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My First Beardie

Hello

Hello Amber!


Oh yeah, crickets are sneaky that way! They will hide in anything they can. You do get them all out at night, right? Don't let any stay in there because they can bite him.
Does he still use his blanket though, at night? That sounds neat building him a wooden cave/den for him to sleep in at night to keep the light off of him when you are up. You can put his blankets in there for him.
That helps when you upgrade the size of crickets, so he will eat less in numbers but the size will fill him up a little more too.
That is probably about right, anywhere from 4-6 months. It is better that he wasn't tiny when you got him. They have a better chance when they are not sold quite that young. Really they shouldn't be sold until they are at least 7-8 inches long, it is better for them. Unless the person is very experienced. But, I mean, they should not even be sold to the petstores, etc, until they are 7-8 inches long. The stress is hard on them.
Harmony gets him all excited? That is funny. She just wants to help. They like movement like what is on tv. It gives them something to think about.LOL

Tracie
 
I think he wants out of his cage, might let him once Harmony goes down for her nap. He keeps trying to climb up the side of the walls. He hasn't been out for awhile, so it'll be good for him.

Yeah, crickets are bigger that what they used to be.

Ok, he keeps rubbing his head, like the side of it, against his rocks....that mean he's shedding or something else? Only reason I think it's shedding is because I saw little rocks/sticks or something along those lines for the purpose of them to scratch themselves on while in the shedding stage. I haven't found any of his skin in the cage yet, but was just wondering. There are no bumps or signs of aggravation to the skin either. That's another reason I'm thinking he's ready to shed again. It's been awhile since the last time he's done so.
 
Ooh, I was looking around for other styles available for his new tank...and I found this really awesome one, that looks like granite on the two short sides and on the back. I could get it in 70 or 90 gallon and be able to afford it, so I was looking into the 90 gallon. But before I found that, I saw another reptile site that you post on, it took me a bit, but when I finally saw the username, I was like..."hey i know her" lol I don't remember the site though. :p
 
Hello

Hello Amber,

LOL Yeah, I am on a few boards. I have kept the same user name, in case I am helping someone from another board so they will recognize me. :D
Wow that tank sounds very pretty. That would be awesome if you could get a 90 gallon tank, Toby would love that.

Tracie
 
Yeah, well, I thought I got all the crickets out, but I apparently missed one or two. I got him out of his tank the other day, he has a small blood spot on his leg. It's healing, but I know he had to have gotten bit. Unless he scratched it too hard against the branches..... I cleared out his tank the other day, dumped his meal in....and made sure he ate everything before I put the stuff back in.

I let him run around for a bit yesterday...he got to stay up past his bedtime. He kept trying to climb up the walls out of the cage, and he'd get on top of his branches and rock and try to jump to the screen like he was trying to escape. So I let him out, got some pictures of him climbing around my Christmas Tree.....lol....he had a BLAST! I'm going to let him do it some more today sometime...maybe tomorrow.

Yeah, that tank is awesome looking. I don't believe it's real granite, but it's made to look like it. I bet it holds heat pretty well too. It's got a screen top where you can mount lights onto.

One question, instead of getting a new reptisun UVB light to put in his fixture, if I were to just get something that could hand from the screen in his cage, you think a compact reptisun 10 would work just as good along with the bulb I have in his fixture? I don't want to spend the money for a bulb right now with his cage coming in such short time, and find out I'll need a bigger one, so I'm trying to think of ways I can get him more UVB other than possibly making him something to sit in in front of our window.
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

Yeah those crickets are horrible. Be careful they do cause really bad bites that can get infected. Will he not eat in a feeder bin? That is much easier than having to fish them out of the tank.
No, that compact reptisun is the worst light you can get. The UVB output is dangerous on them, unfortunately. It causes terrible eye problems & other health problems. The better light is the flourescent tube bulb, the reptisun 10 or the reptiglo 8 tube bulbs are the only ones I recommend other than the mercury vapor bulbs.
He isn't getting any UVB from the sunlight coming through the window either. The glass blocks out all of the UVB unfortunately.
The tube bulbs can be mounted inside of the tank though if you use some wires to hang the fixture from the screen, that is an easy way to do it.
That sounds Toby had a great time playing around the tree like he did. I bet you got some really good pictures of him too!

Tracie
 
A mercury vapor bulb, I could do that. :D I bathed him as soon as I saw the cut. I will bathe him again tomorrow while home. He eats too many crickets in one sitting to put him in a feeder bin anymore. He's gotten too big....not to mention that when I go to shake the crickets off the paper roll a ton of them fall. :p It's easier to take the stuff out of his cage, this way I can clean the rocks during the time too. So I empty the cage while he's bathing, feed him, then put everything back in.

I didn't get any head on shots of him in the tree, his back was mostly turned to me or he had his head turned the other way. But he did have fun. He'll be doing it again tomorrow. :D Maybe I can get better pics. then
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

Oh wow, you got a reptisun 10 flourescent tube? He will love that! The distance should be 6-8 inches from him, & just keep the basking bulb at the same distance & that will work great.
If you had of gotten a mercury vapor lamp, I would have recommended a 100 watt for your size of tank.
Well, I guess if you get all of the crickets out of the tank each time, that is fine.
It sounds like Toby is going to have a great Christmas. :D


Tracie
 
Yes he is. :D I can't wait. I'm getting him some silk worms too a little after the holidays so I can get them quickly after payment instead of them sitting in the mail possibly dying.

Haven't been able to find a pet store around this area that sells them.

I haven't measured how far his basking light is....should probably measure it tomorrow to make sure it's not too close. That may have been why the stronger wattage basking bulb was too hot.....and going lower was better. May have been too close.....I didn't think about that when I got him his new rock.

He's asleep now in his little cave. Didn't turn around this time, he's got his head all the way inside. So cute. I have to wash his blue blankie, he pooed on it...*sigh* got to love him. :D

I think he likes having his cage cleared during his meals. Only thing I don't think he likes is that they have room to jump away from him then. haha...so I stuck a paper towel tube in there so he could pick them off one by one as they crawled out. :p

I'm going to try to put the cage he is in, outside and set it up there once he gets his new cage. This way, he has a place to sit in that is safe and he can bask. Only problem I forsee with that is the kids around here have NO respect for others' property and I'm afraid they'll break it, or dump something in it that could harm him. :( So, I'm going to have to have a VERY LONG talk with the parents of these kids before I do so. But I think it would be great to give him an outside play area. :D
 
His basking light is around a foot away from his rock....more from the bottom of his cage. :D Is that too far away? Or is that fine?
 
Hello

Hellol Amber,

How is little Toby doing? Well, the reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb is ok at 12 inches, but he would get better absorption if he could get within 8-10 inches of it, if that is possible. :D
That sounds so cute that he was head first in his cave then. It sounds like he really loves it.
I can just see him picking the crickets off just as they are crawling out of the paper towel tube! I hope that the silkies arrive safely!
Oh that would be great if you had an outdoor place for him to bask, that is safe. You will most definitely have to have a talk with the kids' parents. I would hate for them to hurt little Toby.
Good you are planning ahead of time for the summertime already.

Tracie
 
I'll be out at my brother in laws Tuesday for Christmas....I'll pick through his bricks and rocks to find him a bigger one then....that's where I got the rock he has now. :D He's a landscaper so I'm able to get sand, rocks, etc from him if need be.

I think, when we get his new tank, I'm going to stick a divider in it during feeding time, so this way, none of the crickets I throw in will escape and be able to hide amongst his things.

I haven't ordered the silk worms yet, I might end up waiting until it's warmer outside and I know they won't freeze to death on the way here. I might post pone any of his Christmas until we get his new home....this way I can load it with toys and what not all at once.
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

That is awesome you will pick up some bricks & rocks from your brother's this week, how lucky! Ha, free tank decor! LOL

Yeah, the silkies, they could get too cold & die. I have not heard about any shipments of them though, but I know some places at the moment, are not shipping out until after Christmas or the first of the year.

That is a good idea to put a feeding divider in there like that. That would work, & keep them out of his living quarters. You can just gather them up after taking Toby out of that area.

You are getting the new tank in January or February?

Happy Holidays.

Tracie
 
Well, right after we file our taxes...and we plan to get it done as quickly as possible. Once that's done we'll be getting his cage. We have cash back bonus built to a bit over $200 and that's what we are using to get his cage. I'm just hoping I can find one nice enough. I don't want to stick with the acrylic/glass like he's in now if I don't have too...and I don't want the full mesh/screen ones just because I don't think they would hold enough heat for him.

So I want to find the whereabouts of another reptile store somewhere around here, and when I do, I'll be ordering from there, unless by the time I order, I'll have enough for that granite looking one that I fell in love with. It's like $290 or something like that without shipping and handling. eesh! It'd be a 90 gallon as well. Here is a link to the picture:

HERE

Completely awesome! The doors slide open in the front, it comes with the mesh top as well. He'd LOVE it...and I bet it would hold heat REALLY well too. It's just going to take some looking around on my part, and in classifieds to find the right one in my budget. :D
 
Well, I take that back, I just found one going for $230 plus whatever s&h would be. They also have some nice, or at least tolerable looking cages too for pretty cheap. Might check them out. :D
 
Hello

Hello Amber,

That is a great looking tank. A good price, too. A 90 gallon is an excellent sized tank, Toby would love that!!
Just keep looking, there should be lots of sales this time of year & the first of the year. Check the want ads, too, sometimes you can find great things on there, also.
There are lots of options, & all types of tanks, for every price range. So just keep looking until you find exactly what you want. :D
What is Toby up to today? Happy Christmas Eve.

Tracie
 
He was being lazy on his branch and rock.....now he is getting ready for bed since it is in about an hour.

I really want that tank, but I have to go with budget...so will def. be keeping an eye out.
 
Merry Christmas! Toby got excited when Harmony started to open her presents. Makes me wish I had something for him. :( I DID however, find an outfit for him....it was supposed to be a gift card holder, and I will have to cut it up the center, and add a button, but he'll be able to wear it. So adorable.
 
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