My First Beardie

Ok, I read that as an adult if their tails or body parts break off, they won't grow back. Does that hold true for the babies too? Say Toby's tail breaks off, would it grow back right now? Trust me though, I would never let anything like that happen....or at least try my best to prevent it from happening. But my daughter doesn't grasp the fact that she CAN'T grab the tail, so, yeah, I'm just a bit worried about if she ever hurts him by doing so on accident when I'm not looking.

Yeah I tried carrots mixed with canteloup turnip greens and squash baby food today....but seems like he didn't touch it.

He's running around my living room right now. Found a dark spot under the computer..haha

So a mercury vapor bulb....will that work in place of a uvb flourescent?

Hello Amber,


No, unfortunately, once they lose part of their tail or all of it, then, it will not grow back. So, definitely handle with care. Hopefully you can get your daughter to realize how important that concept is.
Oh the mercury vapor bulbs replace heat lamps & flourescents. They combine both UVB & heat & are the best bulbs out there, well, in my opinion anyway. They really do wonders for your reptile with high UVB requirements.

Tracie

Originally Posted by harmonysmom

Ok, I read that as an adult if their tails or body parts break off, they won't grow back. Does that hold true for the babies too? Say Toby's tail breaks off, would it grow back right now? Trust me though, I would never let anything like that happen....or at least try my best to prevent it from happening. But my daughter doesn't grasp the fact that she CAN'T grab the tail, so, yeah, I'm just a bit worried about if she ever hurts him by doing so on accident when I'm not looking.

Yeah I tried carrots mixed with canteloup turnip greens and squash baby food today....but seems like he didn't touch it.

He's running around my living room right now. Found a dark spot under the computer..haha

So a mercury vapor bulb....will that work in place of a uvb flourescent?

MVB works okay in place of a UVB, but I'd suggest sticking with the UVB, they are a bit cheaper, Most of them las longer, and I just prefer them.

MVB also emits quite a bit of heat, and might make the cage a bit hotter than need be..

Oh, and no, don't grow back.

That's a common lizard stereotype, I'm pretty sure only Newts and Salamanders, and things like that grow back body parts.

I'd suggest keeping your beardie away from your daughter till she's older

She normally handles him very well. But under circumstances, she tries to get him....like when he ran under my cabinets and tried to climb up......she couldn't get to his body so then tried to grab his tail to pull him back out.....other than that, she knows not to touch the tail unless she's just petting.

I don't think a bit more heat would be bad in my tank. The highest it is is 104 F on the basking site and around 75-80 F on the low side....so a bit more heat might not be a bad thing for him. I'll try that bulb, and if it gets too hot, I'll put the UVB back.

He STILL hasn't touched his veggies... So I'm headed to the store to get him his Dragon Bites, along with some vitamins....hopefully that will work. I was thinking about trying the mouse treats I have. If I remember correctly, they look just the same as the dragon bites, only a bit bigger and apple flavoured. But I decided not to until I can compare what all is in them with the dragon bites. I'm also getting him a travel carrier so I don't have to keep transporting him in a plastic storage bin that he's outgrowing.

Hello Amber,

How is Tobias doing today?
He may like the dragon bites, alot of them do. They have lots of vitamins & minerals in them, so the days that he eats them, if he does, then no need to use any vitamins at all if it is a scheduled vitamin powder day.
They are sure picky when it comes to greens. I hope that eventually he will eat them.
A bit more heat in your tank isn't a bad thing. As long as you have a cool side that is 78-82 & the basking doesn't go above 110 you should be fine. What size of tank do you have again, sorry, I cannot remember! If your tank is larger than a 20-30 gallon, the mercury vapor bulb is fine for it.
Honestly they are no more expensive than the flourescents. They last longer anyway. The flourescents put out so little UVB compared to the mercury they are almost not even worth it. Sure they cost less, but by the time you end up having to replace them several times, you have only bought 1 mercury vapor bulb so it evens out. Plus, you only have to have 1 light most of the time, which is nice.
How is he liking the crickets?

Tracie

He likes his crickets, but man, they grow really fast, they are starting to get too big for him so I'm hoping I will be able to get them to breed. I ordered another 500 of them that should be here by Wed.

He hasn't touched his dragon bite....I chopped it up into small pieces, added some to his greens, with worms in them, then put some of the bites in a small pile in his other food dish on their own. Once again, he digs out the worms, and leaves the rest of the stuff to be. *sigh* Maybe later on before he goes to bed? lol

Yeah, I am def. going to up the wattage on my bulbs before it starts to get cold out. We priced a 75 gallon tank too, so after January we'll be able to put him in a new one. Right now he is in a 50 gallon.

I'm not worried about a one time price if the effects are more affective than a lower price and the life span is longer. If I would have been I don't think I ever would have gotten him to begin with. They had a Chinese Water Dragon in today when we went, I'm thinking about one of them next...hee hee...but ONLY after I buy him a buddy to tank with him...which'll be when he gets his bigger tank.

I'm taking a guess, but I would put Toby at around 8-10 weeks...it's a rough guess since some of the beardies I saw them selling today were very teeny and look to be much younger than what he was when I bought him....but I don't think he's any older than 10 weeks.

How often are they supposed to shed? It seems he's doing it a LOT! He's already shedding at the head again and his body looks like it's going to follow shortly. This would be about his 3-4th time doing so since I've had him, unless shedding goes in short spurts and takes awhile for it all to complete.

Oh, I also finally got him a travel carrier. We were on our way to the pet store to do so, when he JUMPED right out of his bin into my hand. Turned out, he wanted to stare out the window the entire ride. You could see his head going left to right and back again following the scenery..it was pretty amusing.

I figure once he gets full size a cat/dog carrier would work fine...right?

Hello Amber,

I can see Tobias now, sitting up on the dash to stare out of the window, they love to do that. Yes, once he gets full size, just get a nice plush, cat or dog carrier. You know, the mesh type with a soft liner in the bottom, he will love that to travel in.
Once crickets get to feeder size, they do shoot up & get big. If you need advice on how to breed crickets, let me know. I can send you an article I wrote on breeding. It isn't hard, but it does take some things to be pretty precise to get it right.
That figures you get him the dragon bites, & he eats the worms out of the salad! What a brat he is, or, we just think that, huh? He is actually smart! LOL He knows what he wants.
That is right, a 50 gallon is perfect for a mercury vapor bulb. Then, you are upgrading to a 75 next year, that will be fine no problem at all. Really the mercury vapor bulbs are only $39 plus shipping & handling, so I don't think that is all that expensive when the UVB output is so awesome on them.
He should be shedding tons right now, just like he is. His body is going through alot of changes, so shedding is very normal at his age.
He really doesn't need a tank mate, hon. Males do better alone, as do females. You shouldn't put a male in with a female, because they will overbreed & cause health problems for the female. Two males absolutely cannot be housed together due to dominance reasons. Two females, sometimes, they can be, but the tanks have to be large preferably 90 gallon or larger so they can be comfortable & have their own space.
So, Tobias is going to be perfectly fine without a tank mate. Plus, unless you are setup to breed if you got a female, you shouldn't get a female for him. There are alot of expenses when you breed, plus, the adeno virus testing, etc.
It sounds like Tobias is doing wonderfully right now. Great job!

Tracie

So shed loads, got it.

I took him for a walk yesterday...he jumped out of my hand onto the road (ouch) and took off. I had to chase him down. Luckily, he didn't get very far before finding a trashcan blocking his path. He didn't like the idea of being put back in his tank after we got home either. I guess it was a bad idea to over-stimulate him and then expect him to calm down for bed...haha

Yeah, still picks out the worms...*sigh* I will figure this out....I hope. I'm buying bell peppers and parsley today to mix in with his turnip greens. I'm hoping the parsley makes it sweet enough (you would think that the bites would do that already), and the bell peppers give it color, although carrots haven't done the trick yet.

So no tank mate... Ok, then I'll get my Chinese Water Dragon next year. :P Or I'll let husband get his anoles that he tried to talk me into getting when I bought Toby. Anything to fill up that tank again once it's empty.

No, he sat in my hand the whole time. Didn't want to sit on the dash...spoiled brat he is. I was glad to have the carrier after that...he couldn't jump out...but I still ended up having to hold it up to the window so he could look out. haha