Hey! To start off, I am a high school student who has never owned a reptile before. I do not have any other pets since I can't have dogs or cats, and I thought a beardie would be a fun option for me to start taking care of something myself. That being said, I have some situations that I would like to ask for some advice on to make sure my dragon is taken care of to the best of my ability. I'm going to buy one by the end of this year, and I've done tons of research, however these are some unanswered questions for my situation that I would like answered.
1 ) I know that beardies need the lights to be off when they're sleeping. Since I typically sleep at 10 pm and wake up at 5:45 am, what is the appropriate time for the lights to go on and to go off? I know that I can buy an automatic timer that will turn the lights on and off when it is appropriate, but I don't want the lights to be on or off for too long or too short, either.
2 ) When I get ready in the morning I use very bright vanity lights to do my makeup. Being a teenager, sometimes I stay up late, too. I was thinking of buying maybe a piece of felt to cover my tank when turning on my room lights earlier than when the tanks lights go on, or when I stay up later than the dragon does. I do not want to disturb my dragon's sleep cycle in any way. Would even dim Christmas lights bother the dragon while it's sleeping? Is the felt curtain a good idea for the morning?
3 ) I like to blast music. It's never super loud, but I do have subs in my room and so the bass is boosted. Will this startle the bearded dragon? Should I refrain from turning up the music too loud? I think a beardie might enjoy the music, however I don't want to damage its little ears or freak it out from the vibrations.
4 ) Sometimes my mom will take me out after school unexpectedly for food or to go to the store. I also go to my friend's house for a night or two. I was thinking of leaving pellets in a food dish for my beardie when I can't be there to hand feed it insects or making a salad. Would this be okay? I still want my bearded dragon to be able to eat all its meals, but life can get busy and I can't guarantee I will be home at the same time every single day.
5 ) Will a regular house light work as a basking bulb? Similarly, will a regular house light work to light up a tank from above with warm tones without adding heat? I don't like the pale blue light of the UVB. I think a warmer tone will mimic sunlight better as well.
6 ) My last question: the feeding times people mentioned when searching up videos were very vague. I know I feed them 70-80% insects and 20-30% as babies, and the opposite when they're adults. Should I feed my beardie before I go to school? I don't want him to starve all day, since I'm gone from 7 am - 3 pm. Or would it be okay to feed him after school and then in the evening?
My food plan: I am thinking about feeding my dragon insects 2 times a day, and a salad with pellets once a day. Calcium dusting daily for babies, and every other day for adults. Multivitamin dusting every other day for babies, and once or twice a week for adults. Fruits 3 times a week with salad. When I feed insects, I'll give as many dubias or phoenix worms in about 10 minutes, twice a day. The last meal should be given 3 hours before the lights off, from what I've heard.
My bath plan: Bathing my beardie every day to every other day. I want this to be his pooping time, so I would probably do it about 30 minutes after he eats if that's right. I'll bath him as a baby in a smaller bath and I can dump it outside and then rinse it in the sink. However I don't want my sink to smell like poo. My baths will be about 20 minutes.
Please answer even a few of my questions, or correct me on anything I may have wrong, I don't want to stress out my bearded dragon in any way. Thank you so much Wish me luck on my journey!
1 ) I know that beardies need the lights to be off when they're sleeping. Since I typically sleep at 10 pm and wake up at 5:45 am, what is the appropriate time for the lights to go on and to go off? I know that I can buy an automatic timer that will turn the lights on and off when it is appropriate, but I don't want the lights to be on or off for too long or too short, either.
2 ) When I get ready in the morning I use very bright vanity lights to do my makeup. Being a teenager, sometimes I stay up late, too. I was thinking of buying maybe a piece of felt to cover my tank when turning on my room lights earlier than when the tanks lights go on, or when I stay up later than the dragon does. I do not want to disturb my dragon's sleep cycle in any way. Would even dim Christmas lights bother the dragon while it's sleeping? Is the felt curtain a good idea for the morning?
3 ) I like to blast music. It's never super loud, but I do have subs in my room and so the bass is boosted. Will this startle the bearded dragon? Should I refrain from turning up the music too loud? I think a beardie might enjoy the music, however I don't want to damage its little ears or freak it out from the vibrations.
4 ) Sometimes my mom will take me out after school unexpectedly for food or to go to the store. I also go to my friend's house for a night or two. I was thinking of leaving pellets in a food dish for my beardie when I can't be there to hand feed it insects or making a salad. Would this be okay? I still want my bearded dragon to be able to eat all its meals, but life can get busy and I can't guarantee I will be home at the same time every single day.
5 ) Will a regular house light work as a basking bulb? Similarly, will a regular house light work to light up a tank from above with warm tones without adding heat? I don't like the pale blue light of the UVB. I think a warmer tone will mimic sunlight better as well.
6 ) My last question: the feeding times people mentioned when searching up videos were very vague. I know I feed them 70-80% insects and 20-30% as babies, and the opposite when they're adults. Should I feed my beardie before I go to school? I don't want him to starve all day, since I'm gone from 7 am - 3 pm. Or would it be okay to feed him after school and then in the evening?
My food plan: I am thinking about feeding my dragon insects 2 times a day, and a salad with pellets once a day. Calcium dusting daily for babies, and every other day for adults. Multivitamin dusting every other day for babies, and once or twice a week for adults. Fruits 3 times a week with salad. When I feed insects, I'll give as many dubias or phoenix worms in about 10 minutes, twice a day. The last meal should be given 3 hours before the lights off, from what I've heard.
My bath plan: Bathing my beardie every day to every other day. I want this to be his pooping time, so I would probably do it about 30 minutes after he eats if that's right. I'll bath him as a baby in a smaller bath and I can dump it outside and then rinse it in the sink. However I don't want my sink to smell like poo. My baths will be about 20 minutes.
Please answer even a few of my questions, or correct me on anything I may have wrong, I don't want to stress out my bearded dragon in any way. Thank you so much Wish me luck on my journey!