I read posts from this forum...

[Zombree93]

And finally decided to join. I have a juvenile Beardie- I am unsure as to the sex because different breeders have looked and told me different things. Some say male and some say female. Either way is fine with me. I was lonely after I moved into my first apartment in February and decided to bring home a family member. I initially wanted a snake but my landlord wasn't having it so we decided on a Bearded Dragon. I was nervous at first because the only experience I'd had with a Beardie was years ago and he or she was lightening fast and fragile. I was scared I'd lose them or freeze them with improper lighting. I was so intimidated that I brought him or her back to the petstore, apologized and said I was afraid I wouldn't properly care for them. This time was different. From the moment I held Varok I knew it would be okay. He/she was calm and didn't try to escape from my hands. Varok has since been patient with me while I learned the ropes of Beardie care and I have done everything in my power to provide him or her the best care. I read a lot off this forum and I bought a book on their husbandry.

Varok lives alone in a 75 gallon with no roommates. Varok is likely somewhere around 5 months of age but I can only guess by his/her length thus far. I have an album of pictures that I started to keep track of growth/color changes. We live in Louisville, KY.

Here is a video (if the link will work) of Varok:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=251105390051977

 

[2Pacalypse]

Welcome! He is gorgeous!

 

[Zombree93]

Welcome! He is gorgeous!

Thank you. I want to post a thread in the future of his or her growth progress. Eventually I’d like to have a definitive answer on the sex as well. Lol. Typing his or her all the time is a hassle.

 

[Skybug]

Welcome to the forum, very cute bb i can tell he/shes very loved

 

[Zombree93]

Welcome to the forum, very cute bb i can tell he/shes very loved

Thank you. I take her happiness and her opinion of me very seriously. I’ve tried to read everything I can on their body language but there just isn’t enough to read on the internet. I’ve scoured it and bought a book but the book didn’t even mention BL except briefly. I want in depth information, lol.

 

[Zombree93]

This was taken the night I brought Varok home. She was introduced to a 20 gallon at first and then after a month I upgraded her to a 75. She was so small that I thought she might be intimidated in a wide open space. After she was settled and eating regularly I gave her the larger house.

 

[Skybug]

Thank you. I take her happiness and her opinion of me very seriously. I’ve tried to read everything I can on their body language but there just isn’t enough to read on the internet. I’ve scoured it and bought a book but the book didn’t even mention BL except briefly. I want in depth information, lol.

I did the same things lol, the books all said the same things basically , beardie bL is just something that takes time to learn, depending on weather you got a girl or a boy aswell will determine how crazy or calm they’ll be, you’re definitely in the right place for information , I recently started watching a dude on youtube called “animal1guy” He takes in neglected beardies and other lizards and ive learned a good bit from him , might be worth checking out, i try to stay away from big youtubers with beardies(they sometimes say misinformation and treat the beardie as their cashlizard so to speak) may i ask what kind of lighting you have for varok? And what are they enjoying food wise right now?

 

[Zombree93]

I did the same things lol, the books all said the same things basically , beardie bL is just something that takes time to learn, depending on weather you got a girl or a boy aswell will determine how crazy or calm they’ll be, you’re definitely in the right place for information , I recently started watching a dude on youtube called “animal1guy” He takes in neglected beardies and other lizards and ive learned a good bit from him , might be worth checking out, i try to stay away from big youtubers with beardies(they sometimes say misinformation and treat the beardie as their cashlizard so to speak) may i ask what kind of lighting you have for varok? And what are they enjoying food wise right now?

She just ate her first Dubia roach just a minute ago. I ordered them online because she’s been having a hard time catching crickets. I can kind of corral them towards her and it helps but she wasn’t catching as many as she wanted. The Dubias are slower and easier to catch. I’m going to order hornworms soon as well as a treat. I have superworms for once or twice a week but they aren’t regularly fed. She likes baby spinach, beet greens and blueberries. She’s eaten some banana at one point and tasted a carrot but was unimpressed.

As for lighting she has a 160 watt UVB, UVA, visual light and heat bulb (Solar Glo) and two 100 watt night time bulbs. They actually just went out so I need to order some online from a more reputable source. I’d bought them from the pet store. Instead of the night time bulbs I have another 75 watt UVB and heat bulb in there temporarily to provide heat. Honestly she likes to bask directly in the middle of the two of them.

 

[Zombree93]

She’s currently directly in the middle.

 

[Skybug]

I was afraid of that, I believe your uvb might be bad (why she’s hiding from it but still wants to bask) i seen in the first pics it looked like her eye was shut, non tubular uvb bulbs can hurt their eyes (especially coil uvb bulbs) how many inches is the uvb from her platform ? 9-13 inches is the range you want it ,does the lizard keep one eye closed alot? , hornworms are a great feeder for beardies my girl goes crazy for them.

 

[Zombree93]

I was afraid of that, I believe your uvb might be bad (why she’s hiding from it but still wants to bask) i seen in the first pics it looked like her eye was shut, non tubular uvb bulbs can hurt their eyes (especially coil uvb bulbs) how many inches is the uvb from her platform ? 9-13 inches is the range you want it ,does the lizard keep one eye closed alot? , hornworms are a great feeder for beardies my girl goes crazy for them.

 

[Zombree93]

It’s a 75 gallon, I’d have to measure it. She doesn’t close her eyes when she’s on her hammock because that’s lower to the ground but when she climbs up on the perch she’s a lot closer to it and yes, one eye is closed a lot. I assumed it’s because I read they close their eyes when they bask. I actually took her to an exotic vet at first for closing her right eye a lot but they did a full check and assured me nothing was wrong. I worried about an eye infection.

 

[Skybug]

It’s a 75 gallon, I’d have to measure it. She doesn’t close her eyes when she’s on her hammock because that’s lower to the ground but when she climbs up on the perch she’s a lot closer to it and yes, one eye is closed a lot. I assumed it’s because I read they close their eyes when they bask. I actually took her to an exotic vet at first for closing her right eye a lot but they did a full check and assured me nothing was wrong. I worried about an eye infection.

When I first got my beardie i had the same issue of the eye closing when they bask, i dont know alot about your brand bulb ur using so i cant say definitely its ur bulb, when i switched up her lighting and found that it was the lighting in my case, if she continues to close her eye id change up the lighting.

 

[BeardieLover<3]

When I first got my beardie i had the same issue of the eye closing when they bask, i dont know alot about your brand bulb ur using so i cant say definitely its ur bulb, when i switched up her lighting and found that it was the lighting in my case, if she continues to close her eye id change up the lighting.

Same here, after i got the correct bulb it went away though and i havnet seen her close just one eye since

 

[Zontar’s Mom]

She just ate her first Dubia roach just a minute ago. I ordered them online because she’s been having a hard time catching crickets. I can kind of corral them towards her and it helps but she wasn’t catching as many as she wanted. The Dubias are slower and easier to catch. I’m going to order hornworms soon as well as a treat. I have superworms for once or twice a week but they aren’t regularly fed. She likes baby spinach, beet greens and blueberries. She’s eaten some banana at one point and tasted a carrot but was unimpressed.

As for lighting she has a 160 watt UVB, UVA, visual light and heat bulb (Solar Glo) and two 100 watt night time bulbs. They actually just went out so I need to order some online from a more reputable source. I’d bought them from the pet store. Instead of the night time bulbs I have another 75 watt UVB and heat bulb in there temporarily to provide heat. Honestly she likes to bask directly in the middle of the two of them.

I read somewhere once that spinach, beet greens should be fed sparingly. Blueberries also. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/bearded-dragons-feeding

 

[Zombree93]

When I first got my beardie i had the same issue of the eye closing when they bask, i dont know alot about your brand bulb ur using so i cant say definitely its ur bulb, when i switched up her lighting and found that it was the lighting in my case, if she continues to close her eye id change up the lighting.

I have tubular light fixtures designed for a fish tank but if I bought UVB reptile bulbs do you think that would be alright?

 

[Zombree93]

I read somewhere once that spinach, beet greens should be fed sparingly. Blueberries also. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/bearded-dragons-feeding

I feed her a mix called power greens. Inside is kale, chard and baby spinach (I had to check to see what was in there). I can lessen the baby spinach by pulling it out of the mix before giving it to her. The blueberries are like every other day- every two days.

 

[Skybug]

I have tubular light fixtures designed for a fish tank but if I bought UVB reptile bulbs do you think that would be alright?

If they have a reflector inside and they are they can fit the right bulb, i dont see why not.