Newbie needs answers on multi, water dish, and food.

[DragonJosh]

Pretty new with BD's (have had two females for about 2 weeks). So I have a few questions if you don't mind answering all or some.

#1) Are multi's (herpivite?) NEEDED??? I've found some mixed messages on the research I've read so I'd like a definite answer. How often should it be used and what about use as they age?

#2) Is a water dish needed? The BD's don't seem to drink out of it and the only way I seem to get water to them is by squirting water on their heads and by spraying down their food (not the feeders). Another reason why I ask is the water seems to evaporate quickly and raising the humidity level..

#3) Should I remove their food/water before I turn out the lights so they don't eat anything throughout the night and not have it digest (the veggies and feeders as I'm switching from crickets to reptiworms)?

#4) Are lentils safe? I was thinking of preparing them by grinding them up super fine and then drenching them in their dish with water so they are soft. Obviously it depends on if the BD's will actually eat them, but want to make sure they are ok.

Thanks

 

[diamc]

1. Yes, vitamins are needed, the Herptivite is a very good one. I found your other thread and saw that your beardies are quite young yet so you should dust their feeders with the vitamins 2 days a wk but only 1 feeding a day and with calcium 5 days a wk but only 1 feeding a day. Make sure that you don't use the supplements on the same days though. When they are over a yr, then you would cut the calcium back to 3 days a wk and the vitamins to 1 day a wk.
2. As far as the water dish goes, very few beardies drink from standing water. So since they're not using it and it's raising the humidity level, it would be fine to remove it. Make sure you're not misting them in the tank though as that can also raise the humidity too much which could cause an upper respiratory infection. It's a good idea to give frequent baths though, I usually recommend at least 3 to 4 times a wk for about 15 to 20 minutes each time.
3. As you probably noticed, when beardies sleep, they sleep very soundly so they don't eat once the lights are turned out. If you are using colored bulbs at night, that could disturb their sleep so we recommend using ceramic heat emitters which give off heat but no light. You don't need to use a CHE though unless the room temp drops to 65 or below. I always remove the greens dish before bed anyway since fresh ones need to be put in the next morning anyway. Yes, definitely remove any uneaten crickets as they will chew on your beardies while they are sleeping which can cause nasty sores to develop. Reptiworms are very high in calcium. In fact, I just got some and my beardies love them.
4. I checked out this site that most of us refer to frequently and I didn't see any mention of lentils. So, to be safe, I wouldn't feed them. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

I noticed in the pictures of your setup that you're using the round gauge stick-on thermometers. I wanted to let you know that those are actually inaccurate and can be off as much as 20 degrees. They are measuring the temp of the glass rather than the basking SURFACE temp which is much more important to know. The only 2 ways to get accurate readings are with either an infrared temperature gun or a digital thermometer with a long wire & probe end.

Hopefully all this info is helpful for you. :wink:

 

[DragonJosh]

Thanks for taking the time to reply to all my questions and more diamc. I have a few more

Do you know the best price for buying Herpivite (cheapest I've found is $6 plus about $6 for shipping on Amazon)? Also how long does it roughly last for?

So the beardies will stay adequately hydrated just by diet and the little amount they may "drink" when I mist them (which I will start doing outside the tank as you mentioned)?

I thought beardies couldn't see the red infrared bulbs?

I know you said the gauges only record temps of the glass, but the one I have near their basking site is almost at the surface/level they bask as I moved their basking rock closer to it's height of the thermometer, is it still probably off? If so I think I will just get a infrared thermometer.

 

[ziggy23]

herpavite is a very popular brand, you should be able to find it in any petstore that has reptile supplies. It will more than likely expire (about 1 1/2- 2 years) before you use it up unless you have a lot of reptiles. It only takes a pinch or 2.

The baths help with hydration too, they can absorb water through their vents.

yes they can see the red light, just ask any dragon who loves strawberries. Night heat is only necessary if you house gets cold at night below 65F. they need cooler temps at night to regulate their metabolism.

No matter where you put it, those stick ons are known to be very inaccurate.

 

[nair88]

I thought beardies couldn't see the red infrared bulbs?

they can definitely see red light. i proved this to myself one night when i was taking pictures of my falkor sleeping. my camera gives off a red light prior to taking the picture and i was using that to line up the shot. well, she ended up opening her eyes and glaring at me. that was enough for me to know without a doubt that they can see red light.

 

[DragonJosh]

Sounds like for now I'll turn off the infrared red as the temps are not going below 65 right now, but I wanted to still provide a "warm" spot. I guess I'll go ahead and order a CHE for when winter hits and the temps start dipping below 65.

 

[diamc]

I guess all your new questions got answered. I checked the price of the Herptivite at www.petmountain.com and it was over $8.00 so I guess the Amazon price is a good one.

I would say that you should invest in an infrared temp gun or a digital with probe as the gauges are not accurate no matter where you set them.