sorry confused newby!

[ISOM]

Hi there
Am a bit worried that Ive done sommat wrong. I have a baby bearded dragon in a 4ft tank but am unsure if Im getting it right re
the lighting and enclosure so would love some advice to make my chappy a happy chappy!
I have given him live food but he doesent seem that interested...fed him one by hand and he ate that along with some greens but not really that fussed. I know it takes time to settle and the cat has been very interested in him so have now got him a log where he can hide in the cool area.
The way that i have the set up is a cool area to left (where I've put food, water and hidey hole) and then the basking lamp to the right. uvb tube aimed so that its above the basking bulb and this is set to 10 hrs. I did have the basking light on for about six hours and he seemed to be doing the panting thing so was worried that he was overheating and turned it off but not sure if this was right to do? Heat mat is on a thermostat and is placed in the middle of the vivarium.
Please can people just confirm that the 10 hr uvb light timing is right?
How long should I set the basking light for?
When should I be worried about him not eating?
Many thanks in advance for your help!

 

[quigleysmom]

Ok I understand your tank is a 4ft enclosure, but I need a little more info if you don't mind.

First how old is your beardie and how long have you had him?

What kind of uv light do you have and how old is it? Usually I do a 12 on 12 off of both basking and other lighting.

What are your temps in the tank?

What substrait are you using?

Thanks!

 

[ISOM]

no probs!
its a new set up so all lighting brand new...temp at cool end is 78...warm end themometor showing slightly lower but suspect that I need to get a new thememetor for that end (pinched that one from turtle tank so its 1yr +) as cant be right. Substrate is newspaper. Forgot to say that he has poo'd twice. Got him christmas eve - so two days ago...

 

[Grogshla]

mate can you post up a pic of the set up?

for a 4 foot tank i would get the basking light on one side and get the basking spot to 105 degrees. Uvb tube should be 8-10 inches fromt the dragon so he can get the rays. get a good reptisun 10 or arcadia 12.

Let your dragon settle in. Don't hassle him.

 

[BKRsBeardie]

I would like to pass on one piece of advice that will make your life a lot easier. Buy a ACU Rite probe thermometer, you can get one at walmart for 12.00. It isn't in the pet section. Place the probe directly in the basking spot and the main unit on the cool side. Getting the temps correct is really important. If your beardie is young he/she needs a good basking spot 100 - 105 degrees and a cool end of low 80's (78-82).
Sounds like you have a really nice Viv. Congrats on your baby!

 

[ISOM]

I'll get a digital thermometor today, second timer for basking lamp and will upload piccy asap. Good advice re letting him settle - you do worry that youve got it wrong though when theyre babies (apparently mine 2m but unsure how you check?. I am visiting a friend in another city today and know they have a really good rep shop so will pop in there for a chat. Meanwhile have given him a bit extra light time as suspect he hasnt had enough... Im in the uk so we dont have wallmart! Thanks again for your help...

 

[Dragons of the Deep]

First thing's first- take out that heat pad. Dragons can't feel the heat through their undersides, so they can stay on it too long and get burnt. I leave both the heat and UVB (well, when I used both- they have mercury vapor bulbs now) on for the same amount of time. Mine are cycled, so the lights go on when the sun comes up and off when the sun goes down.

If you have any more questions, I'm sure someone on this site has the answers. Congrats on being a new beardie owner!

 

[ISOM]

Hi there
Back from trip and can now confirm that i have the following!:
reptiglow10uvb 30w desert terrarium lamp
R80 reflector spot (100watt) as basking lamp
Digital probe themometor. I have put this on the wall just behind the lamp at dragon height and its showing 72 degrees - was worried that he might eat it if I just left it on the floor directly under the light? The heat mat is on a sensor so will turn automatically off to ensure he doesent burn. Would it be better to place DIRECTLY under the basking spot?
I have set the basking light for 8 hours and the strip for 10 - is that about right?
Gaspar (named after one of the three wise men as got him Christmas eve plus it suits him!) seems a bit happier/perkier and has eaten a wormy thing. Re the wiggly food should I just leave him to catch it or give him some assistance? Just off to chop up some veggies and a bit of fruit to see if that will tempt him and will then leave him in peace!! Realised that I also need to get him some vitamins - have calcium dust but not extra vits....

 

[ISOM]

not a very good piccy but can at least get the gist? Food and cool area on the left and hot on the right. Basking temp at 113 degrees and cooler side at 78. His lordship has eaten a bit and has a scuttle about...does this look ok or is piccy too rubbish?

 

[ISOM]

 

[Dragons of the Deep]

I love his lordship Try putting some of the worms in his salad bowl and see if he's interested.

If you're going not going to cycle, I think a 12-12 ratio for both bulbs would be fine. How close can he get to that UV strip? I think that it needs to be about 8-10 inches from his basking point. Please correct me if I'm wrong with any of this!

 

[Cheline101]

Your substrate is good, the food is good just make sure that nothing you feed it is bigger that the space between his eyes, and he's going to need a lot of calcium as he grows, the decorations are good, but your probably going to want to make sure that he can get within 6 inches of the light, the temperatures are good, (i'm horrible with lights so i'll just stay away from that one). Your set up looks good though. As for the cats, I have 3 cats and my tank is on the floor so two of them actually chase my beardie from the outside of the tank and swat at him, lol. In my experience, it freaks them out for a while, but now my beardie's full grown and i'll hold him when I'm working on the computer and sometimes he'll jump down and run right up to the cat. I don't think most beardies are as crazy as mine, but my point is that it'll get used to it. When they're young they eat about 80% bugs and things and about 20% fruits and veggies, as they grow the numbers gradually change till they're eating about 80% fruits and veggies, and 20% bugs (or so they say, mine still likes his bugs way more)

I hope that helps,( and no i'm not saying it's a good idea to let your cat anywhere near your beardie. Cats are predators and lizzards are prey. When your little guy is grown then you can let the cat sniff him, but he's way to fragil now)

 

[ISOM]

What does going to cycle mean? Sorry not quite up with the terminology!
Cat and Gaspar have already been introduced (carefully!) and Isoke cat is getting used to him but is definately interested. Gaspar thankfully just gives him the "yeah whatever" look!
Thnik I may get some tiles for his substrate as the bugs hide under the newspaper and it would be easier to wipe than endlessly replacing newspaper! For now will just let him settle! Thanks for taking the time to reply!

 

[Slave2Scarlett]

My basking light and UVB lights come on @ 6am and go off @ 10pm... They need to be on at least an hour before you feed your baby that way he has time to warm up before eating resulting in proper digestion... The recommended time for basking and uvb is 14hours a day.. Another thing.. If he is panting and his mouth is open then he is getting too hot.. make sure the temps on his basking spot are b/t 105-110.. Put the probe directly on the basking spot.. Hope this helps?

 

[Cheline101]

A lot of beardie owners like to give their beardie longer light hours during the summer time and shorter light hours during winter time. So say in the summer the beardie gets 14 hours of light and 10 hours of dark and during the winter they get something like 12 hours of light per day and 12 hours of night. Some say that beardies brumate which is kind of hybernating but not quite... it's hard to explain, but basically they get sluggish and don't eat much during their winter time. I don't change the lighting schedule very much, but some people do. I think that's what they mean by cycle, but I could be wrong.