NEw to caring for BEarded Dragons

[munchkins9802]

Hello All. My 10 yr old just got a bearded dragon for her 10th birthday. We have read many care sheets,etc. But I was wondering if there are any tips insights current owners can give me that might not be in the care sheets.
She has a 6-8 week old baby who seems to be quite healthy, alert and quite hungry (we bought him on Saturday evening about 6pm and by last night he had eaten at least 30 crickets smaller than the space between his eyes). She named him Hermes after the messenger of the greek gods. He still seems to be doing well and I am trying to regulate his cage temperatures correctly during the day (75-85 on the cooler side and 90-105 under the basking light right?)

How many crickets are too much? Is there a way to overfeed a bearded dragoN?
I look forward to talking with many of you here and will also occasionally let my daughter post her questions.
Also, she wanted to know if it was safe to put a cactus plant in his cage with him

 

[vickson420]

Topic moved to General Discussions

Hello and Welcome to the Forum.

I love the name Hermes. How old is your beardie?If he is a baby or a juvie you should allow him to eat as many crix as e can in a 15minute period 2-3xper day depending on his age.This could be anywhere between 50-100 crix daily.If he is an adukt then he should be eating 25-50 feeders a week based on which feeder you are using.As for temps you want a cool end of 75F-80F and a basking SURFACE temp of 95F-110F the higher temp range is for babies/juvies(105-110).As for tips there are quite a few but I will give you some important ones.The type of UVB bulb you use is very specific if you want a healthy beardie.Really the only recommended one is the ReptiSUN 10.0 or 5.0.Do not use coil or compact UV bulbs they are at best poor and at worst dangerous.The other type of bulb you can use if your enclosure is 40 breeder or larger is an MVB bulb.This type of UVB bulb emits heat and UV at the same time.The 2 best of those is the Megaray and the TRex Active Heat.Its also important to use a digital probe thermometer when taking temps.The stick ons or dials dont work and CAN be off by 20 degrees.I wouldnt handle him for the first week or so too often because beardies suffer from relocation stress when coming to a new home so its best to let him get acclimated to his surroundings.Its also important you bathe him weekly to ensure proper hydration.Baths are also good for bonding time.After the bath you can wrap him in a towel like a burritto of sorts and just let him lay on yours or your daughter's chest.This will help im get to know you.I am sure others will chime in but these are just a few important things.

Vicky
Oh btw tell your daughter its a big no to the cactus.He will try to eat it and injure himself.She can buy a fake one for him from the pet store if she really wants that cactus look.

 

[munchkins9802]

Vicky
Thanks for the help. My daughter read up on it and said she knew only the fake cactus were good to decorate his cage. The pet shop we got him from, a small local one around for years said he was 6-8 weeks old. (We asked someone buying crickets what she had and she said she got a bearded dragon from this store about 4 yrs ago)
Thanks for the things on the temp, I read so many variations (I have heard anywhere from 70-85 for the cool side and 90-110 for the basking side) during the day. It has been about 77 at night (once it went to 74) in his cage for him. The basking side is usually about 90, occasionally 88 but then I move the heat lamp on top of the cage over to heat that side more. He is eating at least 20-30 baby crickets a day, my daughter is afraid of overfeeding him--I guess he will know when he is actually done so I don't need to worry about that?. She is well aware that the crickets need to be no bigger than the space BETWEEN the eyes and even had us get rid (take outside) of the ones she felt were too big.
Also, should I be putting repti cal on the crickets once every few days? If so, how much and how often?
She had a question though. One thing she said was he would poop every 2 days or so, he is pooping 1-2 times a day as long as it is formed and not runny, is that okay?
She only takes him out for 1-2 times a day for about 1-2 minutes. HE (or she) definitely already seems to have a personality and she is starting to be able to read him fairly well. Thanks for all your help and I will let my daughter see your responses

 

[munchkins9802]

One last question, I see you mention surface temp of 95-110, does that mean the surface he will be basking on should be that temp? If so I think his cage does well all around. She just bought him a hammock, a branch from the store, and a fake cactus

 

[munchkins9802]

Okay, yet another question before I go buy more crickets. At what age are beardies conisdered adults?

 

[fresnowitte]

:wave: Hello & Welcome to BD.org!
And.........
Congratulations on the New Baby!

I believe the life stages goes something like this;
Baby ~ Hatchling to 2 months
Juvenile ~ 2 to 4 months
Sub-Adult ~ 4 months to sexual maturity
Adult = Sexual maturity ~ Males may reach this around 12 months ~ Females closer to 18 months

And yes the surface temp of the basking spot is taken directly where your beardie sets to bask.

Again Gratz & Welcome!

Psst! We love pictures! :wink:

 

[andras]

sounds like you did your homework. it seems that if you reference this site and your caresheets you will probably be fine. your basking side seems just about right, and so does the cool side. Kaida is a ravenous eater as well. enjoy your beardie!

 

[vickson420]

Sounds like your daughter is doing a terrific job.On the poop front he should be going at least daily and babies usually go multiple time per day so your good there.Also the repcal should be given 5xper week for 1 feeding a day and the multi should be given 2xper week for 1 feeding do basically every day he should have some sort of vitamin.It will scale down as he gets older but this is where he should be right now.Yes its the basking surface temp that needs to reach the 95-110 thats why I recommend the digital therm with a probe or an infared temp gun.On the eating at his age you dont have to worry about giving too much protien so let him go to town.Just to give you an idea my one baby can eat well over 100 crix daily.I look forward to hopefully seeing some pics of your beardie one day soon :wink:

 

[munchkins9802]

Thanks to all. I do have another question. The basking side thermometer is on the side of the tank, so if it even reads 86-90 we are probably good as it is his surface that needs to be measured for the temp? I can't find the probe thermometer plus he likes to bask on his hammock about 4-5 inches below the basking light.

I would post pics but I am not sure how to do it on this site. I will try later. And he should be eating small crickets or pinhead crickets? Should I being covering the crickets with the repti cal?

He had one regular poop yesterday and one slightly runny poop later after eating some greens. When I called my reptile person he said that has long as they aren't extra runny and he is acting normal, he should be fine. He definitely (or she) has a personality. He also knows that once the basking light is off that it is time to go to sleep. He wakes between 5:30-7 each day.
I must say the person who has raised bearded dragons at this one store for 20+yrs has been quite helpful as has this board
Julianne

 

[Wardo]

Welcome to the board! I only signed up a couple of days ago, and im finding it a really informative place.

As for the thermometers, a lot of people dont trust any thermometers apart from the digi-probe ones. I have used analogue thermometers with my dragon for the past year, and have found them not to be too accurate, but I found as long as the analogue thermometer is reading 100 on his basking rock its not too bad. Im purchasing a digi probe thermometer this week off the internet to make sure of things because recently my BD has been having problems due to dehydration.

Hope you realise what you have let yourselfs in for by getting a BD.

Oh yeah, and take photos of your dragons development so you can see how fast they grow. You wont notice untill you look at past photos! My BD must habe been 3 inches long when I first got him. Hes now over a foot long!

 

[munchkins9802]

Thanks! I am going to get a higher wattage basking bulb to raise that side up. I am waiting for herms to poop now. He pooped 2x yesterday. He hasnt pooped yet today. He has had 16 crickets since 8:00 this morning. My daughter feeds him 5-10 crickets 3-4 times a day and sometimes more if he seems hungry still.

here is an attempt at posting some pictures: (I need to take more when she has him/her out)Okay, I can't figure it out. He is on glowfoto and I can usually just copy and paste but not today.





Okay I will try again later

 

[fresnowitte]

Ah! You did it!
What a cutie! :love5:
You might try resizing your pic's so we can see the little guy better. :wink:

 

[munchkins9802]

Thanks! If you click on the picture, you should be able to get a larger picture of him. I went and bought a bunch of lights and now his cage is reading correctly. My daughter left her one light next to the cage on, could that have helped his basking side reach the 90-100 it needs to be at?
Julianne

 

[wizbee]

Welcome!
Any regular house lightbulb will work to raise the temps. Right now I use a 75 and in the summer a 60 watt. I believe you can get a digital thermometer at Walmart for around $12.

 

[munchkins9802]

Thanks!
For those who have asked, we rearranged his lighting. We have a R-zilla UVB bulb. And in addition to that we are using a Repti Basking bulb (100 watt--just increased from 75 as the temps weren't raising enough),this bulb is uin a Arizona Hot Lamp Fixture, that makes the light adjustabble. Right now we have it almost all the way up, when it is fully up with any fixture it gives a burning smell but where it is right now, his/her temp on basking side is 88-94. The other side is about 75-83.

For the night we will use a 60 watt red night Heat Glo by exoterra (my husband keeps the house at 60, so we need Hermes to be comfortable)

He seems to like his crickets, but also likes his lettuce (he will eat the romaine and I just got him collards and he seems to like them as well)
He poops 2-3x a day, with 1 being solid and the other 2 slightly runny but well formed.