Burn First Aid

[117star]

I just want to thank all of you again for the help you are providing me in this new venture!!! I hope that anyone reading this doesn't think I am totally clueless, but this is all so very new to me. I am in the process of turning all of the wrongs into rights. Please know that Scarlet's current situation is very temporary and I am striving to provide her with all the things she will need to make her a happy beardie! We all adore her and want what is best for her. She truly is an extraordinary creature full of life and curiosity. She is absolutely beautiful, with vivid coloring. We were told that she is a Sandfire and her coloring is a magnificent reddish orange, hence the name Scarlet. We are grateful that she came to live with us so that we can provide her with the love and care she deserves. That being said any all all comments, opinions and info from all of you are so very much appreciated. I glad to have found this forum filled with people who share the same devotion to their reptilian family members as I do. THANK YOU!!!!!

 

[117star]

if she was trying to get near the lamp sounds like its not hot enough. you said you havea regular house light bulb?? is it not a reflector bulb that gives off heat. Ive never heard of one that as a 3in1 bulb. You dont need a night light beardies like us dont like light at night - they cant sleep. You need a 10.0 UBV tube light ( long) and a reflector basking lamp
Calci sand is NONO!! Sounds very much like the set up they had was set up for a cham NOT a beardie.
Can you put a photo up of the enclosure she is currently in . The exo terra your going to get will be all glass - you will need to put a background on it so the dragon does not see its reflection plus it will help with the heat! They sell those exo terra here in pets at home in the UK but we do not recommend them here in the UK, but i know in the US many people talkabout 40 gallon tanks which i assume to be glass

The bulb that was in the fixture, a halogen spotlight, we were given was burned out. Not knowing exactly what I needed but knowing she needed heat I opted to use what I had available to me at the time. This was a regular 100 watt, not 75 watt as mentioned earlier, light bulb. The fixture that I picked up from a friend today holds 4 separate bulbs, it is not a 3 in one bulb. However after a visit to Petsmart today I found out that they do make a light bulb that puts off UVA, UVB and heat all in one. But since the new fixture is designed to house 4 separate bulbs that is what I purchased today. In my opinion a long UVB bulb seems better than just a UVA/UVB/heat light bulb. It only seemed logical to me that beardies need UVB all the time (daytime) even when they are not basking. So this way even if she moves away from the basking area she will still have the light provided by the long bulb. The nightlight is nothing more than an infrared heat bulb. This will come in handy during the winter months as we do keep our home pretty chilly during the night. For now it will not be needed. What I bought today is this: Repti-Glo 10.0 UVB fluorescent bulb and a Neodymium Basking Bulb 150 watt. The later says it provides heat and UVA. I also bought a Zilla Digital Thermometer to measure the temp right in her basking area.

The enclosure is most def for a Chameleon. I will try to post some pictures for you. I have no idea how to do that but will figure it out. Just please do not judge me by her current environment as it is not my doing. I am doing a little everyday to make her more comfortable here. May I ask why you do not recommend a glass enclosure? And what do you think is better and why? This one comes with a "stone" backdrop that looks really nice. It has the screen top and the doors on the front. I looks really nice and easy to keep clean/get in and out of. As far as the sand, she has been in it all of her life and seems to be doing well, even seems to like it. Aren't they in sand when they live in the desert? So if no sand then what is the best in your opinion?

 

[Dragonsx6]

The bulb that was in the fixture, a halogen spotlight, we were given was burned out. Not knowing exactly what I needed but knowing she needed heat I opted to use what I had available to me at the time. This was a regular 100 watt, not 75 watt as mentioned earlier, light bulb. The fixture that I picked up from a friend today holds 4 separate bulbs, it is not a 3 in one bulb. However after a visit to Petsmart today I found out that they do make a light bulb that puts off UVA, UVB and heat all in one. But since the new fixture is designed to house 4 separate bulbs that is what I purchased today. In my opinion a long UVB bulb seems better than just a UVA/UVB/heat light bulb. It only seemed logical to me that beardies need UVB all the time (daytime) even when they are not basking. So this way even if she moves away from the basking area she will still have the light provided by the long bulb. The nightlight is nothing more than an infrared heat bulb. This will come in handy during the winter months as we do keep our home pretty chilly during the night. For now it will not be needed. What I bought today is this: Repti-Glo 10.0 UVB fluorescent bulb and a Neodymium Basking Bulb 150 watt. The later says it provides heat and UVA. I also bought a Zilla Digital Thermometer to measure the temp right in her basking area.

The enclosure is most def for a Chameleon. I will try to post some pictures for you. I have no idea how to do that but will figure it out. Just please do not judge me by her current environment as it is not my doing. I am doing a little everyday to make her more comfortable here. May I ask why you do not recommend a glass enclosure? And what do you think is better and why? This one comes with a "stone" backdrop that looks really nice. It has the screen top and the doors on the front. I looks really nice and easy to keep clean/get in and out of. As far as the sand, she has been in it all of her life and seems to be doing well, even seems to like it. Aren't they in sand when they live in the desert? So if no sand then what is the best in your opinion?

No one will be judging you. You are trying your best to make a bad situation for your girl into a good happy home for her. Here in the UK our Vivariums are wooden top, bottom, sides & back with sliding glass doors, this helps keep the temps right as you dont have the heat escaping thru all the glass. The Dragons can also become very stressed if they see their reflection in the glass which is why it is recomended that you cover the sides. They can suffer from Impaction with sand and from my personal experience one of my girls lost a finger and damaged the rest of her fingers on her front feet thru digging on sand. In the wild they are on hard packed ground not sand. The substrate you use is entirely up to you, everyone has their own tastes. I use Porridge Oats, my girls can dig till their hearts content and I know they are ok, if they do accidentally eat any of it they can digest it ok. Other people like to use tile, paper towel, repti carpet, it just depends what you prefer.
Hope this helps a bit x

 

[ajandj]

117star - sorry, l misunderstood.. all good
very glad to hear she is doing better.. Don't be too concerned about the eating bit.. My Yoda just finisheda 2 week long starvation campaign.. in that time he ate the least amout he could live on.. then he started to shed.. once he got 2 days into his shed he started to eat again.. l was very concerned because he lost 14 grams all told.. doesn't sound much but ne weighs less than 100 grams now. Anyway best of luck and don't be scared to ask anything...

 

[117star]

No one will be judging you. You are trying your best to make a bad situation for your girl into a good happy home for her. Here in the UK our Vivariums are wooden top, bottom, sides & back with sliding glass doors, this helps keep the temps right as you dont have the heat escaping thru all the glass. The Dragons can also become very stressed if they see their reflection in the glass which is why it is recomended that you cover the sides. They can suffer from Impaction with sand and from my personal experience one of my girls lost a finger and damaged the rest of her fingers on her front feet thru digging on sand. In the wild they are on hard packed ground not sand. The substrate you use is entirely up to you, everyone has their own tastes. I use Porridge Oats, my girls can dig till their hearts content and I know they are ok, if they do accidentally eat any of it they can digest it ok. Other people like to use tile, paper towel, repti carpet, it just depends what you prefer.
Hope this helps a bit x

Awesome, thanx. I think we will end up using some sort of paper. It is not as pretty as the sand, but would rather have her be safe in her home. I have not yet had a chance to take any pictures, I am so busy the rest of the week and weekend. It will more than likely be the be start of next week. As far as the mostly wood enclosures. I have read that those are bad because they can trap moisture and do not offer much ventilation???? I guess as much as we try we can never replicate nature.

 

[117star]

Would you guys please check out my new post "EGGS???" The fun is just never ending with my new girl!!!! HELP.....

 

[117star]

Another update. I don't know if any of you have followed the EGGS post I put up yesterday. But Scarlet laid a bunch of eggs Friday night. Quite the shock to me yesterday morning. In any case her burn has healed up well and I am now trying to get her to recover from the egg laying. I spent almost 2 hours this morning completely cleaning out her cage. I took it all apart and tossed the mesh part into the washer and ran it on a rinse cycle without any detergent. I got rid of ALL of the sand. She is now on newspaper and seems to like it ok. I think once we get her tank we will go with tile. She ate fantastic this morning and seems to be a happy girl. I think she might be a little on the thin side. I am going to try to post some pictures of her and her enclosure tomorrow. Hope all of you had a great weekend and thanx for the support. I myself am exhausted from attedening a vending show all weekend and am going to check on my girl and then relax. =)

 

[Brett]

they will look thin after laying eggs. Producing eggs takes allot out of them. Time to feed her as much as she can eat and fatten her up again.

 

[Dragonsx6]

Glad to hear she is getting her apetite back and as Brett says egg laying takes a lot out of them, let her 'pig out' for a wee while and she be looking good again in no time xx

 

[117star]

http://s1124.photobucket.com/albums/l579/117star/
Here are some pictures of Scarlet and her temp enclosure. Let me know if you guys think she is to thin. I know it is hard to tell from looking at a picture. I tried to take many to give you guys something to compare. I hope the link works as I have never used a photo sharing site before. Let me know.. Thanx!

 

[Dragonsx6]

She is looking like a happy healthy girl considering all both she and you have been thru in your first few days together. She not looking too thin, but just keep doing what you are by giving her lots of tlc and all the things she likes to build herself back up again. As it has been previously said egg laying really takes it out of them. Take care xx