Ta-Da!! My New Baby

[Goonie]

Since our pet store support group never took off at supporting us beardieholics from impulse buying, please say hello to Pookie (aka Garfield's teddy bear), the newest member of my family. I have the strangest feeling that Pookie is a "she", so until proven otherwise, Pookie is a girl.

When we first got home, still in the box, sleeping:

Here she is in my palm:

Same size as my index finger:

Her pretty markings:

Cutest wittle face:

Not amused at being measured:

More pics can be found at http://s216.photobucket.com/albums/cc235/pookie_beardie/

Until I can properly sex Pookie, I won't be able to officially give her a name, but I'm leaning towards "Sydney".

 

[diamc]

Congratulations, she's absolutely adorable. Love the markings. Just so you know, it could take up to 2 wks before she gets accustomed to the new changes and has a vivacious appetite. Make sure to keep her very well hydrated by bathing her at least 3 to 4 times a wk. Also, a good UVB light is very important so if you fill us in on that, we can make sure it's a good one. The brand, % of output and if it's a long strip or round compact is also important for us to know. What substrate do you have on the bottom of the tank? Some can be fatal if ingested, so thought I would mention this too. Temps are extremely important for a baby so hope you have either a temp gun or a digital with long wire & probe end. Just trying to make sure the basics are covered. :wink:

 

[Goonie]

Hi Diane.

I have the following setup:
- 10-gal tank with mesh top (will be upgrading to a 40 gal some time after the new year, after receiving my bonus)
- paper towel as substrate
- Exo-Terra Repti Glo 10.0 UVB compact coil (26W)
- Exo-Terra Sun Glo Neodymium daylight bulb (100W)
- digital probe thermometer

For the short hour that the lights were on, the temp read 89 F. I'm thinking the Sun Glo isn't giving off enough heat, so I'll try a regular household bulb tomorrow to see it'll bring it up to at least another 10 degrees.

I'm planning on giving her a bath tomorrow because she's a little stinky from being in the pet store. She doesn't have any poop staining; hopefully she won't be too stressed in the bath.

- Gina

 

[pscaulkins]

Congratulations on your new baby. He/she is adorable. :love5:

I never had luck with the sun-glo bulbs for heat. I bet a 60 watt household bulb will give better heat. As for your UVB light, I read somewhere that coil UVB lights have been known to cause problems. Hopefully, Diane or someone will post with that information.

Sandy

Magick & Semi

 

[Goonie]

I never had luck with the sun-glo bulbs for heat. I bet a 60 watt household bulb will give better heat. As for your UVB light, I read somewhere that coil UVB lights have been known to cause problems. Hopefully, Diane or someone will post with that information.

I didn't want to get the coil, but the compact light fixture that I had bought only supported compact bulbs, and the coils were the only ones available at PetsMart. I also didn't want to buy a small tube light fixture just to turn around in a few months and buy a full sized one, that's why I settled for the coil. I'll have to look around some more and see what other UVB bulbs are out there that aren't coils or require a whole new fixture.

 

[dr.dolittle]

OMG she looked so huge in the first pic (sleeping in the box) and then when i saw her on your finger i realized she was soooo tiny! Lol...

 

[xorestes08]

Awww! Pookie is adorable! Could I ask a question? You know those markings on her chin, is that normal for beardies to show when they're adults? Welcome Pookie!

 

[JadeDL_Angel]

awwwwww :mrgreen: soo cute

 

[auntylolo]

Ah, I'm so pleased for you getting a new baby! She is gorgeous!

 

[Goonie]

Awww! Pookie is adorable! Could I ask a question? You know those markings on her chin, is that normal for beardies to show when they're adults? Welcome Pookie!

They're called "stress marks". These marks will appear when beardies are bothered by something within their surroundings.

 

[xorestes08]

Ahh okay, thank you.

 

[diamc]

Hi, glad to hear that you're using a digital probe thermometer. To get a higher basking temp, you could switch to a household bulb as suggested or raise the basking area by putting bricks, etc underneath it. Make sure to wait about 30 to 45 min for the temp to stop rising.

Too bad you have a compact bulb. Please read this thread thoroughly: [ Invalid URL Removed / p= t=66607 f=34 ]
There is also another link that I will post for you. Those bulbs are extremely dangerous and some beardies have died because of using them, especially babies. Causes severe eye irritation, lethargy, etc. I would suggest you not use it at all right now and you will need to invest in a strip light because that can't wait until Jan when you get a larger tank. You could get an 18", 24" or even a 36". The larger sizes could be used in your larger tank but for now, it would be ok to put it kiddy corner on the small tank or even have it larger than the tank itself. The hood can be bought at Walmart, Home Depot or Lowe's. They're quite inexpensive and they are the hoods that hold regular fluorescent bulbs. You just take those out and replace with the strip UVB. Here's a site that sells the cheapest Repti-Sun 10.0 UVB lights. http://www.petmountain.com/product/bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-high-output-uvb-bulb.html
I order from there and get my bulbs in 2 days. I can't stress enough the importance and critical fact that you should turn off and not use the coil bulb from now on.

If you need any bathing instructions, let us know. The first time, I suggest you just hold your baby in the palm of your hand to keep him calm, but make sure the vent area (where he poos) is right down in the water for proper hydration. A 15 to 20 min bath is very beneficial.

 

[diamc]

Here's the other link that was posted on this forum about the dangers of compact bulbs: [ Invalid URL Removed / p=498670 t=65424 f=1 ]

 

[AnnArborGuy]

oh wow! what a beautiful beardie

 

[Goonie]

I knew I should've stuck to my original gut feeling about coil bulbs The daylight bulb burned out this morning, after only about 4 hours of use. I'm going back to PetsMart tomorrow and return the coil bulb and try to get my money back for the burned out one, hopefully.
Thanks Diane.