Our Rescued Beardie

[adam4jmj]

Everything you see is everything that came with him. We have been learning about bearded dragons for a while and had one for a short period of time. The previous owner told me he never received crickets, I'm not sure about any other food. There is no UVB lamp, and the heat lamp doesn't seem to be heating the tank very well. I picked up crickets and a cricket cage on the way home. He went crazy when he saw them and gobbled up about 8 of them no problem. I know he is 6 months old. He is very friendly and is in my office at my elementary school where I work. The kids absolutely love him already.

I know I need to pick up the following tonight. Please let me know if there is anything else I should get:

-- UVB light (any recommendations on the kind?)
-- 2 digital thermometers
-- greens
-- ceramic heat bulb.

Thanks for your help.

A New Beardie Owner

 

[DoubleJ]

Hi and congrats on your new rescue

Recommended uvb is reptisun 10 (please dont get zilla or reptiglo). They are usually easier to find online but you might get lucky in the stores. If you cant get decent uvb, beardies can go a couple of days without uvb if you can get them out in the daylight each day. Usually a CHE isnt needed to heat a viv, you could just buy a higher wattage basking bulb (it could just be a normal household bulb as long as it isnt an energy saving one). I tend to only use a ceramic at night if the temps drop into the low 60s.

You are right to get digital thermometers, just try and get the ones with probes on the end.

How long have you had him? Just be aware if you have just acquired him he may not want to eat too much (but having said that some beardies are piggies from day one).

Hope all goes well

 

[Jess]

Just a tip... Instead of buying 2 thermometers, get an indoor/outdoor type thermometer. The Accurite one they sell at Walmart is pretty popular- It will tell you the basking spot, cool side, and humidity. Its only $12!

For the UVB, get a ReptiSun 10.0 flourescent tube. None of the other UVBs are very good right now. You can get the ReptiSun at Petmountian.com or LLLReptile.com for under $30 shipped!

 

[adam4jmj]

Thanks for the advice. I have a night lamp for him, and put both lamps on timers. I purchased the recommended thermometer.

How many crickets should this guy be given to eat in a day? Can too many be unhealthy? How do I know he is getting enough to eat I guess. Is there any way to bread crickets? Also, how much of the orange cricket food do the crickets need a day? I usually have about 30 in the cage.

 

[NCSUCarrie]

Check out the care sheets on this site, and that will help point you in the right direction for feeding, etc. You can overfeed these guys, but most babies eat a LOT of insects. You want to be really careful to not feed crickets bigger than the space between the eyes, but many that are in the 6 month range will eat 25-50 appropriately sized crickets. With him not having eaten many insects you may want to work up that amount though over a couple weeks... Financially you'll do better to order crickets in bulk online and keep them at your house in a rubbermaid container or something like that.
I'm personally not a fan of the "gel food/water" stuff you can buy. You can given them veggies or greens/lettuce to keep them hydrated and nourished.
A lot of people, myself included, recommend to offer salad in the morning to the beardies (greens, veggies, etc) so if they are hungry they will go eat that, and then have some insects in the afternoon so they don't jsut fill up on insects
Good luck and read through the care sheets and the forums to get pointed in the right direction. It sounds like this little guy is lucky to have found his way into yor home!
Carrie

 

[adam4jmj]

Yeah, I have read through the care sheets, a while ago actually. When i say the little gel stuff, I meant for feeding the crickets, unless there is something better. How many crickets do you think is okay to put in one of the medium cricket totes from Petsmart? (12"x8"x8"). I'd like to be able to order them once a week or buy them from petsmart once a week.

 

[NCSUCarrie]

Yea the gel stuf that I'm not a big fan of is for the crickets. I know some people use it with no problems, but I don't like it. In my opinion it's more nutritious, cleaner, and there is less cricket die off, if you feed the crickets veggies and greens, and then have them on either a premade dry cricket food, or some people use mixtures of meals, bran, wheat, etc. There is some anecdotal reports from a while ago of the gel stuff drying up and sticking to crickets and then when eaten by the beardie, blowing back up inside them and causing impactions. Again this is just my opinion, I know some people use the gel food/water with no problem.
The veggies act as a water source, so you don't need a "container" of water in the cricket tank. Cut up oranges, greens/lettuces, carrots, potato's etc etc all work well with the crickets as long as you change it regularly. Hopefully some others will chime in with some opinions on the gel v/s veggies approach There is probably some info in the feeders section of the forums too!
I would imagine in a medium cricket container with a few pieces of egg crate to allow them to climb you could put 100-200 crickets maybe ? Possibley more. If you order in bulk online usually 500 - 1000 is the smallest most vendors offer, so you'd probably need a cheap rubbermaid container to keep them in.
Carrie

 

[adam4jmj]

petsmart had a Reptisun 10.0, but it is not the long tube, it is the compact version that fits in a light fixture. Is this okay? I set it u for now, just in case it isnt ideal, but he wasnt looking good without one for however long and wanted to get him on one right away... I can still order from pet mountain if need be.

He has only pooped once since we got him, hes also shedding skin, but otherwise seems to be doing okay. Im only picking him up once a day right now to give him time to get used to his new environment.

 

[NCSUCarrie]

petsmart had a Reptisun 10.0, but it is not the long tube, it is the compact version that fits in a light fixture. Is this okay? I set it u for now, just in case it isnt ideal, but he wasnt looking good without one for however long and wanted to get him on one right away... I can still order from pet mountain if need be.

He has only pooped once since we got him, hes also shedding skin, but otherwise seems to be doing okay. Im only picking him up once a day right now to give him time to get used to his new environment.

The Reptisun 10.0 fluroescent tube is my personal favorite. There is a discussion or an article around here somewhere that i've read by Francis Banes (UVB guru), but can't find now that discusses why the longer tube is better than the compact - I think it has to do with the tube providing a wider space to absorb UVB for the dragon v/s one intense spot of UVB that is with the compact fluorescent. But don't quote me exactly on that.
The compact flourescent is probably better than most bulbs out there though, so I think you're OK to keep offering that, just have it right over his main basking spot. If anyone else has a different opinion or knows where that article is... hiding in plain site I'm sure...please post. IF you are able to get him outside into real sunshine that's the best. No light can replicate the sun! A good rule of thumb is that if you can be out in short sleeves in the direct sunshine it's not too cold to go outside for 30 minutes for your dragon. That may perk him up as much as anything will.
When they shed they can sometimes be a bit cranky and not eat well, etc. Keep soaking him in warm water for 15-30 minutes daily to encourage him to poo.
Good luck and let us know how he is doing

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from Introductions to Enclosures

 

[adam4jmj]

The halogon bulb we have been using for heat doesn't seem to be getting his basking spot hot enough. The thermometer is reading out at about 98-104 and is right next to his basking spot. The other thing I noticed is the opposite side of the tank is reading 90-94, which seems to be too hot from what I have read here. I am thinking of trying a ceramic bulb again. One we had for a previous tank kept the temp right up to 110 and we were told we could just keep it on all the time and didn't need a night lamp with it.

Also, when do you typically offer your beardies food? We have been feeding him late morning and then offering him food in the evening too. He isn't eating much at all right now, almost no crickets, and just a few greens and is sleeping a lot. He just finished shedding his skin too. We have seen a few more poo's, but i noticed he doesn't seem to drink much either. When I hold him he is active though. He does like to run around my desk, but I am afraid to keep him out of his tank for too long with the difference in temperature.

I have ordered an 18" Reptisun 10.0 bulb and hood from pet mountain so they should be here in the next few days.

 

[adam4jmj]

 

[adam4jmj]

Here is my order from Pet Mountain

Ceramic Infrared Heat Emitter Habitat : 100 Watt Heater
Price: $16.79
$16.79
$15.11
ReptiSun 10.0 UVB Bulb : 24 inch - (18 Watt - T8)
Price: $18.54
$18.54
$16.69
Repti Hammock : Large - 17.5 inch x 12 inch
Price: $5.05
$5.05
$4.55
Reptisun Terrarium Hood : 30 inch - (Fits 24" Bulb - Bulb Not Included)
Price: $39.89

 

[NCSUCarrie]

As for food - This is how I feed, (so this is what has worked best for me over the years)...I always put salad (variety of greens - turnip, mustard, etc etc and some veggies - squash, zuchini, etc) in the cage in the AM. If I notice it gets devoured quickly I usally top things off. And then feed insects at night. If you are having a hard time getting him to eat crickets you might consider offering worms - I had great luck with my new rescue who wouldn't eat crickets well with silkworms and hornworms - you'd probably need to get smalls or mediums for your guy. The other option would be phoenix worms. None of them move very fast, which is good if your beardie doesn't want to run after crickets. You could also try putting him into a smaller container with a few crickets at a time to see if that makes a difference.
The stress of relocation and new home and shedding may all be causing him not to eat well. But there is a good chance he may have parasites...finding a vet familiar with reptiles would be ideal and have him checked out and get a fecal sample screened. It's amazing what they can have and that can certainly be enough to make him not feel well...
Getting the cooler side of the tank down a bit will be helpful, but the basking temp isn't really that far off. Hopefully you'll be able to get the temps regulated... it can certainly be a pain.
Good luck! If it's warm outside (ie above 65 deg and in the sunshine) try getting him out in the sunshine.. that may help as much as anything.

 

[adam4jmj]

Thank you for the continued advice. He was much more active this morning. He ate close to 20 crickets along with a good helping of greens and has been basking this afternoon with his mouth wide open (which I read on here means they are very content). I am very happy to see him up and moving. Hoping our new basking light gets here soon. I will continue to keep an eye on him and if anything else seems funny will probably get a good vet involved.