Sand or Bark?
- Thread starter nightgal
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Is it just any tile you can go to a home depot and buy? Glazed? or just fired? I saw some set ups with the carpeting in it so I was curious about that as well also. How would you clean it to get all his droppings off it? My lizard doesn't have loose stools but I have a sand scoop I use that cleans them out nicely.
Sorry for being so clueless.
Sorry for being so clueless.
peera
Sub-Adult Member
Yeap, just tile from Home Depot. Any is fine so long as you can get a "grip" when you run your nails over it, otherwise your tank becomes a beardie Slip'N'Slide. I clean it with baby wipes when mine poop and once a month take it out and wash it with soap and water like a plate. I can't give opinions about the Reptile Carpet, I've never used it, but people seem to like it. Maybe someone who does use it will drop in.
No worries! We were all new owners once, and lots of us started out with bad (in some cases, very bad) advice. I promise you'll catch on fast. You might want to give some info about the care you've been advised to take so we can catch anything else before it becomes a problem. You can post the answers in your intro thread, or here but it'll probably get more attention there.
How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
I clean it with baby wipes when mine poop and once a month take it out and wash it with soap and water like a plate. I can't give opinions about the Reptile Carpet, I've never used it, but people seem to like it. Maybe someone who does use it will drop in. No worries! We were all new owners once, and lots of us started out with bad (in some cases, very bad) advice. I promise you'll catch on fast. You might want to give some info about the care you've been advised to take so we can catch anything else before it becomes a problem. You can post the answers in your intro thread, or here but it'll probably get more attention there.
How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
YAY! 20 Questions!! Anyways I am doing my best to answer the questions
How old is your dragon? I have no idea, I'm assuming around a year or a year and a half judging from some that i have seen at locan pet stores that look to be around his size.
How long have you had your dragon? I have had him for about 3 weeks now. I'm not really a reptitle person (I breed birds) and he was a rescue from a local petstore that went out of business. They had left him behind the building in the snow, and I didn't expect him to survive.
How long is your dragon? I had to get a tape measure out for this, but he is about 16 inches long from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail.
What is the sex of your dragon? He looks to be a male. His head is really triangular, I will have to post pictures of him. I'm not even sure what color he is considered.
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? He is in a 20l breeder that I used to have a snake in, though I am looking for a bigger tank for him. It's a screen top.
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? I have the sand at the moment. The people at the pet store told me to only use the calcium sand.
Do you use UVB lights? I pulled the bulb out and it says super uv coil lamp 20 wat. It's got a small picture of a tree frog and says esu reptile under that.
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? It's a coiled one, like the energy saver lightbulbs you can buy for your house. Again, recommended by the pet store.
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? ESU Reptile 20 wat
How old is your UVB bulb? About 3 weeks
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? He can get about 3 inches from the bulb on his grapvine basking spot.
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? I have a seperate red bulb and it doesn't have anything printed on it. But I think it's a 50 watt if I remember correctly and he can get about 2 inches close to that, via his grapevine.
What are the basking temps? At the very top where it's the warmest it's 92 and towards the bottom of his grape vine it's around 86.
What is the cool side temp? 78
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? I have a digital thermometer by zoo med. 3 of them in the tank.
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? There is a therm. towards the top and bottom on the basking side, and one at the bottom on the cool side.
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No. I was told they cold potentionally over heat.
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. He gets about 25 crickets dusted with repti-cal (dusted every other day), 3 mega worms a day (i was told as a treat cause they are higher fat) and then fresh romaine lettuce and bok choy. Wasn't sure about anything else.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? He is fed the crickets in the morning, and he hunts them durning the day, and then the meal worms in the afternoon. He normally goes right to basking after he eats them.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? The crickets I buy frm timberline by the 1000 and they are all fed a high calcium food, along with fresh potato and cricket gel for water.
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
I use reptical every other day.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? Not sure what normal looks like...but they aren't runny and are whiteish.
Do you bath your dragon? How often? Right now he is getting daily baths because he is in the middle of a shed. The pet store told me once every three days when he is done with the shed.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? No
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No he is my only dragon at the moment. Though fast becoming a favorite.
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? No, there isn't a vet around who will see reptiles.
Anyways I am doing my best to answer the questionsHow old is your dragon? I have no idea, I'm assuming around a year or a year and a half judging from some that i have seen at locan pet stores that look to be around his size.
How long have you had your dragon? I have had him for about 3 weeks now. I'm not really a reptitle person (I breed birds) and he was a rescue from a local petstore that went out of business. They had left him behind the building in the snow, and I didn't expect him to survive.
How long is your dragon? I had to get a tape measure out for this, but he is about 16 inches long from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail.
What is the sex of your dragon? He looks to be a male. His head is really triangular, I will have to post pictures of him. I'm not even sure what color he is considered.
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? He is in a 20l breeder that I used to have a snake in, though I am looking for a bigger tank for him. It's a screen top.
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? I have the sand at the moment. The people at the pet store told me to only use the calcium sand.
Do you use UVB lights? I pulled the bulb out and it says super uv coil lamp 20 wat. It's got a small picture of a tree frog and says esu reptile under that.
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? It's a coiled one, like the energy saver lightbulbs you can buy for your house. Again, recommended by the pet store.
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? ESU Reptile 20 wat
How old is your UVB bulb? About 3 weeks
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? He can get about 3 inches from the bulb on his grapvine basking spot.
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? I have a seperate red bulb and it doesn't have anything printed on it. But I think it's a 50 watt if I remember correctly and he can get about 2 inches close to that, via his grapevine.
What are the basking temps? At the very top where it's the warmest it's 92 and towards the bottom of his grape vine it's around 86.
What is the cool side temp? 78
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? I have a digital thermometer by zoo med. 3 of them in the tank.
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? There is a therm. towards the top and bottom on the basking side, and one at the bottom on the cool side.
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No. I was told they cold potentionally over heat.
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. He gets about 25 crickets dusted with repti-cal (dusted every other day), 3 mega worms a day (i was told as a treat cause they are higher fat) and then fresh romaine lettuce and bok choy. Wasn't sure about anything else.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? He is fed the crickets in the morning, and he hunts them durning the day, and then the meal worms in the afternoon. He normally goes right to basking after he eats them.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? The crickets I buy frm timberline by the 1000 and they are all fed a high calcium food, along with fresh potato and cricket gel for water.
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
I use reptical every other day.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? Not sure what normal looks like...but they aren't runny and are whiteish.
Do you bath your dragon? How often? Right now he is getting daily baths because he is in the middle of a shed. The pet store told me once every three days when he is done with the shed.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? No
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No he is my only dragon at the moment. Though fast becoming a favorite.
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? No, there isn't a vet around who will see reptiles.
Oh and during his bath i have like a soft bristle dish brush that i lightly drag accross his skin, I don't press down to pull the skin off him, but i lightly drag it. I think he likes it because he falls asleep on my hand. I don't submerge him in the water all the way, only about halfway up his body and he stays on my hand, but when i start rubbing him with the brush he falls asleep.
UpstateNYPets
Hatchling Member
Sounds like you are off to a good start, but I would like to add a few suggestions.
As you know already, definetly get him a bigger tank. A 40 gallon breeder tank is the minimum for an adult, with bigger always being better.
Sand is a big no on in my opinion as well as any other loose substrate (including the bark stuff). Pet store employees aren't always the best to get information from. I've learned that the hard way. Calci and Vita Sand are made to taste good and if you smell it, you'll notice that it has a sweet-like smell to it. So that means that whatever reptile is on it, will eat it. This is not good at all and gives the reptile a greater risk of being impacted. I much prefer un-glazed slate tiles (or other tiles with texture), newspaper, and reptile carpets. If you choose the reptile carpets, make sure that you keep his nails clipped and the loose fibers on the carpet cut down.
With using a solid substrate it's very easy to spot clean. Poop will not soak in and make a huge mess that harbors bacteria. Usually with reptile carpet, 2 comes in a pack so while one is soiled, the clean one goes in and then you just wash by hand or throw in the washer.
I think you should change your UVB light as well. I've heard that ESU Reptile is not a good brand. Instead use a Repti-SUN 10.0, not the compact kind though... tubes are best. Of course you could always look into getting a Mercury Vapor Bulb (only if you get a bigger tank). These are an "all in one" bulb that provide heat, uvb/uva, and bright light but require that your dragon not get within 12 inches of them. So you'd have to change your basking spot distance.
You could also raise your temp a few degrees. Since you think it's an adult, or close to being an adult, the basking temps should be around 100-105F with a cool side of 80-85F. One of your thermometers should be directly under the basking spot as this is where your beardie will be laying. This is why it's best to have a digital thermometer with a probe.
I would stop feeding him Romaine Lettuce. Lettuce (iceburg, romaine) do not have much of a nutritonal value. Instead Collared Greens, Dandelion Greens, Mustard Greens, Kale, Escarole, Endvies, etc should be used. Pick a couple and shred them. Other things you can feed are Squashes like Acorn, Butternut, and Spaghetti along with some fruits like apples, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, etc.
Good feeder worms are Superworms, Phoenix Worms, Wax Worms, and Butter Worms (Butter worms should be an occasional treat, high in fat)
As you know already, definetly get him a bigger tank. A 40 gallon breeder tank is the minimum for an adult, with bigger always being better.
Sand is a big no on in my opinion as well as any other loose substrate (including the bark stuff). Pet store employees aren't always the best to get information from. I've learned that the hard way. Calci and Vita Sand are made to taste good and if you smell it, you'll notice that it has a sweet-like smell to it. So that means that whatever reptile is on it, will eat it. This is not good at all and gives the reptile a greater risk of being impacted. I much prefer un-glazed slate tiles (or other tiles with texture), newspaper, and reptile carpets. If you choose the reptile carpets, make sure that you keep his nails clipped and the loose fibers on the carpet cut down.
With using a solid substrate it's very easy to spot clean. Poop will not soak in and make a huge mess that harbors bacteria. Usually with reptile carpet, 2 comes in a pack so while one is soiled, the clean one goes in and then you just wash by hand or throw in the washer.
I think you should change your UVB light as well. I've heard that ESU Reptile is not a good brand. Instead use a Repti-SUN 10.0, not the compact kind though... tubes are best. Of course you could always look into getting a Mercury Vapor Bulb (only if you get a bigger tank). These are an "all in one" bulb that provide heat, uvb/uva, and bright light but require that your dragon not get within 12 inches of them. So you'd have to change your basking spot distance.
You could also raise your temp a few degrees. Since you think it's an adult, or close to being an adult, the basking temps should be around 100-105F with a cool side of 80-85F. One of your thermometers should be directly under the basking spot as this is where your beardie will be laying. This is why it's best to have a digital thermometer with a probe.
I would stop feeding him Romaine Lettuce. Lettuce (iceburg, romaine) do not have much of a nutritonal value. Instead Collared Greens, Dandelion Greens, Mustard Greens, Kale, Escarole, Endvies, etc should be used. Pick a couple and shred them. Other things you can feed are Squashes like Acorn, Butternut, and Spaghetti along with some fruits like apples, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, etc.
Good feeder worms are Superworms, Phoenix Worms, Wax Worms, and Butter Worms (Butter worms should be an occasional treat, high in fat)
peera
Sub-Adult Member
Thank you!
Good luck, and try not to feel overwhelmed!
nightgal":dbea9 said:YAY! 20 Questions!!
How old is your dragon? I have no idea, I'm assuming around a year or a year and a half judging from some that i have seen at locan pet stores that look to be around his size.
How long have you had your dragon? I have had him for about 3 weeks now. I'm not really a reptitle person (I breed birds) and he was a rescue from a local petstore that went out of business. They had left him behind the building in the snow, and I didn't expect him to survive.
How long is your dragon? I had to get a tape measure out for this, but he is about 16 inches long from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail.
Well, 16 inches is kinda small for a full-grown dragon, but I'm going to guess if they abandoned him, he wasn't getting great care to begin with.
What is the sex of your dragon? He looks to be a male. His head is really triangular, I will have to post pictures of him. I'm not even sure what color he is considered.
http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/sexing/ Might be helpful. Sometimes it's hard to tell.
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? He is in a 20l breeder that I used to have a snake in, though I am looking for a bigger tank for him. It's a screen top.
Good that you're looking for something bigger. 40gal breeder is the absolute minimum they need, optimally they should have 8 sq ft of floor space.
Do you use UVB lights? I pulled the bulb out and it says super uv coil lamp 20 wat. It's got a small picture of a tree frog and says esu reptile under that.
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? It's a coiled one, like the energy saver lightbulbs you can buy for your house. Again, recommended by the pet store.
God I hate pet stores. Compacts are horrid for their eyes. You should have a floresent tube. ReptiSUN 10.0 is the best, this is the cheapest you'll find them- http://www.petmountain.com/product/fluorescent/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html They need changed out every 6 months because they stop giving off good amounts of UVB after. You can get a fixture much cheaper from home depot as well.
You can also go with a MVB to give him heat and UVB from the same source- http://www.reptileuv.com/
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? ESU Reptile 20 wat
How old is your UVB bulb? About 3 weeks
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? He can get about 3 inches from the bulb on his grapvine basking spot.
You're going to want to get him a little farther away.. 6 inches for UVB, 12 for MVB.
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? I have a seperate red bulb and it doesn't have anything printed on it. But I think it's a 50 watt if I remember correctly and he can get about 2 inches close to that, via his grapevine.
No red bulbs, that hurts their eyes too. A regular household bulb will do just fine (measure temps, but a 60w works for me), and once again, get him a little further away.
What are the basking temps? At the very top where it's the warmest it's 92 and towards the bottom of his grape vine it's around 86.
Basking temps should be 100-110, it helps them digest.
What is the cool side temp? 78
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? I have a digital thermometer by zoo med. 3 of them in the tank.
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? There is a therm. towards the top and bottom on the basking side, and one at the bottom on the cool side.
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No. I was told they cold potentionally over heat.
Yay, you got some good advice! This is one that usually trips lots of people up.
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. He gets about 25 crickets dusted with repti-cal (dusted every other day), 3 mega worms a day (i was told as a treat cause they are higher fat) and then fresh romaine lettuce and bok choy. Wasn't sure about anything else.
Here's a wonderful link for foods- http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html I'm not sure what Megaworms are? Mealworms are bad for them because they're fatty and hard to digest, Superworms are a wonderful staple for a big enough dragon (which yours is). Since you're not sure of the age, it's hard to say how much live prey he should be eating, but assuming he is over 1 year, he should only get them every other day.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? He is fed the crickets in the morning, and he hunts them durning the day, and then the meal worms in the afternoon. He normally goes right to basking after he eats them.
Are you making sure no crickets are left in the tank with him overnight? They're nocternal, so after your dragon goes to sleep will come out to munch on him. :/ Lots of people feed in another tank to eliminate this problem.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? The crickets I buy frm timberline by the 1000 and they are all fed a high calcium food, along with fresh potato and cricket gel for water.
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
I use reptical every other day.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? Not sure what normal looks like...but they aren't runny and are whiteish.
Not runny and not smelly are good signs. It should be partially white and partially brown. The white part is his version of urine. In this case "regular" means is he having them every day, every other day, once a week?
Do you bath your dragon? How often? Right now he is getting daily baths because he is in the middle of a shed. The pet store told me once every three days when he is done with the shed.
It's not a bad idea to give them every day anyhow, but my older kids don't have a problem staying hydrated with once a week baths so long as they get moist veggies.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? No
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No he is my only dragon at the moment. Though fast becoming a favorite.
They are very addictive little creatures. If you decide to get more in the future, realize that you can't house them together. They're solitary and territorial, and the dominant one will injure the weaker.
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? No, there isn't a vet around who will see reptiles.
I feel your pain, I have to drive 3 hours to see my vet. Try this website to see if you can find anything- http://www.herpvetconnection.com/ since a vet checkup is always a good idea.
Good luck, and try not to feel overwhelmed!
peera
Sub-Adult Member
Oh, he's a pretty little guy! He appears very skinny in those pics, however, so I would continue with the daily live feeders for now, and salad always availible. It's entirely possible he could be as young as 6 months, since unfortunatly length is a bad judge since they can do 80% of their growing in the first 6 months.
I take all the crickets out at night so none munch on him. He pretty much just hunts through the day and i only have to pull one or two that hide behind his water dish.
I've thought about upping the amount of worms he is eating.
He does this thing where he goes over to my tank i keep crickets in and acts like he is digging. When he does that i normally give him a few more. Is that fine?
Also is it normal for him to climb up on his grape vine and just lay there after eating?
Would a purple night bulb be better? I have large purple bulbs that i use with my birds for heat, but i can switch them to a red bulb if the dark purple would be better for him.
Here is a pic with just the red bulb, then just the purple bulb on his tank.
Let me know what you think.
The purple bulb is actually darker in his tank, and it's a 100 watt bulb as well. i'm giving it about 5 minutes then i'm going to check the temp that bulb brings in the tank.
I've thought about upping the amount of worms he is eating.
He does this thing where he goes over to my tank i keep crickets in and acts like he is digging. When he does that i normally give him a few more. Is that fine?
Also is it normal for him to climb up on his grape vine and just lay there after eating?
Would a purple night bulb be better? I have large purple bulbs that i use with my birds for heat, but i can switch them to a red bulb if the dark purple would be better for him.
Here is a pic with just the red bulb, then just the purple bulb on his tank.
Let me know what you think.
The purple bulb is actually darker in his tank, and it's a 100 watt bulb as well. i'm giving it about 5 minutes then i'm going to check the temp that bulb brings in the tank.
my home does get chilly at night. I don't know why. my apartment must not be insulated well. So all my animals have heat bulbs to help warm them up. I turn my heat up to 90 on the thermostat but the thermometer in my house says my house stays around 70.
I cheated and put the therometer ending on his back since he is basking and the temp is at 98.5 and going up some more. Is this too hot for him at night?
I cheated and put the therometer ending on his back since he is basking and the temp is at 98.5 and going up some more. Is this too hot for him at night?
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