Trying to raise em right

[Shelly Montelione]

So..I got a 3 year old male from a friend that we've had about 6 months and he's as healthy as a horse. Active eats his insects and his fruit and veggies, loves to be held, everything in my opinion he's just perfect. With that being said we decided we wanted a baby so about a week ago we got a baby that's between 3-4 months old. I know all the basics she requires 80% insects 20% fruits and veggies and calcium every day (I give my adult calcium 3x a week). I just was wondering if there's anything extra that I should be doing to make sure she's healthy. She has a 20 gallon tank with UVB lighting, a basking lamp and a night light (I have been told this is unnecessary but I'm concerned about her controlling her body temperature at night). She loves being held and she doesn't have any trouble eating but other than that she doesn't seem very active. Is this normal for a baby? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

 

[RaeAnn]

So..I got a 3 year old male from a friend that we've had about 6 months and he's as healthy as a horse. Active eats his insects and his fruit and veggies, loves to be held, everything in my opinion he's just perfect. With that being said we decided we wanted a baby so about a week ago we got a baby that's between 3-4 months old. I know all the basics she requires 80% insects 20% fruits and veggies and calcium every day (I give my adult calcium 3x a week). I just was wondering if there's anything extra that I should be doing to make sure she's healthy. She has a 20 gallon tank with UVB lighting, a basking lamp and a night light (I have been told this is unnecessary but I'm concerned about her controlling her body temperature at night). She loves being held and she doesn't have any trouble eating but other than that she doesn't seem very active. Is this normal for a baby? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

Someone with much more experience will chime in soon. Until than I would like to talk about this night light. Beardies really don't like light at night when they are trying to sleep. They also like it cooler at night it actually mimics their natural desert habitat. If your temps aren't falling below 65degrees at night I'd do away with it.

What type of UVB light are you using? And what are your temps currently at?
You say she is eating good, can you be a little more specific (like what is she eating, how much and how often is she eating it) all of these details will help the more experienced owners help you more when they jump in.

In the mean time, overall it sounds like you are doing good. New beardies usually require a few weeks to settle in to their new homes completely. If your baby is already eating good than that is great!


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[Maddie]

So..I got a 3 year old male from a friend that we've had about 6 months and he's as healthy as a horse. Active eats his insects and his fruit and veggies, loves to be held, everything in my opinion he's just perfect. With that being said we decided we wanted a baby so about a week ago we got a baby that's between 3-4 months old. I know all the basics she requires 80% insects 20% fruits and veggies and calcium every day (I give my adult calcium 3x a week). I just was wondering if there's anything extra that I should be doing to make sure she's healthy. She has a 20 gallon tank with UVB lighting, a basking lamp and a night light (I have been told this is unnecessary but I'm concerned about her controlling her body temperature at night). She loves being held and she doesn't have any trouble eating but other than that she doesn't seem very active. Is this normal for a baby? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

Do away with the night light, if your temps fall under 65 degrees simply use a under tank heating pad during the night.

Congrats on the new baby!


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[RaeAnn]

Do away with the night light, if your temps fall under 65 degrees simply use a under tank heating pad during the night.

Congrats on the new baby!


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Just make sure the under tank heating pad is not too hot!! They can not tell how hot they are by their stomachs and can easily over heat. But I agree, the right under tank heating pad would be a better option if your temps are below 65


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[Shelly Montelione]

Someone with much more experience will chime in soon. Until than I would like to talk about this night light. Beardies really don't like light at night when they are trying to sleep. They also like it cooler at night it actually mimics their natural desert habitat. If your temps aren't falling below 65degrees at night I'd do away with it.

What type of UVB light are you using? And what are your temps currently at?
You say she is eating good, can you be a little more specific (like what is she eating, how much and how often is she eating it) all of these details will help the more experienced owners help you more when they jump in.

In the mean time, overall it sounds like you are doing good. New beardies usually require a few weeks to settle in to their new homes completely. If your baby is already eating good than that is great!


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I'm using the UVB/Basking combo light for her. Off the top of my head I don't know the wattage. She eats about 30 crickets a day and i generally give her 3-5 dubias every day or every other day. Her fruits and veggies are a mixture of collard greens, peeled cucumbers, green squash, yellow squash, and papaya. I am thinking about introducing watermelon into her daily mixture. I feed her fruits and veggies when I notice her food bowl is empty which is typically about twice a day.

 

[Maddie]

I'm using the UVB/Basking combo light for her. Off the top of my head I don't know the wattage. She eats about 30 crickets a day and i generally give her 3-5 dubias every day or every other day. Her fruits and veggies are a mixture of collard greens, peeled cucumbers, green squash, yellow squash, and papaya. I am thinking about introducing watermelon into her daily mixture. I feed her fruits and veggies when I notice her food bowl is empty which is typically about twice a day.

That's a good diet you have going! Now for the UVB, I would highly recommend getting a 10.0 reptisun tube since the spiral UVB bulbs can be harmful to your beardies.


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[RaeAnn]

I'm using the UVB/Basking combo light for her. Off the top of my head I don't know the wattage. She eats about 30 crickets a day and i generally give her 3-5 dubias every day or every other day. Her fruits and veggies are a mixture of collard greens, peeled cucumbers, green squash, yellow squash, and papaya. I am thinking about introducing watermelon into her daily mixture. I feed her fruits and veggies when I notice her food bowl is empty which is typically about twice a day.

Very nice! Her diet sounds perfect. The fact that she is eating her veggies and greens like that is wonderful. As long as her temps are correct I wouldn't stress over the wattage of the basking bulb you are using. You just want the basking site to be in the range of 105-110, warm side 90-100 and of course a cool side that's around 80 degrees.
One thing I would like to suggest is to consider upgrading to a Reptisun 10.0 UVB light. These provide beardies with the correct amount of UVB where as others can cause eye infections and even MBD.
I would also like to ask if you are using calcium and multivitamins to dust her insects?


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[Shelly Montelione]

Very nice! Her diet sounds perfect. The fact that she is eating her veggies and greens like that is wonderful. As long as her temps are correct I wouldn't stress over the wattage of the basking bulb you are using. You just want the basking site to be in the range of 105-110, warm side 90-100 and of course a cool side that's around 80 degrees.
One thing I would like to suggest is to consider upgrading to a Reptisun 10.0 UVB light. These provide beardies with the correct amount of UVB where as others can cause eye infections and even MBD.
I would also like to ask if you are using calcium and multivitamins to dust her insects?


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Yes she gets calcium everyday and a multi-vite once a week.

 

[RaeAnn]

Sounds like your doing everything right. I would just invest in a reptisun 10.0 UVB and you should be good to go.
In the mean time if she is eating this good, basking through out the day, and pooping (yeah I said it lol) regularly I wouldn't be too concerned. With her being this new she is most likely still settling in. Moving to a new home is pretty stressful on the little guys/gals. Just keep doing what your doing and keep interacting with her for a few minutes at time everyday. She will eventually become more relaxed and perk up a bit. She may also just have a chill personality which is okay to.


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[Hdrydr31]

Just make sure the under tank heating pad is not too hot!! They can not tell how hot they are by their stomachs and can easily over heat. But I agree, the right under tank heating pad would be a better option if your temps are below 65


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If the temp gets below 65F don't use a heating pad, don't use any colored light instead USE a CHE ceramic heating element this emits heat only just make sure you have the fixture that will handle the heat..

 

[Hdrydr31]

I'm using the UVB/Basking combo light for her. Off the top of my head I don't know the wattage. She eats about 30 crickets a day and i generally give her 3-5 dubias every day or every other day. Her fruits and veggies are a mixture of collard greens, peeled cucumbers, green squash, yellow squash, and papaya. I am thinking about introducing watermelon into her daily mixture. I feed her fruits and veggies when I notice her food bowl is empty which is typically about twice a day.

The food sounds good remember babies need to be fed 3 times a day.
the UVB/basking combo is not a really preferred set up... especially since it uses a coil uvb bulb that can cause eye damage. it should be a short term usage item.. since in a 20 gal it doesn't really allow to use separate fixtures so when you upgrade tanks which won't be too long the repti sun T5 HO 10.0 is the way to go for sure. so the above posts are spot on... just make sure you overlap the basking with the UVB