new to beardeds!

[SatanicIntention]

As far as the coccidia, alot of Beardeds have it because crickets are a vector for it(why I like roaches as a feeder insect). They use Albon to treat it(tastes like vanilla pudding mixed with some caramel if you were wondering), and it's not too harsh on their system.

[ADEE]

wow thats a bit pricey! ouch... i have a bright white light now but i know it was a reptile light.. they both were. he only sits still for a few minutes at a time.. otherwise hes up and moving at night he does seem to sleep well.. as far as making him feel better, aside from being stubborn to eat!

can i offer him mealworms or something other than crickets?

[SatanicIntention]

Mealworms are a no no for baby beardeds, too much shell and not enough meat. Crickets are ok if they are from a clean source. He'll likely be eating 100 per day or so, so be prepared

I can justify the cost for the ReptileUV MVB bulb because it's only $45 and lasts a good 2 years or more. The fluorescents cost about half that but still need to be replaced every 6 months, plus the cost of a heat bulb(doesn't have to be made specifically for reptiles). The MVB's are heat and UVB in one unit, so they save you some money.

I would just get his temps up, keep him hydrated, see what type of UVB you have and replace if necessary. See how he does in a day or so of having proper temps. They just like it hot!

[ADEE]

How can i tell which is the uvb? is it likely the blue one is? i plan to at least try to get the temps up today.. and perhaps order one of those other bulbs since they do both, too bad i cant buy it locally!

[daniel1983]

How can i tell which is the uvb?

The price tag.....UVB bulb generally go for $25+...If you buy anything cheaper, it is probably not a UVB bulb.

I use 100W Powersun Mercury Vapor bulbs for my chameleons. You can check around, but I get mine from http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=74 which has pretty decent prices on the bulbs.

[SatanicIntention]

It will usually say on the bulb itself, towards one of the ends.

[ADEE]

i meant out of the two i have so i know which one to remove. i know the boxes label what the bulb is as i have purchased them before


if my husband wasnt sleeping at home i (i have tried calling him) would have him just walk over to spartan and see what bulbs i have.. i didn't relise it was on the bulb itself.

[littleindiangirl]

Me and the bf were discussing getting a beardie, and the beardie forums are INCREDIBLE! they have so much knowledge, and a very friendly bunch. Have you tried over there? We had questions about husbandry, and these people are really cool. Good luck with the beardie. Sorry to hear you gave up the Ball pythons.

[zimbabwepegasus]

Hi!
Definitely check out www.beardeddragon.org. Admittedly, that's my main forum, but I just got my first corn snake, so I popped over here.

Real quick- good quality UVBs make A TON of difference in your beardie's eating. When I upgraded from a compact (big no-no) to a reptisun 10.0 his eating increased by 30+ crix a day. When I upgraded again to an MVB (uvreptile that keeps getting talked about is the megaray MVB), I noticed another increase of about 40+ crix. The best MVBs are the T-Rex UV Active heat and the Megaray @ uvreptile.com. The T-Rex you can find all over, the Megaray I think Bob only sells it online and on occassion you'll find one at a reptile show. When Sinclair was still growing insanely, he was averaging 85 crix a day. It's insanity. On the plus side, you don't really have to keep crix. Tube UVBs last around 6 months, MVBs last between 1 year and 18 months (raging debate right there!)

Just so you are aware beardies do the vast majority of their growth inside a year. Most jump from 5-6 inches at 2 months to 18-21 inches by 9 months. So that cage increase might come sooner than you are expecting.

Just keep your humidity low and your temps high (100-110 in the basking) and you'll be all good.

Coccidia isn't related to the crix. Coccidia is a naturally occurring bacteria in beardies. It's almost like a yeast infection. When the coccidia level gets too high (a count of 4 or over), they need to be medicated. It's generally treated with Albon. Your beardie doesn't sound like he has it at all!

I'm not sure how long you've had him, but some beardies take a week or so to relocate and be okay with eating. If you are still having issues, you could try ordering a couple silkworms or phoenix worms, both of which are soft bodied and therefore don't present the risk of impaction that other feeders do. Chicken baby food is also a decent source of protein. It sounds like you probably know this, but don't try offering anything bigger than the space between your beardie's eyes. If they are too large, he/she might be scared.

But in general, your baby sounds and looks perfectly healthy and normal. Yes, they are hyperactive. OH my gosh. It's like having a freakin' puppy!

Your baby looks like red phase to me. And you are going to get a lot more gorgeous color on him/her in the next 6 months- 1 year.
Here's a picture of my red phase when he was a baby. He was 2 months, I had just gotten him.

[ADEE]

firstly the "white" coiled bulb is a reptiglo 2.0 so you can tell me if thats garbage or not...


i met with the breeder and he took spartan back with the understanding i do want him back when hes better. We got two "females" in return so we will eventually have like three large set ups when were done.. these two "girls" are much better looking, very alert and "feeding" we will see how well they are feeding later when we give them a last round of crickets a couple hours before bed. i also picked up some "spring mix" that has raddicio in with it. I will let you know how things pan out.. for the record, spartan IS coming back home, we DID NOT trade him for a new animal. he said he would treat him with some sort of calcuim (?) he did agree the animal looked pretty bad and very thin. its amazing how good these little girls look. sadly they are not as vibrant as our spartan.