New to bearded dragons Pablo and me

[Bk7]

Hello everyone this is my bearded dragon Pablo.

And this is his enclosure

20 gallon long
Repti carpet
Water and food dish
100 w flood light
10.0 UVB
Real flat rock
Digital probe for hot side
Digital for cool side
Day temps (110 hot side 80 cool side)
Night time no heat source 78 degrees.
Fed crickets twice daily about 15 each serving.
Veggies and juvi bearded food provided all day
Crickets dusted with calcium 5 days a week.
Cage and Pablo misted once a day.

Let me know what u think if u have any suggestions feel free to let me know. I'm open to changing anything to better suit my little buddy Pablo. My kids love all of our reptiles and their health are my number one concern so any input is welcome thanks in advance





One beardie. Four corns. One ball python. One Costa Rican boa.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

Welcome to the BDF Community! Pablo is a very nice looking dragon,indeed! Your enclosure is nice too. The only things I see that are really not optimum would be the water dish which we already talked about in another thread earlier and that the stacked rock while looking great has a lot of places for feeder insects to hide which makes it more difficult for your little dragon to find them.
Pretty much to start with young dragons only need a basking spot or perch, a single food dish for their veggies and perhaps a rock to help naturally keep their claws trim. Keeping things simple and basic makes things much less stressful on them so it's usually best to wait until they are older to start decorating their enclosures with a lot of furnishings.
Your temps are exactly where they need to be and that is a large battle that you have already won so well done on that!
You also stated that you mist both your dragon and his enclosure. Giving your dragon mistings does not need to be done every day and you don't want to mist them inside their enclosure when you do. Simply hold them in your hand over the sink. Misting the enclosure again as with the water bowl raises the humidity in the enclosure which is not good for them.
Thanks for sharing the great pics and I look forward to more updates as Pablo grows into the big strong dragon I am sure he will be! Of course then again you never know Pablo could very well turn out to be Pablina when she is grown...lol..unless you already know it's a guy dragon for sure! If not here is a video you may be interested in.

Enjoy!!

 

[Bk7]

lol @ Pablina ... I did try and do this when I first got Pablo but he was so small I was sort of nervous, but from what i could see it did look like he had two bulges right above his vent. Only time will tell I guess because I think I'll wait until he is a bit older to try and do it again. As for the the misting, I didn't think of that when we were talking about humidity but it makes since. I will just mist him a few times a week after he feeds in his tub and stop misting his cage completely. That being said. Since i don't feed him his live insects in his tank and i do it in a separate Rubbermaid container, do you think the rocks would still be a problem? I have read that u shouldn't provide hiding places for your baby bd because they might opt to hide instead of soaking up all those much needed rays, but Pablo never hides during the day the only time he goes under the rocks is to sleep then as soon as the lights come on...out pops his little head. but thanks again for all the advice this forum is AWESOME.

 

[Bk7]

Woke up this morning and took out Pablo's water bowl. Well actually just stacked his food bowl on top of it and left it in since they fit together like a puzzle. Pablo didn't seem to mind and actually left me a "present" right after I took it out so he wasn't that worried about it.

I did have a question though. Does any body else's baby bd have purplish blue stripes on the side like this I don't know if this is normal but it does look pretty cool

It doesn't come through in the pic as much as in person but u can get a general idea of what I mean.

Now me and Pablo are just laying on the bed enjoying the nice day outside on my day off.

Thanks, Brandon


One beardie. Four corns. One ball python. One Costa Rican boa.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

I'm not a big proponent of feeding in separate tubs but I understand that there are instances when that might be necessary. Some folks do choose to feed that way but to me it is more stress on the animal being taking out of his "safe house" to eat. You have to make that decision for yourself.
As to the hides it's really not a necessary thing. Just as yours does most dragons don't use them a lot especially when young. These are creatures that are attracted to the light and need the heat to regulate their body temp and metabolism so they will naturally go to the source and will usually spend most of their day under that warmth.
A hide comes into play more later in life when and if your dragon decides to brumate. At that time many people will place a hide in the enclosure for them to take their "big snooze" . Some will use it and others will just pic a comfy spot on their own where they want to brumate.
Again using a hide is your choice of course. My suggestion was just to simplify things for your dragon and would make the use of a separate tub for feeding him unnecessary.
Enjoy!

 

[Augie]

You ask about the odd stripes on the side of your dragon. It's normal and I think your BDs marks are really cool! I have a "basic" color dragon but he has a lavender stripe down his back. Makes each one a unique snowflake, if you ask me.

 

[Germ]

 

[Noella]

Welcome to BDF. I've got lavender markings too on mine. He/she's a beautiful dragon.

 

[Chris Baez Jr.]

Welcome to BDF, where everyday is a holiday, and every meal is a feast.

Pablo is a very handsome Dragon, congrats.

 

[Aleena]

Welcome to BDF!

 

[Augie]

Welcome to BDF, where everyday is a holiday, and every meal is a feast.

And every formation is a parade? Sorry, never been in the service but I have seen Aliens.

 

[Bk7]

Well Pablo is doing great, getting bigger everyday!!!! It's crazy how fast he is growing. Even my four year old said," look how big pabno is getting." Lol
Here is a pic after he first got up this morning

So I'm not feeding him outside of his enclosure but I am still using the tub. I just put it into his enclosure and it seems to cut out a lot of stress on him
Here are a couple of photos and a vid of him eating in his enclosure.

Or not on the vid...can't figure out how to upload from my "subpar" iPhone lol! if anyone knows how let me know

And just a couple extra pics I got today.

One beardie. Four corns. One ball python. One Costa Rican boa.

 

[Germ]

Pablo is a gorgeous youngster, his adult colors will be wonderful. Great pics, Thanks for sharing ...

 

[Bk7]

Quick question. I have to drive 40 miles to get crix for Pablo right now because the lps only sells 3/4" and bigger. So I took this pic with him next to a quarter which is .99 of an inch for comparison with his head to ask if u think 3/4 inch would be ok? If not I have no problem going an getting the smaller crix but it would be way easier to buy locally any help is greatly appreciated

Also Pablo has a new toy which he loves

It's a small teddy bear(my kids) that he ran straight to when he was "chillin" with me on my bed. He sat on it the whole time he was out of his enclosure...I even took him off and he ran right back lol i think he is in love. But is it ok for him to sit on this and would it be a bad idea to put it into his enclosure on the cool side. I have my doubts about that but doesn't hurt to ask right?

 

[Aleena]

Depends on what the lps thinks of as a 3/4 inch. Most the time they really don't match up with how big they are... check out their stash, bring your BD with you and hold one up between the eyes and see if you think it would be okay.

I'd worry about your BD munchin on that very long fur... but a lot of forum members keep a stuffed animal with their BD.

 

[Bk7]

Thanks Aleena I did what u said and it looks like they are bigger than 3/4 of an inch, about 1/4 bigger than the space between Pablo's eyes so looks like ill be making the drive a little bit longer lol. That's ok tho. I don't mind.


And also wanted to share a photo I found on the net today

After I saw this I couldn't stop singin,"I believe I can fly!" Lol

 

[Bk7]

Update with pics

He is growing so fast it's crazy!! I give it a couple weeks and I bet I don't have to ride so far for crix any more. His colors just keep getting lighter,head wider,and belly fatter . Can't wait to see his adult colors.

 

[Pat B]

WOW!! What a beautiful dragon. I like the idea of how you feed him. I am going to try that! Thanks for sharing all the wonderful photos and Welcome to BDF. There is never a 'stupid' question so ask away!!

 

[Bk7]

Just wanted to do a little update on Pablo. He has definitely grown a lot since I first joined this forum as u can see from my older pics. But here are a few I snapped today.

And this was early this morning. His colors where showing real good in the natural light

But my real question or concern today is while he was out socializing I guess he snagged a nail on something and ripped it off so now there is just a little red on the tip of one of his rear toes an no nail or claw. I can tell it is bothering him because he is just holding it up in the air and shaking it occasionally. What should I do? Just leave it or maybe put a small bit if triple antibiotic on it. And will it grow back?

 

[Germ]

It will not grow back ... Best bet would just be sure it is on a clean sterile substrate (Paper Towel) & let it heal on it's own. As you mentioned, the application of a triple antibiotic could be used, but in my experience, on foot injuries, it just helps to collect dirt.

If it was caught enough to rip out the claw, it may have broke a toe & why it is favoring it, but this also must heal on it's own.