Beardie name(s)
Ragnar
Hey everyone!! (Photos attached of his Xmas tank.)

*** Ragnar’s tank came as is. The light fixtures are glued where they are by the previous owners. He was posted “the prefect Christmas present on FB.” I currently have someone making me a 6X2X2 enclosure, what he is in now is what he has been in since they purchased him.I hate his current tank with a passion, I’ve been trying to give him a bit more room as it was crammed with logs/rocks/fake plants to the point he couldn’t move really.***

So I recently just rescued Ragnar from a FB post by his old owners. It’s been 2 weeks now, I have never owned a beardie, I’ve only ever had Iguanas. I’ve been doing a lot of research on this little dude,per his old owners he is a 6 month old Dunner/Leather back morph. The old owners gave him up with his items (40 gallon tank, Dubai roach colony, decor for the tank.) I know he desperately needs a bigger enclosure. I’ve been looking into several different places to get him one or make it myself. I’ve noticed some things he is doing that is odd. He has been holding his food in his throat? He gets puffy after eating. I’ve been feeding him 5-medium Dubai roaches(twice a day to equal 10 as the roaches are getting bigger now.) with his salads. His old owners told me he was eating 10-20 of them a day. I’ve been keeping his tank at 30% for humidity, switched to crushed walnut and reptisand mixture. He’s been loving the new substrate. He’s been just acting weird to me anyway, sleeping randomly during the day, holding food in his throat, glass surfing, and making this weird squeak noise. Am I just over reacting to these things?

Substrate/Tank- cleaned out every Saturday (weekly)

Lighting- one UVB build is from petsmart still in the box the owners gave me. I’m assuming it’s the same as the one in the tank. It’s a T5-HO 10.00 UVB. I do not know the others

Food- Kale, Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, apples, blueberries, carrots, bok Choy, parsley Dubia Roaches 2x a day.

Any advice is greatly appreciated !!

Thanks,
Kat
 

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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Hey everyone!! (Photos attached of his Xmas tank.)

So I recently just rescued Ragnar from a FB post by his old owners. It’s been 2 weeks now, I have never owned a beardie, I’ve only ever had Iguanas. I’ve been doing a lot of research on this little dude,per his old owners he is a 6 month old Dunner/Leather back morph. The old owners gave him up with his items (40 gallon tank, Dubai roach colony, decor for the tank.) I know he desperately needs a bigger enclosure. I’ve been looking into several different places to get him one or make it myself. I’ve noticed some things he is doing that is odd. He has been holding his food in his throat? He gets puffy after eating. I’ve been feeding him 5-medium Dubai roaches(twice a day to equal 10 as the roaches are getting bigger now.) with his salads. His old owners told me he was eating 10-20 of them a day. I’ve been keeping his tank at 30% for humidity, switched to crushed walnut and reptisand mixture. He’s been loving the new substrate. He’s been just acting weird to me anyway, sleeping randomly during the day, holding food in his throat, glass surfing, and making this weird squeak noise. Am I just over reacting to these things?

Any advice is greatly appreciated !!

Thanks,
Kat
Crushed walnut is not a good substrate - I know it's mixed but I would not recommend it- your uvb looks like it's shining sideways into his eyes- please get it so it's directly above him- what brand and bulb are you using and how old is the uvb bulb? They have expiration dates- along w/ certain distances--- it's normal for them to hold food in their beard but you don't want doing it for long periods of time- not sure about the squeek I wonder if it's a RI your hearing- glass surfing tank is probably too small or incorrect surface basking temps - what are they and are you using a digital probe thermometer to get them - 95-100 for a juvenile dragon- the substrate is not good and it's dry and can cause RI's -- you can use paper towels for now but we must get the temps on par along w/ your uvb - extremely important- also you don't want the basking bulb any closer than 6 inches
 

Skyrim_Junkie_Forever

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Ragnar
Crushed walnut is not a good substrate - I know it's mixed but I would not recommend it- your uvb looks like it's shining sideways into his eyes- please get it so it's directly above him- what brand and bulb are you using and how old is the uvb bulb? They have expiration dates- along w/ certain distances--- it's normal for them to hold food in their beard but you don't want doing it for long periods of time- not sure about the squeek I wonder if it's a RI your hearing- glass surfing tank is probably too small or incorrect surface basking temps - what are they and are you using a digital probe thermometer to get them - 95-100 for a juvenile dragon- the substrate is not good and it's dry and can cause RI's -- you can use paper towels for now but we must get the temps on par along w/ your uvb - extremely important- also you don't want the basking bulb any closer than 6 inches
I HATE the set up, he came with all of this (stated in my post.) the old owners have glued it to the side of the tank and the lamps are also tied/glued, they placed them with ties and then either melted them together or glided them. This is what he came with. They had him on the reptile carpet with layers of paper towels underneath the carpet which is horrible, an I’m not a fan of the paper towels as substrate, I plan on doing tile in the 6X2X2. The squeak is what really concerns me, his owners where hella adamant he was healthy wanted 300$ for him and then gave me everything else. Usually RI is caused by bad husbandry of the enclosures and humidity being too out of range. His substrate gets removed every Saturday as well as a tank cleaning (once a week.)I’ve been looking for a vet in my area that specializes in reptiles. The one I went to for my iguana has retired. Temp wise (left 80)(middle 85)(right 105) I’ve damn near tore my finger nail off trying to get the lamps off the screened top to get them away from him. I am just waiting for the 6X2X2 to be finished so I can get him set up in that one.
The UVB bulb is a 24w 22inch basic one from petsmart(came with him as well.)
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I HATE the set up, he came with all of this (stated in my post.) the old owners have glued it to the side of the tank and the lamps are also tied/glued, they placed them with ties and then either melted them together or glided them. This is what he came with. They had him on the reptile carpet with layers of paper towels underneath the carpet which is horrible, an I’m not a fan of the paper towels as substrate, I plan on doing tile in the 6X2X2. The squeak is what really concerns me, his owners where hella adamant he was healthy wanted 300$ for him and then gave me everything else. Usually RI is caused by bad husbandry of the enclosures and humidity being too out of range. His substrate gets removed every Saturday as well as a tank cleaning (once a week.)I’ve been looking for a vet in my area that specializes in reptiles. The one I went to for my iguana has retired. Temp wise (left 80)(middle 85)(right 105) I’ve damn near tore my finger nail off trying to get the lamps off the screened top to get them away from him. I am just waiting for the 6X2X2 to be finished so I can get him set up in that one.
The UVB bulb is a 24w 22inch basic one from petsmart(came with him as well.)
The UVB bulb is a 24w 22inch basic one from petsmart(came with him as well.) what is the brand and bulb? Please get the 2 digital probe thermometers I posted pet smart or petco carries them - here is a website to find a reptile vet in your area - if your in a small area type in a bigger cities zip code www.arav.org
do your best but I would get rid of the walnut stuff - get some textured NON adhesive shelf liner from Walmart or your local home improvement store - but he needs to come off of that walnut stuff
Crushed Walnut Shells Should NEVER be used for bearded dragons
There have been reports on various forums and social media of Bearded Dragons requiring significant intestinal operations or even being put down because of being kept on walnut shells. The sharp edges can literally rip their intestines apart if ingested.
RI's are caused by too low of humidity in the tank - people think too high but too low can cause them as well - improper UVB and surface basking temps- if your going for a 6x2x2 tank your going to want a longer UVB than 24" -- maybe a 36 or 48 for future reference you want your middle of the tank in the 90's -- but you need to get that basking bulb fixture raised or get a new one and higher - I would get it on top of the screen -
 

Skyrim_Junkie_Forever

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Ragnar
The UVB bulb is a 24w 22inch basic one from petsmart(came with him as well.) what is the brand and bulb? Please get the 2 digital probe thermometers I posted pet smart or petco carries them - here is a website to find a reptile vet in your area - if your in a small area type in a bigger cities zip code www.arav.org
do your best but I would get rid of the walnut stuff - get some textured NON adhesive shelf liner from Walmart or your local home improvement store - but he needs to come off of that walnut stuff
Crushed Walnut Shells Should NEVER be used for bearded dragons
There have been reports on various forums and social media of Bearded Dragons requiring significant intestinal operations or even being put down because of being kept on walnut shells. The sharp edges can literally rip their intestines apart if ingested.
RI's are caused by too low of humidity in the tank - people think too high but too low can cause them as well - improper UVB and surface basking temps- if your going for a 6x2x2 tank your going to want a longer UVB than 24" -- maybe a 36 or 48 for future reference you want your middle of the tank in the 90's -- but you need to get that basking bulb fixture raised or get a new one and higher - I would get it on top of the screen -
For sure I removed the walnut this evening, I got a new longer UVB since like I said that one is glued to the tank I’ll try an get a good pic of it to show you bc idk what they used but that isn’t coming off and I would use it for the clearly bigger tank. All his new stuff is already bought and just waiting on them to be delivered to my house, I’ve owner Iguanas in the past but never a bearded dragon, I know how temps are supposed to be, since Iguanas are clearly more humid and tropical vs a beardie, their lighting set up a joke (in my opinion) for owners who “did a year” of research before buying him. The tank he is in now is **** for holding temps, I’ll try and get a pic of those too.They didn’t seem to care to much for the poor guy. I finally started handling I wanted to let him get use to his new surroundings a bit more before hand, he’s missing a toe, super sketched by any form of handling. So I don’t think he’s been handled to often. I finally got an hold of the old owners they rarely fed him greens but ONCE a week( clearly he needs every day.)the entire situation he was in is a mess. I already found a vet for him in the town over from mine, but thanks for the link! I called already and they set him up an apt for the 20th, I’m hoping he has nothing to serious if anything is wrong with him. The roach “enclosure” was also a mess. Which I got him more from Dubiaroaches.com.
 

Skyrim_Junkie_Forever

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Ragnar
Okay so here is the UVB light/ and thermometers. That wood blank is also glued to the lid screen. I promise I’m not trying to sound rude or blunt, just trying to get it across that I did not do this, he came this way. Minus the substrate completely my fault, I was told on another form that it was better than the coconut fiber.
 

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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Okay so here is the UVB light/ and thermometers. That wood blank is also glued to the lid screen. I promise I’m not trying to sound rude or blunt, just trying to get it across that I did not do this, he came this way. Minus the substrate completely my fault, I was told on another form that it was better than the coconut fiber.
Coconut fiber is just as bad as the walnut stuff- I am going to give you the specs for the uvb- your screen on the tank is a wide hole so the T 5 can sit on top of the screen just get a piece of decor directly under 8-10 inches- next take the probe place on the spot he sits for basking - 10 min or so get your temp 95-100-- watch his behavior the next couple of days your humidity is good
 

Skyrim_Junkie_Forever

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Ragnar
What kind of screen is on the new tank and the size of the tank please
It will look the below, it’s a custom made tank I opted for PVC panels vs what he used. It’s got a mesh square spacing for the basking light and mounts for the UVB.
 

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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
It will look the below, it’s a custom made tank I opted for PVC panels vs what he used. It’s got a mesh square spacing for the basking light and mounts for the UVB.
The tank looks really nice - please get your digital probe thermometers in the tank - the uvb should be 12-15 inches directly above the basking decor -
 

Skyrim_Junkie_Forever

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Ragnar
The tank looks really nice - please get your digital probe thermometers in the tank - the uvb should be 12-15 inches directly above the basking decor -
Thanks! Spent a small fortune on Ragnar already, I planned on mounting them inside the enclosure and the UVB I ordered is a 34 inch since I ordered the enclosure to be this large. I’m hoping it covers a good amount. I also asked for a enteral mount for a ceramic heating lamp bulb. Just in case it get too cold, I keep my house around 70ish but my bedroom gets a bit colder than the other rooms.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Thanks! Spent a small fortune on Ragnar already, I planned on mounting them inside the enclosure and the UVB I ordered is a 34 inch since I ordered the enclosure to be this large. I’m hoping it covers a good amount. I also asked for a enteral mount for a ceramic heating lamp bulb. Just in case it get too cold, I keep my house around 70ish but my bedroom gets a bit colder than the other rooms.
70's at night is good it can go to 65- if it gets lower you want to invest in a ceramic heat emitter-- I would try and keep the basking bulb on top of the screen- you want it at least 6" from the basking decor - if you need to raise the surface basking temps you can add another basking bulb - I use 2 on my hot side- and one in the middle of the tank w/ the uvb in front of it
 

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