making sure i am doing this whole process right please read!!!!

[Donny]

hello my name is annette. i am a new owner and i make to make sure i am doing the right things for my dragon. first the temps. cool side about 80 and the hot about 100. uvb light made by repti glo 10.0 26w. i have the uvb and the basking light on for 12 hours and the red light on only at night for 12 hours to keep it warm for him. he is 7inches so i give him 7-8 crickets every morning around 4am. when i get home around 4pm i give him veggies and fruit. i always have water inside a dish and always some pellet food in another. when i come to give him veggies and fruit he likes to run it away from me when i pick him up. he doing a bowl movement everyday or some times every other day is this right? he also took a dump on his basking rock? i am asking for help i want to make sure i am not hurting him in anyway or causing him discomfort. please just take a look and if there are any changes i need to make please just let me know! i have read all types of different things online and store clerks tell me something different everytime i go in the stores. please help! thanks everyone
Annette-kevina-donatello

 

[Beardie_Mommy3991]

Sounds great to me! Just make sure his substrate is not calcisand, and in my opinion, 7-8 crickets is a bit low. Mine at about that size was eating a good 100 a day. If you feed him in a different bin, you can easily hunt down extra crickets. I just put them in there until he stops eating.

 

[Donny]

ok thank you! i think i am going to up his crickets!

 

[sublyme]

I do not give my beadie a ton of crix anymore as he is older. When they are young its good to give them alot of prey. when they get older you must give them much more veggies and fruit and less prey. I gave my beardie about 10 crix every four days or so when he would actually eat them.. now he refuses to even look at them. he intentionally holds out for meal worms. i only give him 3 every few days.( in between carrots,apples and broccoli ) beardies are like stubborn little kids and will have no issues letting you overfeed them "candy" aka:meal worms, apples, and sweet potatoes..

 

[Nght_RideA]

I feed my lil guy atlease 10min crix in the morning and put a bowl of veggies in the tank and leave that in there all day ! then do another feeding in the afternoon and 1 more at night. il say im going through about 40 - 50 crix a day now ?!

 

[Pogie]

hello my name is annette. i am a new owner and i make to make sure i am doing the right things for my dragon. first the temps.
cool side about 80 and the hot about 100.
Depending on the age of your dragon, and Im assuming hes still a baby @ 7-8 inches the temps could be a tad higher.
Cool side closer to 85F and the basking spot between 110-115F. Temps are very important as it aids in propper digestion fro your baby. Also it keeps his appetite up, Im sure once the temps are higher youll see a noticeable change in the amount he eats
uvb light made by repti glo 10.0 26w. i have the uvb and the basking light on for 12 hours and the red light on only at night for 12 hours to keep it warm for him.
When you change out your UV light (in 6 mnths), the Repti Sun 10.0 is the most recommended brand in the US, If youre in the UK you can use the Arcadia 12%. Also dragons do see colour the the red heat light you use at night could be disturbing his sleep patterns. Switch it off. The temps in your viv can fall to 65F without additional heat needed. If it falls below the 65F get a CHE - Ceramic heat emitter. It gives of heat but no light. And works great too. Be weary of heat pads and heat rocks (Incase stores suggest them, yes theyre cheaper and give off heat, but dragons dont sense heat from below and more often than not they burn themselves without realising it)
he is 7inches so i give him 7-8 crickets every morning around 4am. when i get home around 4pm i give him veggies and fruit. i always have water inside a dish and always some pellet food in another. when i come to give him veggies and fruit he likes to run it away from me when i pick him up.
7-8 daily is far too little for a baby, their diet should consist of 80% protein and 20% greens. He should be eating anything between 50 and 100 appropriately sized feeders per day, spread out between 2-3 feedings per day (Give as many as he will eat in 10-15 minutes). Also make him a nice healthy salad in the morning, and leave it in his cage all day so he can eat when he feels like it.
he doing a bowl movement everyday or some times every other day is this right?
1 x day is fine, although its the "norm" for babies each is different so every second day wont worry me. You will notice that once his appetite picks up he will poop more regularly.
he also took a dump on his basking rock? i am asking for help i want to make sure i am not hurting him in anyway or causing him discomfort. please just take a look and if there are any changes i need to make please just let me know! i have read all types of different things online and store clerks tell me something different everytime i go in the stores. please help! thanks everyone
Annette-kevina-donatello

A few other questions for you
What are you currently measuring the temps with? Digital w/probe or stick on or temp gun?
How far from his UV can he get?
Are you supplementing with calcium and multivitamins? If so what brands and how often?

 

[Donny]

he can get about a foot away from his uv light. i use the circle thermometers that attach to the cage. When I buy his crickets I get them dusted with vitamins. Thank you so much for your information. It was very helpful and appreciated! RIght now I have 20 gallon tank but I'm getting 40 gallon tank next week.

 

[zebraflavencs]

You'll want the uvb a tad bit closer... say around 8"...
Those round or stick on therms can be off by as much as 20 -/+ degrees F.
Are you dusting with only the vitamins ? Or do you also dust with Calcium ? For a youngster like yours, 6 days a week cal 1 feeding daily, vits 1 day a week, 1 feeding.
Hope this helps.

 

[Pogie]

No worries bout the info thats what were here for.

What i would do is try to raise his basking spot at least 2 inches but preferably 4-5 inches so he can get more of the UV absorbed. This will have a real impact on his energy levels and overall well being.

Then get yourself at least 1 digital thermometer with probe (Although 2 is much better if you can swing it), place the probe on his basking spot where he spends most of his time. Leave there for 1-2 hours to stabilise the reading and then youll be able to see the real temp. Then place in the cool side also for about 2 hrs to stabilise and take the reading. Like Janie said, those stick on ones can be UP TO 20 deg off either way so the 100 and 80 your currently measuring could be 80 and 60 or even 120 and 100.

Good luck and keep us posted ;D

 

[Donny]

thank you for all you help! money is tight because of xmass but i will be making some big changes! thanks to you i am sure my little guy will be in great hands!
Annette