Hi everyone,
I am brand new to the world of reptiles/bearded dragons. I just got my guy, Phillip, about 4 days ago. He lived with my ex for about four years, but I offered to take him in as it was obvious that he wasn't getting nearly enough attention or care.
My ex tells me that Phillip is roughly ten years old. I know that for the entire time he lived with my ex, and seemingly the entire time he lived with his caretakers before that, he has never had a UVB light in his tank. He has lived in a 40 gallon tank with just a basking light, and as far as I can tell, that was not nearly hot enough. He was fed greens generally once or maybe twice a week and crickets occasionally. The only person who handled him, so far as I saw, was me when my ex and I still lived together, and I moved out nearly a year ago. I did try to take him out and interact with him and let him roam as much as I could, though I knew nothing of bearded dragons then.
I've been reading A LOT about bearded dragons and beardie care so that I can give him an awesome home and hopefully a long and healthy life. I'm aware of MBD due to lack of UVB, but he doesn't appear to have any symptoms. He seems to be totally healthy. His weight and length are average, he doesn't appear dehydrated - I've already bathed him a few times and have been misting him every day, and his eyes are clear and healthy looking. He enthusiastically hunts down and devours the crickets I've fed him, and he ate most of the kale and cabbage I fed him earlier today. He's pooped twice since he's been here, and I've fed him crickets twice. I've scheduled a vet checkup next week, which is the soonest I could get him in.
I'm quickly learning that the upfront costs of a legitimate bearded dragon habitat are fairly substantial, but I've been investing as much as I can. I'm also learning that there is a whole lot of information to take in for somebody who's new to all this.
So, currently, he is still living in a 40 gallon tank. He still has just a basking light, but I put a 75 watt bulb in and made sure his basking temperature was good - it's about 100 degrees. The ambient temperature of the tank in the cooler areas is between 75 and 80.
I'm trying to get him in his new 75 gallon tank with a truly legit setup ASAP. This might sound absurd given what I've read regarding the crucial-ness of UVB, but I'm wondering if going from no UVB ever to suggested UVB would be traumatizing somehow. My plan is to go buy a 10.0 tube and fixture tomorrow for the new tank.
As far as a lid for the tank goes, I know I'll need a mesh lid, but how can I set it up so that the basking light sits on top of the lid and I can still access Phillip? The UVB will go inside the tank, so that's not a concern, but do you just have to move the basking light off the lid every time you need to access the tank?
I realize that his conditions up until now sound pretty terrible, and had I known before what he really required, I certainly would have made it happen.
So, any advice on the topics above would be super awesome, and just any general advice that you all might think I need is welcome too. Thanks guys.
I am brand new to the world of reptiles/bearded dragons. I just got my guy, Phillip, about 4 days ago. He lived with my ex for about four years, but I offered to take him in as it was obvious that he wasn't getting nearly enough attention or care.
My ex tells me that Phillip is roughly ten years old. I know that for the entire time he lived with my ex, and seemingly the entire time he lived with his caretakers before that, he has never had a UVB light in his tank. He has lived in a 40 gallon tank with just a basking light, and as far as I can tell, that was not nearly hot enough. He was fed greens generally once or maybe twice a week and crickets occasionally. The only person who handled him, so far as I saw, was me when my ex and I still lived together, and I moved out nearly a year ago. I did try to take him out and interact with him and let him roam as much as I could, though I knew nothing of bearded dragons then.
I've been reading A LOT about bearded dragons and beardie care so that I can give him an awesome home and hopefully a long and healthy life. I'm aware of MBD due to lack of UVB, but he doesn't appear to have any symptoms. He seems to be totally healthy. His weight and length are average, he doesn't appear dehydrated - I've already bathed him a few times and have been misting him every day, and his eyes are clear and healthy looking. He enthusiastically hunts down and devours the crickets I've fed him, and he ate most of the kale and cabbage I fed him earlier today. He's pooped twice since he's been here, and I've fed him crickets twice. I've scheduled a vet checkup next week, which is the soonest I could get him in.
I'm quickly learning that the upfront costs of a legitimate bearded dragon habitat are fairly substantial, but I've been investing as much as I can. I'm also learning that there is a whole lot of information to take in for somebody who's new to all this.
So, currently, he is still living in a 40 gallon tank. He still has just a basking light, but I put a 75 watt bulb in and made sure his basking temperature was good - it's about 100 degrees. The ambient temperature of the tank in the cooler areas is between 75 and 80.
I'm trying to get him in his new 75 gallon tank with a truly legit setup ASAP. This might sound absurd given what I've read regarding the crucial-ness of UVB, but I'm wondering if going from no UVB ever to suggested UVB would be traumatizing somehow. My plan is to go buy a 10.0 tube and fixture tomorrow for the new tank.
As far as a lid for the tank goes, I know I'll need a mesh lid, but how can I set it up so that the basking light sits on top of the lid and I can still access Phillip? The UVB will go inside the tank, so that's not a concern, but do you just have to move the basking light off the lid every time you need to access the tank?
I realize that his conditions up until now sound pretty terrible, and had I known before what he really required, I certainly would have made it happen.
So, any advice on the topics above would be super awesome, and just any general advice that you all might think I need is welcome too. Thanks guys.
