Say Hi to Mushu!

[komode]

Hi again, I put an 'e' at the beginning of 'xtreme' in the above url. Correct address is http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
Again, I found it very handy.

 

[Vengeil]

im thinking 3/8ths or 1/2 half inch sizes for mushu. how many do i need for a month and will they live in the 10 gallon cage?
i also found out that the cricket cage i have is really about 11 inches by 8 by 7 so its much bigger than what you thought

The nighttime bulb says Exo Terra Night Glo moonlight lamp 75W. is that a good UV bulb? im kinda worried now cuz it doesnt even say UVB on the box. it is a black light like bulb.

 

[Catalyst]

im thinking 3/8ths or 1/2 half inch sizes for mushu. how many do i need for a month and will they live in the 10 gallon cage?
i also found out that the cricket cage i have is really about 11 inches by 8 by 7 so its much bigger than what you thought

How many you need for a month depends on how many your dragon is eating right now. When my guy was growing I ordered my crickets in 1000 at a time and that lasted me about 2 1/2 weeks or so, depending on his appetite at the time. Since your guy is still so small, I'd order 500 first and see how long those last you. You don't want to have crickets so long that they grow too big for your dragon to eat them. You have to order more frequently, but then you also aren't having to dump out bugs because they're too big.
Yes, you can fit a whole lot of crickets in a 10g tank. Just make sure that you put lots of egg crating in with them - they need places to hide from each other or they cannibalize each other. You can feed them on the same greens and veggies that are good for your dragon, dragon food pellets, oatmeal, and/or commercial cricket food.

The nighttime bulb says Exo Terra Night Glo moonlight lamp 75W. is that a good UV bulb? im kinda worried now cuz it doesnt even say UVB on the box. it is a black light like bulb.

That is not a UV light - it's just a specialty bulb that they sell you because they want your money It's better at night not to have any lights on in the tank at all.

You have two options for a UV light source.
1. Flourescent UV tube - these go into a flourescent tube light fixture with a reflector (like the ones that go across aquariums or you hang over a workshop table). They need to be replaced every six months, and your dragon needs to have a place in the tank where he can get six inches from the bulb. The best flourescent bulb is the Reptisun 10.0, although the reptisun 5.0 and reptiglo 8.0 are decent.
2. Mercury vapor bulbs - more expensive initially but work out to about the same since some of them last a year before they need to be replaced. These bulbs put out a better/higher quality of UV rays for your dragon, and he needs to be 12 inches away from the bulb. See http://www.reptileuv.com for more info on these bulbs (the Megarays are the best).

 

[reptidad397]

sorry bout the size confusion on the small cricket keeper how ever 500 to 1000 crickets are fairly comfortable in a 10 gallon container if provided with enough egg crates it inhances their standing room and the will live untill gone with out much loss.

as for your night bulb it is not uvb. a uvb bulb is usually a linear florescent tube that is specific for reptiles exo tera makes a good one 8.0 and zoo med makes another good one that is 10.0 which is 8%uvb and 10%uvb respectivly how ever they last onlt about 6 to 8 months.a pet store will be able to show them to you and then after you know what you are looking for get it on line for much cheeper. uvb is important for vit d3 production naturally. read the care sheet on this site for more info or your new best friend.

 

[Vengeil]

The other lamp ive got is 150W tight beam sun glo basking lamp. this one says it has UVA rays. i guess i have to buy UVB light though. does this look like a bluish light?

what im hoping to do is just buy a UVB light that doesnt give off much light so i can keep the basking bulb i have now and just replace that with the nighttime light. is that possible?

also, i just moved him into his 20 gallon cage last evening and today his skin is much darker is that normal stress stuff?

and some bad news: my mom refuses to use the 10 gallon cage for crickets. she refuses to have 1000 crickets in the house at all. she says the smell bothers her. how many 3/8 crickets do you think i could safely fit in the 11"/8/7 cricket cage that i have

what kind of containers do the crickets come in?

 

[reptidad397]

your mom will probally come around eventually because of cost it is like $0.02 to $0.04 cents to order crickets on line and pet smart (at least here) charges $0.10 per cricket as for how many could you keep in your small keeper you have to use trial and error but i would say that you could keep at least 150 in there as for the uvb it looks like a florescent tube and it does put off light however it does not put off enough heat so you have to use the basking bulb still.

 

[reptidad397]

also the crickets come in insulated boxes this time of year if you order them in bulk

 

[Catalyst]

The other lamp ive got is 150W tight beam sun glo basking lamp. this one says it has UVA rays. i guess i have to buy UVB light though. does this look like a bluish light?

what im hoping to do is just buy a UVB light that doesnt give off much light so i can keep the basking bulb i have now and just replace that with the nighttime light. is that possible?

The flourescent UV lights do put off some light, but no heat so they don't affect what basking/heat bulb you use at all. Get the Reptisun 10.0 bulb - it's currently the best one available. You can find it online for $20-22. Make sure you get the full tube version and not the compact version (the compacts look like those energy saver light bulbs).

You don't need any light on in the tank at night - depending on the type of light it can actually disturb your dragon's sleep.

also, i just moved him into his 20 gallon cage last evening and today his skin is much darker is that normal stress stuff?

Yep, most likely that's just relocation stress from the move to his new home.

what kind of containers do the crickets come in?

Depends on where you order them from, but mine always came in cardboard boxes - just be careful because they're not inside any other container in the box, so once you open the box crickets start coming out. It's usually better to open the box outside so you don't have escapees running around your house.

 

[Vengeil]

is it possible to feed and keep the crickets in the boxes they come in except for the ones i put in the cricket cage to gutload and feed?

Ok i will get reptisun 10.0. what length tube shall i get?

and both the basking light and the UVB can be turned off for 10 hours right?

 

[Catalyst]

is it possible to feed and keep the crickets in the boxes they come in except for the ones i put in the cricket cage to gutload and feed?

Probably not. They're usually packed pretty tightly into those boxes and I can't imagine they'd do well if left in there too long without access to food and moisture.

Ok i will get reptisun 10.0. what length tube shall i get?

You'll want one long enough to go the entire lenth of your tank.

and both the basking light and the UVB can be turned off for 10 hours right?

A dragon's day should be 12-14 hours long, and yes, all lights get turned off at the end of the day.

 

[Vengeil]

i could give them food and moisture. i just need a place to keep the few hundred crickets that arent in the little cricket cage

 

[Catalyst]

You could check out Walmart or the dollar store and pick up a small plastic box with a lid on it. The problem with the cardboard box that they come in is that they can climb the cardboard, so every time you opened it up to feed them or whatever, you'd have crickets climbing out all over the place.

 

[Vengeil]

I will suggest to my mom, thanks a ton!

 

[Vengeil]

Its been 3 or 4 days since the upgrade in cage and mushu is still a very dark shade on his belly. If i put him in warm water for a few seconds, it seems to go back to normal but it goes gray again after a while. Any explanations?

 

[specialk'sdragon]

Typical response to a new environment -- most say give it two weeks and as long as he's eating and defacating fairly normal, it's nothing to worry about.