Beardie Questions

[Demonic_Rage]

I moved my beardie into a 25 gallon encloser post pics tommorrow.
I read in the beared dragon manual that they gape their mouths to cool down. But mine has did this a few good times today is this normal for them to do this so often???? How many crickets should he have a day
Ill get measurements of him tommorrow and let you know just excatly
how big he is. Besides the UVB bulb 100 watt what other lighting if any should I be using???? Thanks again for the help.

Yes, it is true that Beardies gape to release excess heat and also to threaten enemies. It is a normal behavior, mine does it all the time.

The amount of food your Beardie should be given depends on its size. Aside from the UVB lighting you also need a basking bulb to raise the basking spot temps to 100-110F.

[JLC]

I've read that besides the daily salad, you should feed them as many of the appropriate sized crickets as they will eat in a 10-15 minute span of time. After that, any excess crickets should be removed from the enclosure. (For the sake of convenience, though, I usually wait until just before bedtime to check for left-over crickets because that is when I clean out his cage and change his paper. He rarely has any left over.)

As far as the lighting goes...do you have a flourescent UVB bulb...or a UVB spot? The spots produce enough heat to provide a basking spot as well as the necessary UVB rays...whereas the flourescent strips need to be supplemented with a heat lamp.

Personally, I like to use separate lights...because if the heat becomes too much, I can dim the heat-lamp without having to sacrifice the amount of UVB being put out.

[Demonic_Rage]

I have a spot uvb light that he basks under quite fequently during the day. I usaully feed him 5 to 6 crickets a per feeding three times daily. And his salad. I will get a good mesurement of him tonight when I get home. Could I get just a plain florescent light for visable lighting because he only leaves his basking spot to eat and cool down and then hi right back up on the driftwood to warm back up. Thanks for the info agian. You guys have been alot of help.

[JLC]

Sure...so long as you have uvb and heat taken care of, it can't hurt to add a normal light just for more illumination. I think they like it bright (sunny!) in their homes during the day.

And you're quite welcome.