New to Bearded Dragon

[Bianca Brown]

Hello there,
i am very new to bearded dragon and i didnt plan on getting one but friends of ours had to give im up they got kicked out of there house and they ask us to take her in untill they are settlet. Well that was 2 weeks ago and now they dont wont her back.
Im not giving her up or to a Rescue so here i am and i need some help with a few think. i was reading up alot about this guys.
Pheonixs that what they called her is 3 years old and beautifull Girl. The tank she is in is 48" Long 25" high and 17" deep. its a pretty big tank. Is the Tank alright?
Right now she is sleeping all the time but i was reading that it called Brumate. When she is in that Brumate right now what do i have to do to keep her warm. Im scarded that she is maybe to cold. Right now she i laying in her Hidding Cave. She has a UVB light and a Baskin Light. How high should the light bulbs be for that kind of Tank???
At the moment i leave the lights on for 10 hours then i turn them off. I was reading that and i hope that this is what i should do.
I know there are a few Questions but like i said, Bearded Dragons i have never had but i want to keep her and want to make her happy for a long life ahead. Im pretty sure there will be more Questions to come.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the Beardie world!! Kuddos to you for keeping her instead of giving her up they are wonderful creatures! There is a ton of info here with many of us that are here to help.
Ok so the tank perfect for 1 adult dragon they need the length more than the height. What are you using for the substrate? There are good ones to use and ones you need to be careful of.. Here is a good lighting link: http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-Health/Habitats-Care/Reptile-Lighting-Information/
I have a 55gal like yours and on the far left I have her basking lamp 75 watt reptile basking zoo med, next to that I have a dome lamp 150 UVB Exo terra Reptile bulb and then covering the rest I am using the Zoo med T5 HO Reptisun tube hood. So her temps are left to right Hot to cool basking is 95-110F then the warm direct UVB is 80-90 then her cool side is 73F. Getting a digital probe or a temp gun to get accurate temps instead of the stick on ones as those just measure the glass wall They thermo regulate themselves so they will move around the tank to get the temps they need..
Yea tis the season for our beardies to be brummating to different extents depending on their age. As long as your home temp doesn't get below 65F she will be fine with her lights being on, I use a timer so they come on same time and go off same time every day that's important, you want to mimic the sun the best you can.. You want to watch her and see what she is doing will she wake a bit to look around? You still want to offer her food if she is somewhat awake just make sure you put her under her basking lamp to digest what she's eaten. You still want to give her a good warm soak 1-2 times a week to keep her hydrated and to get her to poop, just don't leave her un attended as accidents happen quickly and if she isn't very awake you want to make sure she keeps her head above water. When they sleep they can sleep HARD some don't even wake while in the bath! Even if she is not drinking while in the soak they will absorb some thru their vent/belly as that's how they do it in nature in their burrows they get the dampness from the soil. You can drip some on her nose or make the water move while in the soak as they really don't pay much attention to standing water.

Here are some good food resource links that I think most of us use:
http://greathousefarm.com/Greathouse-Reptile-Nutrition-List.pdf
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Crickets, dubia roaches, superworms, butterworms, waxworms, silkworms, hornworms are all good, some are treats as they are high in fats...

Well that should give you a good start

 

[Bianca Brown]

Thank you so much for replying.
I have been reading that when they go in Brummation you should leave them alone and have them in a dark place. Im not sure if that is right or not? Dont i need to keep her warm? When she is in Brummation do i have to have her in the cold side of her tank or the warm side?
The Tank she was in has basking lamp Not sure the Bulb doesnt say.
dome lamp 150 UVB 13W Exo terra Reptile bulb.
I had her in the Bath on Friday but she didnt poop then.

 

[Bianca Brown]

There was NO Reptisun tube hood on this Tank when i got it. Should i put on on it?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Thank you so much for replying.
I have been reading that when they go in Brummation you should leave them alone and have them in a dark place. Im not sure if that is right or not? Dont i need to keep her warm? When she is in Brummation do i have to have her in the cold side of her tank or the warm side?
The Tank she was in has basking lamp Not sure the Bulb doesnt say.
dome lamp 150 UVB 13W Exo terra Reptile bulb.
I had her in the Bath on Friday but she didnt poop then.

Every Beardie is different... Mine is not a year yet so she doesn't have enough fat stores to fully brumate.. Those that are over a year have enough to fully go asleep. They will go to their cool side/hide to sleep. The T5 HO is really good as it gets down thru the wire mesh to the floor and the bulb lasts 12 months. Taking the temps with a digital prob or hand held will determine if you need stronger bulbs. most need to be replaced every 6-9 months. General rule is you want 2/3rds of the tank covered by UVB light. My Izzy prefers to poop in her soak sure makes for easy clean up

 

[Bianca Brown]

The dome lamp 150 UVB 13W Exo terra Reptile bulb is good with 13Watt? I will go and get a new bulb for the Basking Light to make sure it is warm enough and will get the T5 HO.
I just dont want her to be to called that my biggest worry.

 

[Hdrydr31]

I think you will be fine with that, But I am fairly new to beardies and lighting can be really confusing I know when PatsyB chimes in she's much better on the lighting questions. As long as your home isn't cold she should be fine they can easily get down to 65F and be fine any lower you need to get a CHE (ceramic heating element) this will give off heat but no light so they can sleep, just don't get any of those red/black/blue heat lamps as they don't require any light at night. Also don't get UTH (under tank heater) or heat stones they can burn them as the don't detect heat very well on their bellies.. Dragons have a sensor on the top of their head that allows them to pick up shadows from above to help warn them of predators and light. It's called their 3rd eye, if you don't know about it you'll find it in the middle it's a different color..

 

[Bianca Brown]

In the Winter time I have my House normally at 70F maybe I should make it a bit warmer from now on. I will pick one of the CHE up tomorrow just to have it I case. Yeah I know I was reading about the heading pads or stone and a lot of people said not to bother with them. Oh I didn't know about that sensor on top of there heads. Nice to know about it. Thank you for all your help so far.

 

[Hdrydr31]

In the Winter time I have my House normally at 70F maybe I should make it a bit warmer from now on. I will pick one of the CHE up tomorrow just to have it I case. Yeah I know I was reading about the heading pads or stone and a lot of people said not to bother with them. Oh I didn't know about that sensor on top of there heads. Nice to know about it. Thank you for all your help so far.

Your very welcome!! They are such amazing creatures!! Because of their 3rd eye it's better to approach them from the side so they see you and talk to them if their eyes are closed so you don't startle them. Once they get to know you your able to pick them up even if they are sleeping without startling them..that just comes in time and building trust..
Izzy spends the evening time sleeping on my chest while I watch TV I just cover her up so the lights don't bother her, I can get up move around and she just clings to my shirt or I just set her next to me covered up
So tell me how much does Phoneix weigh?

 

[PatsyB]

Welcome! Do you have pictures? We love pictures Hdrydr31 has given you some great advise. As far as the UVB bulb you are using...that is not adequate enough and could actually damage his eyes. I would recommend getting a long tube style bulb ASAP. Hdrydr31 mentioned the ReptiSun 10.0HO T5 bulb and hood, that is a real good one especially if you sit it on a mesh top. That's the bulb I prefer, my dragons perked up as soon as I started using it. There's a few places on line that tend to have them on sale, maybe someone will have an after Christmas sale going on. Try Dr. Foster and Smith or PetMountain. I just bought one from PetMountain last week for around $45 for the hood and it came with a 5.0 ReptiSun which, after testing it with a solar meter, actually gives off enough UVB.

Also recommend some hides in the tank, one on the cool side one on the warm side. As far as your temps go at night, as long as your tank doesn't get down below 65 you should be fine with not having to heat the tank. We keep our house around 70 degrees and they get around 68-69 maybe.

 

[Bianca Brown]

Thank you I will get one of this lights today.
I will attach some pictures from her. You can tell me if she looks good or not. That's how I got her. I can see and feel her rips. She hasn't been eating much. 3 days ago some crickets and since then nothing.
Like I said I'm never ever had a Bearded Dragon before. I will take a picture and maybe you guys can tell me if she is to skinny because I'm not to sure if she is. If she is what can I do to fatten her up? What do I have to give her and how because she isn't eaten right now.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Wow she has beautiful colors! I love her orange beard!! I'm no expert but she does look a bit skinny I don't think you should be able to see their back bone.. doesn't look like she has much fat pads along side of head (behind her ears) How long has she been brummating? You may want to weigh her to see if she's loosing weight. I weigh Izzy to see if she's loosing any weight while partially brumating. From what I know they will loose some but not noticeable amounts..
Butterworms, hornworms, waxworms, superworms, dubia roaches are all really good for fattening them up..

 

[Bianca Brown]

The people I got them from there Money was very Tight so I got told and they couldn't feed her well maybe twice or three times a week. That why I thought I have to get her out of there.
She has been in Brummating about 3-4 weeks now.
Will she eat them the worms I mean because she isn't eating anything else just sleeping. I had her in the bath this morning and she was drinking about Warner from what I have seen when she opens her mouth abit. She was just like floating in the bath and even there her eyes have been closed.

 

[Hdrydr31]

The people I got them from there Money was very Tight so I got told and they couldn't feed her well maybe twice or three times a week. That why I thought I have to get her out of there.
She has been in Brummating about 3-4 weeks now.
Will she eat them the worms I mean because she isn't eating anything else just sleeping. I had her in the bath this morning and she was drinking about Warner from what I have seen when she opens her mouth abit. She was just like floating in the bath and even there her eyes have been closed.

Well adults don't eat as often as babies and juve's so that might be fine.. But glad to hear that she is in a good home now! Even though she's brummating you still want to offer her some goodies and greens if she want's them she will eat just make sure she spends time under her lights to digest that food before returning to her hide. Bathing her 1-2 times a week for 20min or so to keep her hydrated just keep an eye on her if she's sleeping while in there. She will take in some water thru her vent or you can put some on her nose she might lick it off, they don't recognize standing water as a drinking source so you may have to splash it around. Making sure that if she eats something make sure the next day or 2 she needs to poop before going back to sleeping hard.

 

[Hdrydr31]

You can also find a reptile vet and have her checked to make sure she's not carrying parasites causing her weight loss, they can also just do a routine check up to make sure she's healthy or if she needs some help nutrient wise.

 

[Bianca Brown]

I will pick up some of the worms and see if she like to eat some. I don't think there is much fat on her. Poor like lady.

 

[PatsyB]

Yes she is very skinny. You shouldn't see her backbone like that and her fat pads on her head are sunken in where they should be little squishy bumps. Give baths and hold her in the water she doesn't drown, let her drink as much water as she wants. Even though she is sleeping, leave a salad in the tank all day and maybe a small glass bowl with a few super worms in it. The dollar store has these perfect little glass bowls 2 for $1 and supers can't climb out of them. Usually we recommend calcium without D3 to dust the bugs with but I would actually try to get a small bit of Calcium with D3 for the time being since it sounds like she's been without both for awhile.

A vet visit would probably be a good idea too to make sure that what she's doing is really brumation and not the result of being neglected. It's quite possible that once you get the proper UVB light for her she might start waking right up.

 

[Bianca Brown]

Thank you for your Reply. I will do that. Get her the worms and the calcium with D3 i have here.
I really hope she will make it. I will look what Vet we have here that can have a look at her. I feel so helpless

 

[Bianca Brown]

I just remembered that when i got her she had no UVB light. I went out and bought her one 13Watt

 

[Hdrydr31]

Thank you for your Reply. I will do that. Get her the worms and the calcium with D3 i have here.
I really hope she will make it. I will look what Vet we have here that can have a look at her. I feel so helpless

They are tough critters just looks like she needs some "groceries" to put some weight back on and some good UVB