The Soft Hearted hello

[Tiantha]

I have a Beardie now... Three got turned in at the pet store I get my snake stuff from and one attached herself to my body and...now she is home. Adult nice pretty to me at least.

I was given loaner equipment as this certainly was not planned. Nice home back yard type pet store. I have a UVB light a hooded light for basking and she is in my 20 gallon long at least for now.

Christmas is coming so that may change soon. I have crickets I dusted in vitimines and put them in with some lettuce (some leaf variety not iceberg) a water dish and a large rocklike hide plastic thing I placed under her heat lamp. I have a small red bulb one at night and a larger white bulb light one for day. I switch them around so far. Oh and there is a warming pad under the tank on the same side. I was taking the rule from my snakes of a hot side and a colder side to the tank with the water on the colder side

The lonin I just created is the name I'm going to give her. She came home in a box. I cleaned the heck out of the tank and set it up. That took about 30 minutes. When I took her out of the box she scratched me hard wanted to get away ut I got her into the tank and she sat there mouth agape and bead displayed. I think the waiting really bugged her out.

I changed food and water this am and she just sat there and watched me. I am a real Novice to desert lizards so any help or comments on the above is appreciated. I dont think she has eaten anything though...

 

[chels1983]

Congratulations on the new beardie!

Just a few suggestions:

That is good that her tank situation is temporary, the tank should be at least 40 gallons for an adult. I would look on craigslist, or build your own if you are strapped for cash. I got both of my tanks on craigslist.

You dont need anything at night unless the temperatures are below 60. They are desert animals, so they are used to cooler night temps. If you do use something, I would suggest a ceramic heat emitter. The red lights actually keep them up at night. Also, don't use a warming pad or heat rock, they are not good for bearded dragons.

Any type of lettuce wont have enough nutritional value for them, You should feed some type of greens (turnip, mustard, collard) with additional veggies and occasional fruits. I usually do something like turnip greens with shredded squash/carrot/broccoli and occasional grape/strawberry/raspberry. They can be really picky about their veggies, but if they don't like what you give them, try something different next time. Here is a really good site with nutritional info of foods for your beardie.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

For the dusting, make sure you are doing calcium with d-3 5 times a week and multivitamin 2 times a week (rep-cal is a good brand).

You do need a hot side and a cool side, and to make sure you get the correct temps, you will need a probe thermometer. You need to put one end in their basking area and one in the cool area. You should be able to get an AcuRite thermometer at Wal-mart for about 12 dollars in the area where outdoor thermometers are sold.

Don't worry if she doesn't drink much water from her dish, most rarely do. You will have to give her baths at least a couple times a week, and mist her to keep her hydrated. They absorb water through their vent (under the tail), so even if they don't drink in the bath, they are getting some water in. The water should be slightly above lukewarm, not hot.

Where do you get your crickets? You can get them online a lot cheaper than in Petsmart. You may also want to try worms as a feeder: silkworms, butterworms, and phoenix worms are good

What kind of UV light do you use?

I think she will come around in a little while, it can take a while for them to get used to you. She may be a little freaked the first week or so with the new cage and new surroundings.

 

[Tiantha]

Thanks for the quicky run down. I'll go out and do some shopping for foods today. I am assuming all foods are NOT cooked. I saw Prickly pear. I GROW those. They are native to PA you know.

My Temps get to 65 in the house but I have the heat lamps for the snakes.

The light for UVB is a long one that is about half as long as the tank having the brighter light for heat in the roundel on the other side. You can see the hide box and rock in my avatar. That's the girl right there. She sat still for the shot this AM

Baths was somthign I wanted to ask about. I have an aquarium thermometer for the tub for the snakes so.....90 Degress I would think would be good? I have two thermometers on the tank walls where she would be hanging out. The coolside is about 70 the hot side we have yet to see max being I put on the big light this AM and so far its 88

Crickets are from the pet store. I got starter of about 40 for free from them being the adoption thing. I have some gut stuff in there for those.

I love squashes and dont eat enoguh of them myself so I think my neutrition may get better by feeding Tiantha. How ironic is that?

 

[chels1983]

Your UV light should have the type written on it, can you check? A lot of the UV lights they sell in petstores arent very good. The best type of tube light is ReptiSun 10.0. You could also look into getting a Mercury vapor bulb when you get a larger tank (you need a 40 gallon or larger, because it puts off a lot of heat). These are an all in one deal- one bulb for heat and UVB. Thats what I use in both my tanks, and they work great (I use T-rex active UV heat).

Here are some sites that are good if you need to order supplies, and I think lllreptile has good feeders
http://www.reptilesupply.com
http://www.petmountain.com
http://www.lllreptile.com

90 is the basking temp? the basking temp should be about 95-105 for an adult. The bath temperature should be around 95. She may not like the bath, a lot of them don't, but just remind her its good for her

Thats neat that you have prickly pear there! Hopefully she will like it. The veggies dont need to be cooked, but if you feed squash, peel it first. I end up eating a lot of things that i *should* eat more because I buy them for my beardie :wink:

Sounds like you are doing a great job at making a good home for your beardie

 

[Tiantha]

Chels1983 first...you ROCK!

That being said too go on... I saw her strike at a cricket and there are now less in the tank than last night. Basking side is now at 92ish and climbing still.

The possible tank at Xmas time is being used as a fishtank right now will come with stand and its like 6ft long and 24 inches deep. I kid you not...well worth the wait I think. At that point the beardie will go downstairs in the living area and get that light you listed sice it is much coller on the first floor. the dreaded bath will be tomorrow so she has the time to settle first before I traumatize her again. When I picked her up she was mid shed and...a bit 'pinched' which is what I see in a snake that is not properly hydrated. She also has 'mess' on her face which I flicked off with fingers but should get washed.

I looked at the bulb but didn't see anythign written howeever thy are ordering me a bulb with the name you listed. I think I'm very lucky as this pet shoudl does ONLY reptiles and does educational shows locally.


The don't try to play expert but they are clearly knowledgeable....much more than I.

Thank you again for the helpful info. I have this thread on watch and will refer to it. Your timely responses...well hopefully I can pass this forward to someone else some day too.

 

[chels1983]

No problem I am just passing on info others gave to me.

It's hard if you go just by what people say at petstores, although you are lucky to have one of the better ones near you.

Make sure you take the crickets out of her tank at night, the not only keep her up, but they will nibble at her while she's asleep. I have seen beardies with missing fingers and toes from crickets. It can be easier to have a separate feeding area that you put her in a couple times a day, especially with crickets.

What kind of substrate are you using? For an adult, it is OK to use sifted playsand, but not calci-sand. Most people use non-stick shelf liner, paper, or tile because its easier to clean, cant be ingested, and it doesn't harbor bacteria like sand does. Tile does give it a nice aesthetic appeal Thats good that you are getting a reptisun 10, thats the best tube light out there!

Check out the care sheets on this site too, there are some good ones. Also, beautiful dragons has one, and some other good info on their site. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/GeneralCare.html

Has she taken a bath yet?

 

[Tiantha]

She ate most the crickets last night and everyone went to bed. They are mediums so they are only just now getting the chirps going on... I hate chirping. :roll: younger crickets dont chirp. Ha found that out. They got a good dusting of calcium too.

Our first bath was this am. In the water you go. Stop dead, in freeze, puff up and sit there with this close mouthed, black bearded, angry, accusatory look. 'How dare you'...and yes it was 95 degrees so it wasn't a shock nor was it too cold. Just... no... I am not...ok I am in the bath. :lol:

We even put a rock in for her to climb on if she really wanted out. Nope not moving.

I just watched her puff sitting there for abotu 10 minutes while I trickled water on her back and shoulder and then top of her head like she was a queen getting bathed in the hot spas. :wink: She never struck but when picked up that tail lashed out...

My Housemate laughed. :shock:

Oh and she now has her own towel. When I wrapped her up she relaxed and just watched me. I find when I'm fussing around her cage she just calmly watches me.

I think she's figured out I... and the dog are ok. (Keeshond Caleb P. Dog AKA Mr. Curious "What's that Mom?") is also good with the snakes. When they are out he whines to tell us where they are but doesn't touch.

The cat (Mason) is always watched though. He thinks such things should be played with. I often send them away to another part of the house when the reptiles are out. Controled introductions will be made so they kow the rules of engagement...that is to say do not engage the reptiles without mom right there and...go get Mom if someone has escaped. I kid you not. Caleb being a Kees has vocalizations specific for 'loose snake'. We found out the hard way we got a bad critter cage lid with the snakes. :lol:


I picked up sand and when that used/cleaned out over time I have some nice tiles downstairs and we can go designer. I picked up some rocks and replaced the plastic with the sandstone type. I figured more natural and a good itching place for shed.

She is back on the rocks now and looking fine.

 

[chels1983]

Haha thats hilarious :lol:
Brak always gives me a pissed sideways look when he is in his bath. They are funny guys

Thats great that your dog is so good with your reptiles! It sounds like he could almost be a babysitter Seems like a really good dog to have with other pets.

My cats are also not to be trusted with Brak alone, but usually they are ok with Brak when I am in the room, and Brak tolerates them fairly well. By this, I mean he ignores them for the most part, and if they are in the way, he jumps on them (its hilarious lol)
I am going to wait a while to introduce the baby with the cats, he is still too tiny and fast to be around them.

Sounds like your new addition is doing great I am sure she will be very happy with her christmas gift