newbie to it all

[lizardcrazy]

heeeeeellllllllllllooo everybody Here I am sitting on my laptop dreaming of dragons................................... bearded dragons of course lol. I love their looks temper their bad@## look and their size you know what? forget all that I love everything about them and I WANT ONE NOW!!!!!!!!!! So I humble ask you from your own experience how should I start? I do have a nice 40 gallon breeder tank and I need to get a light for it and I have some newspaper for the bottom ( who dosent?lol) I know I need to get some hides branches bowls I have powder vitamins because I have 2 leos. What else do I need? I heard some specs that they need running water because they wont drink still water. What do you all feed yours? I heard crickets (of course) roachs veggies (whats the best?) pinkies and thats about it. Thank you for stopping by to look at a poor beardie newbies cry for help lol hope to make some new friends on here

 

[zebraflavencs]

Hi there ! Always glad to encourage someone new in this madness we call Dragon keeping...

Okay, 40 gal Breeder is good for the life of the dragon.
You will need :
flo fixture 2/3rds the length of that tank.
ReptiSun 10.0 TUBE to go in fixture.
Dome light shell
Household Flood light for heat.

Fixtures for heat and uvb should be close enough that the rays from both overlap the basking area.
Substrate is good.
Temps: Basking for babies 105-110*F, warm side, 85-95*F, cool side 75-85*F, over night temps don't need to drop below 65*F.

Now. Feeding. No rodents... Way old school, and not appropriate for regular feedings. Babies require 80% insect protein, Roaches offer the best ratio. Babies do better with a 20% vegetable matter in their diet. Insects should not be longer than the distance between the eyes of the dragon.

Mustards, Collards and Turnip greens are the base of the daily salad. Check with www.beautifuldragons.com food list for things to add to that. Stick with highlighted Green for daily staples, Black highlighted for snacks 1-2 times a week.

Bathes: Temps should be human baby warm, depth no higher than shoulders on baby, duration 10-20 minutes.
You should have something like a wash cloth in the bottom of the "tub" for stability for the claws. Always supervise totally each bath.. don't walk away for a moment... dragons can drown, and we don't want that !

Other than that... hides should be placed on the cool side, leave it open so you can see clearly the dragon while he/she is in there.
Anything else ?
Janie-Roach Queen

 

[lizardcrazy]

WOOOOO thank you for the info . First Im going to get all that I need make sure my temps stay stable for a week then get my new addition. Now I do have a old fish tank light strip is that ok as long as I get the reptisun 10.0 tube? It was for a 30 gallon tank might be a little longer then 2/3. A household flood light will work for heat? I didnt know that. No rodents got it is it because of the lactose that the rodent would be caring wont be good for the dragons stomach? oh thank you very much for the info I want to be able to give my soon to be baby the greatest and best life I could give it isnt that the point of caring for any animal?

 

[sara]

I totally agree with Janie(and why should I not,she's been a world of help to me).If I am wrong someone correct me please,but I think the reason for NO pinkies is that the bones can cause an impaction risk.Beardies get their nutrition from the insects and don't need pinkies. I would also suggest calcium powder to dust the crickets or roaches in,this provides the calcium that babies need for proper bone developement,lack of calcium can cause major problems. Dust crickets or roaches 1 time a day with calcium 5 days a week.Feedings should be 3 times a day as much as baby can eat in 15 mins.but only one feeding a day should have calcium dust (ex.dust morning feeding with calcium Mon-Fri and dust 1 feeding a day 2 days a week with vitamins Sat-Sun morning feeding).Again,please correct me if I am wrong about the pinkies.

 

[Boogiesmom]

I am not sure on the Pinky's but I do know they are bad for Beardies. Babies and Juveniles should have the calcium 6 days a week and one day (Minerals/vitamins). When they are adults it changes. As long as your light covers 2/3 of your tank it is fine. I went out and bought a fixture at Walmart and used clamps (fancy LOL) to hang it inside my tank. It was 8 bucks. The clamps were $1 each. Then went to home depot and bought a small chain and some bolts. With a glass tank it was not easy to hang it. Correct me if I am wrong guys but I think it should be about 12 inches from your Beardie. A house hold light will work great. Some people use flood lights, I use a house bulb. You will need to get a temp gun or probe to measure your basking side and your cool side. The stick on kind really don't work very well. Other than this I think the other ladies answered everything.

Good luck!

 

[egg 80]

well ill just say welcome to the forum it seems everyone has already given you the info required check out the forums care sheet for your veggies list, general care, light requirements etc hope you enjoy your beardie as much as we do the only requirement to be on the forum is pics are a must lol
paul ;D

 

[renich]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have been in good hands. Here's the link to our caresheet:
Bearded Dragon Care

 

[lexi]

Welcome! ;D

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Hello and welcome

 

[DragonMom]

:-X

 

[zebraflavencs]

A diet of pinkies leads to fatty liver disease... let's avoid that if we can, shall we ?
Roaches, crickets, phoenix worms, silk worms, even horn worms and super worms (moria) are all part of a good staple insect diet.
Now, the horns are a semi staple, and the supers you should hold back on until the dragon is 16" in length.
Janie

 

[lizardcrazy]

thank you all I have a tank setup I got a 10.0 uvb light bulb for 4 bucks and a basking light for 8 I have all the bowls needed and stuff to climb on a 40 gallon breeder now all I need is the new addition and some roaches I CANT WAIT!!!!!!!! its said that a 20 year old man is acting like this lol. Thank you again and I will have lots of pics up when I get one

 

[renich]

You peaked my curiosity. Where did you get a UV bulb for 4 bucks?

 

[lizardcrazy]

I *ahem* was looking around petco and um found it in the clerance bin and it is perfectly fine so I grabbed it.it was 45 and I got it for 4 ^____^

 

[Boogiesmom]

I *ahem* was looking around petco and um found it in the clerance bin and it is perfectly fine so I grabbed it.it was 45 and I got it for 4 ^____^

What a deal! Good for you....

 

[renich]

Wow. That is being at the right place at the right time. Good for you! Love a good deal.

 

[lizardcrazy]

me too I love the attention on here my fiance might get a little jealous lol thank you for all the help. I know the new addetion will be happy with all the help you all have given me

 

[ladyknite]

Welcome

gotta ask the brand of that bulb?

Also, as to your original question concerning water. You don't need to add water into the enclosure. the humidity could cause an issue for your dragon. Although in certian areas of the US, it's actually beneficial.

The issue with pinks is the fat content, not lactose.

 

[crypticdragons]

I *ahem* was looking around petco and um found it in the clerance bin and it is perfectly fine so I grabbed it.it was 45 and I got it for 4 ^____^

What was the brand/name of that bulb? If its the ReptiGlo 10.0 its not appropriate for dragons as it has been known to cause eye issues in some cases. Now if its a ReptiSun 10.0 then you are good.

 

[lizardcrazy]

its reptisun 10.0 I heard that reptiglo and coil type bulbs have been burning dragons eyes is that true? If so they need to stop selling them