couple of questions

[DragonLover1]

Hi i was just wandering how many times do bearded dragons poo? my little baby has only did 1 poo since i got her on thursday. Also how many times should i give calcium powder to my dragon? I want to make sure i do not over do it with her. Everyday i put my finger in the water a drop of it on her head, Shes had only one drink since i got her. If i hand feed her i dip the cricket in water first but like i said she will only take 1 cricket from the tweezers. So hopefully she is getting enough water & food.

 

[renich]

Beardies under 1 year old typically poop about once per day. How old is your beardie? Since you are new to bearded dragons, let's go over a couple of general questions:

1. What UVB lighting do you have?
2. What is the temp on the hot side?
3. What is the temp on the cool side?
4. What are you using to take the temp?
5. What substrate are you using?
6. How often are you bathing him?

The answers to these questions can help with answering your questions.

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Welcome aboard, Poopers go 1 time a day on average. If you answer Renee's questions you will get detailed answers to your questions.

 

[DragonLover1]

I have a uvb/uva repti cal 5.0, 75watt red basking bulb hot side is 30 degrees celsius cool side 24 degrees celsius. She spends more time on the cool side then the hot. See seems comfortable very active runing and chasing crickets. She has did another poo, I have just noticed that she is shedding. Do i have to bath her? i thought she would hop in the water herself. She is rubbing up against her rocks which she didn't do before. I've got themperture gauges in the enclosure about half way down from the heat light. I've been giving her a light spray of water daily and i also drop water from my finger on her nose. She seems to be settling in nicely today she is being a little guts she has eatten 7 crickets already i think. I'm using very fine childrens play sand, She was hatched on play sand and raised on it so far. She does all her hunting on the rock so she isn't ingesting the sand at all. So she has done 2 poos so far one on friday and one today sunday.

 

[crypticdragons]

I have a uvb/uva repti cal 5.0, 75watt red basking bulb hot side is 30 degrees celsius cool side 24 degrees celsius. She spends more time on the cool side then the hot. See seems comfortable very active runing and chasing crickets. She has did another poo, I have just noticed that she is shedding. Do i have to bath her? i thought she would hop in the water herself. She is rubbing up against her rocks which she didn't do before. I've got themperture gauges in the enclosure about half way down from the heat light. I've been giving her a light spray of water daily and i also drop water from my finger on her nose. She seems to be settling in nicely today she is being a little guts she has eatten 7 crickets already i think. I'm using very fine childrens play sand, She was hatched on play sand and raised on it so far. She does all her hunting on the rock so she isn't ingesting the sand at all. So she has done 2 poos so far one on friday and one today sunday.

Are you certain reptical isnt the name of your calcium supplement???
I have never heard of a light called the reptical but either way 5.0 is not a lot of output and dragons need high uv as they are desert animals. The only highly suggested Tube UV bulbs are the reptisun 10.0 if in USA or the arcadia 12 in the UK. They have the best output. Do not get the Reptiglo 10.0 it is actually a harmful light and causes eye problems and blindness.

you dont want to use a colored basking light as it does not simulate natural light. The red light will actually bother their eyes (hince the reason she is hanging out on the cool side more). You need to change the red bulb out for a bright white household bulb. Also you are going to want to up the wattage and or lift the basking sight as 30 degrees celsius way to low for basking sight temp. You need to bump your basking sight up to 40-42 degrees celsius. Your cool side should be around 28 degrees celsius. So your temps need to come up all the way around.

as for how you are taking the temps. stick on temperature gauges are very inaccurate often by as much as 15 degrees Farenheit. You ned to invest in a digital probe thermometer or a laser thermometer like the ones found at tempguns.com. They are 100% accurate.

you should soak your dragon 2-3 days a week in a luke warm bath for about 20 minutes. This will get rid of the need for spraying your beardie and it is less annoying to your beardie. They do not tend to drink much. they actually absorb hydration via their vent at the base of the tail where they poop.

Most babies that age eat 40 or more appropriatel sized crix a day. By appropriately size i mean smaller than the space between her eyes.

As far as supplementation you want to use a powder calcium supplement with D3 on one feeding per day five days a week and use a multivitamin on 1 feeding a day two days a week. Herptivite is a good multi and repcal is a good calcium.

If you have any other questions please let us know we are happy to help. i hope you dont feel overwhelmed.

brian
cryptic dragons

 

[DragonLover1]

sorry meant to say reptisun, I also live in australia there native where i live and believe me its not 42 degrees here at the moment, start of winter here. Were lucky to get up to 42 in the summer thats only a few a far between. My mum will not allow me to run a 100watt light, I was also told that household lights will not reach the temperture. I dislike the heat emitter my sister used one for her enclosure it never got over 24 degrees. I'm using a thermostat to control the heating too which cause of the cold weather now has not turned off all day or night. I've got the thermostat set to 30 it will only go as high as 32 degrees celsius. All thermostats in this town only go to 30-32 degrees celsius. My thermostat is microclimate mini 100 probe kind.

 

[crypticdragons]

the reptisun 5.0 is a good bulb but it is still not a high enough output for a beardie to be helpful. you need to get a reptisun 10.0 TUBE bulb Not compact or coil TUBE) soon.

 

[renich]

I don't think your bearded is eating enough crickets due to environment too. UVB lighting is essential for the proper digestion of their food. It assists bearded dragons with producing vitamin D for proper digestion.

The ReptiSun 5.0 is OK, but does not give off high levels of UVB bearded dragons need.

As far as your temps, the basking area needs to be around 40C. The red bulb is not good for their eyes. I hope you don't have it on during the night. Several people have used household bulbs to produce the necessary temps. I know of breeders, as well as, bearded dragon addicts who have had success with temps using standard bulbs.

 

[beardielover]

i'm in agreement that the red bulb should go. caring for beardies is pretty basic. once you get the fundamentals down, it's a breeze. also, your temp really needs to be raised. and as brian pointed out, the strip thermometers can be off by 20 degrees. a digital probe is inexpensive and pretty accurate.

he really needs to be eating more. temperature and lighting are key to get these guys to eat properly.