Shedding...

[adamrich1013]

So I went to the reptile show today in Fairview Heights, IL, and finally got the dragon I've been waiting for about a month to get now. Beautiful dragon. I'm told she's a mix of Sandfire and Red Snow. I can tell from talking to the breeder she's very well taken care of. She is very sweet and curious...and what an appetite.

Now I got her in the middle of a shed. Now I know they need some humidity, and a bath would be great, but I also don't want to stress her out by giving her a bath her first couple of days with me. So what would you recommend for an alternative? I'm not sure if dragons like being misted directly like my iguana used to. Is it better to mist them directly, or should I mist the tank walls instead? With my leopard geckos, I sometimes will put a moist paper towels in the enclosure over the top vent of her rock cave. She'll sleep in there for the night and come out done with her shedding.

What do you think is the best form to humidify her so she can shed.

 

[diamc]

That's great that you got your beardie today. The coloring sounds awesome, can't wait to see pictures.

It's a good idea not to handle her much in the first couple of days as you already know. But, to help with the shedding, you could use a small transparent container and put it in her tank to see if she wants to take a bath. You could pick her up and set her in it. If she's not interested, I wouldn't leave it in long because you don't want to raise the humidity too much. Some beardies like misting and others don't, a bath is much more beneficial to help with shedding and to hydrate them. Not a good idea to mist the beardie or the walls in the tank because too high humidity can cause upper respiratory infections. If she doesn't seem stressed tomorrow, it would be fine to take her out long enough to give her a bath in a container other than in her tank. You could either hold her in your hand or if she seems comfortable, set her down in the warm water with a cloth on the bottom.

Since there are so many dangerous/useless UVB's, could you fill us in on the brand and type you are using? Also, what are the tank temps and what type of thermometer are you using?

 

[adamrich1013]

I purchased a new UVB bulb today, since the only bulbs I had in my apartment from past pets are either too old, or not as useful because they were only the 5.0s. I bought a "professional series" Solar Glo from Exo Terra. It's a 160W. I chose it rather than any coils because I don't want to have too many domes on top of the enclosure, so I wanted a light that would give her proper UV and temps all in one. I also am using a CHE for her at night.

As for thermometers, I bought a digital thermometer with a movable probe. Her lights just went out a half hour or so ago, but for the most of the afternoon, I noticed her basking spot was at about 90-93 degrees.

She seems pretty energetic and comfy. I really think the breeder did a good job, and told me not to hesitate for even a second to call her if there is a problem, night or day.

I'll post pics within a couple days once I borrow my girlfriend's digital camera. Mine is ancient.

 

[diamc]

The Solar Glo mercury vapor bulb is a decent bulb. What size tank do you have the 160 watt MVB in and what is the distance to the basking spot? We recommend not using a MVB on a tank any smaller than a 40 gallon because MVB's are very strong. With a 160 watt, it should be a minimum of 18" from your beardie when he is basking. I also wanted to mention that you don't need any type of heating at night unless the room temp drops to 65 degrees or below. They do much better when they have a cool down period when sleeping.

I'm not sure what you meant by "I bought a digital thermometer with a movable probe." Does it have a long wire with a probe on the end? With 160 watt MVB, the temps should be registering much higher than 90 to 93 degrees. How are you taking the temps and exactly where are you placing the probe? What is the brand of the thermometer?

That's great that she is energetic and acts comfy already. Did she eat for you today? Can't wait to see pictures of her.

 

[adamrich1013]

She is in a 55 gallon long tank.

Yes, the thermometer is one of those electronic read-outs with the long wire. I have the wire setup with a suction cup right next to her basking spot, which is actually less than 18" away from the bulb now that I measured it out...it was close and I thought I could eye it. I'll change it tomorrow morning when she wakes up. But then again, the bulb is now in a deep dome fixture, so it's a few inches off the top of the tank as well.

I kinda thought the temps were a little fishy on the meter...might check its accuracy tomorrow now that I've turned off the CHE. Once the heat from that cools, I'll compare the meter to my apartment's thermostat. We'll get to the bottom on this.

Yes, she did eat for me today. She ate about 20-25 crickets, and also had a small handful of greens/squash that I shredded for her. She then decided to leave a little poop behind for me to clean up already. Guess she was making room for more...