New Bearded dragon parent with lots of worries.

[Peacheless]

Hi. I just recently got a baby/juvenile bearded dragon about two weeks ago. His name is Red. Before I got him I did a lot of research on the proper enclosure, heating, lighting, food, substrate etc. Right now, I have him in a 36 by 18 by 18 enclosure. A Reptisun T5 HO light. And a ceramic heat emitter. I have a Ceramic heat emitter because I live in Ohio and it gets really cold in the house. The basking area stays around 100 degrees. And the cool area stays around 75 to 80 degrees. For substrates I currently just use newspapers right now. I got Red at a reptile convention from a breeder. I noticed before I got him that he did have a little bit of tail rot. And it looked like he was already going into a shed process. When I brought him home the first few days, he seemed to have a pretty big appetite. He was eating 5-6 medium sized dubia roches twice a day. Then his appetite seemed to lower drastically. I blamed it on his recent shed process. But since then, his appetite and interest in food hasnt increased or went back to what is supposed to be normal. He has just been eating about one or two roaches a day. He is still drinking water. I have been trying to get him to eat veggies as well. But hes been uninterested in that as well. He still has a lot of energy, running, climbing around, and basking. All around very curious about his surroundings. Also, the end of his tail has some tail rot. As of right now I have been doing an at home treatment using Betadine, Water, And neosporin. As of recently the dead part of his tail has fallen off. I am currently still doing the Betadine treatment. Im not sure if I am doing things wrong. Any advice would help me a lot. Thank you.

 

[Sadie]

Hi. I just recently got a baby/juvenile bearded dragon about two weeks ago. His name is Red. Before I got him I did a lot of research on the proper enclosure, heating, lighting, food, substrate etc. Right now, I have him in a 36 by 18 by 18 enclosure. A Reptisun T5 HO light. And a ceramic heat emitter. I have a Ceramic heat emitter because I live in Ohio and it gets really cold in the house. The basking area stays around 100 degrees. And the cool area stays around 75 to 80 degrees. For substrates I currently just use newspapers right now. I got Red at a reptile convention from a breeder. I noticed before I got him that he did have a little bit of tail rot. And it looked like he was already going into a shed process. When I brought him home the first few days, he seemed to have a pretty big appetite. He was eating 5-6 medium sized dubia roches twice a day. Then his appetite seemed to lower drastically. I blamed it on his recent shed process. But since then, his appetite and interest in food hasnt increased or went back to what is supposed to be normal. He has just been eating about one or two roaches a day. He is still drinking water. I have been trying to get him to eat veggies as well. But hes been uninterested in that as well. He still has a lot of energy, running, climbing around, and basking. All around very curious about his surroundings. Also, the end of his tail has some tail rot. As of right now I have been doing an at home treatment using Betadine, Water, And neosporin. As of recently the dead part of his tail has fallen off. I am currently still doing the Betadine treatment. Im not sure if I am doing things wrong. Any advice would help me a lot. Thank you.

Ok your doing good w/ the betadine treatments and since the dead part has fallen off put some raw unpasteurized honey on it NO crickets in the tank please they will go for the tail and let it scab over - the honey will kill infection if there is any-- so w him not eating as much it can be both relocation stress along w/ shed - but we need to go over your UVB your using and if you dont have a solid clear bright basking bulb please get one - CHE's are not for surface basking temps and will not provide the heat or the UVA the dragon needs - Flukers Exo Terra Intense Arcadia Halogen or Zoo Med Repti basking bulbs are examples - NO coils for UVB's please they are inadequate and will cause all kinds of health problems - you want a Zoo Med fixture 24" for a 40 + gallon tank and it sounds like hes in a 50 gallon tank - or a 24" Arcadia Pro T 5 w/ a 12% bulb found at Pet Smart - I can post links for these UVB's if you want / need them - Please make sure your feeding insects NO bigger than the space between his eyes or he will / can get impacted

 

[Peacheless]

Ok your doing good w/ the betadine treatments and since the dead part has fallen off put some raw unpasteurized honey on it NO crickets in the tank please they will go for the tail and let it scab over - the honey will kill infection if there is any-- so w him not eating as much it can be both relocation stress along w/ shed - but we need to go over your UVB your using and if you dont have a solid clear bright basking bulb please get one - CHE's are not for surface basking temps and will not provide the heat or the UVA the dragon needs - Flukers Exo Terra Intense Arcadia Halogen or Zoo Med Repti basking bulbs are examples - NO coils for UVB's please they are inadequate and will cause all kinds of health problems - you want a Zoo Med fixture 24" for a 40 + gallon tank and it sounds like hes in a 50 gallon tank - or a 24" Arcadia Pro T 5 w/ a 12% bulb found at Pet Smart - I can post links for these UVB's if you want / need them - Please make sure your feeding insects NO bigger than the space between his eyes or he will / can get impacted

Ok. Thank you for letting me know about the basking bulb. I was told that a CHE would work fine but apparently not. I will definitely get one. I also already have a 24 inch Zoo med uvb light. I will definitely try feeding him smaller dubia roaches and mealworms. Hopefully that'll get him interested in food more. Thank you for the information. I really appreciate it.

 

[Sadie]

Ok. Thank you for letting me know about the basking bulb. I was told that a CHE would work fine but apparently not. I will definitely get one. I also already have a 24 inch Zoo med uvb light. I will definitely try feeding him smaller dubia roaches and mealworms. Hopefully that'll get him interested in food more. Thank you for the information. I really appreciate it.

The screen plays a part on placement - what kind of screen? Fine mesh like a screen door or a wide hole type? And is the bulb a 10.0 or a 5.0 bulb - you want the 10.0 it is more for desert the 5.0 is more for aquarium and is not as strong - so distance is going to also play a role as well

 

[Peacheless]

The screen plays a part on placement - what kind of screen? Fine mesh like a screen door or a wide hole type? And is the bulb a 10.0 or a 5.0 bulb - you want the 10.0 it is more for desert the 5.0 is more for aquarium and is not as strong - so distance is going to also play a role as well

The screen is more of a fine mesh. And I think I have a 5.0 bulb. Ill have to get a 10.0 bulb

 

[Sadie]

The screen is more of a fine mesh. And I think I have a 5.0 bulb. Ill have to get a 10.0 bulb

Yes and put the uvb inside the tank-- 12-15 inches directly above the basking decor at this point he's getting no uvb

 

[Peacheless]

Yes and put the uvb inside the tank-- 12-15 inches directly above the basking decor at this point he's getting no uvb

Really?. I didn't know that. Ill have to figure out a way to get the uvb light inside the enclosure.

 

[Sadie]

Really?. I didn't know that. Ill have to figure out a way to get the uvb light inside the enclosure.

I can post some things later - at work now

 

[Peacheless]

I can post some things later - at work now

Yeah that'd be great! Thank you

 

[Sadie]

Yeah that'd be great! Thank you

3 M command Velcro fasteners- picture hanging wire –long plastic zip ties-- fishing line

 

[Peacheless]

3 M command Velcro fasteners- picture hanging wire –long plastic zip ties-- fishing line

Ok great. Ill definitely get to that tonight. Is there anything I should do?

 

[Peacheless]

Ok great. Ill definitely get to that tonight. Is there anything I should do?

I meant is there anything else I should do?

 

[Sadie]

I meant is there anything else I should do?

Get your surface basking temps up to par and the uvb watch his behavior - you don't need the che on unless your temps in the tank at night are falling below 65 at night- your basking bulb should keep those temp I posted for you- if not you can run the che to get them up but usually a higher watt will work - let me know how it goes

 

[Peacheless]

Get your surface basking temps up to par and the uvb watch his behavior - you don't need the che on unless your temps in the tank at night are falling below 65 at night- your basking bulb should keep those temp I posted for you- if not you can run the che to get them up but usually a higher watt will work - let me know how it goes

Ok no problem. Thank so much!

 

[Julee1971]

Hi. I just recently got a baby/juvenile bearded dragon about two weeks ago. His name is Red. Before I got him I did a lot of research on the proper enclosure, heating, lighting, food, substrate etc. Right now, I have him in a 36 by 18 by 18 enclosure. A Reptisun T5 HO light. And a ceramic heat emitter. I have a Ceramic heat emitter because I live in Ohio and it gets really cold in the house. The basking area stays around 100 degrees. And the cool area stays around 75 to 80 degrees. For substrates I currently just use newspapers right now. I got Red at a reptile convention from a breeder. I noticed before I got him that he did have a little bit of tail rot. And it looked like he was already going into a shed process. When I brought him home the first few days, he seemed to have a pretty big appetite. He was eating 5-6 medium sized dubia roches twice a day. Then his appetite seemed to lower drastically. I blamed it on his recent shed process. But since then, his appetite and interest in food hasnt increased or went back to what is supposed to be normal. He has just been eating about one or two roaches a day. He is still drinking water. I have been trying to get him to eat veggies as well. But hes been uninterested in that as well. He still has a lot of energy, running, climbing around, and basking. All around very curious about his surroundings. Also, the end of his tail has some tail rot. As of right now I have been doing an at home treatment using Betadine, Water, And neosporin. As of recently the dead part of his tail has fallen off. I am currently still doing the Betadine treatment. Im not sure if I am doing things wrong. Any advice would help me a lot. Thank you.

You need Heat & Proper UVB. For heat always a CLEAR BULB buy the ZOOMED CLEAR BASKING BULB & for UVB the LONG tubular Reptisun 10.0 T5; make sure its the 10.0. The length you buy should cover 70 percent of the tank and be placed starting at the hot/basking side. Also, it needs replacing religiously every "6" Mnths. A ceramic heat emitter is not going to warm him up at teh temp he needs, those are used only for use at bedtime to keep the temp 80 or above when sleeping. When he turns 9-10 months old only use the ceramic heat emitter in the winter to keep the temp from dropping below 70. As they are older its 70 when younger its 80 or higher when sleeping. Temo should be 100-105 for his age and when he reaches 9 months old they like it at around 95-100 more like 95-97. Buy an infrared gun and shine it an inch away from his basking spot to really see the accuracy of the temp. Also, get a 40 gallon tank, thats the least size it should be. Get a digital thermoeter and a digital hygometer for humidity; the humidity should be 30-40, never higher than 40 or he cab get an URInfection. All Food and Water must be removed at bedtime and he needs a Hideway to get away form the Uvb as needed and a fleece blanket and a comfy small pillow. "5-6" Dubias a day is insanely low. He needs to be fed 4-5 times a day at his age; the best proteins to feed are crickets and dubias dusted in calcium powder once per day 4 times a week and once a day/once per week dust one feeding in Herptivite. but def feed like 20-30 small crickets 4-5 times a day & let him eat for 10 minutes as much as he wants. When he gets to be 4 months or so u can do 3 protein feedings per day and at 9months of age one protein feeding per day then after a year old feed proteins twice a week. NEVER ever feed meal worms or dried pellets it destroys their tummy. Place a plate of cut up veggies in the cold side to munch on everyday for life. Best ones are mustard greens, yellow squash, collard greens, butternut squash, & endives. Feed him off your hands to introduce new greens and veggies and 1-2 times a week give fruits as treats; blueberries, papayas or mangoes they love blueberries. Also, Mist him 3-4 times a day and baths twice a week in dechlorinated water for 15min minimum and more baths per week when shedding.
Sounds like he has tail rot, take him to a reputable reptile VET asap. Also, are his stools runny? if so go get a fecal sample, he prolly has coccidia which is like lice in the tummy and cage; need to burn and sanitize all and antibiotics asap and retest in 30days. Make sure u get a basking platform with a hideaway there are really nice cave ones and place a soft fleece blanket so he can sleep and a hammock behind the basking spot for another lesser temperature basking/lounging area.

 

[Merida]

Hi. I just recently got a baby/juvenile bearded dragon about two weeks ago. His name is Red. Before I got him I did a lot of research on the proper enclosure, heating, lighting, food, substrate etc. Right now, I have him in a 36 by 18 by 18 enclosure. A Reptisun T5 HO light. And a ceramic heat emitter. I have a Ceramic heat emitter because I live in Ohio and it gets really cold in the house. The basking area stays around 100 degrees. And the cool area stays around 75 to 80 degrees. For substrates I currently just use newspapers right now. I got Red at a reptile convention from a breeder. I noticed before I got him that he did have a little bit of tail rot. And it looked like he was already going into a shed process. When I brought him home the first few days, he seemed to have a pretty big appetite. He was eating 5-6 medium sized dubia roches twice a day. Then his appetite seemed to lower drastically. I blamed it on his recent shed process. But since then, his appetite and interest in food hasnt increased or went back to what is supposed to be normal. He has just been eating about one or two roaches a day. He is still drinking water. I have been trying to get him to eat veggies as well. But hes been uninterested in that as well. He still has a lot of energy, running, climbing around, and basking. All around very curious about his surroundings. Also, the end of his tail has some tail rot. As of right now I have been doing an at home treatment using Betadine, Water, And neosporin. As of recently the dead part of his tail has fallen off. I am currently still doing the Betadine treatment. Im not sure if I am doing things wrong. Any advice would help me a lot. Thank you.

I'm from Ohio too! Wondering how I'm going to keep our lizard warm this winter. He's down in the basement and it gets into the 50s down there. Will probably keep a ceramic heater on low at night

 

[Sadie]

Yes amb

I'm from Ohio too! Wondering how I'm going to keep our lizard warm this winter. He's down in the basement and it gets into the 50s down there. Will probably keep a ceramic heater on low at night

You need ambient temps 65-75 at night