Soon-to-be Owner with a few questions.

[Xanthur34]

Hello, beardeddragon.org! I'm glad to be here where I know I can find all the help I may need when I get my beardie, Ivan. I've been tirelessley researching in preparation for getting him, but I still have a few questions that I hope you can clear up for me.

For starters, here's what I have so far (I only picked up what I could pay for with what I had in my wallet at the time)
A water dish
A driftwood branch for a basking perch (bought it, it's clean)
A bottle of calcium supplement
Nail clippers
Feeding tongs
2 thermometers and a humidity gauge (one thermometer for hot side, one for cool side)
Some non-adhesive shelf liner for a substrate (I found out here that it's great!)
And a bottle of 'dragon food' Zilla brand, if I'm not mistaken.

I'll be buying a hiding cave, a reptivite bottle, a 20-gal aquarium, and a mercury vapor bulb next chance I get, along with some crickets.

First question, I heard from a reliable owner that a 100W mercury vapor light bulb will cover all of the beardie's UVA, UVB, Heat, and Light needs by itself, is this true? Also, it needs to be 12 inches from the actual aquarium floor, right?

Second, this 'dragon food' claims that it is fortified with the vitamins a beardie needs, so does that mean I should forgo the calcium and reptivite supplement? It also says that 1/2 a teaspoon will be enough food to feed a baby for a full day (I thought that sounded sketchy). Did I make a mistake buying it? I also found a 'dragon salad' mix with things like dandelion greens, carrots, and all sorts of other dragon veggies. Should I buy that too?

Third, I heard that as long as I use the mercury vapor lamp for 12 hours, my beardie wouldn't need any nighttime lighting (as long as the temperature doesn't go below 60 degrees F). Will that be alright?

Alright, that about covers it. If anybody can think of anything else I need please let me know. I appreciate any input that I can get. Thanks in advance!

 

[Xanthur34]

Hah, I hate to reply to my own post, but I needed to mention that the mercury vapor lamp I'm going to buy is Powersun brand. I though that'd be important to know.

 

[Rukia1988]

How big is the bearded dragon you are intersted in? A 20 gallon is fine for a small dragon but idealy as they grow you need something bigger. My pip is almost 10 inches and he grew from 7-10 in a months time. Also, i have no idea about the lights.

Crickets are a plus or Dubias rather than the dragon dry food pellets. They like live prey...Pip won't eat much of anything unless it moves. Unless its greens.

 

[Xanthur34]

I'll be getting a baby from Petco. As I recall they're anywhere from 5-8 weeks old. I'll need either a 40 or 55 gallon tank within 3 months though, right?

Yeah, I plan on feeding him crickets and veggies, but I wonder if the dragon food will be okay if I need something to lean on.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[mickeysmomma]

Mine love munching on those food pellets. I think they like the crunch of it! I still give them greens every day, and crickets when they need them... I still dust the crickets even if the food pellets say they are vitamin fortified.

I leave the pellets in there all the time.

 

[Momto3boys]

Make sure your calcium supplement is with D3, they also need a multi vitamin.

If I recall, the powersun is NOT a good light but I personally have no experience with this so Im hoping someone with more knowledge on that chips in, most people prefer the Mega Ray.

Lso it sounds like you have the stick on dial thermometers......these are garbage and can be wrong by up to 20 degrees...you need a thermometer with a probe or a temp gun, they give accurate readings.

The pellet food is garbage, just look at the ingredients in it......also most people's dragons won't touch it at all....they want live, juicy, healthy bugs!!

 

[Xanthur34]

Hmm, yeah, I heard not to use the analog thermometers... Guess I'll have to return them and buy some probe ones.

I'll double check the vitamins today, thanks for the heads up!

The pellet food's really that bad? Alright, fine by me. But what about that salad mix I found? I don't really have access to all of the veggies they like, so would it work?

Ugh, this Reptisun deal's giving me a headache... I've seen so many contradicting comments about them I don't know who to believe! If it's really that bad though, do you know where I could find a GOOD MVB? Petco's the only place I think that has reptile supplies, would I be able to find them anywhere else?

 

[Momto3boys]

I'm sure you've never heard anything bad about Repti-Sun's.....that's the long flourescent tube UVB, that's what most of us use. The BEST MVB you can buy is Mega Ray and there is a few stores that sell them but it's easier to buy it from Reptileuv, here's their website.

http://www.reptileuv.com/


Alot of people buy their supplies online, it's ALOT cheaper than pet stores and pet stores will constantly give you bad advice so you buy more product. I honestly have never seen a bearded dragon mix of veggies, I buy all my veggies seperately and make my own salad. List all the veggies that are in this mix and we will be able to tell you if it's any good or not.

Seriously it's up to you about the pellet food, it's just not recommended, I also don't feed my dogs/cats garbage food, they are all holistic with natural ingredients.

 

[AprilMayJune]

Please take note: If you use a MVB bulb you need to purchase the calcium WITHOUT D3 as the D3 can be toxic to beardies that use MVB bulbs. If you use a flourescent (tube) bulb buy the calcium WITH D3. It is very important to ensure that the right calcium is used with the right bulb.

The contradicting comments you are probably reading/seeing are for the ReptiGLO bulbs. And yes, there are many who will not even buy them (myself included) because of the problems they have been known to cause with our Beardie friends.

Also, you may want to look into local breeders instead of supporting the horrible chain stores to buy your Beardie. You will get a better quality dragon and you won't be supporting the chain stores who will tell you anything just to sell it to you and make money. Do a google search for bearded dragon breeders and be specific in your area. There's probably more breeders than one would think.

 

[Xanthur34]

Ay this is a lot to process at a time, but I very much appreciate all the input, especially the website links!

I'll look for that Mega Ray MVB. But if I use that (lemme see if I have this straight) I'll use a calcium supplement WITHOUT D3, along with a basic multivitamin. And I WILL NOT need any additional lighting, correct?

I'll buy probe thermometers, they'll be digital right?

I couldn't get to the Petco where I found that dragon salad today, I'll have to grab some tomorrow and let you guys be the judge of it based on its ingredients.

I'm hoping to see my Exotic Pets specialist (he said he'd know about the beardies) to see about what else I may need. Let me know if I'm forgetting anything else, though

 

[Momto3boys]

Yes, i totally forgot about the NO D3 with MVB's...I use the Repti Sun's so I need the D3.

Just find out what company makes the dragon salad and the ingredients should be posted online somewhere.

As for extra light with the MVB, most people use a regular light at the other end of the tank just for extra light since the MVB will be at one end of your enclosure so the cooler side will be kinda dark, this is a personal choice though and of course in a tank that is 4x2x2

Also what size tank are you setting up for your baby? If I remember right the MVB's get too hot for a 10 gallon tank, again I wish someone that uses the bulbs would step in and help you with it.

And I agree, you should definately go with a breeder for your baby.....there's lots of great breeders here and they do overnight shipping, your baby will be healthy, cheaper and you will have great support from the breeder.

 

[sobotta]

In my own opinion I would take the dragon food pellets back if you can. None of mine eat it. They like the fresh stuff! But it really depends on the dragon I guess. My dad has 5 and only one will eat it. The rest just ignore it. The dragon I rescued was fed only the pellets (which he didnt eat) and now his groth is stunted. It could be becuz he didnt eat it at all. I have a total of 4 right now and all are in their own (at least) 40 breader tanks. Good luck on your new addition and welcome to the site!

 

[Xanthur34]

Thanks a lot everyone! I feel welcome already! ^_^

As for when I get my baby, I'll be putting him in a (at least) 20 gallon tank. That would last him 3 months, right? Then I'll have to move up?

I'll grab that salad today and let everyone know what's in it. Otherwise I suppose it wouldn't kill me to make salad myself X D

Also I'm ditching the pellets, I don't have any confidence in it anymore

So when you say I might want another light for the 'dark' side of the tank, do you mean just a basic light bulb, or something more specialized?

I'll check out the Mega Ray MVB, I suppose that's my best bet.

Searching for local breeders today, wish me luck! : D

Oh, and lastly, does anybody here know how to change the timezone on this site? When I signed up I placed myself in the wrong zone X D and now all my posting times are messed up!

 

[Jess]

A general rule of thimb is that you want your beardies viv to be twice its length... So a 20 gal will be OK untill yours is about 15 inches long. If you start out with a baby, then it should last 3 months.

And I know what you are talking about, with those pre-made salad things. I tried that with Wink, because he absolutely refused to eat a normal salad, and he wasnt super fond of it although I heard that other dragons are. The ingredients actually arent all that bad- It has dandilion greens, and a flower that can be used as a staple (forgot the name), but it has carrots, corn, and grasshoppers/mealworms (depending on what version you buy) and those should not be offerent on a daily basis. All the ingredients are freeze dried too, so they arent as nutritious.
So basically, if your beardie will eat it, its fine to use for a couple days if you are on vacation, or out of fresh food, but not as a staple diet. Fresh is the way to go!

For breeders, make sure to check out the Forsale section on this forum! There are some beautiful and reasonably priced babies.

Edit: Thought I should add... You can only use a MVB if your viv is 40 gallons or larger. So if you are starting out with a 20 gal, you will need the ReptiSun 10.0 tube for starters.
When you upgrade your viv though, the Mega Ray is a good choice!
And a regular house light is fine for the "dark side".

 

[Rukia1988]

Hmm, yeah, I heard not to use the analog thermometers... Guess I'll have to return them and buy some probe ones.

quote]

PLUG WALMART for a 12.00 digital Acurite thermometer I love mine and bought a second one for my new cage =D. A picture is in one of the earlier posts I posted. I'll find it and link it later. I learned it is a cheap awesome thermometer from the experts on here and it tells you cool side temps plus basking spot temps AND humidity. I love it so much!

**EDIT**
Link for a picture of the Thermometer:http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=127649