First time bearded mommy jitters..

[Bambino2988]

I am a first time bearded dragon mom, We just purchased him yesterday. His tank has been set up and he has been in there overnight. I've already fed him 10-12 crickets this morning and put pellets, and fruits and veggies in his cage with him.. He keeps pacing back and forth in his cage. We still have to get another thermometer for the other side of his cage also. Its kind of plain because we haven't found anything we like. I'll post a photo. Can anyone give me some insights of being a new mommy?.. Thanks in Advance!!

 

[Canicke]

good morning! welcome to your new adventure! please see the links below for some super info. just a couple of things to start off - the temperature in his basking area needs to be about 100. (cuz he's a little dude) that means you will need to check the temp where he basks - not where the thermometer is. lighting is not my forte, but there are some folks who can give you some super info - can you share with us what kind and wattage of bulbs you are using? that's a really big area for a little guy. he will grow into it. if he seems a bit skittish - you might want to consider shortening the tank with a piece of cardboard. I like to have 2 hides - 1 on the cool side and 1 on the warm side. I also have several (well washed) rocks in my tanks to help wear the nails and for some diversity. please consider feeding crickets 3 times daily. as many as he will eat. he may be a bit little for the worm (he will grow quickly) fruits should be limited to once a week. what veggies? I'm not a fan of pellets - I prefer fresh foods. my 2 cents. What's the kids name?

 

[Bambino2988]

These are the lights I'm using. We plan on adding some rocks and possibly some vegetation in there in the coming weeks.

 

[Bambino2988]

My children are undecided on a name. One of them wants to name him Batman, and one of them wants to name him popcorn. The names these kids come up with baffles me lol I on the other hand would like to name him Elliot

 

[Bambino2988]

What I put in there this morning was grated carrots, grated apples, chopped up blueberries and chopped up strawberries I haven't put any vegetables in there yet because I do not have any on hand. I'm going to the store in a little while and I will pick some up.

 

[Mom of blazey]

Ok, the basking bulb should probably be a 75 watt, the red light must go it interferes with his 3rd eye, they like to sleep in the dark, if your house gets below 65ish degree, he'll need a ceramic bulb, the reptisun should be 10.0 desert, some owners prefer the tubular uvb, I use what you have only in a 10.0 desert. Plz be sure to get rid of that red bulb☺ Food: collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, chopped fine, fruit should not be his primary diet. Crickets: calcium dusted 3x day, as many as he'll eat, I personally didn't like giving my babies superworms (I have 8, for 7 yrs)until they were around a year, also try to stay away from mealworms , you can give him just a few wax worms a week, they are like cake to them, once he reaches around 6-7 months back off of the wax worms, maybe 5 a month . How old are the kids? If they are really young,I'd wait to have them handle him, however, he must be handled so he can become a part of the family, which you'll have to do, they are known for being very sweet. I've NEVER been bitten by mine. Any more questions plz ask, look forward to watching your friendship grow with this little guy. I'm sure you'll hear from Patsy B and Hdrydr31 both very knowledgeable beardie parents, plz keep us posted and good luck

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[Hdrydr31]

Welcome to the forum and to beardies!! A few of us have put together a ton of information for new comers and it covers everything from lighting to food links to heat zones, brumation and supplements and a bunch of other info.. You will find these links under a few of our comments so take some time and go thru that link and that will answer a bunch of items..

LIghting: Yes you need to get rid of that red bulb, don't get any colored bulbs (yes I know they reccommended it) however they have a 3rd eye their parietal eye and this organ tells the dragon many things like: flying birds above, tells them their light source and when to sleep and when to be awake..The colored bulbs over time damage their eyes in that they can't dilate and constrict properly.
The UVB you have is ok for TEMP what you should get is Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 this is a long tube style (T5 allows UVB to go thru the wire mesh top) T8 do not penetrate...The basking bulb is fine, you just want the UVB and the basking lights to overlap a bit so that they can digest and metabolize the nutrients well.
Greens: Good staple greens would be collard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens. In that link under comments will give the link that we all use for food items and how often they should be fed, safe plants and poisonous plants. Pellets really are not good they are full of preservatives.. If you go by the rule Fresh is always best, live is best.. And the pellets take valuable moisture from them.
Deco: He/she is small so the pacing may be that they are a bit scared so putting more items in there to make him feel more secure.. another hide, some sturdy plastic plants, hammocks, wood platforms and you may want to cover 2-3 sides of the tank to help as well.. Both of mine the back is covered and half of the sides.
Temps:
Baby Dragons: Basking 100-107F warm 85-95F cool 70-75F
Juv Dragons: Basking anywhere from 95-107F Remember they need it to digest warm 85-95F cool 70F
Adults Basking 90-95F can also be low 100'sF warm 80-90F cool 70F
As long as the night time temps don't dip below 65F all is good if it does get a CHE to keep temps up.
I would remove the water dish and give your baby baths in the sink/tub several times a week and typically they drink there.. they don't recognize standing water as something to drink. and when they sleep some have fallen asleep in their water (mine did) I was worried at how hard they sleep that they would drown..
Feeder Insect values: Babies need 3 feedings a day
Crickets: 74% moisture, 1% Ash, 18% Protein, 6% Fat, 3% Carbs, 3% Fiber, 14 Calcium
Earthworms:
Redworms:
ButterWorms: 59% Moisture, 16% Protein, 5% Fat, 1% Ash, 43 Calcium
Dubia Roaches: 61% Moisture, 2% Ash, 36% Protein, 7% Fat, 3% Carbs, 20 Calcium
Locusts: 62% Moisture, 41% Protein, 5% Fat
Superworms: 59% Moisture, 1% Ash, 20% Protein, 16% Fat, 6% Carbs, 11 Calcium
Mealworms: 59% Moisture, 10% Protein, 1% Ash, 13% Fat, 3% Carbs, 3 Calcium (not good for dragons)
Waxworms: 61% Moisture, 16% Protein, 18% Fat, 1% Ash, 8% Fiber, 13 Calcium
Phoenix Worms: <10% Moisture, 17% Protein, 10% Fat, 34 Calcium
Silkworms: 76% Moisture, 64% Protein, 10% Fat, 8% Ash, 34 Calcium
Hornworms: 85% Moisture, 9% Protein, 3% Fat, 46% Calcium

well that should get you going and please see the links below..

 

[Bambino2988]

Ok, the basking bulb should probably be a 75 watt, the red light must go it interferes with his 3rd eye, they like to sleep in the dark, if your house gets below 65ish degree, he'll need a ceramic bulb, the reptisun should be 10.0 desert, some owners prefer the tubular uvb, I use what you have only in a 10.0 desert. Plz be sure to get rid of that red bulb☺ Food: collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, chopped fine, fruit should not be his primary diet. Crickets: calcium dusted 3x day, as many as he'll eat, I personally didn't like giving my babies superworms (I have 8, for 7 yrs)until they were around a year, also try to stay away from mealworms , you can give him just a few wax worms a week, they are like cake to them, once he reaches around 6-7 months back off of the wax worms, maybe 5 a month . How old are the kids? If they are really young,I'd wait to have them handle him, however, he must be handled so he can become a part of the family, which you'll have to do, they are known for being very sweet. I've NEVER been bitten by mine. Any more questions plz ask, look forward to watching your friendship grow with this little guy. I'm sure you'll hear from Patsy B and Hdrydr31 both very knowledgeable beardie parents, plz keep us posted and good luck

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I turn his lights off every night when we go to bed around 8 or so. I did a little bit of research but not extensive. I will change out the light bulbs this weekend and get him the correct lighting and we will put a few more decorations in there with him.

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[Bambino2988]

Welcome to the forum and to beardies!! A few of us have put together a ton of information for new comers and it covers everything from lighting to food links to heat zones, brumation and supplements and a bunch of other info.. You will find these links under a few of our comments so take some time and go thru that link and that will answer a bunch of items..

LIghting: Yes you need to get rid of that red bulb, don't get any colored bulbs (yes I know they reccommended it) however they have a 3rd eye their parietal eye and this organ tells the dragon many things like: flying birds above, tells them their light source and when to sleep and when to be awake..The colored bulbs over time damage their eyes in that they can't dilate and constrict properly.
The UVB you have is ok for TEMP what you should get is Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 this is a long tube style (T5 allows UVB to go thru the wire mesh top) T8 do not penetrate...The basking bulb is fine, you just want the UVB and the basking lights to overlap a bit so that they can digest and metabolize the nutrients well.
Greens: Good staple greens would be collard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, mustard greens. In that link under comments will give the link that we all use for food items and how often they should be fed, safe plants and poisonous plants. Pellets really are not good they are full of preservatives.. If you go by the rule Fresh is always best, live is best.. And the pellets take valuable moisture from them.
Deco: He/she is small so the pacing may be that they are a bit scared so putting more items in there to make him feel more secure.. another hide, some sturdy plastic plants, hammocks, wood platforms and you may want to cover 2-3 sides of the tank to help as well.. Both of mine the back is covered and half of the sides.
Temps:
Baby Dragons: Basking 100-107F warm 85-95F cool 70-75F
Juv Dragons: Basking anywhere from 95-107F Remember they need it to digest warm 85-95F cool 70F
Adults Basking 90-95F can also be low 100'sF warm 80-90F cool 70F
As long as the night time temps don't dip below 65F all is good if it does get a CHE to keep temps up.
I would remove the water dish and give your baby baths in the sink/tub several times a week and typically they drink there.. they don't recognize standing water as something to drink. and when they sleep some have fallen asleep in their water (mine did) I was worried at how hard they sleep that they would drown..
Feeder Insect values: Babies need 3 feedings a day
Crickets: 74% moisture, 1% Ash, 18% Protein, 6% Fat, 3% Carbs, 3% Fiber, 14 Calcium
Earthworms:
Redworms:
ButterWorms: 59% Moisture, 16% Protein, 5% Fat, 1% Ash, 43 Calcium
Dubia Roaches: 61% Moisture, 2% Ash, 36% Protein, 7% Fat, 3% Carbs, 20 Calcium
Locusts: 62% Moisture, 41% Protein, 5% Fat
Superworms: 59% Moisture, 1% Ash, 20% Protein, 16% Fat, 6% Carbs, 11 Calcium
Mealworms: 59% Moisture, 10% Protein, 1% Ash, 13% Fat, 3% Carbs, 3 Calcium (not good for dragons)
Waxworms: 61% Moisture, 16% Protein, 18% Fat, 1% Ash, 8% Fiber, 13 Calcium
Phoenix Worms: <10% Moisture, 17% Protein, 10% Fat, 34 Calcium
Silkworms: 76% Moisture, 64% Protein, 10% Fat, 8% Ash, 34 Calcium
Hornworms: 85% Moisture, 9% Protein, 3% Fat, 46% Calcium

well that should get you going and please see the links below..

What about squash, zucchini, cucumbers and cabbage? Are those sufficient enough for him?

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[Hdrydr31]

I turn his lights off every night when we go to bed around 8 or so. I did a little bit of research but not extensive. I will change out the light bulbs this weekend and get him the correct lighting and we will put a few more decorations in there with him.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Timer will be your best friend I have both of mine on timers so each day their lights go on at 7am and off at 8:15pm

 

[Hdrydr31]

What about squash, zucchini, cucumbers and cabbage? Are those sufficient enough for him?

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Here's the link for foods since your using Taptalk (our links don't show)
http://greathousefarm.com/Greathouse-Reptile-Nutrition-List.pdf
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Squash is all good, Zuc are a occasional item, cuc's (peeled/de seeded) are really just a good for water as really no nutritional value, cabbage green and red are an occasional item.
You really want to do the staple greens everyday and add in the others.

 

[Bambino2988]

Timer will be your best friend I have both of mine on timers so each day their lights go on at 7am and off at 8:15pm

I'll pick him up one this weekend when we get him some more decorations and new bulbs.. Question, how would I tell if it's a boy or girl? I did some research and it says if they have a single bump in the middle it's a female and if it's a boy it will have 2 bumps on either side of their tail. From what I've seen and looked at it looks like it's a female. I'm thinking it's too soon to tell though... Opinions on this?

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[Hdrydr31]

I'll pick him up one this weekend when we get him some more decorations and new bulbs.. Question, how would I tell if it's a boy or girl? I did some research and it says if they have a single bump in the middle it's a female and if it's a boy it will have 2 bumps on either side of their tail. From what I've seen and looked at it looks like it's a female. I'm thinking it's too soon to tell though... Opinions on this?

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He/she may be a bit too small
However you can take him into a dark room and lay him/her on the counter gently lift the tail backwards towards head ***not too far or you can hurt them** shine a flashlight from top down at the base of the tail... This will shine thru and you should be able to visually see the hemipenes (ovals on each side) for boys and a single bump in the middle by the vent that's female.

 

[Hdrydr31]

I'll pick him up one this weekend when we get him some more decorations and new bulbs.. Question, how would I tell if it's a boy or girl? I did some research and it says if they have a single bump in the middle it's a female and if it's a boy it will have 2 bumps on either side of their tail. From what I've seen and looked at it looks like it's a female. I'm thinking it's too soon to tell though... Opinions on this?

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I plug my power strip with my lights into the timer so anything plugged into the strip goes on/off with the timer. works great

 

[Mom of blazey]

Yeah, I think it's to soon, but whatever he/she is, you are going on a great journey with your sweetie. I hope you keep sharing him/her with the forum

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[Canicke]

i just want to clarify : squash, zucchini, cucumbers and cabbage? are NOT sufficient enough for him - i know hdrydr31 made some suggestions, but i want to make sure you provide him with protein. crickets. lots of em. or small dubias. lots of them. he's (sic) a growing kid!

 

[Bambino2988]

i just want to clarify : squash, zucchini, cucumbers and cabbage? are NOT sufficient enough for him - i know hdrydr31 made some suggestions, but i want to make sure you provide him with protein. crickets. lots of em. or small dubias. lots of them. he's (sic) a growing kid!

Oh yeah. Definitely, he's already eaten about 20 crickets today. I just turned his lights off for the night and it's 9:30 pm here. We got home a little late the kids were swimming at my moms. But last night we turned them off at around 8:30 or so.. I'll be picking up a timer this weekend for him to make sure the sleep/wake cycles get in order.

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[Bambino2988]

I appreciate every one of you guys! This is going to be an amazing journey with my little one and I will take you guys along with me!

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[Hdrydr31]

I appreciate every one of you guys! This is going to be an amazing journey with my little one and I will take you guys along with me!

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Well as you see we Mod's are typically lurking around so if anyone needs something we can respond rather quickly, and we refer to the links for quick info for more details with links.
Look forward to seeing your little one grow.

 

[Canicke]

Regarding crickets – as many as he will eat in about 15 minutes -three times a day. I'm thinking 20 crickets a day is on the low side But he may just be warming up to it too