My First Beardie

Hello Amber,
Well, just make sure he is not ingesting any of that sand, or he could become impacted. If you feed him outside of the tank, that should cut down on the possibilities of that happening.
Look on the base of the UVB light you have & it should be stamped on there somewhere. I recommend the reptisun 10 as a flourescent bulb. Those are the best.
As far as the canned veggies, I don't recommend them. They do not have the essential B vitamins. They can get thiamin deficiencies from canned or frozen veggies, if the vitamins are not replaced. Fresh is best if at all possible. The fruit should be given only 2 days a week. Bananas should be given sparingly since they are higher in phosphorus & can bind the calcium absorbtion. Romaine is fine, but also try mustard greens, collard greens, dandelion greens, escarole or endive all of which are dark green leafy greens which have good minerals & vitamins in them for him.
What types of worms are your kids digging up? That isn't a good idea just in case any pesticides got into the soil somewhere along the line, you just never know. As far as the worms, I would say no on those though, because earthworms are too fatty. The best worms for feeding are phoenix worms, butterworms, silkworms along with the crickets.
Do you have him on a 12 hour & 12 hour off light cycle? No lighting is needed at night. They sleep better when it's dark. You only need heating if your tank falls below 60 at night.

Tracie

He is on a 14 hour on and 10 hour off cycle, I read it in the care book my husband bought for me, and numerous places online that it should be that, I kept his heat lamp on all night last night because the thermometer wasn't registering properly, but I figured out why and fixed it. So I'll feel better turning it off tonight. I did have a night time light on for him last night too, but I'll turn it off tonight then since we keep it no cooler than 80 degrees in our apartment anyway, and he's in a good spot in the room away from vents, so his tank shouldn't fall below 70 degrees F at the most.

Ok, took notes on the types of worms, and he loves his crickets, so I'll def. be sticking with those. No worms from back yard, also noted. Almost positive nobody around our side uses pesticides, but I see your point, there is farm land across the street on one side of the subdivision.

The light is also noted. I will check mine after my 2 year old gets up from her nap, I don't want to wake her too early. (He stays in her room, hee hee)

Thank you so much for the help on all of this. I just want to make sure he stays healthy. Will I need a bigger tank once he hits adulthood? He's in a 50 gallon now, I had measurements at one point in time, but will have to re-take them also later today.

Also, do you know of a good exotic pet health insurance to go through? I want to make sure I have something for him just in case. But can only find ones that'll cover minor things not major.

Hello Amber,

That is fine a 14 hour on & 10 hour off is fine. As long as you feel he is getting adequate sleep. Alot of people do the 12 on as well. As long as it is working no problems. He will be fine without nighttime heating though. Those temps of 70 are perfectly fine.
Yes, that is a good idea about the worms, because you just never know about the soil sometimes. It is better safe than sorry!
Did you check the UVB to see which brand it was? Let me know what it is. It is probably getting old now though, so good you are going to be replacing it.
A 50 gallon is great for now. An adult sized tank really should be at least a 75 gallon, but a 90 gallon or larger is always great if you can swing it so he has plenty of room!
I don't know any exotic pet insurance off of the top of my head. I will look into it for you & get back with you on that. :-))

Tracie

The stamp on the bulb is worn away to where I can't read it. So, yeah, I'm def. going to replace it in the next week, hopefully sooner.

How long until he reaches full grown size? I figure him to be about 9-10 weeks at the oldest right now because according to my research, you can't sell a baby beardie until they are 6 weeks and 6 inches long. I'm just trying to get a rough idea about how long it'll be before I have to replace his tank.

I had my husband buy some collard greens and some worms from the store today. The worms were kinda long, so I cut them in half. Tobias wouldn't touch them or the greens. I don't get it.....I went to a place earlier today where I know for a fact there are no chemicals used for acres and such and got some crickets from there for now. He has enough to last him until next time I can get to the store. Any other ideas on how to get him to eat his greens?

He chows down on the crickets, but even with calcium dust and gut loading, I know it's not enough for him.

Hello Amber,

Yeah, if the stamp is worn off, then, it is definitely time for a new one for sure! Great you will replace it soon.

He should be able to reach his full length within 1 year, but he will continue to fill out girthwise well into his 2nd year or so. That is why the proper lighting & supplementation early on is so important. It sets them up for good bone strength & structure. Well, they are not supposed to sell them unless they are at least 6 inches long, but they sometimes sell them earlier. I would say once he reaches 12 or so inches, you could go ahead & upgrade to a 50 gallon, or just get his adult sized one of 75 or larger, & just partition it if you feel it is too big. If you are feeding him outside of the tank, then he wont lose his prey in the larger tank which sometimes happens in the larger tank. You don't want him to get frustrated if he can't get his food.

What kind of worms did you get? You know, you can order from offline, it is much cheaper. At his age, feeding him crickets 2 times a day is pretty good. Getting him to eat his greens is tricky. They normally don't at that age. Just keep putting them in there & he should eventually start eating them. He is too young to withhold the crickets to get him to eat the greens. If you get any phoenix worms or silkworms you can mix them up in the greens & they will appear to "move" so that could help. Also, there are those beardie or dragon bites which are soft & moist that alot of people mix up in the greens to in order to entice them, maybe that will help some. You may end up making yourself a salad! LOL They sometimes take awhile to eat them.

Tracie

Yes, I am going this weekend to get him a new tank lid (that actually FITS) and a new light. There seems to be an elusive cricket in his cage, but I've taken things out one at a time, and just can't find him. *sighs* but he's in there, I've seen him.

I tried the worms in the greens, I think mealworms, I threw the box away, he took one bite and was uninterested after that. I tried to hand feed him today too, but it didn't work.

As far as the tank he's in now, it is a 50 gallon, he has no trouble catching his crickets (except for the elusive one) I usually drop them in one or two at a time right in front of him, so he sees them right off the bat. I have learned though, if I put the cricket carrier in front of his tank, he'll forget about the ones in his cage and stare at all the ones in the carrier, so I had to move that out of his sight to get him to eat his.

I think I'll pick up some of those bites also when I go to get his light. Thanks for all the help.

I took him outside again today. He seems to do so much better out of his tank. His colors get brighter and he's a bit more active. Do you think it's too hot or cool in there? The temp on his basking rock is around 104 degrees F and the temp on the other side is between 75-86 degrees F

Hello Amber,

Great he is doing well now, & eating. I Hope you catch that cricket! Make sure it doesn't bite him at night when he is sleeping. Yeah, the mealies are too fatty, so it's good he doesn't like them much. He would probably like the phoenix worms or silkworms or hornworms. At least he is eating his crickets though. That is pretty funny you had to move the cricket carrier so he would eat what was in front of him. They do get distracted easily though.
Maybe the moist dragon bites will help perhaps. Sometimes it takes time for them to eat their greens. I do have to say though, that there are alot of dragons that simply will barely eat any at all, while others eat alot of them. They are all different in their tastes.
So he seems happier outside of his tank? The temps sound pretty decent. You could safely up the temps to 110 or between 105-110 but you could cool the other end off to 82 or so. The ambient temps might be too high & not allowing him to cool off when needed. A 50 gallon is excellent right now. It is hard to tell. Is your basking light bright? They need it very bright, & the babies like it a bit warmer than adults, so, maybe upping the basking temps may help.
I usually recommend either a halogen or a bright daytime bulb for the basking in conjunction with your UVB as well.
Keep me posted. I hope I am helping out! :-))

Tracie

Makes me wish I kept the box my basking bulb came in. It's a pretty bright one yes, keeps my little girls room lit up at night before it switches off. :P

I tried putting carrots into his greens....I'm hoping it does something for him, but won't hold my breath. Def. loves outside his cage more than in his cage. The one side doesn't get above 86 degrees F and since I'm normally looking at it from an angle, I'd say that it's at least 80 degrees at the least.

We are going Saturday to get him some more crickets, his new light and screen lid, then I'll grab some of those moist bites for him too.

His poo seems to be fine, normally 1 a day to every other day. Yesterday he went twice, I think, or was that the other day. So I'm guessing he's getting enough to eat.

I did manage to catch the elusive cricket before night fell. Stuck him back in with the other crickets, and he gobbled him up this morning. hee hee

I've noticed he does get distracted easily....lol....especially when the little one is near his tank.

I've thought about a heat rock with a thermostat on it, just to see if that'd help a bit more with his basking, but I'm leery about it because I know if too hot, it can burn his belly and I don't want that. I guess for now I'll just continue to take him outside during the afternoons/evenings when it's not too hot, but warm enough for him to bask.

Hello Amber,

Great you are going to get his new screen top & new light this weekend. That should help out alot.
Definitely no heat rocks. They are not safe. However, you could get slate tiles & stack them as they tend to hold heat pretty well, or a brick & build a little basking platform for him. Bricks hold heat well too.
Good you caught little cricket! They can bite so you have to round them up daily to make sure none sleep in the tank with him.
Ok, so the cool side doesn't get above 85 or so? That is fine. As long as his basking is up to 105 or above, he should have plenty of heating. Lighting is very important for them. Great if he loves being outside too though as there is nothing as good as the sunlight! Watch out for birds & other predators.
It sounds like you are getting everything under control now. He sounds very happy too.

Tracie

I found out the wattage of the basking bulb, it is a 100 watt.....I got his new light yesterday, it's a 20 watt repti glo 2.0 (it's all they had available in the size i needed) they have NO SCREEN to fit my tank. it's 3 ft. long and a foot wide, they had nothing. So he's still got the one that's too big.

They also didn't have any other worms except for meal worms. I bought one cup of them just because I REALLY want him to eat his veggies, but ordered some phoenix worms online that should be here soon. Had to get him some more crickets too, he went through 24 of them in a few days.