New Beardie Mommy <3

[Pat B]

You are right but you are the only one I talked to on the phone.... and that is because I didn't have a clue as to what I was doing.... There are many good people here that contribute and share their knowledge. I would be in deep trouble if they didn't have a passion for the beardie and helping those of us that are learning....thank you all for your time and contributions....

 

[Noella]

Germ's very knowledgeable about beardies.

I noticed that you feed Ember mealworms. Mealworms aren't that good for beardies. They've got a tough chitin shell covering their bodies and they can cause impaction. Here's what I use for Allie's dietary questions.
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html

Don't feed romaine, iceberg lettuce, and spinach. Feed turnip, mustard, collard, dandelion greens. Crickets, reptiworms, phoenix worms, if tolerated by you or your boyfriend, dubia roaches. Snacks or treats: Fruits like blueberries, cantaloupe, peaches, superworms, waxworms, butterworms every once in a while.

 

[emberlove]

Germ's very knowledgeable about beardies.

I noticed that you feed Ember mealworms. Mealworms aren't that good for beardies. They've got a tough chitin shell covering their bodies and they can cause impaction. Here's what I use for Allie's dietary questions.
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html

Don't feed romaine, iceberg lettuce, and spinach. Feed turnip, mustard, collard, dandelion greens. Crickets, reptiworms, phoenix worms, if tolerated by you or your boyfriend, dubia roaches. Snacks or treats: Fruits like blueberries, cantaloupe, peaches, superworms, waxworms, butterworms every once in a while.

I will feed Ember whatever she needs to get better. She seemed to be feeling a bit better last night. I found out the previous owner didn't have a very powerful UVB bulb so we got her the best one possible. The light is a Zilla? I think I will be on this forum for life! Knowledge is power <3

 

[Germ]

If you got the Zilla fixture & not just the bulb, (It is Quite debatable if that is the best) be sure that you remove the plastic cover between the bulb & BD. UVB can not pass through solid filters such as glass or plastic.

 

[Germ]

Germ's very knowledgeable about beardies.

I noticed that you feed Ember mealworms. Mealworms aren't that good for beardies. They've got a tough chitin shell covering their bodies and they can cause impaction..

Again, thanks for the nice comments.

But if you offer that info on Mealworms, possibly you would like to take up the Mealie 'Basher' Challenge. It has been years & on many forums, had no takers yet to prove that your's & many others' statements are not 'Myth'. Personal Preference is fine, but shouldn't be insinuated or presented as fact.

 

[Noella]

Personal Preference now and word of mouth when I first got her.

However, I've been told never to feed mealworms on another forum I visited when I first got Allie. They told me to never feed mealworms because they told me they'd cause impactions. That's why I wrote the above. I've seen an autopsy by a vet who dissected a female that was fed mealworms for the past week and she's dead. She had undigested mealworms. It didn't mean she was impacted. Perhaps there's nothing wrong with feeding mealworms to beardies as long as they're hydrated well. I'm doing a ton of research on the subject to see if it's now a myth. I'll take your advice though and not say anything about mealies if I can't prove it. Thanks for the Challenge, Germ.

 

[Germ]

Good Luck! on the Challenge. Maybe you can find something that I never have.

I have had that Challenge on here for 4 months now, as you can see, not one reply to substantiate these claims with any solid scientific proof, but there a couple of scientific studies there, proving them to be 'Myth'. I have issued this Challenge for years, on many other Forums also, with the exact same results, or lack there of. As for the Autopsy thing, had it been fed crix for the previous week, they would have found undigested crickets, there is always undigested food if they are regularly fed. So you are right, it means nothing.

Personally, I don't feed mealworms, never have, other than once when I was given a tub of them with the purchase of one of my BDs from a Breeder. Not because they are a bad feeder, or that I don't like them, I just don't feed them. There are many other feeders also, that I just "don't", but that doesn't make them bad feeders. Roaches are my staple live prey, so I really don't care either way. My thing is keeping good info out there & try to quell some of these 'Myths' when possible.

Again Good Luck in your quest.

 

[Noella]

Thanks. I like finding truths over fibs. So I'll research some more on this subject. Other reptiles have been fed mealworms. I even watched mealworms change into beetles when I was younger. I actually examined a freeze dried mealworm and rehydrated them with water and softened them. I managed to squeeze their shells off and feed them to Allie when she was sick. Hmm...she didn't get impacted...but I didn't feed her enough mealies that time. Just a few cut up ones that were softened in water... I nearly forgotten about that! More like doused them with a lot of water. And we both hijacked the post.

 

[emberlove]

Ember is doing a lot better! I bought a HUGE 40 gallon tank for her yesterday and she seems to be adjusting well. I also fed her a few crickets yesterday and I was such a happy mommy when she ate! Anything else you guys would suggest to perk up her appetite? I don't know if she has been drinking very much water, but we have been giving her baths to help with her impaction.

 

[Germ]

The new enclosure is 'looking' very nice. If you don't see your BD using the Water dish, and this would not be surprising, as most BDs will not recognize standing water, I would remove it. If it is not being used, it just raises the humidity. The glass mounted thermometers that you are using are virtually useless in this application & where they are mounted is no where near to where the temperatures should be measured. Analog Thermometers mounted on the glass, give more the temp of the glass, which is affected as much by the outside ambient room temps as by the environment inside the enclosure, so the temps are not accurate. Basking Temps have to be taken directly at the basking spot, your BD will never be half way up the side wall to bask . Digital thermometers with a sensor that can be placed directly on the basking spot are highly recommended to give accurate measurements where they must be measured. Cools side temps should be measured low at the floor area furthest from the heat Bulb. Again your BD will never be half way up the side wall, so why measure temps there?

Which fixture is your UVB bulb in? Are you using a Tube or compact, what brand & strength? Your basking spot must be much closer to it, in order for it to be effective. Must be within 8"-10" from Bulb to BD when basking for it to receive any effective usable UVB.

 

[Germ]

If you got the Zilla fixture & not just the bulb, (It is Quite debatable if that is the best) be sure that you remove the plastic cover between the bulb & BD. UVB can not pass through solid filters such as glass or plastic.

If you are using the zilla fixture, where it is setup on the enclosure in the picture, your BD is not receiving any benefits from it at all, even if you have the plastic cover removed.

 

[emberlove]

The Zilla light is set up on the left hand side of the cage...I am getting so frustrated with going in and out of the pet stores and having everyone tell me different things. Exactly what lights should I use? I took off the plastic cover on the Zilla light and it is much brighter now in the cage.

 

[Germ]

You requested a detailed list ...

I would like to make as least amount of trips as possible. A detailed list would be awesome! A few posts up I wrote all that I had!

and were provided with a couple of good ones, but ...

The Zilla light will do the job, but as with any UVB bulb, it has to be setup properly. The Desert 50 gives 50 Microwatts of UVB @ 12" (Written right on the box) from a new unfiltered bulb, by unfiltered we mean nothing between the bulb & animal. A fine screen can filter\block as much as 50% of the effective UVB. Consequently when mounted above a screen, as most are, your basking spot will have to be very close to that bulb to receive any benefits from it. Even without being above the screen, there would be very little, if any at all, effective UVB reaching the floor at that height. The UVB only has to cover the basking spot, because if your temps are in the right vicinity, in the right spots, that is where it will spend the majority of it's time. Where it is setup now, it is no where near the basking spot or anyplace else that the BD can get anywhere near close enough to it, to be effective.

The majority of Pet Stores are very unreliable sources of info, they are generally not species specific knowledgeable in husbandry & are more interested in selling the product. You have been given some very good info on this thread, even given pictures of UVB bulbs suggested. The majority of this has been previously gone over on this thread. If you are frustrated because you choose not to heed the good advice given here & want to listen to the pet store associates that likely have never owned a BD or even read a Care Sheet on them, that is your choice.

UVB does not reach as far as the light does, has a very limited range & this limited range dissipates quickly as the bulb ages & is why we must replace them regularly, because while they may still shed light, after a while they no longer emit effective amounts of UVB.

A keeper can have all the right equipment, but if it is not set up properly, it does the animal no good at all.

The basics are all covered in the links previously provided.

Good Luck

 

[Noella]

It's confusing when you go into pet store(s) and they tell you things differently or try to sell you things you don't need like calci-sand. (I was told to buy this sand and put it on the bottom.) Thankfully, I don't use the calci-sand and use paper towels instead. I had heating pads sold to me and even a pet store employee said I'd need a bigger tank than a 45-55 gallon critter tank. They told me I needed a 75 to 100 tank. I've got one guy I can trust from PetLand. He bags my 'stash' of feeder crickets. He's the only one I can trust to ask questions about Allie. He has a bearded dragon, too. I was lucky to find him.

Lighting...I don't really want to give you wrong information, but I'll tell you what I use for both heat. I use a 100 watt basking bulb, a 100 watt Ceramic Heat Emitter, and optional: An infrared light about 75 watts, for emergencies only-like if my CHE stops working. An 18in. Reptisun 10.0 UVB tube light. (I was told to use Reptisun 10.0 or (Arcadia 12?) by the other forum I first went for information.) A CHE is a heater that doesn't use light and has only heat. An infrared emits heat and a red light. They also sell intense basking spot lights, halogen lights (I don't know about them, but they say they're hotter than incandescent bulbs.) blue daylight bulbs, moonlight bulbs (Don't use both of them myself.), and mercury vapor UVB bulbs (I don't know much about them. Don't use them myself.) There's Repti-glo UVB Bulbs...(I've heard of them causing health issues, but I heard they changed their wavelength now. I'm not sure if this is true though. I pretty much use the Reptisun 10.0 which gives Allie her beautiful colors.

 

[Pat B]

I agree with Germ....pet store 'reptile' clerks do not give out accurate information. They simply aren't trained or experienced in reptiles. If you can find one you can trust then that is a good thing. If I have a question I come right to this forum and trust the answer. It is very frustrating on the amount of information on beardies or anything for that matter that is on the internet. Good luck with your beardie....

 

[mr yindles]

Hi and welcme to the fourums i hope to one day own a bearded dragon... my parents said they might let me have one but they still are only thinking maybe because they dont know if you can move in a car w a dragon so if any one has an answer to that it would be much appreciated

 

[Aleena]

Hi and welcme to the fourums i hope to one day own a bearded dragon... my parents said they might let me have one but they still are only thinking maybe because they dont know if you can move in a car w a dragon so if any one has an answer to that it would be much appreciated

You may get better responses to this if you started a thread in the appropriate section.

 

[mr yindles]

ok thank u

 

[Germ]

Hi and welcme to the fourums i hope to one day own a bearded dragon... my parents said they might let me have one but they still are only thinking maybe because they dont know if you can move in a car w a dragon so if any one has an answer to that it would be much appreciated

Twice I have moved 2000 km (1200+ Mi) with 4 dragons in the car. I divided one of my 90 Gal enclosures into 4 partitions, loaded it into the back seat of our old Intrepid, held it secure with the seat belts, had UVB bulbs plugged into a power inverter plugged into the cigarette lighter or power outlet of the car. Both times it was full summer here so daytime heat wasn't really a problem, A\C was not working anyway . Night time heat was an issue the last trip, but handled that with a CHE also plugged into the inverter, got up & started the car a couple times a night to warm it up & charge the battery. It can be done, but you have to prep for it, take into consideration the weather, how far\long the move is, etc.