Zach7":1af67v8o said:
1) What type of surface should I use for my beardie? Sand, Reptile carpet, etc?
2)What type of heat lamp do I use, and How big should it be in proportion to the tank? At night when I sleep can I turn off the lights?
3)I know what food I should mainly feed them, but for a baby beardie, I feed them mostly insects correct?
4)If I take my beardie out to rest on my shoulder or take him out to give him some space, how long can I have him out before putting him back in the tank?
1) A popular flooring, and one that I use, is tiles. You can get vinyl, ceramic, or slate tiles, and ideally cut them to fit inside a glass tank. It's best to get one with some texture so that the bearded dragon doesn't just slide all over. Tiles are extremely easy to clean which is very important. I had a reptile carpet for a little while but cleaning it was very difficult. I also tried sand on one side and tiles on the other, but the dragon would kick the sand all over the tank and make a huge mess. Additionally, somehow he managed to fill his water bowl with sand.
2) Using any flood light bulb with a proper wattage to fit your enclosure. You can use bulbs from the pet store, or just use them from Walmart or anywhere. The purpose of the heat bulb is only to provide heat. In addition to the heat bulb you must have a
UVB bulb. The popular choice for UVB is the ReptiSun 10.0. Alternatively, you could buy a Mercury Vapor Bulb such as a the ZooMed PowerSun. The Mercury Vapor Bulb provides both heat and UVB so you would need only one bulb. At night you must turn off all the lights. If the temperature in the tank is dropping below 65 F at night then you must supplement it with ideally a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE), or alternatively a heat mat, or an infrared bulb. CHE are ideal because they do not give off any visible light.
3) Young bearded dragons eat a lot food, and mostly insects, yes. Tiny roaches and tiny crickets are a good choice. Despite his age, the young bearded dragon I care for enjoys greens as well so he is fed those too.
4) This one I'm not entirely sure. When I first handled the bearded dragon he was very skittish and wanted to return to his cage. Now he still wants to return, but he is much more settled. I try to handle him for at least 30 minutes each day, which is partly covered by feedings since he is fed 2-3 times a day. Be sure to wash your hands after touching any reptile and clean off any surfaces they have touched. Some people might let a reptile rest on their shoulder or their carpet, but I would not recommend this as they do carry salmonella. The disease is particularly dangerous to small children or the elderly, but can cause problems for people of all ages. When a reptiles defecates it doesn't wipe or wear clothing, so when you handle them or when they sit on your shoulder their vent and area around the vent inevitably touches you. If the reptile is carrying salmonella, then whatever it touches now has bacteria on it (as well as fecal matter). Although rare, over 1,000 people in the United States have died from Salmonella since 1990. I clean the area around the bearded dragon tank with a bleach solution to hopefully decrease the bacteria nearby.
