Stressed out new dragon owner

[sprinz03]

I am soooo confused! Brought my beardie home today and placed him in a Zilla deluxe bearded dragon kit. Is the desert 50 UVB coil bulb no good? It doesn't even allow the dome to sit flush on the screen.

The pet store I purchased juvenile b.d. from sold me mealworms - on the care sheet here it says not to feed mealworms.

My guys been gaping on & off so I sprayed him. I'm wondering if my thermometer is inaccurate. He's closing his eyes alot too.

I'm so confused!

 

[tgolden]

Yeah coil lights are not the best. What kind of thermometer do you have? If it's the little disks or the sticky one you put on the tank they are can be off by 20 degrees

 

[beardie parents]

I've looked at those "bearded dragon kits" and most of that stuff isn't really good for beardies. They have the calci sand which has been a cause of death to beardies. the coil bulbs also have been known to cause eye problems with them which directly causes lack of eating because they can't open their eyes because the pkc (eye problems). You aren't the first one to waste money on those things and, unfortunately, you won't be the last. They usually have a stick on thermometer which is o.k. but you can't base your basking temps on them because all it gives you is the ambient tank temps.

I suggest you use the reptisun 10 tube. It's a fluorescent tube and it is the best fluorescent uvb you can buy. The best place to purchase them that I know of is petmountain.com or lllreptile.com. I suggest you go to Walmart or Lowes to get an accurite digital thermometer with probe. The ones we have give you two temps and a humidity reading. I put the thermometer on the cool side, right next to their hide box that they sleep in and the probe goes on their basking spot. The only problem with that is if your beardie decided to sit on the probe, the temp suddenly goes from 100+ to about10 or 20 degrees cooler as the probe is measuring the temp of your beardies' belly. You can also get a temp gun. I haven't been able to afford one yet but that is great, all you have to do is point it at the back of your beardie and you get an instant reading of the temp where your beardie is.

I hope this helps some. It's late here and I'm rather sleepy.

 

[sprinz03]

Beardie Parents,

Thanks for the advice. I feel like such a chump.

 

[Magicone98]

dont feel bad, we just got one a month or 2 ago and we are going through sorta the same thing, the only difference being, we didnt feed ours many meal worms at all, mainly crickets and romaine lettuce. i kinda feel like i just got robbed finding out about these "beardie kits" are not all that great for the beardie at all. my biggest concern is the beardie above the wasted money. but then again, i tend to worry about things when the thought of doubt enters my mind.

 

[beardie parents]

Don't feel like a chump. As I said, you aren't the first one and won't be the last. Many people have taken pet stores advice and found out what you found out sooner. In some cases the beardies fared worse than yours did.

 

[tgolden]

Don't feel like a chump...most pet store employees don't have a lot of knowledge about bearded dragons, they only know what they are told.

 

[MoonShdw]

Don't feel like a chump...most pet store employees don't have a lot of knowledge about bearded dragons, they only know what they are told.

So very true! When we were asking things, the store was saying the complete opposite of what we have read here, other sites and the books. One important thing that is said very often is to due your research before going to the store. Don't feel bad, as long as your pet is doing well you will learn his needs.

Debbie

 

[sprinz03]

Thanks everybody. Went to another store last night & spoke to a beardie owner. Hooked me up with a reptisun 10.0 and a basking light. I feel so much better!

 

[beardie parents]

Oh, good! I can't find reptisun 10 tubes anywhere locally. In Tucson, the one store I've seen it at is too expensive for me. We get them online, when we purchased them.

 

[tgolden]

Cool glad you found someone local who could help ya!!

 

[GlueStick]

I would really like to know the location of this store (I live in NJ) If it was from the Mt. Laurel or Moorestown area, then I can see this happening.

The only pet store that I am aware of in NJ can be Precious Pets of Burlington, Pet Valu near West Hampton, and another mom and pop in Somerspoint that would sell the ReptiSUN 10.0.

 

[Magicone98]

i live in San Antonio, and i have trouble finding the reptisun here also. the best way to find it is, how some have pointed out on this site is, http://www.petmountain.com. they have them for around $23, which is a pretty good price imo...

nevermind, i think i missunderstood the statement somehow.