Slayer and I say hello!

[uberglasses]

Hi everyone! I'm Ben and I just got a bearded dragon and named him Slayer. No idea if it's actually male or female yet, but Slayer's the name for now, and if he turns out to be a she, then oh well. I'm very excited to take care of the little guy and for what's to come, and to interact with this awesome beardie community!

I have one question: I purchased a 50 gallon tank in advance for when he grows up to adulthood, but I have him in a 20 gallon now because I heard smaller spaces for babies are better. Is that alright or should I move him directly into his permanent home? I also covered up the sides with black paper because I hear it provides a lot of security.

Thanks!
- Ben (and Slayer---name change on 3/23)

 

[ohmybandit]

Hello & congrats!

It's okay to keep them in the small tank until they get bigger. I kept bandit in her 40 gal and she loved it and never got relocation stress from switching but its good that you're prepared!

 

[uberglasses]

Thank you! The 20 gallon belongs to my leopard gecko, so I ended up moving him to the bigger tank, cleaned out the 20 gallon one and put Sonny in there. It's so tempting to wanna handle and play with him all the time, but I'm doing my best to be patient and let him chill, get used to the environment. He hasn't eaten anything yet, but I hear it can take awhile, right? He better eat soon because I just got a delivery of 500 crickets today!

 

[ohmybandit]

Yeah they can take about 2 weeks to eat because of relocation stress. Just keep trying everyday but make sure you remove the crickets before your dragon goes to sleep since they like to nibble on dragons at night. Crickets are nasty little boogers :lol:

 

[uberglasses]

I can't wait for the day I stop using crickets. I dislike their escapes and then the noises afterwards, ugh. Hopefully my dubia colony really kicks off soon!

 

[ohmybandit]

Oh my goodness. I despises crickets. They ALWAYS managed to escape somehow it drove me nuts. And I'd always find them in the bathroom? Haha. Dubias are a fantastic feeder. It takes a little bit to get going but they exploded within 4 months for me and now I can't keep their numbers in control. (Plus the babies I will admit are pretty cute, the adults though... )

have you braved them enough to hold one??

 

[uberglasses]

Oh god, I can't even imagine holding a dubia roach, baby or not in my hand. I use my reptile feeding tongs. Plus it crushes them a little bit and helps my beardie catch them before they scurry away. I have a feeling my colony will explode because I can only feed the little roaches, leaving all the bigger ones to procreate. It'll be interesting!

 

[YoshisMom1031]

I've been reading about the dubia roaches and was wondering if they made escapes like the crickets. Has anyone tried phoenix worms?

 

[ohmybandit]

I'm gonna post from a different thread I posted in lol should answer all dubia questions

Lance (twobeardieguy) in the for sale section here sells starter colonies. He provides the bin, heat mats and temp guns and all you do is plug it in and feed them everyday. He offers wonderful advice too and he's a great guy to deal with.
This is one of his threads about dubia and you can scoop up info in this
http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=76&t=116814&start=825

Here's his for sale thread,
http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=182501
He made it very simple for beginners

Dubia cannot survive outside of their bins really because they need moisture and heat.

 

[YoshisMom1031]

Thanks for the info!

 

[ohmybandit]

Has anyone tried phoenix worms?

Also, I forgot. Bandit LOVED Phoenix worms. It was all she ate when she was little. Be careful though not to buy the small bugs because they are tiny. Your bd will poop them back out whole of he gets too excited and doesn't chew lol

Oh god, I can't even imagine holding a dubia roach, baby or not in my hand. I use my reptile feeding tongs. Plus it crushes them a little bit and helps my beardie catch them before they scurry away. I have a feeling my colony will explode because I can only feed the little roaches, leaving all the bigger ones to procreate. It'll be interesting!

Just wait till one falls and you have to pick it up or if one accidentally crawls on you lol :lol: I screamed bloody murder when an adult touched my toe. You can feel their feet dig in.
Eeeewww hahaha

 

[uberglasses]

Oh, one has already dropped onto the floor and I jumped back to watch it run away. I fear the day my escaped crickets and dubias will somehow interbreed and make a freaky bug hybrid and terrorize me! Now if one of my dubias dropped on me, I'm sure my neighbors will hear me howl.

Sonny ---->Slayer (name change)

 

[ohmybandit]

Lol!



Nice name change lol

 

[Lolly2]

hi, just want to chip in and say i love the name Slayer (and the band too) excellent choice of name

 

[uberglasses]

Thanks for the warm welcome! I actually chose the name because of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, haha.