I'm looking to buy a dual(?) timer.

[Germ]

The water bowl could also be removed, very few BDs will recognize standing water. BDs are Desert reptiles, very few puddles to romp around in there . They will receive all the hydration they need from their greens, live feeders, periodic mistings & regular weekly warm soaks that you should be providing. A water dish or pool will just raise the humidity in the enclosure, again these are desert creatures, humidity should be kept as minimal as possible for your climate. Also if it does go into it, splashing around & going in and out will wet the substrate, posing a haven for bacteria growth.

You will find that with a new young BD that the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) method will make acclimation and it's overall life as stress free as possible. Not calling anyone stupid either . A simple, uncluttered setup will also make it much easier to hunt for it's food as there are not as many hiding places for them. Enclosures can be made more pleasing to the human eye later on, once it is a little older & more stable. BDs do not need or want a lot of enclosure furniture. All the fluff is for our eye candy, not for their benefit.

 

[LTMets44]

I will take out the water bowl too. I'm actually glad that I don't need it in there. It just ends up spilling on the substrate anyway. I just hope that the constant changes to his enclosure does not stress him out. Although tomorrow should be the last of the changes now that I am well informed.

I am so glad that I joined this forum!!

As far a misting: Do I remove Gotham from the tank to mist him or can I mist him in the tank.

For weekly soaking: I only have him for four days now. Is he too young to start soaking? Should I wait? I'm not sure how old he is, but I imagine only a few weeks. He is 5 3/4" head to tail.

 

[Germ]

I'd give him a week, then start with the soaks in water up to it's armpits when standing for 15-20 minutes, adding warm water as it cools. If it flails around in the water, let it, they are instinctively accomplished swimmers for short periods, will inflate their bodies with air to float. They can also safely submerge for short periods of time. Water temp not hot, but quite warm to the touch. In the vicinity of Basking Temps is fine.

Misting every 2-3 days is a good idea while they are young & not eating as much greens, while holding it in your hand outside of the enclosure. Do a complete misting of it's body, heavier around the head area so if it is thirsty it will lick the droplets of it's nose as it leaks down.

When you become aware of it being in shed, you could up the misting & warm soak frequency a bit, as it greatly helps to loosen the shed and ease much of the discomfort.

 

[LTMets44]

Got it Germ. Thanks to you (and the others), I now feel like I could be an expert.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

@LTMets44...while you are removing the sand tomorrow I would highly recommend that you remove the water dish from the enclosure also. I will raise the humidity which is not a good thing for bearded dragons as they are dry climate creatures. Also most dragons do not recognize standing water as something they can drink so they wont. They will get their hydration from the greens and feeders you provide them as well as from the warm baths and misting you will give them. Besides that removing the water bowl willgive your growing dragon a lil bit more real estate which he will love much more than a pool
Oh and btw...feeling like a noob is not necessarily a bad thing..it means you are learning and learning something new is a grand thing any day in my book!
Enjoy your day tomorrow!!

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

I can't find any of these digital thermometers anywhere in Home Depot, Lowes, or my local Walmart. They've got those stick on ones there. I'll try a Super Walmart in Dalton, GA when I go for some crickies.

These work really well, Noella..I have them on a couple of my enclosures and although I have bought quite a few different ones these were the first I ever bought and work just as well as the more expensive ones I have. Doesn't get much cheaper than this price-wise and they ship fast too. They also have a couple of other brands on that site that range up higher in price too.

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=1714

 

[LTMets44]

Mungi's Buddha. I already removed the water bowl. Germ had suggested that also. I will be running to the store after work to pick up a more suitable substrate. Thank you for the kinds words and the advice.

 

[Noella]

These work really well, Noella..I have them on a couple of my enclosures and although I have bought quite a few different ones these were the first I ever bought and work just as well as the more expensive ones I have. Doesn't get much cheaper than this price-wise and they ship fast too. They also have a couple of other brands on that site that range up higher in price too.

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=1714

They're shipping's cheaper than PetMountain.com. I may use them instead. Thanks so much. Petmountain charges 6.99 shipping. Even though they're more, they say they price match. So I can probably get them for 5.40.

 

[LTMets44]

When I bought mine at Pecto. They cost me 11.99 each. I saw them online for $5.99 plus $5.00 S&H. I just bought them in the store because it came out to almost the same, and I didn't have to wait for it to be shipped.

 

[Noella]

I almost forgot to include sales tax. Petmountain doesn't charge a sales tax.

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

I almost forgot to include sales tax. Petmountain doesn't charge a sales tax.

Unless you live in the same state as the company then most I have ordered from dont charge sales tax anyway but then again you will have to pay sales tax if you buy locally anyway. I was just trying to offer another supplier since you had commented that you couldn't find the thermometers locally. ReptileSupply.com is just one that I use and have had excellent and fast service from

 

[Noella]

That's okay. So far I like them. Thanks for recommending them. My local petstore charges a high price for everything. See, they're A Mom and Daughter run business involving dog grooming. They didn't start getting in reptile products until I told them about Allie. Then they started getting more supplies and more items to chose from at their highest prices. I'm going to use both Petmountain and reptilesupply.com with the exception of crickets. I don't shop at the local petstore unless an emergency pops up. They don't even have a good stock of crickets. They're small, die quicker, and aren't fed. (Whenever I get them, I noticed they don't eat anything I give them so I don't buy them anymore.) I buy crickets, superworms at Petland because they actually guarantee their crickets to be better and they're not smelly. I've got several people who love to see Allie at Petland. They love her because she's the only real healthy beardie with all her colors. Even the vet's office loves her except for one receptionist who's deeply afraid of reptiles.

 

[LTMets44]

Update: Yesterday was a busy day for me. It was my B-Day and I had some visiters so I wasn't able to run to the pet shop to get the remaining things for the tank. I did attach the temp probe to the log and it is reading around 104°. I have stopped using the night light and both temperatures read around 72° at night.

The first few days I had Gotham, he only ate about 2 or 3 crickets a day. But yesterday he ate 9. He was also very active yesterday. Climbing his log, and running back and forth. He stopped and waved at me one too.

I took his waterbowl out permanently. I took him out of his tank and misted him in my hand. He was licking the drops. (Do I keep misting until he stops licking?)

Today I stock up of fresh greens and search for the proper substrate.

It's like raising a kid all over again.

 

[Germ]

Belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

You could keep misting until it stops licking it, but I generally mist the whole BD with more on its head a good soaking, then put it back in it's enclosure & let it lick it there.

 

[LTMets44]

Belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Thank you

 

[LTMets44]

Every time I think I have this figured out, I think of something else that may go wrong.

I was going to buy Linoleum to put on the floor of the tank, but then I started thinking that if it got to hot, it may release toxins that are harmful to Gotham.

I decided to buy ceramic tiles. Now that I am home and ready to set up the tank, I start thinking that the ceramic tiles may get to hot and burn Gotham's underside.

Am I over thinking this? What should I do?

 

[Germ]

The tiles will never get hot enough to harm your BD from an overhead heat lamp, the hottest place in the enclosure should be it's basking spot & that should be well above the floor closer to the UVB & heat bulb.

 

[LTMets44]

Ok, good to hear. Germ, you've been my personal hero through this process. Gotham thanks you!

 

[Germ]

 

[LTMets44]

I got the ceramic tiles down yesterday. I think I finally finished.

The one thing I noticed is now with tiles, the cool side temp reads around 79.9. The temperature seems to have dropped a few degrees.