New Dragon!

[Nick]

Hello All,

Tommorow I am picking up a beardie from someone on craigslist for 50$. Its 2 years old, and the sex is unknown, but I can check that tommorow. He comes with a heat lamp, UV lamp, 40 gallon breeder tank and some other things. I was wondering - Im really not a fan of crickets so I was wondering if I can replace them with strictly mealworms. Also Id be giving him vegetables and some fruit. Also any other information you might have for a first time beardie owner and first time reptile owner would be appreciated! Thanks!

Heres a picture!

 

[Nick]

Whoops and also forgot something. Ive read I should feed a bearded dragon everyday but the guy who Im buying it from said he only feeds in 3 times a week and does 20 crickets, so should I stick with that or make a whole new plan?

 

[ThDude]

Whoops and also forgot something. Ive read I should feed a bearded dragon everyday but the guy who Im buying it from said he only feeds in 3 times a week and does 20 crickets, so should I stick with that or make a whole new plan?

that is far to little for any bearded dragon! a bearded dragon should be fed all it can eat withen a 10-15 minute time span 2-3 times a day. also dont forget the veggies which adults need a lot of(things such as colard grens, mustard greens, and turnip greens are great)

my bearded dragon eats 15-20 3/4 inch crickets a day if not more. (mine is around 10 inches and is still considered a baby)

edit: does he have a UVB bulb and a white light bulb(like a regular house bulb, these are for heat).

you will need a digital thermomitor, there are debates about mealworms being bad or not and nothing has really proven them to be bad that i know of.

i lke crickets, i think they are great feeders and have had no luck with worms yet.

 

[Nick]

Well what if I fed him superworms? Approx. how many do you think Id have to feed him at a feeding time? And how often?

 

[Deac77]

Ok first off you have a lot of options other than crickets but mealworms are not a good choice they have a very high fat content and a even higher chitin to meat ratio a couple of good alternatives are silkworms, farm raised horn worms, or Dubai or lobster roaches beardies should be fed daily but adults can be fed 3 times weekly a rule of thumb is when feeding offer as many as he will eat in 10 mins he will stop once full as for fruits and veggies what where you planning on feeding most fruits are not that great for them some are even harmful your best bet is to stick to a salad made out of mustard greens, collard greens, or kale with squash added or zucchini

What UVB bulb are you using? What type of substrate will he have?

 

[ThDude]

Well what if I fed him superworms? Approx. how many do you think Id have to feed him at a feeding time? And how often?

i edited my post so re read it as well.

put in 5-6 at a time and if he eats them all do it again untill he stops eating or untill 15 minutes is up.

and Deac77 there have been no proven results that mealworms are not good, in fact here is a thread on the subject

http://beardeddragonforum.com/index.php?threads/mealie-basher-challenge.5230/#axzz1w8hagorl

 

[Nick]

Silkworms would be the best option for me. I need something that can stay in the container and I can put in a dish. Something that doesnt move or jumpl Also as far as lightning - I havent seen the set up yet but as far as I know its a heat lamp and a UVB bulb.

Ill probably use the best/cleanest substrate.

Also - I plan on cleaning the tank 1-2 times a week, will the tank smell? How often do they poop. I will be soaking 2-3 times a week.
I basically just need to learn everything before tommorow although I have done alot of research for the past few days

 

[Deac77]

That's true but thy do have a way higher fat content than crickets as well as a higher risk of impaction it's everyone's personal preference I have more than just beardies so I have to do what's good for the lot meals and supers are not good for most frog species so I'd rather not take the risk

This is a chart that shows a lot of nutritional info on almost anything you can feed its specific to bearded dragons

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[Deac77]

Dubai roaches dont jump or fly they are awesome in my opinion as for substrate I use tile no sand no gravel even adults are clumsy eaters so sand and calcium sand can cause problems as for the tank smelling I clean once a week my beardie poops daily and it never stinks lol

 

[Nick]

I have an excellent reptile vet (Local Zoo Head Vet) here who I can ask his opinion. Although Ill try anything but crickets and roaches. Id prefer a worm though that I could get locally

 

[Deac77]

Haha good luck with silks locally but they are amazing feeders but fairly fragile I order them fro mulberry farms they are awesome about fast delivery and great customer service lol

 

[ThDude]

Silkworms would be the best option for me. I need something that can stay in the container and I can put in a dish. Something that doesnt move or jumpl Also as far as lightning - I havent seen the set up yet but as far as I know its a heat lamp and a UVB bulb.

Ill probably use the best/cleanest substrate.

Also - I plan on cleaning the tank 1-2 times a week, will the tank smell? How often do they poop. I will be soaking 2-3 times a week.
I basically just need to learn everything before tommorow although I have done alot of research for the past few days

when you get the tank and set up tomorrow take pictures of everything and post them here so we can find out what u need/ have to change.

silkworms should work but i will let u know now that crickets are by far(aside from roaches) the easyist feeder insect to use and the cheepist.

my favorite substrate is the repti carpet as it can be wash in cold water and used for months before changeing it out for a new one. many people like sand but it is very dusty and can be a pain.

dragon poo is very smelly and i clean it out every time my dragon poo's a normal dragon may poo from 1-3 times a day depending on feeding scedual and how much he eats.

an adult wil require a basking light of 100F i believe with the max of 105F

also no night lights are needed or wanted the temps can drop to the low 70s and be fine.

 

[Nick]

Okay great thank you. Also I have a A/C in my room. I keep it on 65 degrees, and my room is SMALL. Would the dragon be okay? I usually only keep the A/C on at night as im normally at work during the day. Thanks!


EDIT: Also, judging from the picture do you think the beardie looks healthy? Also how big do you think he is?

 

[Deac77]

I agree with him on carpet as the easiest and safest I have a custom built cage with removable tile it's a breeze to clean but an silks are expensive and fragile to mold of not careful but they go nuts for them I have 3 basking temps personally the highest being 135f the other 120f and the lowest 115f try to mimic natural temps as close as possible honestly mate crickets seems to be your best option unless you are willing to order

 

[Nick]

Would it be possible to do lets say 15 crickets, 2 times a week. Veggies and fruits daily and then silkworms/meal worms every other day?

 

[Deac77]

Possible but that seem low my dude eats 20-30 large nymphs a day

 

[Nick]

Alright. Ill figure out a good feeding schedule. I would just like to limit the crickets because they escape and I hate having bugs in my room.

 

[ThDude]

I agree with him on carpet as the easiest and safest I have a custom built cage with removable tile it's a breeze to clean but an silks are expensive and fragile to mold of not careful but they go nuts for them I have 3 basking temps personally the highest being 135f the other 120f and the lowest 115f try to mimic natural temps as close as possible honestly mate crickets seems to be your best option unless you are willing to order

Wow wow, temps should never be that high! 115F is the max temp for baby dragons and adults the max is 110, 135 is way way over and a danger to your BD

@nick so long as your basking temps reah around 105f in the day time and the cool side of the tank is around 80f or so it should be fine.

However at night the temp should not be aloud to drop below 70F to be safe.

If your temps drop into the low 60s u need to but a none light enjoying ceramic heat emitting bulb for the tank.

 

[Deac77]

If escape is why you don't like them get a smooth sided tote (I'll upload a pic when I get home from work of mine) do they can't climb up

 

[ThDude]

Alright. Ill figure out a good feeding schedule. I would just like to limit the crickets because they escape and I hate having bugs in my room.

I keep mine in a 20 gallon reptile tank with a lid, te tank is like 16 inche tall and none of my crickets have every jumped out. I also keep them by the hundreds and the last for weeks at a time.