New Owner, A little Concerned

[David Daniels]

Hello everyone!

I had been researching reptiles, and pets to get. I settled on a little beardie I named Korn. He (Since I cant tell the gender yet I will refer to the bd as he to make it more simple) is about 6 inches long so i'd assume 2-3 months old. He loves to be held, and has no issues with being skittish or shy. I have had him about 1 week and im loving it.
Sadly all information on the internet is different wherever you look. I am hoping to get a final answer here. His 10 gallon tank has a repti-carpet for substrate, a cling background to prevent glass surfing, a temp probe for the basking spot, 2 separate thermometers (crystalline) for a backup, and a hygrometer in the middle of the tank. The basking side is ~106f during the day, mid tank is about 90-95f, and cool spot is 85-90f. I give him a bathe with water below his joints every 3-4 days to help moisturize his shed. His 2 lights will be estimated, as I followed a guide online and cant find the receipt. The UVB is a mercury vapor bulb and I believe it is 75 or 80 watts. The basking bulb is a 100 watt bulb that came with his simple enclosure (most of which was trash, and crappily made, so that was a waste of 100$). I also have attached a picture.
My problem is he only wants to eat at the MOST 4 Dubia Roahes, or Superworms in a single day. He defecates everyday and I clean it daily, obviously lol. Is it okay that he only eats that much a day? He does not want to eat the flunkers pebbles or anything like that. I also know as a baby his intake should be more protein based instead of veggies, so I take that into account as well.
Thank you for the help.

 

[David Daniels]

I'm sorry for the low quality picture, I think this is better.

 

[David Daniels]

Thank you for all the great information! And I will get right on to finding upgraded tank and lights! The superworms are about an inch long and not very thick. The dubias are the size of a humans nail, so about a dime size. Are they maybe too big, and thats why he won't eat many?

 

[Nero]

try some small mealworms. They sell mealworms of different sizes, get the small size, many beardies like these. or try some wax worms, don't feed them to much though, wax worms are very high in fat. For the veggies I use a bit of basil, it has a stronger flavor that your lizard might like. You can also use kale. For your tank, its a good size now, but I would go on craigslist for a cheap, large tank.

 

[Nero]

Also I love your beardies name.

 

[David Daniels]

Also I love your beardies name.

I know right! I wanted to get a beardie from a trusted breeder, but I wanted to save one from the terrible Petsmart store. I saw him, I put my hand to the glass and ran up to me, and I dubbed him Korn lol. We rock out to the band everynight. I have some calciworms, or nutribgrubs on the way, because im thinking his dubias are too large, and he gets full after two. Also, his tail is a LOT lighter than the rest of his body, and he doesnt like to be touched where his tail begins on his body, is this weird?

 

[Nero]

Can't blame you, my heart melts everytime I walk in that store. They look like they are begging to leave and I just want to give all of them a good home. I don't support that store, the reptiles are kept in such small areas, some are kept in what look like cricket containers. And yeah, it's normal at his age to have a lighter tail. He could be a little sore at the tail.

 

[N W]

I know right! I wanted to get a beardie from a trusted breeder, but I wanted to save one from the terrible Petsmart store. I saw him, I put my hand to the glass and ran up to me, and I dubbed him Korn lol. We rock out to the band everynight. I have some calciworms, or nutribgrubs on the way, because im thinking his dubias are too large, and he gets full after two. Also, his tail is a LOT lighter than the rest of his body, and he doesnt like to be touched where his tail begins on his body, is this weird?

We got our girl from a big box pet store too.
Our baby's tail got lighter before it shed.

 

[David Daniels]

We got our girl from a big box pet store too.
Our baby's tail got lighter before it shed.

His tail did shed! Infact, every bit of him did, and when I tell you he loved his warm bath, it was the cutest.

 

[David Daniels]

try some small mealworms. They sell mealworms of different sizes, get the small size, many beardies like these. or try some wax worms, don't feed them to much though, wax worms are very high in fat. For the veggies I use a bit of basil, it has a stronger flavor that your lizard might like. You can also use kale. For your tank, its a good size now, but I would go on craigslist for a cheap, large tank.

So I got some NutriGrubs in the mail, and He LOVES THEM. He gobbles them up like 6-7 in 5 minutes along with 1 or two dubias. Im still having trouble getting him go eat his greens, like any kid lol.

 

[N W]

So I got some NutriGrubs in the mail, and He LOVES THEM. He gobbles them up like 6-7 in 5 minutes along with 1 or two dubias. Im still having trouble getting him go eat his greens, like any kid lol.

I tried mixing our nutrigrubs in with our girls salad, but she just picked around the salad.
Maybe you would have better luck?

 

[David Daniels]

Ok it sounds like your getting there however I am going to say you need to start looking for a larger tank NOW he will out grow that 10 gallon in 2 months - so w/ that being said all the lighting will haft to be upgraded as well --- you are going to need a tank of no less than 40 gallon and that is pushing it they need a 75-120 gallon for a full size dragon- I would suggest you look on Craigslist or FB Marketwatch look for one w/ front doors your going to need it - if you can afford new let me know I can post some website as to where to look -- as for now you can purchase a 24" fixture w/ reflector that will easily go into a 40+ gallon tank - you do not want a UVB fixture the same length of the tank - they need to be able to get out of the UVB rays -- it is easier to go separate UVB and bright white basking bulb -- it is too hard to control temps w/ the All in Ones and usually you end up sacrificing UVB or basking temps of which you do not want to do and / or haft to buy another UVB to supplement to the all in one -- so you can look here to find a UVB----- this is what you need
https://images.acenda-static.com/petmountain/product/standard/450x450/3/35ac338fe833df.jpg 24"
https://images.acenda-static.com/petmountain/product/thumbnail/250x250/3/35ac338f4b02b4.jpg
If the hood comes w/ a 5.0 take it out and keep as a back up they are not as strong as the 10.0 and used for mainly aquariums --
The eating---- what size dubias are you feeding him smalls--? You need to be feeding him salads or greens every day --- here is a website for nutrition the kale thing is good to feed as a staple --- get rid of the pellets and feed them to your dubias --- what ever you feed your dragon you can feed your dubias -- do not feed carrots to the dragon if your feeding your dubias carrots too much Vit A -- carrots are good for hydration to the dubias or squash --
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
I would get him some small super worms and the only place I know to get them from is here you can also get dubias as well from here www.https://reptilesupply.com/ they are out of butter worms as most places are now I would recommend them as well - and some of these these worms I am recommending are great lures to the salad bowl you will need a glass bowl or ceramic bowl the worms cannot get out of ---- BSFL also known as nutri grubs calci worms or phoenix worms -- you can get them from reptile supply as well order large as they are small - they can sit on your counter for 2 weeks before coming flys then they can be fed to the dragon - do not dust these - and use as many as you want they are a great staple feeder for babies -- please get him stared on salads ASAP - I would feed them first thing in the morning let him eat the BSFL and worms only feed like 1-3 worms for an hr or so and add them to the bowl so he sees you doing this it will get his attention and entice him to the bowl then feed the staple feeder your dubias take a little salad out so he sees them in the bowl -- I would offer dubias again in the afternoon say around 3 or so feed him as many as he will eat --- but make sure hes eating 2-3 hrs before lights out

He is eating amazingly now and im suprised at how fast he is going. I have a 35 gallon tank for now that im going to use for 3 or for months until I am out of the Marine Corps and back home with more space. I want to use a terrarium hood for his uvb, the tank is about 2 and a half feet long, and about a foot tall. How long of a hood should I get? Along with the 10.0 instead of the 5.0. Also one more question, with this bigger tank and the hood, where should I put his basking bulb?