I recently got a bearded dragon from a local pet store. I’m not sure of his age, but he may be 4 inches long. They sold me a reptile mat a single 75 W basking light and a couple pieces of decor but after looking at this thread, I think I may have wasted my money on most of this stuff. I have done a lot of research since getting him, but I’m very confused and I want to do the right thing.
-
Hello guest! Are you a Bearded Dragon enthusiast? If so we invite you to join our community and see what it has to offer. Our site is specifically designed for you and it's a great place for Beardie enthusiasts to meet online. Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your dragons and enclosures and have a great time with other Bearded Dragon enthusiasts. Sign up today!
Brand new beardie I need all the setup help
- Thread starter SNdad84
- Start date
Any uvb ? You need 2 digital probe thermometers for surface basking temps - 105-110- ambient around 100 cool side 80 ish- kits are a waste of money-- I can post links for things you need-
Please do. I’m actually at the pet store now. I see they offer screw in UVB and bar type. Can the UVB be above the screen?
You want a zoo med 24" fixture w/ a reptisun 10.0 T 5 bulb - your screen will determine placement and distance
Found those. Do I need calcium with vitamin d3?
Yes 5 x per week dusted on the insects lightly coated once per day- vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 x per week the same as d 3-- when you get home tell me what kind of screen - fine mesh like a screen door or a wide hole type
Ok the UVB can sit on top of your screen please get a piece of basking decor directly under it approx 8-10 inches - change the UVB bulb out in 10-11 months - mark your calendar so you dont forget- basking bulb should be no closer than 6" from decor and temps should be 105-110 for a baby up to 6 months then the temp should drop to 95-100-- those need to be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer
So I’ve got temps right. What humidity should it be and also he won’t eat. He ate probably 15 crickets the day I got him which was Sunday.
Also does he need to be directly under the UVB or the heat lamp? Sorry for all the questions, but I’m confused by some of the terminology
Humidity optimal 40-50% taken w/ a digital probe hygrometer placed on back center wall - nothing under 20% or over 70%- as long as your temps and uvb- is on par he should be eating something - keep.offering the insects in the meantime get some bsfl www.symtonbsf.com order large they are small and get him some dubia roaches order the size no bigger than the space between his eyes- he / she may not like the crickets - your gonna want a bowl w/ a lip on it to keep.the bsfl in it it will also keep smaller dubia in the bowl - use the bsfl as lures to his salads first thing the morning- feed around 20-25 at a time they are a good staple for babies they don't need to be dusted
He needs to be able to sit directly under the uvb- he knows what light he needs- right now he's going thru relocation stress so his eating will be off but w/ the temps and uvb- on par it will help him adjust to his tank and surroundings- quicker
Thank you so much for all this info. I got him for my autistic son who is non verbal and was attached within the first 10 min. As soon as he got home from school Monday he ran straight to the tank and pointed. He would be devastated if something happened. He’s always been drawn to reptiles.
Is this a good placement? I’m to do something different with that basking area because it’s one of the things from petco. It feels plastic. Can I use a paver and/or bricks I have left over until I can find something better looking? Also can I use real tree branches from the yard?
Attachments
Mikki
Hatchling Dragon
- Messages
- 37
I would also suggest you might think about arranging on taking a poop sample from your baby to a vet that can check exotic animals in the near future, especially if he has loose stools. My hubby got me one from a pet store as a gift for my B-Day and it turned out to have parasites. It’s on meds now and doing great.
Just something to think about.
Take your UVB place width wise over the basking decor piece next to the heat lamp - what is the distance from that to his basking decor you want 8-10 inches - I dont like bricks but you can use them NO slate it gets too hot - you can use branches from outside bake them in the over for like 10-15 minutes on 300 to kill anything living in them or on them - the decor is probably resin which is really easy to clean -- it does not heat up and I use resin in my tanks -- I just looked at the pic again or you can move the decor piece more toward the UVB - try some different angles w/ the lights so you can get it situated so he is either getting both at the same time or hes got the option of sitting under them when he needs to --
I moved the UVB to angle across the whole tank. My aunt had these rocks in this pic. I’m not sure what slate looks like. I thought these looked cool but I don’t want it too hot. Right temp in that area is 110. Should remove that big rock? He ate only a couple of crickets last night but not near what he should’ve.
Attachments
Those are fine -- slate is really hard and shiny- good temp -- give him time hes eating that is good - he is still adjusting -- offer him salads every day -- here is a nutrition website ignore the kale info its outdated and a good staple feeder http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
I would look at getting him on some dubia roaches for a staple feeder - here is a website for a bowl and dubias
The #1 Source for Live Pet Food | Dubia.com
Your premier retailer for Dubia Roaches (Tropical Spotted Roaches) and other Live Food for Reptiles, Amphibians, Inverts, and more.
dubiaroaches.com
I ordered Dubia roaches but didn’t realize I needed a certain bowl. I ordered the bsfl you recommended alsoThose are fine -- slate is really hard and shiny- good temp -- give him time hes eating that is good - he is still adjusting -- offer him salads every day -- here is a nutrition website ignore the kale info its outdated and a good staple feeder http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
I would look at getting him on some dubia roaches for a staple feeder - here is a website for a bowl and dubias
did you get the BSFL ordered?The #1 Source for Live Pet Food | Dubia.com
Your premier retailer for Dubia Roaches (Tropical Spotted Roaches) and other Live Food for Reptiles, Amphibians, Inverts, and more.
I posted a website for a bowl that works great for salads as well as the small BSFL and small dubias
