I wanted some input on a recent dragon I acquired. This dragon is several years old (unknown age) and was at a school for some time. When the teacher left, it was handed over to another. They have cared for it for at least a year now, if not longer. They did not intend to keep it for awhile, and when my co-worker found out about it, he mentioned that I would likely take it (of course I would).
So here I am, another dragon, making 3. They said it's a she, but I haven't checked. Her name is Isabell, and she is very skittish. She hasn't nipped at me, just puffs up and black beards a little. Definitely not a fan of being held, but with time I hope this will change.
I brought her home about an hour ago and setup her cage and put her in. I asked how old the UVB light is, they said about 6 months probably. Well, it had one of the plastic covers - one of those ESU fixtures (7.0 bulb). I pulled off the cover and decided to test the UVB light. It read 0 on my meter... thought it was the meter so I checked two other dragons and my chameleon, it works fine.
So the poor lizard has had no UVB. It's probably been this way for some time. My question here is, should I start supplying her lower UVB amounts, then gradually go up, or just put it all out at once? I don't want to cause a problem, as she hasn't been exposed to UVB for some time. I have two of my old 10.0 lights, which are at half life (was saving for the chameleon), which I can use on her for a few days before I give her a new 10.0 (all Reptisun). Would this be the best method?
She is setup right now with one of the older 10.0 bulbs, and her heat lamp. She's got a 40 gallon breeder, and was eating some mustard greens when I went back to work. They had a sticky on the side with her feeding, but I didn't get a chance to look at it. I believe they were feeding romaine, but I don't know for certain. She did get crickets, so hopefully she will take to superworms.
Side note - after 6 months of the lizards living in our living room, they are finally in the reptile room! I'm so glad it's done (well almost - need to figure out what to use for tile to carpet transition under the door). She's not in this picture, but her tank is on the right side now, behind the file cabinet (which needs to go.. lost the key when we moved).
Left side: junk / gecko rack with empty cage on top / dragons behind (top/bottom of stand)
Middle: Gecko rack
Right: Savannah monitor, panther chameleon, dragon
Don't mind the other misc stuff (like the light) - I'm also using the room to store things I need to craigstlist. It's just nice to finally have the lizards in the basement where they belong, not in the main part of the townhouse!
I'll have to take pics of her later.
So here I am, another dragon, making 3. They said it's a she, but I haven't checked. Her name is Isabell, and she is very skittish. She hasn't nipped at me, just puffs up and black beards a little. Definitely not a fan of being held, but with time I hope this will change.
I brought her home about an hour ago and setup her cage and put her in. I asked how old the UVB light is, they said about 6 months probably. Well, it had one of the plastic covers - one of those ESU fixtures (7.0 bulb). I pulled off the cover and decided to test the UVB light. It read 0 on my meter... thought it was the meter so I checked two other dragons and my chameleon, it works fine.
So the poor lizard has had no UVB. It's probably been this way for some time. My question here is, should I start supplying her lower UVB amounts, then gradually go up, or just put it all out at once? I don't want to cause a problem, as she hasn't been exposed to UVB for some time. I have two of my old 10.0 lights, which are at half life (was saving for the chameleon), which I can use on her for a few days before I give her a new 10.0 (all Reptisun). Would this be the best method?
She is setup right now with one of the older 10.0 bulbs, and her heat lamp. She's got a 40 gallon breeder, and was eating some mustard greens when I went back to work. They had a sticky on the side with her feeding, but I didn't get a chance to look at it. I believe they were feeding romaine, but I don't know for certain. She did get crickets, so hopefully she will take to superworms.
Side note - after 6 months of the lizards living in our living room, they are finally in the reptile room! I'm so glad it's done (well almost - need to figure out what to use for tile to carpet transition under the door). She's not in this picture, but her tank is on the right side now, behind the file cabinet (which needs to go.. lost the key when we moved).
Left side: junk / gecko rack with empty cage on top / dragons behind (top/bottom of stand)
Middle: Gecko rack
Right: Savannah monitor, panther chameleon, dragon
Don't mind the other misc stuff (like the light) - I'm also using the room to store things I need to craigstlist. It's just nice to finally have the lizards in the basement where they belong, not in the main part of the townhouse!
I'll have to take pics of her later.
