This is for Mungi's Buddha

[sunny_the_beardie]

First of i hope i spelled Mungi right but this is the pictures of my light set up you asked for
So the first one is his day/heat light its 150 watt the second is his night light thats 75 watt and the third one is his UVB light which is i think 100-150 watt but i think 100

The next picture is of his thermometers the first one is his hot side which i am still trying to get perfect and its right now at 91.4 whith an 10% humidity the next picture is his cool side which right now is at 79.8 and a 33% humidity the next picture is of a meter that doesnt work but i use it as reference for his humidity levels his tank at night never went below 73.5 degrees so i think that is good.

the next picture is of him basking about 4.5 inches from his UVB light and the next one is of his veggies i got him today kale cucumber and carrot

Also you were saying that i should take out some of his perches from his tank because he wont be able to find his food welllll his food is dead and i put him in a smaller carrying tank inside his big tank to feed him is that fine then if i leave the stuff in there he eats about 20 crickets the whole day i tried feeding him more at night but he only ate about 5 so yeah is that fine to leave his stuff in then? Also i am not sure what order this will all end up in its just a guess so i hope you can figure it out his day light is the normal looking bulb and his UVB is curly i am only 16 so this is all new to me thanks oh the last picture is of how i have his lights heat day bulb on left night light in middle and UVB far right

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[Mungi's Buddha]

I would still recommend at his age that you simplify his enclosure to just the basics. There will be plenty of time when he is older to dress up his house. I am also not really sure why you would choose to feed dead crickets to a creature that prefers live prey. The live prey not only gives them a food source but also provides exercise for them and satisfies their natural instinct to hunt. These are also sight based creatures in that they react to movement which a dead cricket can not provide. If it is because you are squimish about feeding live prey then that is something that should have been thought about before purchasing a creature that needs it. I am not trying to be mean here but simply stating facts.

Feeding them in a seperate tanks is an option but feeding them in their enclosure would be better because it is less stressful than being snatched up and stuck in another tank for dinner. If you would remove all but the necessities he needs for the time being you could feed directly in his enclosure.

As to your lights..The Basking light and UV light need to both be set up so that they are shining down on the basking spot. Your dragon will spend the majority of his time at his basking spot so by positioning them over that he will get the best UV exposure. This is going to be difficult since you are using the coil-type UV bulb.It is much easier and better if you use the tube type instead so it may be something that you will want to invest in. You can use an under cabinet florescent fixture which can be found at walmart cheaply and then buy a 10.0 or 10% ReptiGlo or Reptisun tube bulb. UV bulbs emit most of their UV from the center of the bulb as opposed to the ends so you will want to line up the center of your UV fixture with the center of your Basking Fixture and as I said have them both shining over your basking spot. Also when purchasing UV bulbs if you are going to place the UV fixture on top of the screen then you need to by 26 watt UV bulbs...using an under cabinet mount fixture you can buy the 15 watt bulbs.The screen will block approximately 50% of the output of bulbs.

If you will take a look at the link I posted for you Basic BD Care Sheet-A Good Place To Start there is a great picture showing a basic set-up. Something simular to that is what I would recommend for yours but I would also leave out the hide that is in that picture because it is not necessary.
As far as the night heat light there really isnt any need for it unless your house drops down below 65 degrees at night. Your beardie will sleep better without a night light and if allowed to cool off. If your house gets colder than 65 degrees then the best supplemental heat source is a CHE ceramic heat emitter. They provide heat but no light.

You are going to need to purchase 2 digital thermometer that have remote digital probes on them. One probe needs to be attached directly to your basking spot and during the day your baby dragon needs that spot to be 110 degrees. The second probe needs to be attached tothe coolest spot in your enclosure and during the day needs to be 80-85 degrees. These thermometers are necessary items because without them you willnot be able to insure that the temps are correct. If you have a PetSmart near you they have these thermometers with probe for $9 each...find them in the Aquarium Section...the same thermometer in the Reptile Section will run more expensive and both are just as accurate.

Those would be my recommendations
Enjoy your evening!!

 

[sunny_the_beardie]

Also which bulb is it that you speak of i found 2 that sound like they might be good there not the exact ones but im talking about the style

 

[sunny_the_beardie]

Okay i just got him a reptiglo 36 inch 30 watt 10.0 tube bulb that runs the whole length of his cage i respect your opinions and am tankful for your advice but i will continue to feed him his dead crickets and most of his stuff i am going to leave in there because he does use all of it through out the day but again thank you for your recommendations and information also i got him collard greens thanks for that info too.

 

[sunny_the_beardie]

To be more exact he basks on the drift wood and the tree and sleeps inside the log that's where he is every morning for the past few and also i have no problem with feeding him live crickets but they chew on him if he doesn't eat them fast enough and he always eats about 15 every morning and about 5-10 at night along with his plants that don't move either its the fact that my family did not want live crickets in the house because of the 2 year old we have here because he always finds a way to get into something like i said before i respect your opinion but i am trying to give him allot of stuff to do and he doesn't just sit in his cage all day also i use the night light because it does get below 65 in my house and he sleeps in the hide which i thinks that so the light does not bother him. he eats by the way 2 different kinds of food crickets and these pellet things the store gave us so we are going to feed him what they recommended for him. I just thought i would make my reasons a little more clear and again i am thankful for you help and respect you opinions and ways and sunny i am sure is also thankful that he has a new UVB light so he gets enough so please understand i am not trying to disrespect you or just go against any of your ways because i believe you its because that's what was given to me and recommended to me if i have further questions in the future i would love you input on them i hope there is no hard feelings because i do admire your knowledge and i also hope you are having a great day thanks

 

[Germ]

In general, Pet Stores are one of the poorest sources of care info, very few are species specific knowledgeable in their husbandry & care. There are hundreds of threads about instances of Pet Store misinformation, this is appearing to be another.

Crickets will not be biting your BD during the day, they are nocturnal & will hide from the lights during the day, which is why a sparsely furnished enclosure is much better than a cluttered one, as yours is. A cluttered enclosure also provides your BD to many areas to get into away from the needed lighting. After a few feedings, you would get to know how many to feed. If there are many left over crix after a feeding, feed a little less next time, if it eats them all, feed a couple more. An average will soon become apparent.

If Crickets were biting it in the Pet Store, it is because they were too lazy to remove left over feeders before lights out, because that is when they can & often will come out & possibly nibble on your BD at night. Crickets should not be left in the enclosure overnight. Feeding dead, dry cricket does not provide any moisture to your BD. If you are feeding pellets, they should be moistened until they swell, prior to being fed. Feeding them dry & this is the same for the dry crix, uses up too much of their moisture stores in the digestion process & can lead to dehydration quite quickly.

Buddha has given you some very good advice, in my opinion, the Pet Store has not. If your night temps do drop below the mid to low 60sF, as was previously mentioned, a CHE (Ceramic Heat Emitter - heat with no light emitted) should be used, Lights will bother most BDs sleep, no matter what color & is why your BD goes into it's Hide to sleep. Most BDs will sleep out in the open in the enclosure in captivity. If heat is needed at night it should be on a dimmer or thermostatically controlled, just enough heat to keep the edge off (in the 70F vicinity), so your BD can cool down at night, slowing it's metabolism for a good nights sleep.

You have been given very good advice on this Forum, that is in the best interest of your BD's health & wellbeing. Choosing to heed, take advantage of the experienced wealth of knowledge at your disposal on this forum or not, is entirely up to you.

Good Luck to you & your New BD in your choices ...

 

[sunny_the_beardie]

I do understand that I am taking his well being into my own hands. That I was miss informed by the pet store. Thank you for that information.

Like I said I might be keeping most of what he has in his cage. I did take out his hide and got a tank heater for his night time hours. I do moisten the food because that's what it says to do on the bottle. Also the crickets are moist.

I consulted an exotic veterinary in my city for Sunny's health. I asked Dr. Molloy about what Buddha had told me. She told me that like you live food for him is better. But if i find him a form of exercise and mist him daily he should be happy and healthy. She asked me what brand I use I use can-o-crickets from my local pet shop she said that again was fine. Dr. Molloy told me to make sure I have vitamins and calcium on them and I do she gave me the clear because I was concerned by what you were saying. I made the executive decision to keep him on it I will take to mind the recommendations you have made. If I notice at all any deterioration of his health it will be noted and he will be checked out again. She did say however that I should not give him allot of meal worms and also said that he is a bit scared of being handled. Which he is but she put that on being from a pet store. She also informed me that because he is missing a back toe that other dragons may picked on him and I should house him alone. This is because he might have aggression to other dragons and because he was housed away from the other two dragons at the store. I trust in her opinion and I am supposed to weigh him weekly to make sure he is maintaining a proper body weight. Also make a journal of what he does and check over for the first 2 months of his new environment to make sure he is not taking it to hard. She also said that I need to take out my fake plants because he can break some off and possibly eat it. Other wise she thinks my tank is fine.

Also Germ I am wondering how his tank is crowded. He has plenty of room to move around and runs up his tree statue all the time and back down and I take him out for about 20-30 minutes. Morning and night and leave afternoon hours for basking. I let him run around when I let him out. Most of the time he climbs up onto my bead or the cat tree.

Which i think he loves to get out. At his night time feeding i did feed him in his big tank like Buddha said and am using his water dish as a salad bowel with a little bit of water in the bottom so he when he eats he get a bit of normal water. I mist him daily I will give you his routine he has formed. I get up at 8:30 every morning turn on his lights. At 8:45-9:00 or when the cage is up to temp I feed him he eats about 15-18 crickets and then he basks until I take him out at 11:00 for about 20 minutes. Then at 12:00 I mist him and give him a few more crickets and he eats about 5 at 6:00. I take him out again for about 30 minutes and at 7:00-7:30 i feed him again and he eats about 10-15 crickets. I have read they need 14 hours of light but since it is fall I turn his lights out at 9:00 on the dot his night light would have kicked in but now his heat pad will. He sleeps on the cool side of his cage. Sometimes I take him out at other times of the day but the two times is routine for me. Other times are just because I want to hold him and want to get him used to being touched. I want him to be healthy and I will do it the way I am permitted to do so. I mean no disrespect and respect your opinions and reasons for them.I have adopted a few like the tube light and the heat pad and taking out the stump hide but I will find what works best for me. AND THAT KEEPS HIM HAPPY AND HEALTHY!!! If he stops eating dead crickets and loses weight in the next few weeks I will consult the Dr. Molloy again. It seems his food is the only real difference of opinion we have here. The my exotic vet who i assure you is licensed has assured me he should live a long healthy life. She said that I can encourage exercise and make his food look real by using a laser pointer and shinning it around until he jumps onto the already dead prey that will fully satisfy his hunting needs other wise he will be fine.

I appreciate your concern and and if you want me to I can keep you updated on his health status and well-being. Believe me when I say I love this little guy and if I thought I was hurting him in any way I would stop and make sure I wasn't that's why I consulted the vet and spent over $700 to get him what he needed. He has the light and has warmth and love and food that is perfectly fine all. I need to do is watch him to make sure and he will be fine. He need vitamin powder and different kind to keep him healthy with dead crickets but I WAS ASSURED by a professional exotic veterinarian that he will be fine.

He is totally expected to live long and healthy.I hope you understand my reasoning and if you need further reasons just ask and I am firmly okay with him eating dead food and making him think its real with a laser light. Again I respect both of you and your vast knowledge but a vet is a vet and I think that they want the best for him even though the pet store does not care. Again thank you for your information I was giving Buddha the pictures he asked for I did not expect a huge debate about his food.

 

[Aleena]

I have been to a few vets, and they have recommended live prey as a staple feeder for young dragons. Very few exotic vets have species specific knowledge and we are simply giving advice in the best interest of your dragon as we all love and care for them and wish to have them happy and healthy. Of course, I am not telling you to not follow your vets advice if that is what you wish to do.

However, I will recommend you not use an under the tank heater as BD's do not have heat sensors on their bellies and tend to burn themselves. This is why Germ recommended a CHE (Ceramic Heat Emitter) for night time heat, as they do not emit light so your BD can get a restful nights sleep, and they do not pose a risk of burning your BD's belly.

 

[sunny_the_beardie]

Is having it on the side okay? a little above where he can reach?

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

@sunny_the_beardie....as Aleena told you using heating mats is not a safe or really viable option with beardies...an under the tank heater is meant to go under the tank and used with other species of reptiles such as snakesfor instance. Mounting it on the side of the tank is really just a waste of energy in my opinion. What you are attempting to do is use a piece of equipment that is not recommended for your dragon and using it in a way it was not best intended to be used.
CHE heat IF NEEDED which radiates from above is what you would use but you have already been given that information from a few knowledgeable and experienced long time bearded dragon keepers here.
I am very glad that you have a vet that you feel you can trust and you are correct in that you have every right to care for your dragon how you want including how he is fed, housed or whatever that may be. You are his keeper and no body can stop what you will do in caring for him.
You came here to this forum and stated that you had just lost another dragon and had just gotten this new dragon and that you wanted to learn...You have been given excellent information and advice. This information isn't just something that we just Google and then copy and paste here for folks nor is it information that we have made up or that we guess at. The information you have been provided with is based on actual day to day hands on experience over years and decades of time with these specific creatures and given to you by individuals that have put in that time with these creatures personally.
It has also been given to you free of charge because our only desire here is to share our experiences and knowledge with others in hopes of helping others easily find the correct info to give their dragon the best chance of success and avoid pitfalls.
I have no idea what previous experience you have had with reptiles of any species or in specific with bearded dragons other than you recently lost one...and my having seen set-ups such as the one you have fail for myself and others many times in the past offered my suggestions for a more proven successful set up for a baby bearded dragon. Others have added to what I have offered and all of this is proven successful info.
Most reptile owners and breeders don't like to guess if they don't have to because taking care of any species of animal that can not tell you what is wrong when you ask them and species that will most times give you no warning when they are in danger of going down and that will go down fast and hard sometimes in a matter of hours is one of the most difficult things to deal with. We are trying to take the guess-work out of things for you and hopefully keep you from making the same mistakes that time and again have lead to disaster.
Again it is your dragon and I wish nothing else but a long and happy life for that dragon and I wish for you to be able to experience a long time with it...My last piece of advice....Wear your seat-belt because trying to re-invent the wheel when there are proven safe and sure ones being handed to you for free is one of the surest fire ways I know of to end up on a road of regret.
Nothing I have said here is meant in any disrespect either nor has anything you have said been taken by me as disrepect. Have a great day, enjoy your "executive decisions" and good luck to your dragon