New here and looking for advice

[Scotty]

Hello,

I just bought a Fancy Bearded Dragon yesterday from PetSmart. Well it is only about a month old or maybe a little more.. It's about 3 and a half inches long.. I have it in a ten gallon tank with brown reptile carpet, I have a 100 watt basking bulb and a Zilla 50 UVB desert light fixture.. I have small cricket for him/her and I also have mealworms.. Am I doing everything correctly? I do not have any humidity or temperature gauges yet, I ordered them online, but humidity is supposed to stay at 10-50% correct? Also, how many crickets should my BD be eating everyday? And I have calcium without D3 for every feeding and I have calcium with D3 I will be using twice a month as well as a multivitamin.(herptivite).. Just wanted to see what you guys have to say to me here, make sure I'm doing everything right.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Scotty]

 

[Germ]

To start with, a 10 gal enclosure is much too small & dangerous, minimum starter size for a young BD needs to be 20 gal long or bigger. It does not allow for the proper required heat gradient to be provided. It is also extremely dangerous to run without thermometers in any enclosure, particularly one that small, you could well be slowly cooking your BD. We have had many issues with 10 gallon tanks because of pet store recommendations, a number of them fatal because they were not corrected in time. Please correct this, Yesterday!

Your enclosure is much too cluttered also, providing many hiding spots for feeders & making it difficult for your BD to catch them before they hide on it. The K.I.S.S. method is much better to start out with.

A few good links to help get you started ...

Basic BD Care Sheet - A Place To Start

Bearded Dragon --- Exclusive Care Info Library

Beautiful Dragons Nutrition Chart

Is Bearded Dragon Co-habitation a good plan?

 

[Scotty]

K.I.S.S. method?

 

[Germ]

Keep It Simple Stupid . Not calling anyone stupid ...

 

[Scotty]

Oh lol ok.. Well I took out one of the sticks and the rock hide.. I'm going to run to Walmart and pick up a 20 gallon glass aquarium tank tonight and get that guy in there. I also have a Zoo med under the tank heater too...

 

[Germ]

Try & get a 20 Gal long, much more floor area. It may be more cost effective for you to go directly to a 40 Gal breeder or bigger. A 20 Gal will only last a few short months before it will outgrow it.

 

[Scotty]

My aunt is giving me her 40 gallon critter cage next month.. Her water dragon is just about to grow out of it.

 

[ThDude]

feed him as many crickets as he caneat in 1 10-15 minute time span, remove anyuneaten crickets from his tank after. alsothey eats greens too, he needs fresh every day somthing like, mustard greens, collard greens, kale, dandy lion greens.

 

[Pat B]

Your beardie is so tiny and he/she is beautiful! I love the colors....mine is ordinary gray! This is good forum with lots of good advice. Be very careful what petstores tell you....most of it is 'crap'....and not true! Oh....and Welcome to BDF....I hope you enjoy your stay!!

 

[Scotty]

Trust me, lol my dog knows more than petsmart/co.. I have a chameleon an I know all those stories the workers make up for you to buy that you don't need. AND recommend unhealthy stuff for your animal

 

[Chris Baez Jr.]

Beautiful BD, congratulations.

Welcome to the forum, all the members here want to help you, trust me.

Let's put it this way: You know more about the price of eggs in China than PetSmart employees know about the pets they sell.

Try Craigslist, I also collected tropical fish as well, and I have gotten some great deals on tanks. You can probably get a 55 gallon tank for a very good price.

Please remove the 100 watt bulb as soon as possible, as Germ said, you're cooking the BD as we speak. 100 watts is too strong for a 10 gallon tank.

Read as much as you can here at the forum, and stick with us, you'll learn a lot. And I can guaranty that you'll have a long and and very interesting relationship with your beautiful BD.

 

[Pat B]

Yep....best forum on the Web....ask questions and I guarantee you won't go wrong!!!

Sent from my LG-P999 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Scotty]

Please remove the 100 watt bulb as soon as possible, as Germ said, you're cooking the BD as we speak. 100 watts is too strong for a 10 gallon tank.

Can I use a 60 watt house bulb? I now have it in a 20 gallon tank. I picked it up at a discount pet store near me.. I paid 27$ for it

 

[Germ]

The 100W may be okay in the 20 Gal, at least it can get away from it if it needs to, because there should be some kind of Heat Gradient there. It is imperative that you get an accurate thermometer asap, to ensure that you are providing the proper temps in the right places. Specific heat temps are required for the proper food digestion process. Digital thermometer with a sensor\probe is needed to take the accurate temp at the specific points in the enclosure required.