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Calcium and our new baby beardie

Motherofdragons0727

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
41
Sorry if I ask any dumb questions, My husband and I just bought our son a baby beardie for his birthday. So we've had him for about a week. So we're new to the Bearded Dragon family so I had a question about the calcium. Godzilla had a uvb bulb for his daytime light but it went out. So there's a regular shaped bulb that came with his tank now during the day. I ordered Flukers calcium with the vitamin in it since the actual basking bulb went out but my question is this. With Godzilla being 2 months old, how often do we powder his crickets. Every feeding? Once a day? Once a week? I want to make sure we don't overdo it. He's a tiny little guy but I've been reading that he does need the added calcium. Thanks in advance!! Here's some pictures of Godzilla for reference. Oh and I actually learned recently that they can give you salmonella so our son no longer kisses him good night or has him close to his face. Lol
 

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Dexter_Dragon

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
783
Hi Motherofdragons, I'm concerned about my baby's calcium intake too. I've had Dex for a few weeks now and peeps told me they need calcium daily when they are young. I tend to lightly dust 1-2 of his crickets/roaches each feeding (he eats about 4-5 each feeding, 4-5 times a day now). Peeps have also said to add a bit of calcium to his salad. Dex isn't eating his bits of salad yet, so I add a tad bit of calcium and bit more vitamins to his organic (no additives) vege baby food jars. Not sure if I'm giving him too much calcium or not enough, but so far he's active and looks healthy. More experienced peeps may have more precise info. No question is dumb. Ask away. Your son is adorable as is Godzilla. Awesome name btw. :)
 

Motherofdragons0727

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
41
Thank you!! Now we don't have roaches to feed ours, we've only been feeding him crickets. We put salad in there but he doesn't seem interested yet. I was told by a lady in the pet store to just offer a leaf a day until he takes to it. You mentioned baby food. Do you feed yours baby fruit AND veggies? And how so? Does he eat it with a medicine dropper or just in a dish in the tank?
 

Dexter_Dragon

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
783
Thank you!! Now we don't have roaches to feed ours, we've only been feeding him crickets. We put salad in there but he doesn't seem interested yet. I was told by a lady in the pet store to just offer a leaf a day until he takes to it. You mentioned baby food. Do you feed yours baby fruit AND veggies? And how so? Does he eat it with a medicine dropper or just in a dish in the tank?
Welcome. :) From what I've learned crickets are the best. Roaches, too, but learned they are a bit more fatty than the crickets. Still good to give him, though. Also, he can't eat the leaf if it's whole, I think. Greens need to be in tiny bite sized pieces that he can easily snatch up and eat. I make sure Dex's pieces are smaller than the space between his eyes. I mix up his salad each time with various allowable veges and a tad bit of fruit. (I think there's a post here that describes what's best to feed him for veges and fruit.) I feed him the veges from jar as they need some form of veges when young and my vet recommended it. I don't give him too much as I want him to eat his crickets and roaches. I get an organic kind (with no additives). I didn't get any jars of fruit as I'm trying to entice him to eat his salads and I add fruit to that. Plus, from what I've learned, their primary need as babies is protein so crickets and roaches are the best. (There's another post that tells you percentages of each, I think.) I dropper his baby food to him. He sees the dropper coming and lifts up his head and his mouth starts going to get at whatever's in it . . . be it water or his veges. lol
 

Motherofdragons0727

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
41
That's awesome! Now We have a tiny water dish for our dragon's water. Does he seem to take better to water in a dropper than in a dish that you've noticed? I'll definitely have to research this site more. I just joined last night but it's been so helpful hearing from other beardie parents rather than uneducated "reptile experts" at the pet store!
 

Dexter_Dragon

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
783
That's awesome! Now We have a tiny water dish for our dragon's water. Does he seem to take better to water in a dropper than in a dish that you've noticed? I'll definitely have to research this site more. I just joined last night but it's been so helpful hearing from other beardie parents rather than uneducated "reptile experts" at the pet store!
I don't leave a dish of water in his tank for too long. He never drinks from it anyway. It's very humid here so I have to watch his humidity like a hawk. Keeping water bowl in his tank just adds to humidity. I add a bit of water to his salad so there is some available if he wants it. I make sure to dropper water to him several times a day. Be sure to keep the water dish very shallow, especially when they are babies. Keep his crickets well hydrated and gut loaded and that helps with his water intake, too. Peeps here also suggested I mist him with water daily.
 

Motherofdragons0727

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
41
Okay, we're in Florida so I'll have to look into our local humidity levels. The dish is super shallow and we only use distilled water for his dish and we mist him with distilled water too as I read that tap water isn't as good for him. Do you keep a hygrometer for humidity on your tank? All we have is a thermometer for temp but ive been thinking about the humidity. Ive seen some people online say its necessary and others say it isn't but I figure they're most vulnerable as babies so i wanna be sure to do everything right. We are gonna change up the salad we give him as well because i read something negative about spinache and weve been giving him fresh spinache. What do you include in your daily salad?
 

Dexter_Dragon

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
783
Sounds like you got everything under control. :)

Yes, I have a hygrometer and two temperature readers (1 on basking side and other on shady side) in my tank for quick reference, but I also have a digital thermometer and hygrometer reader that I can move around his tank that gives more accurate spot check readings. From what I've been told humidity is very important to keep track of. I believe humidity levels should be between 20-40%. Peeps here warned me that high humidity levels can lead to respiratory and other related issues.

I change up his salad daily. Peeps here told me that they like color and variety. I have a 1 cup food processor and I fill it about 1/2 full with what I call a base every morning. Two types of greens and a colored vege with about 1 tablespoon of water and grind it into bite sized pieces. I put it into a small bowl to put in the fridge, but take a small amount out to make his morning salad. I'll then add tidbits to his the morning salad and add different tidbits to his base for the afternoon salad. By doing this I can keep his salad fresh throughout the day and offer a variety. I also take the juice from the base and put it in a dropper so when I give him his water throughout the day it has a vege flavor to it. He likes that better. I make sure that I take the dropper from the fridge and set it into a warm bowl of water to warm up before I give it to him each time. My droppers have caps so it's easy to keep liquids in and out. I also take his base out of the fridge and add tidbits ahead of time so it's close to room temperature before I put it in his tank. I also add a tad bit of water so it stays moist a bit longer. Tank tends to try up the pieces fairly quickly. Additionally, each time I make his salads I'll pinch of a finger full and add it to cleaned bottle caps I use inside his cricket and roach containers so they can get fresh veges, too. Crickets go nuts, but the roaches seem to only nibble at theirs during the night. Right now I'm not adding calcium or vitamins to his salads as he's not really eating them. Instead I'm adding them to the baby food jars that he is eating from. I do try to entice throughout the day from his salad and hold up various pieces in front of him and wiggle them. He'll lick them, but then backs away. brat! So far he's only eaten a small piece of parsley.

This morning my base contained collard greens, parsley and red bell peppers. When I get his morning salad ready in about an hour I plan on adding bits of squash and pieces of watermelon. This afternoon I'll add bits of carrot slices, endive, and a small strawberry to his base. Tomorrow I'll use different greens for his base and a yellow bell pepper. Probably dandelion greens and basil or mustard greens. I hardly use spinach in his salads, but may add a small amount as a tidbit in his afternoon salad if we're having fresh spinach for supper. It helps that we have a garden with some of the approved veges in it. :) Just have to make doubly sure everything is washed thoroughly.

I have containers in my upper windows that have various herbs in that I can snip off and add to his salads, too. I check the approved list I printed and have taped to the inside of one of my cupboard doors for quick reference, first though. lol A lot of trouble for a baby that won't eat them. lol Hope this helps.
 

Motherofdragons0727

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
41
Thanks a ton!! This most definitely helps!! Sounds like Dex is as spoiled as my kids!! Lol When I get a grip of what all the ins and outs are with Beardies, Godzilla will be the same way. I don't think ive ever had a baby, human or not that wasn't spoiled. My dog i had for 8 years before she passed even had her own clothes and dresser drawer!! lol
 

Dexter_Dragon

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
783
Thanks a ton!! This most definitely helps!! Sounds like Dex is as spoiled as my kids!! Lol When I get a grip of what all the ins and outs are with Beardies, Godzilla will be the same way. I don't think ive ever had a baby, human or not that wasn't spoiled. My dog i had for 8 years before she passed even had her own clothes and dresser drawer!! lol
Welcome! Yeah, Two of my kids have grown and gone. One teenager left at home. Two more years and he'll be off. My fur/scaly babies get spoiled as much as the kids that's for sure. OMG hahahahaha did the visual of doggie clothes all neatly folded in drawers. Sorry to hear of your loss. It's never easy. I lost my 15-year-old fur baby, Digger Dawg, 2 years ago. Broke my heart. I miss him as he was my constant companion. Went everywhere with me including to work. The puppy, Ozzy, (well he's 8 now, but never lost the moniker) doesn't travel well, so he's a stay at home baby. Goofy, but lovable. :) Pittbulls have a bad name, but we've lucked out with ours. Our cat Jango is . . . well a cat. lol Cuddles when he wants to, bites the heck outta you when he wants to be left alone. hahahahaha
 

Motherofdragons0727

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
41
Thats crazy haha yeah, my dog Brownie was a Chihuahua and that was the one with all the clothes. I actually got her cremated when she passed away and the pet crematory gave me a nice little tin with her ashes, the rainbow bridge poem printed out, and her death certificate with her paw print that i requested because I want to get it tattooed on me eventually. I lost her in November 2013, the same week we found out we were pregnant with pur oldest child, Wyatt, Godzilla's Daddy. It was crazy because when I rescued Brownie it happened to be the day my cat Boots had died when I was in 8th grade and I'd had Boots as ling as I could remember. But she ended up getting feline aids which turns out is pretty common in house cats. Titus, our pit, actually just passed 2 months ago. My husband and I got him when he was 6 weeks old in June of 2013. He'd grown up with all 3 of our kids, Let them pull on his ears, tail, etc. He never snapped at them until towards the end. Never bit any of them a day in his life. He was a big baby too.
 

Dexter_Dragon

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
783
Thats crazy haha yeah, my dog Brownie was a Chihuahua and that was the one with all the clothes. I actually got her cremated when she passed away and the pet crematory gave me a nice little tin with her ashes, the rainbow bridge poem printed out, and her death certificate with her paw print that i requested because I want to get it tattooed on me eventually. I lost her in November 2013, the same week we found out we were pregnant with pur oldest child, Wyatt, Godzilla's Daddy. It was crazy because when I rescued Brownie it happened to be the day my cat Boots had died when I was in 8th grade and I'd had Boots as ling as I could remember. But she ended up getting feline aids which turns out is pretty common in house cats. Titus, our pit, actually just passed 2 months ago. My husband and I got him when he was 6 weeks old in June of 2013. He'd grown up with all 3 of our kids, Let them pull on his ears, tail, etc. He never snapped at them until towards the end. Never bit any of them a day in his life. He was a big baby too.
Awww sounds like Brownie was definitely spoiled. :) Luv your tat description. Sounds beautiful. Sounds like Brownie was meant to be in your life to take up all the spoiling that the loss of Boots created. We've only ever had pits since 1996. Found them to be the best dogs and always gentle with the kids. The puppy til this day will still let my daughter put her hoodies on him if it's cold enough in the evenings. hahahaha 'Course my Digger was half pit half lab. Had the pit look, but the lab smarts and temperament. Big black solid guy. Miss him, but not ready to replace him with another yet. That's where Dexter comes in. Jango seems to like my hubby best. Ozzy is definitely my son's dog. Dexter is mine and likes me best . . . probably cause I'm the one who feeds him and cleans out his cage . . . but I'm going with just 'cause he likes me best. lolol
 
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