Brand New Beardie Owner

[AllyZazu]

Hello!
I am brand new to the world of reptiles and have a about 3 or 4 month old bearded dragon baby. I already love him so much and his quirky personality. I have 3 dogs at home so reptiles are completely new to me. I have been doing tons of research and was most fascinated by these guys.
Currently, he is in a 10 gal starter tank that was a kit from Petco and on black friday I plan on upgrading his tank to a bigger more permanent one. One question I have is how big of a tank or when should I move him from the 10 gal one. I have been reading that you dont want to give the crickets too much space to hide from your beardie.
Right now he is only eating 3 crickets a day and this is day 2 in his new home. I am going to get him some veggies today. The pet store said meal worms and crickets as treats, although as I do more research they say mainly crickets as babies and no meal worms. I have 4 meal worms in his dish but he hasnt touched those.
Another question is how much wattage is best for a 10 gal tank to keep the heat up. The 50 Watt that came with the tank doesnt get the heat above 80.
Look forward to hearing from some of you as well as getting to know more about beardies!

 

[Eavlynn]

Congratulations on your new baby! Once he starts to put on some size, he can go into a 40 gallon. The heat is something you'll have to experiment with. The temperature and air flow in your house will affect the wattage you'll need to get his temps right. I actually have winter bulbs and summer bulbs that I have to switch out since my inside temps change with the seasons.

Don't be concerned about his lack of appetite, moving is stressful for our beardie babies. He'll start eating more soon. I avoid mealworms completely when it comes to my dragons. Crickets are alright, but many of us have our own dubia roach colonies to feed our dragons. They're the best staple insect, hands down. As dinky as your guy is, he might not take veggies, but it doesn't hurt to offer them! Eventually he'll get curious and try them out.

One thing I didn't see you mention was UVB. Does your little munchkin have a UVB light?

Congrats again! We're always here to help when you need us Getting to watch babies grow up strong and healthy is a nice perk, too.

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[AllyZazu]

He has been eating more crickets today! Tomorrow I'll pick up some roaches! I'm actually getting a Repti Sun 5.0 today until I get his bigger tank in a few weeks. I read that the Repti Sun 10.0 would be too hot and also too big for a 10 gal tank.

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[AllyZazu]

I also bought a safer dome for his basking light

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[Eavlynn]

The 5.0 should be fine for a 10 gallon. I'd definitely switch to a 10.0 if you go up to a 40 gallon. It sounds like you've definitely read up on his care. He's got it made in the shade with you In a couple weeks, he'll be eating like a pig!

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[AllyZazu]

That makes me feel so good!! I was so nervous of doing things wrong so I made sure to do as much research as possible! He really likes basking!

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[JUNGLE JIM]

He looks healthy but judging his size might be a little younger than you think. I'm thinking two months or younger. Some take longer than others due to adjusting to a new environment when it comes to eating.

 

[AllyZazu]

I found out tonight he loves to cuddle with something soft at night. Is it safe for him to sleep with a soft sock?

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[Eavlynn]

If his temps are still low, he'll bask more than normal. He looks a tad bigger than my dude when I got him, so I'd say maybe two months old? It's hard to tell without knowing the breeder they came from.

It's okay to let him sleep with a sock. A few people on here have beardie beds. I'm thinking of making some beds for my kiddos I like your sock idea, I'll have to see what my tiny rescue baby thinks about a little sock bed, or maybe a small washcloth bed.

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[PatsyB]

Definitely switch to a fluorescent 10.0 bulb when you upgrade. There should be no problems with putting him right into a 40 gal breeder. I started all of mine in one and they were fine. With the crickets I used to throw a few in at a time and make sure they ate them before I gave more.

Black Friday is the perfect time to upgrade. Every year since I've gotten my Dexter I've noticed that Petsmart has a BlackFriday deal on the 40 gal Exoterra tanks. One year it was $99 and I could have kicked myself for not getting it. I didn't think I would get another beardie and then a month later I did!

 

[Hdrydr31]

Congratulations!! A few of us have put together information for new comers you will find the link under our comments (not seen if using taptalk) that link covers temps, lighting, food, supplements and more.. So take a look it should help out.
Going right into the 40 would be fine just add in lots of places to hide and explore and as he/she grows you can remove things. Also covering 3 sides of the tank will help a ton with getting secure and safe in the new home. They won't starve themselves so just keep offering babies need to be fed 3 times a day with the last feeding 2 hours before lights out for the night. Don't worry if your little one doesn't eat the greens quite yet but keep offering and you can also feed the greens to the feeders so in a round about way they are getting some of those nutrients.
For sure get the reptisun T5 10.0 UVB and let it overlap with the basking light as they need both to digest. Raise those temps up for the young ones to up to 107F Each dragon is a bit different so pay attention to where your little one is spending his/her time. Are they as high as they can be? or are they trying to avoid? that can tell you if they want more or less. And you want them to "gap" this is having their mouth open while under the basking light, this is a GOOD thing it means that they are regulating their temp and it feels good.

 

[AllyZazu]

Definitely switch to a fluorescent 10.0 bulb when you upgrade. There should be no problems with putting him right into a 40 gal breeder. I started all of mine in one and they were fine. With the crickets I used to throw a few in at a time and make sure they ate them before I gave more.

Black Friday is the perfect time to upgrade. Every year since I've gotten my Dexter I've noticed that Petsmart has a BlackFriday deal on the 40 gal Exoterra tanks. One year it was $99 and I could have kicked myself for not getting it. I didn't think I would get another beardie and then a month later I did!

I will definitely look out for them! I know petco has their $1/per gallon again in January too.

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[AllyZazu]

Congratulations!! A few of us have put together information for new comers you will find the link under our comments (not seen if using taptalk) that link covers temps, lighting, food, supplements and more.. So take a look it should help out.
Going right into the 40 would be fine just add in lots of places to hide and explore and as he/she grows you can remove things. Also covering 3 sides of the tank will help a ton with getting secure and safe in the new home. They won't starve themselves so just keep offering babies need to be fed 3 times a day with the last feeding 2 hours before lights out for the night. Don't worry if your little one doesn't eat the greens quite yet but keep offering and you can also feed the greens to the feeders so in a round about way they are getting some of those nutrients.
For sure get the reptisun T5 10.0 UVB and let it overlap with the basking light as they need both to digest. Raise those temps up for the young ones to up to 107F Each dragon is a bit different so pay attention to where your little one is spending his/her time. Are they as high as they can be? or are they trying to avoid? that can tell you if they want more or less. And you want them to "gap" this is having their mouth open while under the basking light, this is a GOOD thing it means that they are regulating their temp and it feels good.

He was gapping a lot yesterday actually! So that's good. I actually ended up making him a bed and he doesn't come out of his blanket bed until I turn on the lights in the morning.

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[Mom2Dovakiin]

I found out tonight he loves to cuddle with something soft at night. Is it safe for him to sleep with a soft sock?

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I actually went to Michael's craft store and got a 'wicker' ball, spread an opening in the ball and put a soft fleece cloth in there with my scent on it. My baby loves this spot at night.