Our new baby

[MrsWolvie]

Hello everyone, our family just got our first Beardie. Her name is Rey (from Star Wars lol), she is our sons 8th b day present. We got her on Sunday and the last couple days she has had really dark stress lines. Any advice would be very helpful as we are still trying to figure out the best way to care for her. Thanks guys!

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

She looks incredibly sweet, and from what I can see of the enclosure, it looks very nice!

Don't let the "stress marks" stress you :wink:
They darken when absorbing the light/heat, and when they are younger, the under belly lines are a lot more prominent. She is not stressing as the name makes you think, just natural markings that fade with age

 

[MrsWolvie]

Well that really puts my mind at ease, thank you so much! I was just worried because I didn't notice them as much when we first got her. She is super sweet and very sassy!! I attached a picture of chin where you can really see her lines.

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

So much sass!
My oldest also loves to cling to that dial thermometer, mine came in a kit.

If you don't have one already, I'd recommend getting a temp gun or a digital probe to make sure her temperatures are where they need to be. I mention this because I started with a dial like that, and it turned out to be 20 degrees off. I kept bumping up my bulb wattage thinking it wasn't getting hot enough, got a temp gun, and my youngest's basking spot was 134 degrees! Poor little guy! It's great peace of mind to have one, and they're only $10-$15 depending on where you get them, great investment

You'll likely notice those little belly stripes fade when out of the enclosure since she won't be trying to absorb the lighting. It does take them a few months to fully fade away, but even a month or so they should be a lot less prominent

My little one shedding, super dark in the enclosure

much brighter out of it

He was about a month and a half old to 2 months during the photos. He's 7 months old now and all his belly lines are fully gone, and his base color is coming in (cheeto orange)

I don't have a great pic of it, so here he is with his Easter gift

 

[MrsWolvie]

Ya I am planning on getting a temp gun soon, I also need to get a new uvb bulb cuz the one that came with my kit, all living things desert 40 gallon from petsmart, is the coil bulb and I've read a lot of bad things about it so I'm gunna get the reptisun tube I'm thinking. Oh and quick question how did you start your baby out on salad? I doubt the petsmart people gave her fresh greens. They told me to only feed her 4 crickets in the morning and 4 meal worms in the afternoon!! I knew that wasn't enough by far, she will destroy 10 crickets in the morning in less than 5 mins lol

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

Yeah those kits come with terrible stuff, unfortunately, and I also started on one. :?

The coil bulbs are insufficient at distances beyond 6", and worse through a screen. Also, the UVB they give off depletes very quickly.
I just purchased an Arcadia T5 fixture and bulb for both of mine and highly recommend them when you have the funds to put toward it. It's the best possible UVB bulb out there and is very efficient. Here's a link to the bulb:
http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/arcadia-d3-t-5-22-inch-24-watt-12-desert-uvb-the-original-reptile-ho-t5-in-north-america/

As far as greens, don't worry about your baby not eating them. They won't really even acknowledge them until they're older. Just keep offering them or making them available and they may eventually get curious and try some. My youngest (the one I photo'd) loves green beans and collard greens and has always been eager for veggies, but he's only 7mo and has plenty of time until he's an adult, though he's already huge for his age (18" at 7mo) I still offer mainly insects.

Edit** Feed them as many crickets (appropriately sized, space between the eyes) as they will eat in 15 minutes or until they lose interest. Offer this 2-3 times a day, but no later than 2hrs to bedtime/lights off. Also, mealworms are terrible for their digestive track, so please do not include these in their feedings. It could potentially kill them

 

[MrsWolvie]

Ya I know she probably won't eat them but I picked up some mustard greens, red bell pepper, and bananas just to see if she will try it, I want to at least leave some in there for her as an option, maybe top with some meal worms. . . Awesome I'll look into that fixture but I'm going to have to figure out a way to mount it to the inside of the enclosure cuz this is what my lid looks like

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

What's your third bulb?
I take it one's basking and one is the coil UVB

 

[MrsWolvie]

The smaller dome is a ceramic heat emitter. We live in the high Desert so it can get pretty damn cold at night. I live the pics of your dragons BTW they are beautiful!!

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

Thank you!
And good was hoping it was not a red night light. Petsmart tried to sell me one when I got my first dragon.

Regarding mounting inside (sorry I'm going to show more photos, I feel visuals help) when I had my T8 bulb, I bought an under cabinet florescent fixture and used flower twist ties (from craft stores, sold in spools) to tie it onto the mesh screen. Other people have used command hooks but I never trust those to hold

Gonna give Simon some love, my oldest. Here you can see the bulb mounted inside. Otherwise, What I did for Richter (my little boy I've been spamming you with) I bought a generic screen from Amazon so I had more freedom for light placement as the screen that came with his was separated into quadrants. These are also sold at Petsmart and likely Petco but prices always vary.
https://www.amazon.com/Zilla-Reptile-Terrarium-Covers-36x18-inch/dp/B000QFQ30K

 

[MrsWolvie]

Ya I have been looking online for a different lid it's just hard to find. Idk if it's just oddball tank measurements or what. My tank is 36"×16.25". Plus the lid is hinged, Idk of that matters when replacing the screen. I would absolutely LOVE it if they made a hood that had all the fixtures integrated in it lol.

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

Ya I have been looking online for a different lid it's just hard to find. Idk if it's just oddball tank measurements or what. My tank is 36"×16.25". Plus the lid is hinged, Idk of that matters when replacing the screen. I would absolutely LOVE it if they made a hood that had all the fixtures integrated in it lol.

Right?
Even as a 36x18 enclosure, the 36x18 screen I got does not fit perfectly and has about a 1/2" hang on both the length and width, but it doesn't cause me any issues. I'm unsure if you need it to be perfectly secure for other pets or children. I have a cat, but the enclosure placement is really in a place she doesn't bother to tamper with it, not that she's even interested. The lid you have really restricts your light placement though which is a pretty big bummer

 

[MrsWolvie]

Ya I thought I was really going to like the way it was set up because it's pretty secure, I have a cat as well and I was worried about her laying on the screen and it busting and her being able to kill Rey, but I hate now because I don't have the space to be able to situate the light how I want.

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

Sometimes things are better ideas in theory, unfortunately. There may be a way to make the generic screen work if you got creative, like command hooks inside the enclosure zip tied to the screen, or command hooks on the outside of the enclosure actually since there would be over hang, and hooking them onto the screen

 

[MrsWolvie]

My husband had an idea to hang the uvb with wire, like hook it and hang it on the edge of the back of her enclosure. It sounds like a good idea but I guess it will be trial and error lol