New Beared Dragon

[Demonic_Rage]

Hello all you beardie lovers. Got some questions about beardies. I just got one today! I have him in a ten gallon setup with paper towel bedding. A fake tree stump for him to bask on. The basking temp is at about 95 to 102 degrees. Well I kinda felt sorry for the little guy/girl. He only has three feet. His front left foot and half the forearm are gone. Said it happened by a sibbling. Other had what they called nipped tails. I have looked into beardies for a while and saw him. Talked to the guy for a while asked a few questions. And decided that I had to have him. He has so much peronality. He does so many funny things. And I have only had him a few hours. I wanted to know if I should let him be for a few days. Just to settle him into his new world. How bad is stress in beardies??? Also I feed him six crickets toady when I got him home We dusted them with Mineral dust, and we gave him some pieces of beardie food. Hes ate everything in the cage to eat. Am I feeding enough?? I also got to books on beardies. Which I plan to read later this evening. I will get pic of him up on the site later on. Thanks for all the help. Oh and if anyone would have any suggestions about removing an old shead that would be great. Oh and I will get pic of his encloser too.

[JLC]

HEY! Welcome to the world of beardies! I'm a newbie there, myself, but love my little guy to pieces!

First off, here's the BEST site for learning how to feed a beardie, complete with AWESOME food list that lets you know exactly what and what not to feed:
Beautiful Dragons

He needs a fresh salad in his cage every single day...put it in there in the morning after he's warmed up and leave it in for the day...take it out about an hour or so before the lights go out. That way he can munch on as much as he wants during the day, in addition to whatever crickets and such he gets. (Mine just goes NUTS for his crix!!) You can learn more details about feeding from that site.

Must be a little one to fit in a 10 gal tank. (WOn't fit in there for long!) You should up the basking temp to closer to 110 for a young one.

I've had my guy for almost two weeks now, and he's still a bit stressed about being handled...his darkened beard and an occassional reluctance to leave his basking rock are the only signs of this, though. We don't "play" with him yet, but I do have to take him out each evening in order to clean out his enclosure and replace his paper towels. I set him on my shoulder while I go about these chores...then hold and talk to him for a minute, then put him back in his home. Hopefully he will grow used to this and get to know me and maybe even "like" me someday!

Hopefully this is enough info to get ya started...don't want to overload ya!
They're so fun to have!

Feel free to ask for more info!

[JLC]

Just a couple more things come to mind as I re-read my post...

In a 10 gallon tank, it may be difficult to maintain a temperature that high without overheating the rest of the tank. Keep a close eye on the ambient and cool temps and consider moving up to a bigger tank as soon as possible.

I sprinkle beardie-pellets on his salad and spritz the whole thing with water before giving it to him. The water softens the pellets and also provides a little extra water for him to consume. Once they start eating their fruits and veggies, most of their water intake will come from those. They don't typically drink from a water bowl...they prefer dripping water (or just consuming it in their diets)...but I always have a shallow bowl of fresh water for him just in case. And if nothing else, he likes to hang out with his front legs in the water while the rest of him stays dry. LOL!

[Demonic_Rage]

Okay thasnks for all the good info. What would you say would be a better suited cage size??? I was thinking along the lines of a 25 to 30 gallon. Would this be better? And is it okay to feed him green beans because in one of my books it said it was fine. What would be the best fruits and veggies for one his size thank

[Demonic_Rage]

heres a picture of th litlle monster i have named him stubby because of his handiecapp[/img]

[JLC]

Green beans are fine...just not a daily staple. And NOT out of a can! LOL I chop up fresh green beans into bite sized pieces, along with chopped up greens, shredded carrots and cut up grapes. (That's just a typical salad...I mix it up from day to day) I put it all on a small saucer and leave it in his cage. Any small, shallow dish will do.

I have mine in a 20 gal long, for now. He'll stay in that one until we've moved this summer. Then I'll get him a 55 gal, which will probably be his permanent home. 20 is good for young ones. If it's TOO big, they can actually get lost and can't find all their crickets and get stressed out.

That web site I gave you in the first post will tell you all the different kinds of foods you should be using.

And I want to see pics ASAP! Does it have a name yet?

[JLC]

Well now.....that's about as ASAP'd as I've ever seen! LMAO

What a little cutie!!! Our local pet store has a fully grown beardie that has that same kind of stubbed tail and he's missing much of one of his back legs, like yours is missing the front. He's thriving and I know yours will too!

[JLC]

For a guy that little, you'll want to be sure to chop his veggies very small.

[Demonic_Rage]

Yeah I hope so I am going to check out that site now. I thought you would like tose pics there is more in my gallery. And I know that there will be more to come. I will get his greens tommorw. Thanks for all the help JLC

[JLC]

You're mighty welcome! My pleasure!