New beardie need advice

[calypso616]

I got this big guy today. Iv had babies before but never anything this big. I have a few questions. bare with me thanks in advanced.

1. is he considered adult or juvenile? hes about 9-10" with tail
2. does his set up seem ok? this is what it is:
- 40g tank
-uv light
-heat lamp
-hide
-crushed walnut substrate (i think)


3. what should his diet be like that this size?

4. any other things i need to know about this guy?

[Beardedragon]

Hey,

Get him off of the crushed walnut shells, its a really bad thing to have them on because it can hurt them if they eat any of it ( Keeping this simple here..)


Also, just by looking i can tell that he is not close enough to his uv light, what brand name is it and what does it look like( Twirly,or tube like)

Thanks!-

[benball8]

hes right when i got my first ever baby i put him on walnuts. which was a bad choice. he got impaction actually. we got rid of it and now hes fine but i recommend that this shouldint be used. you could keep it to somthing simple like paper towel or newspaper untill you want to go fancy with tiles or somthing or you can always stick with newspaper thats what i did for a long time. He looks like a juvenile heading to adulthood thats for shure keep him on crix for now and maybe when hes a few more inches you could go to adult supers. make shure veggies are offered daily.I myself use Kale and mustard greens. somtimes ill throw in some strawberrys or bell peppers for a treat
Make shure you coat your crix in a calcium supplement sence hes getting a little older you dont need to do it as much as 5x a week like babys. i really dont use multivitamins but if you do 2x a week. all mine seem to be doing fine with there veggies. they get most of there vitamins from them.i may be rambleing and you may already know most of this stuff but ill just throw it out there and what type of UVB are you using if i may ask?

Any other questions let me know. im not an expert but iv had em for a while and there healthy and loving life haha

[wafisherman]

I got this big guy today. Iv had babies before but never anything this big. I have a few questions. bare with me thanks in advanced.

1. is he considered adult or juvenile? hes about 9-10" with tail
2. does his set up seem ok? this is what it is:
- 40g tank
-uv light
-heat lamp
-hide
-crushed walnut substrate (i think)


3. what should his diet be like that this size?

4. any other things i need to know about this guy?

Nice looking beardie!

As has been said - switch that substrate ASAP. After I donated my last beardie to a school teacher for her classroom, I have since started over with a new little guy (girl actually, but we call him\her "Frodo").

Frodo currently sits on paper towels (quick to switch out, clean cage, and apply more each week). I also have about 6-7 super flat landscaping rocks (about 4-10 inches each) that I lay around over the paper towels.

He's in a 40 gal breeder tank which is pretty much the standard\min for an adult beardie (he's only about 5months or so now, but growing FAST).

I chose to go with a MVB bulb that provides perfect basking spot temps (110-116) and coolside temps down to 80ish. No other light is needed aside from the main light in my 'reptile room'. The MVB provides heat + UVB which are both critical for a healthy happy beardie.

As noted, make sure you have the right type of UVB and be sure he is close enough to it.

Make sure he has good basking spot that provides enough heat and a cool spot.

Water in the cage is not needed, but if you do, keep it small and keep it clean.

Give him a soak 1-5 times a week in the sink\tub with warm water (think baby bath). Just deep enough that his shoulders are above the water. This will provide all the hydration he'll need. If he is a good veggie eater, that is another way to be sure he is well hydrated.

Some good food choices:
1) Dubia Roaches: I started my own collony. My Beardie and Water Dragon LOVE them. They are easy to keep and breed - so expenses will be WAY down once the collony is established. They don't stink, make noice, fly, or climb the side of their plastic bin. They are easy to feed and use water cyrstals for added humidity and hydration. Fresh fruit and veggies are good for that as well. Keep them warm, dark, and they will flourish. They produce live young, so no need for special breeding arrangements and seperating eggs or pupaes...

2) Crickets: I stopped using these. To many horror stories about parasites and such. They are loud, smelly, escape easy, eat a lot, and can bite the beardie. I got tired of having them lost in the cage and a seperate feeding bit wasn't working well for both my lizards.

3) Silkworms: Great! I just don't like the smell of the food. Can be hard to keep and breed. But I love them for a treat now and then (variety is good for your beardies). My 2 lizards love them, just not as much as more active\wiggly bugs.

4) Power Worms: Great, but expensive. They don't move alot, but enough. They are small, and great for baby beardies especially.

5) Mealworms: don't. Not enough nutrition and the hard shells can cause impaction for smaller beardies.

6) Superworms: Both my lizards relish these about equal to the Dubias. You should really wait until the lizard is about 16 inches, but I started mine at 12 inches with no problem. I was doing silkies, but the poop was so runny. Thought it might be parasites, but when I tried supers, the poop went back to normal.

Dust your feeders with calcium and vitamins (be sure to get the right kind).

Keep the feeders (hard shell kind, not soft worms) small enough to fit between the beardies eyes as a rule of thumb.

Better stop now. Let me know if you have any questions

[SoCaliSon]

I keep my Beardies on Ceramic Tile... Looks Great... Easy to Wipe off Messy Beardie Poops... And they cant eat tile...

Also ... I find my Beardies love to climb and bask... Maybe some more Rocks or Branches in there so that he can climb around and find a basking spot he likes. I find that mine are almost always perched on some kind of spot above floor level in the tank.

Somebody mentioned water. I keep a large dish of water.. Big enough for the Beardie to climb in and soak if they wanted. One of my beardies love it... and will drink... Soak... Then poop... in that water dish. He hates getting poop in his tank... So he makes sure it gets submerged in the water. Becasue of this .. I have to change the water and clean the dish daily... But I wouldn't consider taking it out as he uses it daily.

[cierahailee]

Your Beardi is beautiful! Need to put something taller in there so that he can climb and get as close to the heat lamp as he feels he needs to be. This is what the hot spot is that should be around 110 degrees. Both of mine have prefered to stay right at the top under the heat! I might have heat hogs though!!!

[shadi11]

I agree with most the above.. The light I use reptisun 10.0 floresents. They are 6-10 inches away from the light. which is the recommended distance. They need to be replaced every six months where a MVB is yearly. My basking temps range from 103-110 depending on dragon and what they like..
I have a couple with a water dish on the cool side of the cage so they can drink or bathe as they wish.
I dont think its an adult if its 10 inches. But it looks to me like it may be bigger than that.. The diet would vary depending on age.. are you sure of the measurement?