First time bearded dragon owner, I have Q’s about diet, poop, and lighting.

[Sunny lil dragon mom]

I’m so happy to have found this forum. I’ve been reading and watching lots of YouTube videos to try to make sure that I am giving my little bearded dragon the best care possible. I keep running into some conflicting information and I’m worried I might not be doing things correctly. I’m sorry if this isn’t proper forum etiquette or if my thread is way to long.

Any help/suggestions would be awesome!



My bearded dragon, Sunny is a 5 month old female. She’s 12inches in length and weighs 84 grams. We got her in August when she was about 6 inches long.



The terrarium I’m using is the Thrive set up from petsmart, 40 gallon w/ front opening doors 36x18x18

(I have plans to build her a custom 4x2x4 out of a display case we have)

Hot side of tank temp range read with laser thermometer gun and digital probes: 100-110F on basking spot, 90-95F ambient temp on hot side w/23-30% humidity. Middle 80-89 Cool side: 75-80F ambient temp with 30-40% humidity.

at night temps drop down to 69-72F and humidity gets up to 45%

First Q: Lighting,

which UVB bulb is best for my 40gal 36x18x18?

For basking I have the Zoo med 100w basking bulb.

I bought the Reptisun T5 HO 24inch hood which came with a 5.0 bulb. I kept seeing everyone say the bulb to use is the 10.0, so I went out and bought one and installed it. The hood sits on top of the screen (the top is round hole type screen) top and is positioned in front of the basking light (basking light is positioned in back corner above basking rock/hide) going down the length of the cage.

I tried to look up the distance from the bulb that is appropriate but the zoomed chart was a bit confusing. Sunny’s log at it’s closest point underneath the UVB is about 7inches and the tank is only 18 inches deep.

Is the T5 HO 10.0 too powerful for such a small enclosure? Should I go back down to the T5 HO 5.0?

She seems to like to lay at the 7inch depth on her log under the 10.0, it’s angled from one corner to the other so she has about 24 inches of log she can move up and down in varying height closer or further away from both her basking lamp and the UVB. If the UVB is too close to her, can I raise the UVB up off of the mesh top or would that cause too much UVB loss?

At night it gets about 67-70F° in her tank. Should I consider buying a ceramic heat emitter? If yes, should it be same wattage or less so that temps don’t reach daytime levels?

Next Q: Diet

When we first got her she was a ferocious bug eater. She would go through 35-50 small crickets per day but would not touch her salad. The pet store we bought her from said that she would mainly eat crickets and not to worry if she didn’t eat any greens. Of course after researching online I found that she should be eating 80/20. It’s been really hard to get her to eat anything other than bugs. I’ve bought every vegetable on the safe to eat lists, bought bee pollen and so far the only thing she eats enthusiastically is butternut squash lol. So she’s like 98/2 right now. I give her a rotation of greens, mondays mustard greens, Tuesday’s turnip greens, Wednesday collard greens, I even tried a little bok choy w/them and some endive, she turns her nose up at them all. Other veggies she does like but only will eat one or two bites & aren’t staples is green, red, orange bell peppers, shredded carrots, and spaghetti squash. I bought an acorn squash today for her to try but I’m really wishing she’d eat more greens.
Any tips for a super picky 5 mo old or am I panicking to much and should just continue letting her nibble and enjoy her butternut squash every day?

As for protein I weened her off crickets and now feed her Dubai roaches and BSFL with occasional silk worms. She gets super excited and comes to the glass when she sees the BSFLs. The Dubai’s she just kinda watches them crawl in her little dish for awhile before she decides to eat them. I’ve been feeding her twice a day, about 10 -15 small Dubai’s per feeding or 5-7 medium per feeding, which I dust and then for her evening feeding I give her 30-50 large BSFL not dusted.

I’m doing Rep Cal w/D3 5 days per week and Herptivite 2 days per week. Alternating them. So like 2 days of calci w/d3 then one day with herptivite, and so on.

that was the recommendation for Juve’s that I read on Josh’sfrogs when I purchased the supplements. Is that an ok regimen for supplement? Should I be doing a calcium w/o d3 on some of those days?

Next Q: Poop, should I have it tested?

When I first got her she pooped once per day a small brown log with semi hard white urate. Very dry, no smell. That changed a few weeks ago. At that same time is when I first introduced dubias. Since then her stools have become much more watery, and less log and more pile, and she’s pooping 2 times per day. Her urate is still white but there is also a thin slimy whitish film on her poop now and a noticeable foul smell. Though the smell doesn’t fill the room, it’s noticeable when I open her cage after she does her routine morning poop. Her 2nd poop in the evenings is often very small mostly white, very watery. I don’t have an exotic vet anywhere near me and the one that is closest (an hrs drive) is booked out by a few months. Should I just wait since she’s eating normally and no other signs of distress or would it be good to buy one of those online parasite tests? Are they reliable?

I don’t want to risk her having parasite levels get to high while waiting months for a vet appointment.

also I did see that watery but formed poop is a sign of being well hydrated and is normal, is that the case?

Thanks so much in advance, I’m so excited to have this sweet little girl. She’s already such a character.

I went ahead and attached a few (ok a lot) of pictures. Please excuse the messy cage, she just shed her legs and made a mess of the tank, plans for her weekly deep cleaning tomorrow.

 

[Sadie]

I’m so happy to have found this forum. I’ve been reading and watching lots of YouTube videos to try to make sure that I am giving my little bearded dragon the best care possible. I keep running into some conflicting information and I’m worried I might not be doing things correctly. I’m sorry if this isn’t proper forum etiquette or if my thread is way to long.

Any help/suggestions would be awesome!



My bearded dragon, Sunny is a 5 month old female. She’s 12inches in length and weighs 84 grams. We got her in August when she was about 6 inches long.



The terrarium I’m using is the Thrive set up from petsmart, 40 gallon w/ front opening doors 36x18x18

(I have plans to build her a custom 4x2x4 out of a display case we have)

Hot side of tank temp range read with laser thermometer gun and digital probes: 100-110F on basking spot, 90-95F ambient temp on hot side w/23-30% humidity. Middle 80-89 Cool side: 75-80F ambient temp with 30-40% humidity. Temps are great and humidity is good

at night temps drop down to 69-72F and humidity gets up to 45%

First Q: Lighting,

which UVB bulb is best for my 40gal 36x18x18?

For basking I have the Zoo med 100w basking bulb.

I bought the Reptisun T5 HO 24inch hood which came with a 5.0 bulb. I kept seeing everyone say the bulb to use is the 10.0, so I went out and bought one and installed it. The hood sits on top of the screen (the top is round hole type screen) top and is positioned in front of the basking light (basking light is positioned in back corner above basking rock/hide) going down the length of the cage.

I tried to look up the distance from the bulb that is appropriate but the zoomed chart was a bit confusing. Sunny’s log at it’s closest point underneath the UVB is about 7inches and the tank is only 18 inches deep.

Is the T5 HO 10.0 too powerful for such a small enclosure? Should I go back down to the T5 HO 5.0?

She seems to like to lay at the 7inch depth on her log under the 10.0, it’s angled from one corner to the other so she has about 24 inches of log she can move up and down in varying height closer or further away from both her basking lamp and the UVB. If the UVB is too close to her, can I raise the UVB up off of the mesh top or would that cause too much UVB loss? Since she has a variant of UVB rays watch her -- she will lay where she can get the most -- the wider hole is fine I am concerned about how thick that screen is -- normal distance for a T 5 10.0 bulb is 12-15 inches inside the tank on top of screen is 8-10-- you want the 10.0 bulb not the 5.0 not strong enough to go thru the screen if its ever used it needs to be inside the tank 6-8 inches directly above basking decor piece

At night it gets about 67-70F° in her tank. Should I consider buying a ceramic heat emitter? If yes, should it be same wattage or less so that temps don’t reach daytime levels? Temps are good for nite time if they drop below 65 then invest in a CHE -- you can get a 100 watt place on top of screen center of tank --

Next Q: Diet

When we first got her she was a ferocious bug eater. She would go through 35-50 small crickets per day but would not touch her salad. The pet store we bought her from said that she would mainly eat crickets and not to worry if she didn’t eat any greens. Of course after researching online I found that she should be eating 80/20. It’s been really hard to get her to eat anything other than bugs. I’ve bought every vegetable on the safe to eat lists, bought bee pollen and so far the only thing she eats enthusiastically is butternut squash lol. So she’s like 98/2 right now. I give her a rotation of greens, mondays mustard greens, Tuesday’s turnip greens, Wednesday collard greens, I even tried a little bok choy w/them and some endive, she turns her nose up at them all. Other veggies she does like but only will eat one or two bites & aren’t staples is green, red, orange bell peppers, shredded carrots, and spaghetti squash. I bought an acorn squash today for her to try but I’m really wishing she’d eat more greens.
Any tips for a super picky 5 mo old or am I panicking to much and should just continue letting her nibble and enjoy her butternut squash every day? Keep adding greens and yes she needs greens now--- do not dust the BSFL they are calcium enriched and a great staple feeder www.symtonbsf.com -- you will need a bowl like this or similar to keep them in https://www.amazon.com/MACGOAL-Rept...uGQB&pd_rd_wg=tLkwE&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_d

here is a website for nutrition ignore the kale thing its a great staple feeder
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

As for protein I weened her off crickets and now feed her Dubai roaches and BSFL with occasional silk worms. She gets super excited and comes to the glass when she sees the BSFLs. The Dubai’s she just kinda watches them crawl in her little dish for awhile before she decides to eat them. I’ve been feeding her twice a day, about 10 -15 small Dubai’s per feeding or 5-7 medium per feeding, which I dust and then for her evening feeding I give her 30-50 large BSFL not dusted. Only dust the insects ONCE per day --

I’m doing Rep Cal w/D3 5 days per week and Herptivite 2 days per week. Alternating them. So like 2 days of calci w/d3 then one day with herptivite, and so on.

that was the recommendation for Juve’s that I read on Josh’sfrogs when I purchased the supplements. Is that an ok regimen for supplement? Should I be doing a calcium w/o d3 on some of those days? No keep dusting them --- if she starts having urate that is yellow in the outside of the poop cut back on the calcium D3

Next Q: Poop, should I have it tested?

When I first got her she pooped once per day a small brown log with semi hard white urate. Very dry, no smell. That changed a few weeks ago. At that same time is when I first introduced dubias. Since then her stools have become much more watery, and less log and more pile, and she’s pooping 2 times per day. Her urate is still white but there is also a thin slimy whitish film on her poop now and a noticeable foul smell. Though the smell doesn’t fill the room, it’s noticeable when I open her cage after she does her routine morning poop. Her 2nd poop in the evenings is often very small mostly white, very watery. I don’t have an exotic vet anywhere near me and the one that is closest (an hrs drive) is booked out by a few months. Should I just wait since she’s eating normally and no other signs of distress or would it be good to buy one of those online parasite tests? Are they reliable? Not sure about the parasite test on line but the very dry urate means shes dehydrated -- I am surprised she has urate w/ the squashes shes eating and the peppers - they all have a lot of water content -- the poop looks fine w/ the absorption of the liquid in the paper towel is good I wouldnt be concerned about a vet now --

I don’t want to risk her having parasite levels get to high while waiting months for a vet appointment. This is where your basking temps and UVB play a huge roll in the parasite issue- w / these being proper she will be better to keep control over those parasites and w/her eating dubia roaches that is a better feeder

also I did see that watery but formed poop is a sign of being well hydrated and is normal, is that the case? Yes

Thanks so much in advance, I’m so excited to have this sweet little girl. She’s already such a character.

I went ahead and attached a few (ok a lot) of pictures. Please excuse the messy cage, she just shed her legs and made a mess of the tank, plans for her weekly deep cleaning tomorrow.

I tried to answer all your questions you are off to a great start w/ her shedding and eating and pooping that is good-- she sounds like she is going to thrive --- w/ the good temps UVB and diet I wouldnt worry about her -- make sure you change your T 5 out in approx 1 year from install and I recommend a month prior to

 

[Sunny lil dragon mom]

here is a website for nutrition ignore the kale thing its a great staple feeder
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

I tried to answer all your questions you are off to a great start w/ her shedding and eating and pooping that is good-- she sounds like she is going to thrive --- w/ the good temps UVB and diet I wouldnt worry about her -- make sure you change your T 5 out in approx 1 year from install and I recommend a month prior to

Thank you so much for the input and quick response. I like that the bulb had a place to write in the date, so I made sure to write the date that I installed it so that I can know exactly when it's due for a change. You've been super helpful. I'll go over that nutrition link and see if there are any other veggies/greens on the list that my store might carry. Fingers crossed she starts eating her vegetables/greens. I was worried about over hydration with her only eating the butternut squash out of her salads and her possibly developing gout from too many dubias but I feel much better that she's ok as long as I keep her temps and lights good.

 

[Skybug]

In my opinion about the lighting, arcadia 12% uvb is the “best” i dont use them as im not a fan of the houseing they put their bulbs in , and i just bought 3 zoomed bulbs sooo, definitely keep the 10.0 in , keep the 5.0 for an emergency,…and regarding his poo those look completely normal, it still has shape to it, when his poo is a formless puddle, and its been like that for a couple days straight, then id worry, if ur gut loading ur bugs and “flushing out” their systems with fresh veggies, your pretty much good, try to get ur bugs online if possible, and crickets are usually the culprit when it comes to parasites, me and Sadie arnt fans of them and I haven’t fed crickets since my dragon could handle roaches… and i think sadie doesn’t feed them either….

 

[Skybug]

The f10 stuff is a really good cleaner btw!

 

[Mummabeardy]

here is a website for nutrition ignore the kale thing its a great staple feeder
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

I tried to answer all your questions you are off to a great start w/ her shedding and eating and pooping that is good-- she sounds like she is going to thrive --- w/ the good temps UVB and diet I wouldnt worry about her -- make sure you change your T 5 out in approx 1 year from install and I recommend a month prior to

uvb shouldn't be on top of screen as it blocks out the rays..mount it inside your tank and you'll be all set. Aww Miss Sunny is beautiful ❤

 

[Sunny lil dragon mom]

uvb shouldn't be on top of screen as it blocks out the rays..mount it inside your tank and you'll be all set. Aww Miss Sunny is beautiful ❤

Thank you for the tip. I considered moving it inside but with the tank only being 18 inches tall and her basking decor being only 7-8inches from the screen, I was worried about it being too strong since the Reptisun T5 10.0 HO has a distance penetration of 18-22inches and the screen on her tank is large hole design (supposedly blocks less uvb). We are currently in the process of building her a larger custom enclosure (4ft long x 2ft wide x 3ft tall) and for that enclosure I’ll definitely be putting her UVB inside as that enclosure will be 3 foot tall with plenty of room to stagger different basking decor heights.