Pickles New House

[DaniNPickle]

I put Pickles in his permanent enclosure when I got him, and I have about a dozen questions to make sure all is right with it. The tank is 48 inches long and 18 inches deep and 18 inches high. I have a 24 inch Reptisun 10.0 long bulb and a 65 watt flood bulb. I have a thermometer from Target with a probe at the end that says the temperature on top the multi level platform for basking is 115F and goes down to 111F. I took big rocks (like stones) and buried them in the sand with a big piece of tile over it leaving a space under it a few inches high on the other end of the tank. He crawls under there to sleep. I have collard greens, yellow bell peppers, squash, kiwi and kale for him to eat and crickets for his live food. Should he have a water bowl? How many crickets should I feed him? I have Flukers Calcium, but i read on here it wasn't good. What kind and where do i buy it? I don’t have a digital camera yet, but I asked for one for Christmas.

 

[beardielover17]

Everything seems good. Just remember the kale, peppers and kiwi are treat foods. The crickets should be offered twice daily and as many as he can eat in 15 min periods if the dragon is under 12-18 months. I have no experience in Fluker's calcium but I do with Rep-cal and I use both their calcium and their multivitamin for my guys. It can be bought at just about any pet store or numerous places online like www.lllreptile.com petmountain.com doesn't carry both last time I checked. I use a water bow for my guys for them to drink out of or soak in them if they want. The bowls should be cleaned daily if you use them though. Using sand as a substrate carries risks although it is doable I don't recommend it for young dragons because they can get impacted from that a bit easier than adults.

 

[renich]

The size of your viv sounds fine. Every baby is different with temps. It is recommended to have babies around 110F for the basking spot and 85F for the cool side. So, your temps are a bit higher than that, but if your dragon is happy, I wouldn't worry about it.

Sand is a very controversial substrate. I've used it, but not until my dragon reached the 1 year mark. Prior to that, I like to use newspaper, reptile carpet, non-adhesive shelf liner, or papertowels. Babies poop a lot and you want to ensure no bacteria can form to harm your little one. Also, they could ingest some sand while chasing crickets, which could lead to impaction.

Be careful with kale. I stay away from it.

I didn't use a water bowl. For babies, I like to recommend daily baths.

All the rest seems to have been answered.

Good luck on your camera.

 

[crypticdragons]

I typically give my hatchlings a gradient at the basking site similar to what you have. 115 is the peak and it slowly tapers off as the diameter expands out to a 100degree area. This gives them the chance to adjust themselves to whatever temp the want instead of having one really hot spot and the rest of the tank being cool. So in my opinion the way you have your temps setup are fine.

 

[staylor]

I use Flukers Calcium. I have used RepCal and Flukers. I like Fulkers better, I think it sticks better to the crix and my dragons seem to like it better too. I raised my baby on it and the vet says she has very strong healthy bones. The Flukers has 1% more calcium but less D3. Since D3 is made naturally and I take my dragons outside most of the year (still in the high 80s here) I don't worry too much about the decreased amount of D3 in the Flukers since they get it from the sun.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[DaniNPickle]

Thank you all. Pickles is 18 3/4 inches long. I think that's pretty close to an adult.

The bottom of the tank isn't all sand, but a mix of some sand, soil and clay. I use a fine sifter every day and will vacume it out every couple of weeks and replace it.

He ate good the first 2 days, but doesn't seem interested now. What should I be looking for?