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FalconMan

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
27
Hey guys. I don't have a beardie yet but have been doing tons of research. I've gone so far as to get the Zoo Med "Bearded dragon terrarium kit" I immediately threw the fine "desert" sand out and intend to get different lamps. I mainly bought the kit for the Terrarium..I couldn't 40 gallon ones local for a reasonable price. Only pet store within reasonable distance for me is Petsmart... They had quite a few beardies all of them tiny babies. And I'm in texas so dealing with the aftermath of the snow storms...don't intend to buy a beardie for another month or two but intend to be fully ready when I do. Really only choice I have atm is Petsmart. I don't know any breeders local. I did have a few questions though. I've ran across Nature Zone Nutri Bites you can get it in a 1 gallon tub...has anyone fed this to there beardies? Is it good for a baby? Also...truthfully I'd only be able to feed it twice a day. In the mornings and after work is this not enough to make sure its healthy? Any reccomendations would be great!
 

Frank the baby beardry

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
553
Location
To bad
First
Hey guys. I don't have a beardie yet but have been doing tons of research. I've gone so far as to get the Zoo Med "Bearded dragon terrarium kit" I immediately threw the fine "desert" sand out and intend to get different lamps. I mainly bought the kit for the Terrarium..I couldn't 40 gallon ones local for a reasonable price. Only pet store within reasonable distance for me is Petsmart... They had quite a few beardies all of them tiny babies. And I'm in texas so dealing with the aftermath of the snow storms...don't intend to buy a beardie for another month or two but intend to be fully ready when I do. Really only choice I have atm is Petsmart. I don't know any breeders local. I did have a few questions though. I've ran across Nature Zone Nutri Bites you can get it in a 1 gallon tub...has anyone fed this to there beardies? Is it good for a baby? Also...truthfully I'd only be able to feed it twice a day. In the mornings and after work is this not enough to make sure its healthy? Any reccomendations would be great!
off please show the setup. And also feed him live food please Dubai roches or crickets. Ask and a lot of people I do crickets 30-35 a day. 3 times a day. And if you can’t feed three times do this. In the morning 15 crickets. Then get salad and leave it in his/her enclosur. A they get hungry they will come down to eat the greens, and then at night another 15 crickets.
 

Frank the baby beardry

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
553
Location
To bad
Hey guys. I don't have a beardie yet but have been doing tons of research. I've gone so far as to get the Zoo Med "Bearded dragon terrarium kit" I immediately threw the fine "desert" sand out and intend to get different lamps. I mainly bought the kit for the Terrarium..I couldn't 40 gallon ones local for a reasonable price. Only pet store within reasonable distance for me is Petsmart... They had quite a few beardies all of them tiny babies. And I'm in texas so dealing with the aftermath of the snow storms...don't intend to buy a beardie for another month or two but intend to be fully ready when I do. Really only choice I have atm is Petsmart. I don't know any breeders local. I did have a few questions though. I've ran across Nature Zone Nutri Bites you can get it in a 1 gallon tub...has anyone fed this to there beardies? Is it good for a baby? Also...truthfully I'd only be able to feed it twice a day. In the mornings and after work is this not enough to make sure its healthy? Any reccomendations would be great!
Also please get a brag on from somewhere else just look up reptiles shops on google and hopefully at least one will show Up. But if that’s your only option than just make sure you get a heathy one
 

FalconMan

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
27
First

off please show the setup. And also feed him live food please Dubai roches or crickets. Ask and a lot of people I do crickets 30-35 a day. 3 times a day. And if you can’t feed three times do this. In the morning 15 crickets. Then get salad and leave it in his/her enclosur. A they get hungry they will come down to eat the greens, and then at night another 15 crickets.
Thanks for the advice on feeding at the moment the setup is empty... The kit came with 2 deep dome Lamp fixtures, one small 100W heat bulb and one small coil florescent UVB bulb rated at 10.0 uvb. A food sampler pack that consists of Juvinile Beardie food pellets, "Can O Worms" Repti Calcium and water treatment and a big ole water bowl... I may use one of the lamp fixtures for heat but I intend to get a 24" 5T tube fixture for the UVB, It didn't come with a hide or something to climb on. I'll be using paper towels as flooring at first then will move to some sort of reptile carpet I'll post pictures once I get it setup. Also how many Roaches vs Crickets should I give them? I hear that the Dubai Roaches are better than the crickets, also what about soldier fly larva?
 

FalconMan

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
27
Also please get a brag on from somewhere else just look up reptiles shops on google and hopefully at least one will show Up. But if that’s your only option than just make sure you get a heathy one
Yea I been looking for a few weeks but all I find is grown ones on Craigslist, haven't found any breeders at all locally though if I wanted a ball python there are several people down here breeding thoes... Found a few online that will ship, but I'm not too keen on shipping a tiny baby like that and they were all morphs and $200+ for a baby. And unfortunately I am pretty rural. Petsmart is the closest pet store to me and thats an hour round trip. Wish I had better options but what can I do right?
 

Frank the baby beardry

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
553
Location
To bad
Thanks for the advice on feeding at the moment the setup is empty... The kit came with 2 deep dome Lamp fixtures, one small 100W heat bulb and one small coil florescent UVB bulb rated at 10.0 uvb. A food sampler pack that consists of Juvinile Beardie food pellets, "Can O Worms" Repti Calcium and water treatment and a big ole water bowl... I may use one of the lamp fixtures for heat but I intend to get a 24" 5T tube fixture for the UVB, It didn't come with a hide or something to climb on. I'll be using paper towels as flooring at first then will move to some sort of reptile carpet I'll post pictures once I get it setup. Also how many Roaches vs Crickets should I give them? I hear that the Dubai Roaches are better than the crickets, also what about soldier fly larva?
Dudbias are better than crickets but they are a bit more expensive and are elegal in Canada and Florida. Also for crickets feed 30-35 a day is what I do but you could go up to 80 and that’s where I would stop. Also buy crickets from an online not a pet store they are way overpriced
 

Frank the baby beardry

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
553
Location
To bad
Yea I been looking for a few weeks but all I find is grown ones on Craigslist, haven't found any breeders at all locally though if I wanted a ball python there are several people down here breeding thoes... Found a few online that will ship, but I'm not too keen on shipping a tiny baby like that and they were all morphs and $200+ for a baby. And unfortunately I am pretty rural. Petsmart is the closest pet store to me and thats an hour round trip. Wish I had better options but what can I do right?
Yeah good point. if you found likes good priced baby beardy for sale to ship I would do it but morphs can be expensive
 

FalconMan

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
27
Yea most of the breeders I find online either won't ship or they will but they only deal in morphs. And I've done quite a bit of studying on keeping a Beardie the last few months but it always helps to ask people who have beardies already right?
 

FalconMan

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
27
Thanks for the video, don't think I've actually seen this one yet. And It will probably be a month or two before I actually buy one. I want to be fully prepared. And once I get my setup done I'll post pictures.
 

Frank the baby beardry

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
553
Location
To bad
Thanks for the video, don't think I've actually seen this one yet. And It will probably be a month or two before I actually buy one. I want to be fully prepared. And once I get my setup done I'll post pictures.
Your Welcome. This guy is my favorite YouTube he’s great. And yeah make sure to put those pics in there lol
 

Sadie

Bearded Dragon Veteran
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
10,693
Hey guys. I don't have a beardie yet but have been doing tons of research. I've gone so far as to get the Zoo Med "Bearded dragon terrarium kit" I immediately threw the fine "desert" sand out and intend to get different lamps. I mainly bought the kit for the Terrarium..I couldn't 40 gallon ones local for a reasonable price. Only pet store within reasonable distance for me is Petsmart... They had quite a few beardies all of them tiny babies. And I'm in texas so dealing with the aftermath of the snow storms...don't intend to buy a beardie for another month or two but intend to be fully ready when I do. Really only choice I have atm is Petsmart. I don't know any breeders local. I did have a few questions though. I've ran across Nature Zone Nutri Bites you can get it in a 1 gallon tub...has anyone fed this to there beardies? Is it good for a baby? Also...truthfully I'd only be able to feed it twice a day. In the mornings and after work is this not enough to make sure its healthy? Any reccomendations would be great!
First you want your lighting correct that is the two most important things in the tank- basking temps taken w/ a digital probe thermometer 105-110 -- long tube fixture uvb-- 24" for your tank w/ a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 bulb- those two things will control the behavior and overall health of your dragon
For feeding get a glass or ceramic bowl one that insects can't get out of I can post a link for that if like-- then get some BSFL feed as many as you want they are a great staple feeder do not dust them use them as a lure to the salad bowl - feed first thing in the morning then after a hr add your crickets or dubias I recommend dubias- they will stay in the bowl better. If you need websites for insects I can post along w/ a nutrition website- I don't recommend dried frozen or jarred good-- fresh is best
 

FalconMan

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
27
I was planning on getting that very fixture actually. You want the UVB fixture to stretch most of the tank right? Mine is 36" long 18" tall and 18" wide, with a 2 peice screen top. I had considered modifying the back screen frame to accomodate the tube fixture without the screen being in the way and yea I have had a hard time finding places to buy insects, the links would be much appreciated the one for the bowl would be nice as well. And I know its a bit of a long shot but does anyone know any breeders in the Dallas Ft Worth Area or Waco Area of Texas?
 

Frank the baby beardry

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
553
Location
To bad
I was planning on getting that very fixture actually. You want the UVB fixture to stretch most of the tank right? Mine is 36" long 18" tall and 18" wide, with a 2 peice screen top. I had considered modifying the back screen frame to accomodate the tube fixture without the screen being in the way and yea I have had a hard time finding places to buy insects, the links would be much appreciated the one for the bowl would be nice as well. And I know its a bit of a long shot but does anyone know any breeders in the Dallas Ft Worth Area or Waco Area of Texas?
Here are some good crickets places what I would do is buy 500 every two weeks for 12 dallors. With greens such as collards greens mustard greens bo cho and other types you monthlu total will be about 30 dollars a month. And if you where to do this at a pet store it would be 60 dallors a month


 

Skybug

Bearded Dragon Veteran
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
2,283
Hello falconman, im happy to hear you’re getting his tank setup before you get him (alot of people get their pet then their home setup) i too bought the starter kit from petco/petsmart , I bought my beardie from them too (if u get one from them make shure you’re getting the biggest one there) most of them dont make it... :( (think of it as a rescue situation) petco/petsmart sell “product” not pets, they do not keep good care of them DO NOT ask them for any advice! Here in Florida there are good petsmarts/petcos but most of them are bad, basicly everything in that kit is useless :/ even the tank sadly, u may need to upgrade to larger 8 months from now,...the food they put in the kit is garbage (save the dried bugs for an emergency situation though) otherwise they’re basically tummy filler, as others have said lighting and heat are your #1 thing to get right, diet and housing come after (if the lights are wrong they cant digest their food) do NOT use the coil bulb(dont even keep it throw it away please) these cause eye problems and WILL hurt ur baby, roaches are one of the best feeders you can get ,B.S.F.L (black soldier fly larva) are really good for babies(dont dust these) , if you can try and stay away from crickets they’re a really dirty feeder :\ but I understand if thats all u can get, if u have any questions please do ask there are no silly questions.
 

FalconMan

Hatchling Dragon
Messages
27
Thanks for all the great information guys, I really appreciate it. I did some scouting at the local grocery store for greens just to see what they had. So I got a decent selection for that.. What about the Flightless Fruit flies that Flukerfarms offers is that a good treat for them or should that be avoided? What sort of flooring would be best? I'm thinking possibly repti carpet of some kind...seen folks using tile and paper towels for easy clean up.
 
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