New Beardie Owner

[HachiRoku]

Hi everybody, I'm a new beardie owner! Just got Hachi this past Tuesday from a local pet store. He used to be a breeder and is about 2.5 years old and about 16". I'd love to get some advice and tips on owning a beardie as I've never owned a reptile before.






So far this is the setup I have. It's a 36x24x18 tank, so roughly 55 gallons. Right now I have an Exo Terra foam background, a hide/basking rock, a couple bathing dishes, and a food and a water dish. I realize now that this is probably too much water and I should get rid of them but I don't want the tank to be too bare.

I'm using sand as a substrate which, after looking into it, I discovered isn't good for them so I'm looking into other options.

Right now I'm using a single 160W Exo Terra Solar Glo bulb as his basking/light bulb.

I feed him a mix of greens including lettuce, cucumbers, and broccoli every day but he doesn't seem to eat it. I also have a container of the beardie Bites that I feed him every couple days. Other than that, I feed him superworms Wednesdays and Sundays and he seems to enjoy those a lot more. So far I've only seen one bowel movement from him and that was on Thursday.

Here's what his setup looks like:





Any other tips would be appreciated!

 

[Hdrydr31]

Welcome to the forum and to owning beardies..

If you haven't already please take a look at the links that you will find below several of our comments.. We have put together information for new comers to beardies on general care, food items, lighting, supplements and more.. You will find most of your answers there..

Yes I would switch to tile, paper towels, repti carpet, newspaper, non stick shelf liner as substrate options.. all make for easy clean up and the tile will also work on the nails.

It looks like he needs some weight put on him as he looks thin. Good feeders are Dubia roaches (depending on where you are discoid roaches) super worms, phoenix worms, butter worms, wax worms, crickets.
Along with greens: lettuce is just water it holds no nutritional value, cuc's are really good for hydration (remove seeds and skin) broccoli is a rare to feed item.. (in the link you will find 2 food item links that most of us go by and it tells you how to prep and how often it can be fed)
Good staple greens are collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens...
Typically adults are 80% greens/veggies/fruit and 20% live bug protein... now some don't like their greens so by feeding your feeders them the dragon gets them in a round about way...

Remember your supplements

What are your temps for the basking area, the warm area and the cool area? what are you using to get the temps?

I would suggest removing the water dishes as most don't drink from them and if you give bugs and the greens they get most of their moisture thru that, along with 2-3 times a week baths... Having water in the tank will really increase the humidity which can lead to upper respiratory issues... I would add a couple of hides for him to go to if he want's away from the lights and for when he goes to sleep having a place to feel safe will help alot.

hope that helps

 

[HachiRoku]

Thanks for the info!

How often should I be feeding him superworms? I tried feeding him tonight and he only ate 2 and wouldn't eat any more than that.

 

[PatsyB]

Here is a link for some good veggies and fruits:
http://greathousefarm.com/Greathouse-Reptile-Nutrition-List.pdf
At 2.5 years he should be eating more greens than bugs but he could use some fattening up. I would add another bug feeding a week maybe try every other day or every 3 days. Supers are good for fattening up but you have to watch because too much fat could cause fatty liver disease. I would offer a mixture of supers, and dubia and another worm like silk, hornworms or butter worms.

Take the water bowls out, with the sand its going to bring the humidity up too much and it's going to breed bacteria in the sand. I personally use shelf liner and repticarpet in my tanks. The shelf liner is very easy to clean. Ceramic or slate tile is another good option too that will help file down his nails.

 

[HachiRoku]

How can I get him to eat more greens? Right now he doesn't seem to be eating them at all.

Am I okay with the lighting setup I have now or do I need anything else? I don't have a thermometer yet, any recommendations on a decent one that's not too expensive?

I will replace the sand as soon as possible and take out the water dishes. I'm also working on making him a basking spot/hiding cave.