Merlin the Lizard Wizard!

[merlinthelizardwizard]

Hi everyone! I'm pretty new to reptiles, I've mostly had parrots and mammals in the past.

I've owned two reptiles before Merlin- an adult male crested gecko and a female leopard gecko. I loved them both but I sadly had to rehome them a few years back.

I recently moved in with my boyfriend and his family and was missing having a pet, so with the families permission, I got Merlin. A bit unprepared, to be honest. Not a full-on impulse buy, but I definitely should've waited until I had everything ready.

Merlin came home on April 15th 2022 and has been in a 10 gal (definitely not good but he is quite small) up until today! We just upgraded him to a 55 gallon and he is loving all the space. We will upgrade him to 100+gals once he's fully grown. His tank is 48in long, 13in wide, and 21in tall. Definitely not made for reptiles but I think its good for now!

I have a few questions! Since I'm used to more low maintenance reptiles, and there is so so much conflicting info online, I was wondering a few things:

What is a good ratio of veggies to fruits as a juvie? (between 1-3 months)

What vegetables are good? What veggies should we avoid? (I fed him kale because multiple websites said it was okay and he loved it, but I spoke to my zookeeper friend and he said kale is a no-go due to the possibility of it binding calcium)

What insects should I currently feed him? (We are feeding him about 10 crickets a day but I'm so confused by all of the different recommended servings! We started with mealworms but multiple sites said that was not a good source of protein for young beardies. The small dubias they sell are still far too large for him.)

How often should I dust his insects? Should I also dust his fruits and veggies?

AAAAND finally, what is the difference between UVA and UVB?!

here is the boy btw

 

[Sadie]

Hi everyone! I'm pretty new to reptiles, I've mostly had parrots and mammals in the past.

I've owned two reptiles before Merlin- an adult male crested gecko and a female leopard gecko. I loved them both but I sadly had to rehome them a few years back.

I recently moved in with my boyfriend and his family and was missing having a pet, so with the families permission, I got Merlin. A bit unprepared, to be honest. Not a full-on impulse buy, but I definitely should've waited until I had everything ready.

Merlin came home on April 15th 2022 and has been in a 10 gal (definitely not good but he is quite small) up until today! We just upgraded him to a 55 gallon and he is loving all the space. We will upgrade him to 100+gals once he's fully grown. His tank is 48in long, 13in wide, and 21in tall. Definitely not made for reptiles but I think its good for now!

I have a few questions! Since I'm used to more low maintenance reptiles, and there is so so much conflicting info online, I was wondering a few things:

What is a good ratio of veggies to fruits as a juvie? (between 1-3 months)

What vegetables are good? What veggies should we avoid? (I fed him kale because multiple websites said it was okay and he loved it, but I spoke to my zookeeper friend and he said kale is a no-go due to the possibility of it binding calcium)

What insects should I currently feed him? (We are feeding him about 10 crickets a day but I'm so confused by all of the different recommended servings! We started with mealworms but multiple sites said that was not a good source of protein for young beardies. The small dubias they sell are still far too large for him.)

How often should I dust his insects? Should I also dust his fruits and veggies?

AAAAND finally, what is the difference between UVA and UVB?!

here is the boy btw
View attachment 32075View attachment 32074

Welcome to the forum
I am going to post a website for nutrition kale is a great staple feeder the person that told you that is behind on stats w/ that it is spinach that binds not kale http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
He should be offered salads every day and dont dust the salads ONLY the insects - those should be fed as many as he will eat in roughly 10-15 minute time period- dust them 5 x per week ONCE per day w/ calcium D3 and vitamins w / beta carotene ONCE per day 2 x per week - your dragon should be offered salads once a day and 2--3 times per day of insects -- he should be eating about 20-25 per feeding 10 is way too little of food your dragon is growing and at this time he needs the protein -- so on that note the most important thing in the tank is the surface basking temps and UVB ----------- he will stop eating if this is not correct --- surface basking temps should be 105-100 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer -- you should have a cool side of the tank 80's during the day middle of the tank 90's and basking side 105-110-- next this is crucial a good long tube fixture for a UVB this is how your dragon is going to absorb his calcium so he does not get sick -- this is going to prevent health issues -- so I am going to post some links for your 55 gallon tank if your using a coil right now please you need to replace it I cannot stress this enough
you want a 24" fixture like this https://www.pangeareptile.com/colle...o-med-reptisun-t5-hood?variant=26907425734756 this will come w/ a 5.0 bulb keep it use it for a back up the distance and placement tho is going to be different from the bulb you need for your 55 gallon tank and bigger you need this one 22" https://www.pangeareptile.com/colle...d-reptisun-10-0-uvb-t5?variant=26907418591332 or this fixture is really good too along w/ the bulb

Arcadia ProT5 12% UVB Bulb With Hood

Arcadia ProT5 12% UVB Bulb With Hood is a highly adaptable lighting kit with high-quality internal electronics designed for optimal reptile husbandry. Get yours today from Pangea Reptile!

www.pangeareptile.com

the difference between UVA and UVB is UVA light helps regulate behaviors such as feeding, diurnal movement, mating and similar activities. • UVB light allows the synthesis of vitamin D3, which helps to absorb calcium.
Here is a website for dubias they are a better feeder than crickets -- use your 10 gallon tank to keep them in feed them the fruit and veggies you feed your dragon - do not feed carrots to the dragon if you feed the roaches those too much Vit A -- they dont like greens too much either so I feed my roaches dubia food / chow and dubia dew for water along w/ squash carrots and fruits -- www.dubiaroaches.com
I would get him some BSFL they are great for babies great staple and good compliment to the dubias or crickets feed medium for now as he gets older you can go to the large DO NOT dust them they are calcium enriched you do need to dust the roaches / crickets tho--- add the BSFL to his salads on top in front of him - this will get his attention to the salads --- feed as many as you want use them to hand tame him --
When you get the UVB if you need to I dont know what your using now please post back on here the placement and distance is going to be determined by your screen -- if you have any more questions please ask

 

[Sadie]

Please no more meal worms they are too harsh on babies stomachs-. You can get bsfl or nutri grubs from dubiaroaches along w/ small super worms and small horn worms- feed the supers 1-3 every other day on the salads and horn worms 1-2 per day they grow really fast

 

[merlinthelizardwizard]

Please no more meal worms they are too harsh on babies stomachs-. You can get bsfl or nutri grubs from dubiaroaches along w/ small super worms and small horn worms- feed the supers 1-3 every other day on the salads and horn worms 1-2 per day they grow really fast

Thank you so much! My only concern is I live in a pretty rural part of Georgia and don't have easy access to any feeders like that, it was super difficult to even find a place that had small crickets for him! I will look into this and see if theres any way I can get them shipped!

 

[merlinthelizardwizard]

Please no more meal worms they are too harsh on babies stomachs-. You can get bsfl or nutri grubs from dubiaroaches along w/ small super worms and small horn worms- feed the supers 1-3 every other day on the salads and horn worms 1-2 per day they grow really fast

How does this look for feeders? Is this good?

 

[Sadie]

How does this look for feeders? Is this good?
View attachment 32076

Looks good I would figure 30 dubia a day depending on how many bsfl she eats- w/ the hornworms the supers and bsfl and salads it will effect how many she eats- but she's got a good diet - don't worry about your dubia they will last along time just make sure your feeding them-- what you feed them is what your dragon is eating plus they will get hydration from them-- I feed mine at night that's when they eat and then feed the dragon in the morning- when she hits a year the insect feedings will go to 2-3 times per week also rinse your greens before serving and she will get hydration from that too mostly from the greens

 

[Sadie]

Thank you so much! My only concern is I live in a pretty rural part of Georgia and don't have easy access to any feeders like that, it was super difficult to even find a place that had small crickets for him! I will look into this and see if theres any way I can get them shipped!

All the website's I gave are shipping- except the nutrition one of coarse

 

[merlinthelizardwizard]

- so I am going to post some links for your 55 gallon tank if your using a coil right now please you need to replace it I cannot stress this enough
you want a 24" fixture like this https://www.pangeareptile.com/colle...o-med-reptisun-t5-hood?variant=26907425734756 this will come w/ a 5.0 bulb keep it use it for a back up the distance and placement tho is going to be different from the bulb you need for your 55 gallon tank and bigger you need this one 22" https://www.pangeareptile.com/colle...d-reptisun-10-0-uvb-t5?variant=26907418591332 or this fixture is really good too along w/ the bulb

Arcadia ProT5 12% UVB Bulb With Hood

Arcadia ProT5 12% UVB Bulb With Hood is a highly adaptable lighting kit with high-quality internal electronics designed for optimal reptile husbandry. Get yours today from Pangea Reptile!

www.pangeareptile.com

do i need to have a 48" light strip or would a 22" light strip be long enough to give him a good amount of UVB?

 

[Sadie]

do i need to have a 48" light strip or would a 22" light strip be long enough to give him a good amount of UVB?

for a 55 gallon go w/ a 24" fixture -- you dont want something the whole length of the tank - he needs to be able to sit out in the open and not hide from the UVB rays -- when you start getting into tanks that are over 4 feet in length then you want a longer fixture