My new Dragon is a rescue

[Paarthurnax]

Hey Y'all Just returned home after picking up a 4 month old Fancy Male. Was a Petsmart animal and the owner was not able to care for it. No idea exactly what kind of Beardie he is maybe someone can help me out. Been lurking on here for a few weeks reading and learning. Obviously the set up is lacking and I will remedy this tomorrow. Glass mounted temp gauge is 98 degrees. My digital probe (very accurate shows 92 right at the peak of the basking spot. other light is red heat lamp and it is not any better.

 

[Canicke]

he's beautiful. without knowing lineage of mom and dad - you wont know what "kind" he is - other than yours. Please dont use the red lamp for night heat. beardies need the dark to sleep - even the small amount of red emitted can disrupt their rest. get a ceramic heat emitter. you can USE the red lamp, just not as a source of heat at night, please. Good for you -! i have a heart for rescues.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Congratulations on your new scaly friend and way to go for rescuing him! I agree with Canicke on the red lamp, look forward to seeing him grow..

 

[Paarthurnax]

So day 3 and I think we are going to be a happy Dragon. He eats well (like he starving) 10 small 3/8" crickets rapid fire and 4 freeze dried meal worms. 2 freeze dried crickets. Got the recommended lighting from posts on here. temps are in recommended range turned off at night house stays around 70 degrees. found him sleeping this morning. picked him up and warmed him up in my hands. (kinda neat) and with the lights on he finished warming up under basking light. then fed him 10 more crickets this morning. now he is chillin under his light. These little guys can sure move quick when chasing down a cricket.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Very glad to hear this! They are pretty hardy creatures. Some advice is be careful with mealworms as they are very hard to digest especially if a dragon is dehydrated. They contain hard shells made of Chitlin and can cause impactions. Superworms would be a better choice as their shells are softer. Freeze dried bugs are well just that dried containing no moisture and they get the moisture they need to stay hydrated from what they eat (bugs and greens). If you live in a state that is ok to house/buy Dubia roaches they are VERY nutritious packed full of good stuff (their digestive tract is long allowing you to really gut load them full of goodies to go into your dragons) 1 roach = 5 crickets. They don't bite, don't fly, don't smell, can't survive and breed outside their enclosure)
Glad to hear he's doing well!

 

[Paarthurnax]

How about an update today on Jim.. He has at least doubled in size and is eating two or three Dubia twice a day with Dandilion leaves in the afternoon. So crickets were a pain, so strictly roaches or the occasional medium earthworm from my compost pile.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Glad to hear that Jim is doing well! Way to go! Remember variety is best so he gets a variety of nutrients and vits from their diet.
http://greathousefarm.com/Greathouse-Reptile-Nutrition-List.pdf
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Crickets, dubia roaches, superworms, butterworms, waxworms, silkworms, hornworms are all good, some are treats as they are high in fats...
There isn't much in earthworms they are not really nutritious and it's possible to get chemicals from the surrounding area.. I give my Izzy mainly roaches but I add in supers, butterworms and some waxworms then her greens that I mix up every couple of weeks to change it up.

He is looking good!

 

[Paarthurnax]

Yep, Got alfalfa seeds planted so when the dandelion leaves run out. He got a 1/4 strawberry yesterday, we keep the red dried pellets in his bowl all the time and he grazes on them sometime during the day as they always come up missing. I personally don't like crickets as they are a PITA to keep. Now that he is bigger I imagine he can go through a bunch of large chirpers every day.

 

[Hdrydr31]

I've not fed the pellets but know that you should moisten them prior to them being eaten as they can take moisture from the dragon in order to digest it..
I hear ya on the crickets! I raised them for 5 years but now raise dubia's instead.