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My First Beardie

Hello

Hello Amber!

WOW he is eating alot that is so great. He is doing really well now. You must be so proud of him. That is perfect to put him in his travel bin to feed him, how cute is that? :D
I did some more looking around on the Megaray. I am dumb! When I was looking at it last time, somehow I was on the European link & he charges more for his lights than he does for here. His lights are still the same price which is $39.99 plus $10 S & H. That is affordable, so, you should get that one if it fits into the criteria of the new tank. The 100watt Self Ballast needs to be 12 inches from him for safety. So 12-15 inches still give good uWcm2 for his UVB output.
The bedding, if you want something soft, look for some green felt which is nice & soft, will not hold moisture, wont mold or harbour bacteria but most importantly he can't ingest it. That is the main thing that I worry about with loose substrates like that, it is too easy for them to ingest it. I wouldn't risk it. The felt is washable, & looks pretty good.
I bet he does like the grapevine. You could get another piece of that, & try to secure it to the wall with a nail or wires though safely where he couldn't scrape himself on it. The cliffs sounds like they will be really neat, like a basking platform.
The size is great, a 4x2x2 is perfect. It will just be however tall you decide it as to whether or not you need to hang a light or put one inside. Keep the cliff basking areas in mind as to how far he will be from the mercury light, no closer than 12 inches for safety. Try to do all of the measuring, etc, prior to putting him in there so you don't have to adjust too much.
I think his tank is going to look great, it will be a work of art when you are finished with it!

Tracie
 
Ok, so as long as the lights are no less than 12 inches from him. That means I should probably add another foot or so to the height just to be safe then.

This is what the background is going to look like when done, although, I will have more decorations and what not on it, along with small climbing "ladders" to lead up and down from the cliffs. Also, my cliffs will be bigger than shown in the picture.

Tobysbackground.jpg


The cliffs are exactly for basking. It also gives him a more comfy place to sleep. haha. I feel so bad when he has himself pressed between the top of his "rock" wall and the bottom of the screen top. I always think he's uncomfortable, but he loves it there.

I got to give him another dish of veggies for today, he's finished off his first one already. :D yay him!
 
Grr for not being able to edit. The background is made from styrofoam, a bit of paint thinner to make it all jagged/rocky like. And then the coating is tile adhesive and non-toxic paint if you want it a different color. When the adhesive is put on, you have the option of adding pebbles and rocks to it to make it look more realistic. The idea for it is really neat. I'm glad I found it when I did. Was able to put together a small price list for how much this new tank is going to cost...and it's still cheaper by at least $100...I plan on getting a mist maker for the tank as well so I don't have to worry about if I sprayed him down or now. Also, I'm going to add a smaller rock type thing at the bottom corner for his waterfall and have a small "rock" bowl at the bottom to collect the water. That'll probably be the hardest thing to do. Still cheaper than buying a waterfall from a store though. Just need a pump and tube in order to do it.

That'll also make it easy for me to feed him in his own tank after this. I won't have to worry about any of the crickets hiding behind the wall now....since the wall will be the back of the enclosure period.
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

Wow that looks really great! He is going to love that along with the waterfall, too. What is the humidity in there now without the humidity? As long as the humidity stays 50% or under no problem. He wont need to be misted, so you can just bathe him.
That is good the adhesive is non toxic, & it will be all dry by the time you get him in there anyway. It is going to look great when you are all finished!
Yeah, that would be a good idea to allow for a bit of extra height, that way you can adjust the light within the 12 inches for him then.
So Toby ate all of his greens & veggies huh & wanted more? :D

Tracie
 
hi there i too have just got my first bearded dragons. ( i brought 2 as aware they are sociable) i believe 1 is female named leela and the other a male named jub jub!!!! the guy in the shop told me the sexes based on their head sizes and bumps and said he was 95% sure on this. we'll see. i have read loads on caring for these amazing animals but yet am still a little confused. some people say feed crickets every other day and others say 3 times every day who's right???? so far they don't seem interested in the fruit and veg i'm offering but gulped down the crickets i gave them in seconds!!!! how long shall i leave fruit and veg in there for??? i know any uneaten crickets should be removed after 10 mins but no one says about the veg side. aside from that i can't take my eyes off them they are facinating and made me very happy even though i haven't had them 24 hrs yet. this has been my dream pet for about 15 yrs and now they're here. yipee!!!! both seem content in their new home and with each other although i have to watch leela with the crickets as she seems greedy and gets more than jub jub!!!
 
Tracie ~ yeah I can't wait to start building. I think I am starting on the wall by December at the latest. I'm buying his new lighting this weekend I think. We had our windows open and air off since it was nice and cool out, but it got so cold in here, it actually affected the temperature in his cage. It wasn't by much, maybe a degree or two, but still. I'm not one to take any chances. The humidity is around 45% last I looked. I usually spray him down while he's eating, he's not too fond of baths anymore...he doesn't like his feet getting wet. Go figure get the oddball. :p If his feet are in water, he'll pick them up one at a time, and shake them so hard trying to get the water off. Poor thing gets so frustrated when he puts it back down in water. Haha.

Isimac ~ Congrats on the new dragons! I was excited when I got Toby a month ago, has it been a month now? hmm.....maybe longer, but not much. I had the same problem with getting him to eat his veggies, but if you read back some posts here, Tracie had said it's very difficult to get them to do it. Now he's eating them left and right. So, it takes time, just offer them every day. Try to take the veggies and fruits out after 4 hours, I've seen some areas say you can leave them in, but take them out at night. Personally, I say it depends on what you are offering. Some fruits and veggies tend to get dry faster than others, and those are the ones you want to take out after a few hours. If Leela is eating more crickets than Jub Jub, try separating them while they eat. With Toby, I put him in his travel carrier to feed him his crickets. This also saves me the trouble of messing up his cage trying to catch any remaining crickets. I feed him anywhere between 10-30 crickets in one sitting 2-3 times a day. I've found that it's better. I was told that it is the FRUIT that you want to offer every couple days only.

Also, to get them to eat their greens, put phoenix worms under them...and also a couple on top so it gets their attention. It's what finally got Toby to eat his. :D Tracie has provided links a couple pages back to places where you can get some at. Also, crickets are REALLY expensive after awhile, they should really put a warning to those who don't know....anywho, Ebay has them from this one seller for $0.02 a piece...you can order any size you want/need, and up to 1000 crickets per lot. It normally comes to around $20 per order depending on where you live, but still cheapest I've found.

As for the phoenix worms, I get them off ebay too, but I'm pretty sure that the links Tracie posted might be cheaper. I'm checking it out when I need another order.

Ummm......other than that, Tracie should be able to answer any of your questions, she's done so well helping me out. :D
 
Oh yes, I do have a question though while I'm at this....at what age do they start waving and head bobbing? Toby has yet to do this, and I though waving was something they started really young.
 
Hello

Hello Amber~!

OMG, I can just see Toby shaking his feet when they get wet only to get them wet again! LOL How cute is that?
Well, arm waving sometimes happens. Males & females will perform it quite young though, & continue on until around 6 or so months, then will stop unless they are in the presence of another dragon, either the same or opposite sex. Even in adults, while it is normally a female's behaviour, prior to mating, it can be done by a submissive male in return to a larger male.
That is going to be one big tank though. It will look great. I am just as excited as you are I think! He is very lucky you are putting in all of this time for him, what a good Christmas present for him! Or New Years'! LOL

Tracie

****Isismac, if you would like, we should start your own thread so we can keep up with things better & don't hijack Amber's topic. I can help you better that way, it is less cluttered in the thread. :D Just go to the bearded dragons discussion area, & hit start new thread, & if you could, please run over your tank setup which includes lighting, temperatures, substrate, etc. How old are they? Are they clutchmates? Unfortunately, housing together will probably not last long. There are too many dominant issue problems & especially if they are related, you do not want them breeding either which they will since they are not given a choice.
I will be glad to help you with everything.
 
oops sorry. i'm new to this forum stuff!!!! any way, new thread posted!!!
amber the tank is fab you must be so pleased your bd is going to love it i'm sure.
thanx tracie any help appreciated. x
 
Hi, sadly, my petstore does not carry repti sun nor mercury vapor like I suspected. I picked up an higher wattage basking light for now. I am going to have to order the other lights online.

I did however, see some new beardies there. But they were TEENY TINY! They couldn't have been more than a few days old from hatching. So cute, but very sad that they would sell them that small. :(

Toby is starting to get darker on his back. You can see small dark spots showing around the sides. And it seems that every time he sheds, a couple more show up.

Well, that's it for now. Just wanted to give an update on how he's doing :D
 
Reptilesupply.com seemed to have some really great prices on the mercury vapor bulbs. The power sun are around $55-$60 locally, but only $38 at this site. They seem to have good prices on a lot of stuff.

Seems like your beardie is going to have a great new tank. Neat background.

We got our first beardie a month ago, she was 5 months old. Then yesterday we got one we "rescued". He's a year and a half.
 
I've only had mine for about a month, I know he isn't much older than that, but I have no idea how old he really is. :(

I'm hoping his background turns out as good as that picture. Maybe even better.

I'm trying to think of something I can make for him while he's not in his cage, like a playground of sorts that he can climb and jump around on. But I'm blank on ideas at the moment. I'll eventually thing of something.

I went to get him his harness yesterday, but they were out of small ones, so I'm thinking I should wait anyways since he's growing so much. I don't want to get one harness then a few months later he's too big for it.

I will check out that site later tonight though. Thanks bunches!
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

Great Toby is doing so well, & getting new colors each time he sheds. It is really neat to watch his body change huh?
I don't know why they sell them too young, because it is very stressful on them & alot of them do not make it either.
Well, I am not surprised your petstore doesn't carry the mercury vapor, but surprised they don't have any reptisun lights at all? That is strange.
I would get either the Megaray or the T-rex if you are getting a mercury vapor because they are much better than the Powersuns. Those have not been improved yet, to my knowledge & don't provide a whole lot more UVB than the reptisun 10's, so they are pretty weak for a mercury vapor bulb.
Is he still eating tons?? I hope he is still eating his veggies & greens too!

Tracie
 
It seems he's backed off on eating. :( He's eating crickets once a day opposed to twice. But I think he's been eating his commercial food. And earlier tonight he ate some of his greens, only reason I knew this is because his mouth was stained from the baby food I mixed in with it.

He's been acting kinda weird lately. Usually when I take him out of his cage to let him run around, he'll do just that, run around. Lately, he's been crawling under things and just laying there. He doesn't want to run around anymore. I don't know if it has something to do with it getting cold out...I thought he was too young for burmation....those are the signs of going into it though from what I understand, less appetite, less active.

I went up from a 75/100 watt basking bulb to a 150 watt basking light in hopes it keeps it a bit warmer in his tank. I've also looked at the way Harmony's room is set up, I might move some things around and put his cage in a different spot, it might help if I move him away from the window, although it doesn't leak as far as I know. Either way, I hope it might do some good.

I start collecting things I'll need for his new home tomorrow. I won't be able to start building it until later though. I've figured out how to make the back open so I can clean it, even though it'll be all "rocked" up. I'll just have to do the "rock" on the doors separate from the rest of the tank and then hide the small cracks with the vines or something.
 
Bobbing and waving...

Our six month old female waves quite a lot at the new 1 1/2 yr old ,ale we just got. And he does plenty of bobbing! Turns his chin/beard nice and black etc. It is fascinating watching them ,their behavior. The color changes are so cool. I don't let them stay w/n view of each other in general. Just once on a while when I'm w/ them and doing cage things etc. But when I block their view of each other the male immediately turns back to his normal shades and looses his 'black beard'. Such careful arm movements when they do the wave. I too would be interested in others experience w/ the winter behavior or changes of behavior? Gigi
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

Oh no Toby thinks he is going to brumate! He is way too young. Definitely try to rearrange his tank location if you feel it is getting too cool. Going up to a higher wattage was a good idea too. Just make sure he doesn't get overheated.
Also, he is probably in need of a good UVB too, so that could be part of it also.
Keep him as active as possible. You could remove his hides right now if he is spending too much time under them & not basking. Unfortunately sometimes you have to do that with the youngsters.
I hope he starts perking up again. At least he is still eating though & sneaking his greens & veggies in as well.

Tracie
 
He's not hiding really in his cage, he still sits up where he normallly does. It's when I have him out of his cage that he runs and hides wherever he can away from everything which is weird. I've been picking him up, holding him as tightly/gently as I can, but he still wants to jump down and run off and hide. He got himself under a bookshelf the other day trying to get away. So we had to move that without hurting him. He still sits on his vine in the tank after eating, and he still eats, just not as many times as he used to. I will have to look and see if he's just taking in more crickets in that one feeding than he used to and is why he's cut back on them, or hopefully it's just because he's filling up on his veggies and commercial food. Least, I'm hoping that is all that it is. It's def. a bit warmer in his tank on the one side, it went from 104 to about 110 F on the one side, I still think the other side is around 75-80F so it's a good fluctuation. He gets up pretty close to his UVB light, I'd say about an inch away from it if that. It's in his spot at the top of the tank he likes to squeeze into.
 
Today he acted a bit better. He's spent more time under his basking light today, and he didn't run away to hide when I had him out for a bit. In fact, he stayed on my lap until Harmony scared the bejeezes out of the poor thing. Then he went to the floor. But still didn't go to hide. :D Just ordered him his second batch of 500 crickets this month! He's down to maybe 50 at the most in the tank, and surprisingly, very few had to have died during this time. I can't believe he goes through 1000 crickets in a month! Insane I tell ya. Now if I can get him to eat a second time today, it'll all be good. :D
 
Hello

Hello Amber!

Great that Toby ate better today. So he basked more & sat under his light & UVB as well? That is a good sign. It must have been getting just a bit too cool for him with the weather fluctuations. That makes a big difference especially on the young ones. Which UVB do you have again? I forgot! It is an older one, right?
At least he didn't run & hide like he has been doing. Geez, having to get him out from underneath the bookshelf could not have been fun, as I know how afraid you must have been that he could get hurt. Crazy dragons, they love to make us panic.
I am happy you haven't had hardly any die offs with your crickets. He is eating tons of them, too. You are gutloading them right? Just checking.
I am glad he is behaving himself now! :D

Tracie
 
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