Shedding how do you know?

[Izabee33]

How do I know if my beardie is shedding correctly. I am not sure if he is shedding right or wrong, if there even is a right and wrong. Could someone give me some advice?

 

[sweetpea1981]

what do you mean?

 

[Ranchero]

My BD will shed his head first then his body and his tail will come last a few days later. He did a complete full body shed one time. Giving them a bath helps to get the skin off so if there are different colors on the skin try the bath and see if that loosens it up and gets the shed started. You can expect a shed every week or every other week sometimes if they are growing right

 

[Izabee33]

My BD will shed his head first then his body and his tail will come last a few days later. He did a complete full body shed one time. Giving them a bath helps to get the skin off so if there are different colors on the skin try the bath and see if that loosens it up and gets the shed started. You can expect a shed every week or every other week sometimes if they are growing right

My beardie only sheds once every month or so... Sometimes longer... But I think that's because his cage is too small and he has reached this growing point. He's in a 20 gallon and he is almost as big as it. I am looking for a50 gallon but I havn't found one yet.

 

[Ranchero]

How old is it? What kind of lighting do you have and what do you feed and frequency? Mine is also in a 20g but he didnt start shesding frequently until he was 2 1/2 -3 months

 

[Izabee33]

How old is it? What kind of lighting do you have and what do you feed and frequency? Mine is also in a 20g but he didnt start shesding frequently until he was 2 1/2 -3 months

I got him last Christmas, and I'm using a 75 watt basking light. I just read the box and it said not a UVB bulb, could that be an issue to his shedding?

 

[Ranchero]

No they have to have uvb. The reptisun 10 is highly recommended and you will need to mount it on the inside of the tank has the wire takes almost half of the uvb away.
75w is going to be too low i have a 100w and a 75w in my 20g long going at the same time.
Dont use any lights at night unless you house gets below 60 at night you will need to get a ceramic heat source because the light disrupts their sleep. Are you dusting its crickets with calcium daily? I got mine last Christmas too
If you need help hanging that light you can personal message me.

 

[Izabee33]

No they have to have uvb. The reptisun 10 is highly recommended and you will need to mount it on the inside of the tank has the wire takes almost half of the uvb away.
75w is going to be too low i have a 100w and a 75w in my 20g long going at the same time.
Dont use any lights at night unless you house gets below 60 at night you will need to get a ceramic heat source because the light disrupts their sleep. Are you dusting its crickets with calcium daily? I got mine last Christmas too
If you need help hanging that light you can personal message me.

I don't use crickets, I use beardie food, which I spray with some extra calcium spray. I have a heating rock and a heating pad with a none UVB bulb, but I like to let my Iggers run around my floor a lot. He goes by the window absinthe summer I take him outside and bask in the real light?

 

[william488]

ok, first off, you should be giving your bearded dragon some live food, they need the protein to best grow. I am not sure what type of bearded dragon food you are giving him but look into some bugs for him.
They do need the uvb to digest correctly, to absorb the cacium correctly (by producing their vitamin D). Running around your house, even with the beardie being by the windows, will not let him absorb the correct thing needed for the vitamin D. Glass blocks the UVB rays, and thus will cause the beardie to get nothing from the sun except heat. Not having proper feeding, and not having proper uvb can cause issues with bone, growth, feeding habbits, and shedding. I would suggest getting a uvb light (reptisun 10.0 tube if you live in the usa.) untill then, if you live in a warm area, take your bearded dragon out for 30 minutes of direct sun. Lots of wonderful information available here on this site, I hope you get your answers you are needing and are able to help your little guy.

As for natural light, I think it is suggested, if you cannot get them a uvb, to atleast give them 30 minutes every other day out side in direct sun, they cannot be under glass, and you don't want to put them outside in a glass cage as that can trap heat, and cause overheating. Some screen's will also block UVB from the sun so make sure there is really nothing between the beardie and the sun. if you use a small swimming pool, etc, give them a hide spot so that he can still regulate his heat. Also you will never want to leave him by himself outside, as you don't know what is walking by, or flying by that might want a bearded snack.

 

[daner923]

You also need to at least unplug, if not get rid of, the heating rock and heating pad. They can both cause serious, possibly even fatal, burns on beardies as they don't sense heat well from below.

 

[Izabee33]

You also need to at least unplug, if not get rid of, the heating rock and heating pad. They can both cause serious, possibly even fatal, burns on beardies as they don't sense heat well from below.

I have to keep the heating pad because the cage gets below 64 at night, my house is very drafty, and he barley ever goes on the heating rock.

 

[daner923]

Doesn't matter - those are both serious health risks. Deadly even. If it isn't warm enough, you need a ceramic heat emitter, which works from above.

 

[Izabee33]

Then how come I can turn his basking light on and it will heat his log up and he can sit on a hot log?

 

[daner923]

Okay so the basking log gets warm, yes. But it doesn't GENERATE heat. The log can't malfunction and suddenly shoot up to 150 or 200F. The heat rocks have a long history of malfunctioning, shorting out, or just being inaccurate in temp control. I saw a beardie who had most of his stomach skin slough off after a terrible burn from a heat rock. It's a good question, but please understand that the collected knowledge on this site isn't really opinions, but a lot of people sharing experiences over many years and figuring out what does and doesn't work.

 

[Izabee33]

Do you think the heating rock would be good for any other reptile? Like what would the heating rock be used for, I have a snake so could I use it for him?