Mushu - Our newest member of our family

[Fields_Fam]

Hello! We brought home our first ever Bearded Dragon yesterday from a Reptile show. Our 10 year old daughter has been consumed with interest in bearded dragons for over a year now and we finally gave in and got her one. She has named him Mushu (from Milan), we name all our pets after cartoon characters. He is super cute. He was the most active in his cage at the show and seemed very alert. He ate a lot yesterday, crickets and waxworms. The heat lamp we bought broke after maybe 30 minutes so we ordered new ones that will be delivered today. We bought the crushed walnut shells for his bedding from the show and quickly figured out that was wrong and wasted lol. We switched to just paper towels for now. He hates being in his cage so far and just tries to climb out. The kids have held him most of the time so far, except during the night. He just seems to want to lay on their bellies/shoulders and sleep, maybe from no heat lamp or maybe he is just adjusting from all the commotions yesterday? We forgot to ask how old he was when we purchased him. I know he is definitely a baby but he isn’t brand new baby. Any tips/advice for us first timers will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Skybug]

Welcome to the forum! If I could recommend a couple things off the bat, let him adjust!! Give him a week or two no handling, hes going thru relocation stress, put up siding im his enclosure on the back wall and two sides (babies HATE seeing their reflections) definitely get ur temps and lighting correct! NO “coil”/“compact” uvb!! A long tubular uvb is the standard, ill attach some pics, and if u can put one of your daughters clean shirts in the enclosure with her scent on it it’ll help him adjust to you all easier if u have any questions please do ask, his first few months are very important, absolutely make shure you have the following:
A GOOD UVB
A PROBE THERMOMETER
CALCIUM WITH D3
MULTIVITAMIN

 

[Sadie]

Hello! We brought home our first ever Bearded Dragon yesterday from a Reptile show. Our 10 year old daughter has been consumed with interest in bearded dragons for over a year now and we finally gave in and got her one. She has named him Mushu (from Milan), we name all our pets after cartoon characters. He is super cute. He was the most active in his cage at the show and seemed very alert. He ate a lot yesterday, crickets and waxworms. The heat lamp we bought broke after maybe 30 minutes so we ordered new ones that will be delivered today. We bought the crushed walnut shells for his bedding from the show and quickly figured out that was wrong and wasted lol. We switched to just paper towels for now. He hates being in his cage so far and just tries to climb out. The kids have held him most of the time so far, except during the night. He just seems to want to lay on their bellies/shoulders and sleep, maybe from no heat lamp or maybe he is just adjusting from all the commotions yesterday? We forgot to ask how old he was when we purchased him. I know he is definitely a baby but he isn’t brand new baby. Any tips/advice for us first timers will be greatly appreciated!

Welcome to the forum -- he is a cute little thing --- I am going to post some websites for help w/ your husbandry --- the most important thing in that tank is your basking temps taken w/ a digital probe thermometer 105-110 probe placed on the spot where he sits to bask and your UVB ---- NO coils!!!

Bearded Dragons - Care Sheet

Written by Jeremiah "Podunk" Jaeger in June, 2003 Updated by Deb Buss in May, 2013 Introduction Choosing your Bearded Dragon Housing Lighting Heating and temps Substrate Feeding and diet Water Bathing Disinfecting Hygiene General j1Introduction These gentle beasts are from Australia but are now...

www.beardeddragon.org

Beginner Guide to Bearded Dragon Lighting

A Basic Lighting Setup for Bearded Dragons Here is a basic lighting setup for a beardie. The tank in this picture is a 40-gallon breeder, but the same goes for larger and smaller enclosures. ( * = Optional ) Which UVB light should I use? The best UVB light for bearded dragons is a ReptiSun...

www.beardeddragon.org

Ultimate List of Everything You Need to Buy for Your Bearded Dragon – And Why It’s Important

Whether you’re planning out every aspect of bearded dragon ownership before you bring your new friend home (extra kudos to you!), or like many of us, you bought your bearded dragon at a pet store hoping to figure out all the details on the fly, we’re here for you with ten helpful setup guides...

www.beardeddragon.org

Please go over these websites I have posted for you ---- when you are done and need more help please ask
the UVB has certain distance and placement --- long tube fixture for a 40+ gallon tank there is one I dont think they have posted on the website I think they are were going to add it its called a Sunblaster Nano Tech
https://hydrobuilder.com/sunblaster...mp.html?opts=eyJhdHRyaWJ1dGU5MDEiOiI2NjAxIn0= 24" comes w/ a good bulb
Please let him adjust to his new tank and surroundings --- he looks like he has some stress marks going in one of the pics which is normal -- I would let him acclimate to his tank and surroundings - holding him in his tank for minutes at a time would be best --- please start feeding fresh salads now http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder --
he needs calcium D3 5 x per week ONCE per feeding dusted lightly on his insects and vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 x per week ONCE per feeding dusted lightly on the insects -- also his appetite may decrease here as long as he still eating your good if he stops that is not good ---
I can post websites for you for insects and worms - it is best to get them on line pet stores are expensive and very unreliable --

 

[Skybug]

If u can take pictures of the enclosure setup, that’d help us to see if anything else needs changing…

 

[Fields_Fam]

Thank you so much, this is all great advice. I just read it with my daughter and we will adjust to what you said. Thank you again!

 

[Fields_Fam]

Welcome to the forum -- he is a cute little thing --- I am going to post some websites for help w/ your husbandry --- the most important thing in that tank is your basking temps taken w/ a digital probe thermometer 105-110 probe placed on the spot where he sits to bask and your UVB ---- NO coils!!!

Bearded Dragons - Care Sheet

Written by Jeremiah "Podunk" Jaeger in June, 2003 Updated by Deb Buss in May, 2013 Introduction Choosing your Bearded Dragon Housing Lighting Heating and temps Substrate Feeding and diet Water Bathing Disinfecting Hygiene General j1Introduction These gentle beasts are from Australia but are now...

www.beardeddragon.org

Beginner Guide to Bearded Dragon Lighting

A Basic Lighting Setup for Bearded Dragons Here is a basic lighting setup for a beardie. The tank in this picture is a 40-gallon breeder, but the same goes for larger and smaller enclosures. ( * = Optional ) Which UVB light should I use? The best UVB light for bearded dragons is a ReptiSun...

www.beardeddragon.org

Ultimate List of Everything You Need to Buy for Your Bearded Dragon – And Why It’s Important

Whether you’re planning out every aspect of bearded dragon ownership before you bring your new friend home (extra kudos to you!), or like many of us, you bought your bearded dragon at a pet store hoping to figure out all the details on the fly, we’re here for you with ten helpful setup guides...

www.beardeddragon.org

Please go over these websites I have posted for you ---- when you are done and need more help please ask
the UVB has certain distance and placement --- long tube fixture for a 40+ gallon tank there is one I dont think they have posted on the website I think they are were going to add it its called a Sunblaster Nano Tech
https://hydrobuilder.com/sunblaster...mp.html?opts=eyJhdHRyaWJ1dGU5MDEiOiI2NjAxIn0= 24" comes w/ a good bulb
Please let him adjust to his new tank and surroundings --- he looks like he has some stress marks going in one of the pics which is normal -- I would let him acclimate to his tank and surroundings - holding him in his tank for minutes at a time would be best --- please start feeding fresh salads now http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder --
he needs calcium D3 5 x per week ONCE per feeding dusted lightly on his insects and vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 x per week ONCE per feeding dusted lightly on the insects -- also his appetite may decrease here as long as he still eating your good if he stops that is not good ---
I can post websites for you for insects and worms - it is best to get them on line pet stores are expensive and very unreliable --

Thank you for all your advice! We are going to read through it all now and go from there

 

[Fields_Fam]

Thank you for all your advice! We are going to read through it all now and go from there

The UVB they sold us is a coil. I will order a better one now. I thought they would have known better since it was a reptile show and would know what they’re talking about My fault though, I should have research specifics before we went.

 

[Sadie]

The UVB they sold us is a coil. I will order a better one now. I thought they would have known better since it was a reptile show and would know what they’re talking about My fault though, I should have research specifics before we went.

Please get a T 5 bulb for a 40+ gallon tank --- let me know what you get and what bulb you have so I can help you place it in the tank

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome!