Need advice- New owner

[ppell]

So I just inherited a 1 yr old dragon from a friend yesterday. I have him in a temporary habitat for now, getting all of the supplies this weekend. Here is what I intend to have as my set-up so please let me know if I'm going in the right direction.

Tank- 40 gallon, screen top

Substrate- tan, ceramic tile with the botton on the tile lined with paper towel

Lighting- I have the tank that has the screen top with a tube style lamp built in for the UVB bulb. Also have a regular, round basking lamp with 60 watt bulb.
QUESTION- Is 50% humidity and 85 degrees for basking a good rule of thumb?

Decor- Have a half log, tall rock to climb, smaller rocks and artificial plants.

Food- I am going to keep kale, collard greens and carrots as the mainstay of his daily diet. Every other day will feed him protiens; mealworms and crickets, alternating for variety.
QUESTION- How mmany crickets/worms should I give him?

Is there anything I'm missing? Just want to make a safe and pleasant enviormnment for him, that is easy for me to maintain.

Thanks,
Pete

 

[Brett]

You want about 30% humidity and 100 105 basking spot. Stay away from mealworms not good, use superworms instead. Here is a food list. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[ajandj]

Hi Pete and welcome. As Brett said basking needs to be 100/105. Make sure you dust protein with calcium. IMO (In my Opinion) I would change the Kale to endvie and the carrot to dandelion greens and flowers for an everyday diet. You can also add things like rocket, beetgreens, turnip greens, Mango. I also add things in like rose petals, lavander, rosemary, basil, nasturtium flowers/leaves,bok choy, apple, pear as occassional. Here is the food guide l use, it's colour coded and real easy to read.
http://carolinadesignerdragons.com/common/docs/food_list.pdf

My Yoda is now about 9 months old. As protein l use either crickets or woodies. Yoda will eat 15-30 mediums size crickets morning and arvo. He also eats about 4 -5 Tablespoons of veg/salad mix a day. Rule of thumb is to let him eat as many crickets he wants in 5-10 minutes. NEVER lever live crickets in your enclosure as they will make a feast of your beardie in the dead of night when beardies are cold and can't feel themselves being eaten alive. Also as Brett said, stay away from mealworms, they are nasty little bugger. Always make sure the food you are feeding is no bigger than the space between your beadiies eyes.
Good Luck and don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you need. As i was told when l first joined. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask.

 

[Jp]

Hey P, Welcome 2 the Forum. The enclosure should have a hot & cold side 2 help your dragon regulate it's temperature. Like mentioned above 100-105 (basking area) is recommended for a hot side & 80-85 on the cool side. Temperatures/lighting is very important for digestion & the overall health of your dragon. Carrots should only be fed occasionally & I would stay away from meal worms as well. Super worms & roaches are a much better alternative 2 meal worms.

 

[Dragonsx6]

Hey pete, welcome to the forum & I think the guys got you covered for now, but just ask if you need anythine else

 

[ppell]

Thanks everyone. Made a lot of progress. Have a new tank and such. Have one more questions regarding where I should put the tank. I have him in my finished basement, dry and temperature controlled. The tank I have is pretty big and the only logical spot I can put it is near a small window. The window will be above the tank, about 2 feet away. Can i put the tank by the window? Small amounts of light come through but my main concern is the draft that can possibly come through when winter hits. I'm on the East coast of the US and it gets pretty cold here in the dead of winter. Thoughts?