose substrate has the possibility of being ingested and, cause impaction...... These should be avoided.
Yes, the pellets as well.
You can also use the reptile carpet but, keep two so you will have a spare to put down to clean the one that gets pooped on.

 

[ABP1983]

The kits that they sell are generally awful. Too small to really regulate temperatures properly and pretty lousy sub-par equipment. Coil UVB bulbs can cause lethargy among other things and are just bad for them. Tube ones are much better and the fixtures from Walmart that most people use aren't that expensive. I'd get one ASAP. Just read some of the horror stories if you google them. Also like mentioned, any loose substrate is bad because it can be ingested when they eat their food.

 

[KendrickLamar]

I wonder if Wal-Mart is open tomorrow (Christmas) and would sell both the UVB tube and the carpet.

I am worried. Only 3 or 4 crickets today. They were on the larger size, not very large, but probably bigger lengthwise than the space between his eyes. But that is all the pet store had, and that was even choosing the smaller of what we have.

I measured him and he is approximately 6.5 inches. My guess is that he is not 8 weeks then... :-(

 

[KendrickLamar]

So it took all day, but we finally found the Reptisun 10.0 and a fixture to go with it. Today he started eating more. About 9 crickets and some kale today so far compared with 2 crickets yesterday and 3-4 the day before.

Ever since we changed out his light I have noticed him as being a lot more active. He is jumping from perch to rock to plant. Jumping at the glass and running here and there. I hope this is a positive side effect of his new lighting, and not anything I need to be worries about!

Just a note on the carpet. I found some plastic non-looped carpet that we had to cut to size. Unfortunately the "blades" can comeoosr and resemble a bug. I had to tap on the glass to stop him from this. I think the pellet stuff would have been better for him! I guess maybe I will look for some time. It seems he would have a hard time walking on it though.

 

[ABP1983]

That's great to hear! We also lost our first beardie because of bad advice from the pet store and didn't know how bad coil bulbs are. We did a lot more research and learned everything we could before we got our current beardie. Also an inexpensive option for flooring is tile or boat carpet from a marine store. We live in coastal New England and there's a boat store on every corner. Tile is great for a permanent option because when they poo, you can just wipe it up, and it works to keep their nails filed down.

Congrats again!