Hi all!
We're new bearded dragon owners and we're really excited! We are also a little sad today... the vet called back with the stool sample results and "Toothless" (after the film How to Train your Dragon) has parasites. High Oxyurids (pinworms) and Coccidia to be exact. We'll get medication from the vet tomorrow and hope for the best.
None the less, we love our beardie, and want to make sure he/she has the best home possible. I posted some details below and have spent lots of time online researching... hopefully we are doing an OK job. Please let us know if you have any suggestions or ideas on how we can make a better home for Toothless!!
*picture is old - i will try to update soon
Quick Facts
Gender: Unknown
Morph: American Smoothie
Age: Unknown, but we think less than 6 months
Time with us: Since April 10th 2012 (he/she was TINY!)
Current Size: approx 9 inches
Weight: 57 Grams
Habitat
- 40 Gal (will upgrade when he gets bigger)
- Cool side: 80
- Warm side: 93-97
- Basking area: 102-107
*I know these are a bit high, but as we understand it, juveniles can have higher temps, and he/she seems less stressed out when it is warmer.
- Night temp: 75 (thermometer power sensor initiates ceramic bulbs when needed)
Substrate: Repti-Carpet
Props: two logs, one large, one small, Repti-hammock and stick
Basking light: 2 - one 75 watt for basking, one 25 watt for ambient light to heat up warm side a bit more.
UVB: coiled florescent *we understand there is controversy over these, perhaps loss of apatite or stunted growth. Toothless is eating lots and growing quickly, so we hope we are OK here. We here good and bad things about MVB so can't decide if we should stick to what we have, or switch to MVB.
Diet
Protein: Crickets fed twice daily, approx. 18 small per feeding (breakfast- 1 hour after lights come on; dinner - 2.5 hours before lights go off).
- Calcium: 3 days a week
- Calcium with Vitamin D3: 2 days a week
*(5 total days of dusting, two without)
- We'd like to start occasional wax-worms as treats.
Greens: Collared Greens always available, hand-fed at lunchtime. Spritzed with water a few times a day to keep as fresh as possible.
Sometimes Basil, Kale, Romaine lettuce.
Commercial Food: Tried to sprinkle it in the greens, moisten with water, and hand feed. Toothless does not seem to be a big fan of these... but we have the red ones. I hear they like the green ones more. We would only use this as a supplement, not as a primary nutrition source.
Fruit: Rarely we give blackberries and blueberries (he/she loves both).
Water: We provide bottled water, and spray him/her every other day
Handling
Just started today - recommended once a day by vet to get him/her use to us. Previously we were not handling him/her at all.
Cleaning
Clean droppings and pick up un-eaten greens daily (trying our best to get droppings as fast as they come out).
We take him/her out for a bath, meanwhile spray the entire habitat with a half white vinegar, half water mixture every two to three weeks. He/she hates baths so we spray him/her every other day with bottled water. We spray and rinse everything (props, substrate) every two to three weeks and replace the repti-carpet about once a month.
Well, that's all that I can think to include right now. What improvements can we make? Has anyone had to deal with High Oxyurids and Coccidia parasites before? Should we be worried? Is it expensive to get rid of these parasites? Should we wait to handle him/her until the parasites clear up? We do wash our hands regularly after feeding, cleaning, or touching Toothless.
Anyway, thanks in advance for any advice you have, and a BIG thank you to the creators and curators of this site. It's a tremendous resource!
Best,
-yamdivad
*picture is old - i will try to update soon
**we no longer keep the repti-mulch around the parameter as is depicted in this picture
We're new bearded dragon owners and we're really excited! We are also a little sad today... the vet called back with the stool sample results and "Toothless" (after the film How to Train your Dragon) has parasites. High Oxyurids (pinworms) and Coccidia to be exact. We'll get medication from the vet tomorrow and hope for the best.
None the less, we love our beardie, and want to make sure he/she has the best home possible. I posted some details below and have spent lots of time online researching... hopefully we are doing an OK job. Please let us know if you have any suggestions or ideas on how we can make a better home for Toothless!!
*picture is old - i will try to update soon
Quick Facts
Gender: Unknown
Morph: American Smoothie
Age: Unknown, but we think less than 6 months
Time with us: Since April 10th 2012 (he/she was TINY!)
Current Size: approx 9 inches
Weight: 57 Grams
Habitat
- 40 Gal (will upgrade when he gets bigger)
- Cool side: 80
- Warm side: 93-97
- Basking area: 102-107
*I know these are a bit high, but as we understand it, juveniles can have higher temps, and he/she seems less stressed out when it is warmer.
- Night temp: 75 (thermometer power sensor initiates ceramic bulbs when needed)
Substrate: Repti-Carpet
Props: two logs, one large, one small, Repti-hammock and stick
Basking light: 2 - one 75 watt for basking, one 25 watt for ambient light to heat up warm side a bit more.
UVB: coiled florescent *we understand there is controversy over these, perhaps loss of apatite or stunted growth. Toothless is eating lots and growing quickly, so we hope we are OK here. We here good and bad things about MVB so can't decide if we should stick to what we have, or switch to MVB.
Diet
Protein: Crickets fed twice daily, approx. 18 small per feeding (breakfast- 1 hour after lights come on; dinner - 2.5 hours before lights go off).
- Calcium: 3 days a week
- Calcium with Vitamin D3: 2 days a week
*(5 total days of dusting, two without)
- We'd like to start occasional wax-worms as treats.
Greens: Collared Greens always available, hand-fed at lunchtime. Spritzed with water a few times a day to keep as fresh as possible.
Sometimes Basil, Kale, Romaine lettuce.
Commercial Food: Tried to sprinkle it in the greens, moisten with water, and hand feed. Toothless does not seem to be a big fan of these... but we have the red ones. I hear they like the green ones more. We would only use this as a supplement, not as a primary nutrition source.
Fruit: Rarely we give blackberries and blueberries (he/she loves both).
Water: We provide bottled water, and spray him/her every other day
Handling
Just started today - recommended once a day by vet to get him/her use to us. Previously we were not handling him/her at all.
Cleaning
Clean droppings and pick up un-eaten greens daily (trying our best to get droppings as fast as they come out).
We take him/her out for a bath, meanwhile spray the entire habitat with a half white vinegar, half water mixture every two to three weeks. He/she hates baths so we spray him/her every other day with bottled water. We spray and rinse everything (props, substrate) every two to three weeks and replace the repti-carpet about once a month.
Well, that's all that I can think to include right now. What improvements can we make? Has anyone had to deal with High Oxyurids and Coccidia parasites before? Should we be worried? Is it expensive to get rid of these parasites? Should we wait to handle him/her until the parasites clear up? We do wash our hands regularly after feeding, cleaning, or touching Toothless.
Anyway, thanks in advance for any advice you have, and a BIG thank you to the creators and curators of this site. It's a tremendous resource!
Best,
-yamdivad
*picture is old - i will try to update soon
**we no longer keep the repti-mulch around the parameter as is depicted in this picture
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