Need Some Advice

[Moofins07]

This might be seen as ignorant, and it will more than likely be moved to the appropriate section not long from now, but I'm looking to get any advice and tips from any Bearded Dragon owners. I'm submitting this in the Ball Python section because it is the most often visited section, and I don't own a computer. My boyfriend and I are probably going to make the decision to take the old guy in quite soon.

A friend of mine decided he no longer has the time for his male Beardie, Spike (Hahah, original, right?), and he's offering him to us, everything included, for a decent price. He's not young, I know that - 5 years old, I think. He has a calcium deficiency, so he never got very big.

I have already read through the caresheet for Beardies very thoroughly and have written down everything I'll need to remember. "No wild caught bugs, avoid citrus, no loose substrate", and a lot more. I'd just love to hear any tips or immediate concerns there might be from BD owners. I take a lot of care and consideration into my animals, so I want to know EVERYthing before even thinking of picking him up.

So far as I know, my friend has already committed several big BD no-no's. He has very fine sand for substrate, plus a couple heat rocks (which I will throw away, if I do take him in). He does, however, have a florescent UV bulb, and a 100 watt infrared heat bulb. The tank is custom made, but at least 4 feet long, I remember that. There is no screen top to go with it, and that's how he's always had it. He says Spike will crawl to the top of the tank and sit at the edge, but won't go anywhere. This worries me, since he will be in a new home and might do something unexpected, like fall off the edge and get lost.


Sorry for such a looooong post, and I hope this won't be moved too quickly before I can get some viable advice. Thank you so much, everybody, for any input!

[BPelizabeth]

Send a message to CoolioTiff. She is a big beardie keeper and knows her stuff when it comes to them. She will be able to give you tips and probably be able to talk to you about some things to help him.

[j_h_smith]

MBD is not reversable as far as I know. Is he crawling on his feet or elbows? Feed him more crickets and superworms to get his weight up. Keep up with the DARK veggies too. Kale, collared greens, all of the big leaf dark greens. Multivitamin and Calcium suppliments will be needed too. You've got the caresheets, so I won't go into husbandry. You probably need to keep him a little warmer than usual to get his metabolism up. Do not cool him down at night. Put a lid on the enclusore. The last thing this little guy needs is to get out and freeze.

I don't know exactly what information you're looking for, but send me a PM and I can help you.

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

[GoBoilers]

It's been awhile since I owned a beardie...but there was a great group at yahoo that really helped me fine tune my care for her! If you do a search at yahoo groups for "bearded dragon," the group should pop up...I think it was "pagona."

For what it's worth, I kept mine in a 2'X2'X4' enclosure with screen top and sliding front doors. Reptisuns (uv light) were good when I was keeping, but I remember getting a light online that was quite good (offered excellent uv and heat plus you used it like a regular light-bulb...no special housing needed). If you're interested, I'll try to find the site! Also had a good uv meter to keep an eye on the longevity of the light as well as to help determine optimal basking zones... Yes, I'm geeky when it comes to husbandry sometimes...I just used butcher paper as the substrate. Food-wise, I used mostly supers (mealworms are too chitinous--not sure if that's a word!) but tried to change it up a bit with silkworms (LOVED those...found them online), crickets, and the occasional butter/tomato worm. Good salads are a must...no spinich, romaine or iceberg lettuce...stick with turnip/mustard/collard greens. Sweet potato and squash (butternut, spaghetti, etc) are good veggies as are green beans with strawberries for a little color and alfalfa powder to top (decent BASIC salad). There's a good salad recipe at www.anapsid.org for iguanas that also applies to beardies...the goal is a proper calcium/phosphorus ratio. That's about all I can remember! Good luck!!

[GoBoilers]

Here's that website I was talking about for the light: http://www.reptileuv.com/