Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey i was wondering what you all would suggest using for the basking light bulb for a 10 gallon glass tank..the beardy is a tiny baby also..i have 75 watt bulbs and 50 watt bulbs here for back up for my cham..i just want to be sure that he'll be as comfortable as possible when i get him..also,how many pin head do you suggest feeding him in a day??
-----
Jonny Blaze
1.0 Nosy Be Panther
0.1 Yorkshire terrier Brandy,10 years old
1.0 Golden lab-Dusty R.I.P May 16,2007,14.5 years old
1.0 Black lab "wiggler",2 years old
s136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/jonnyblaze_04/?sc=3

A 10 gallon tank is really to small except for maybe a just hatched beardie. You should get a 20L 12" x 30" x 12" tall for proper temperature separation. I don't own a 10 gal., and have put very small babies in 20L's. You need a thermometer with a separate probe placed on the basking spot to measure the temperature exactly. It should read 110 - 115 for a baby. You can adjust the temp then with bulb wattage and distance from the basking spot. Forget about pin heads they are too small even for newly hatched. If the dragon is really small (like pet store small about 4" long) then I'd get 3/16" and fed him/her all she will eat in a 15-30 min. period 2 or 3 times a day. If you are buying from a breeder then your dragon will most likely be 6 or 7 inches and can eat 1/4 or 3/8" crickets. Just remember if you are buying in bulk that the crickets will grow and therefore you have to buy smaller so they will not be too big when you feed the last ones out.

hey,
thanks for the post..i appreciate it..i'm going to try to figure out how much to feed him..hes really active!!hes the normal beardie color and has orange all over his back and under his throat..i'm soo excited i finally have him..hes awesome..he is about 1 month old,very small..you'd also like knowing i bought him a 20 gallon tank so hes got alot of room..i bought a 100 watt bulb for him too,if its too hot now,i'll fix it..i just wanted/needed to get him in his new setup asap because i found out when i picked him up that hes shedding,soo i wanted him to be getting comfortable right away..i already fed him 5 pin heads..i will look into getting bigger ones soon..i also am going to try giving him small silkworms and phoenix worms..my gf is keeping him at her house at the moment,but will be living with me in a few weeks..also,do you all recommend flor. lighting??and do you recommend heating pads??the guy at the pet store was strongly suggesting these,but i don't think beardies NEED them..hope to get some help from you guys,i'm not too nervous since i have experience with chameleons,but i want to make sure i do this right..PICTURES COMING SOON!!
-----
Jonny Blaze
1.0 Nosy Be Panther
0.1 Yorkshire terrier Brandy,10 years old
1.0 Golden lab-Dusty R.I.P May 16,2007,14.5 years old
1.0 Black lab "wiggler",2 years old
s136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/jonnyblaze_04/?sc=3

Hey Jonny!

Congrats on your baby! I'm in NO WAY an expert, but since no one's replied yet, I'll give it a shot.

I got my beardie at about 4 weeks too (she's now 8 months!). She ate LOTSA crickets...prolly about 20 a day. You'll want to offer her greens as well. PHLdyPayne shared this awesome list of greens with me: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Never used a heating pad...never been told I should.

Make sure she has a basking log that leads up to your lamp. I'll stay away from the temps thing because I'm not an expert and that seems to be a hot topic lol.

Good luck w/your lil gal (or guy), and hopefully, you'll get lots more help here!

~Niddy

I usually only need to use a 75 watt Zoo Med spot to heat a 20L tank. Buy I have mine above the screen not on it. If it's on the screen you may only need a 50 watt. You put his basking spot (log whatever) on one side and put the light above it. The other side of the cage will be cooler this way and will allow him to thermoregulate. So I think a 100 watt may be a little much but you'll have to check it with a thermometer as I mentioned before.

Don't get the heat pad. They have no value with bearded dragons. I only use them in my nest boxes, never in a dragons regular enclosure. Do go with the UVB fluorescent. If you are going to lay it on the screen then you should get a Zoo Med 5.0. The length of the tank would be best but since there is no 30" your probably going to just have to get an 18" and put it on the hot side of his cage. Also be sure you dust the crickets with Calcium w/D3 (No Phosphorus or Vitamin A) every meal except for one a week that you dust with a multivitamin. I feel that RepCal is the best products for this.

Below is a link for greens and vegs. I'd start him on a mix of romaine and mustard greens torn into small pieces no larger than his head. Salad should be offered every day regardless of whether he eats it or not. I put the salad in about an hour after the first cricket feeding and leave it in all day until the last live feeding.

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Oh and congrats on your new dragon!

You should mist him twice a day. This will help him shed and keep him hydrated. I also offer babies water with an eyedropper. When they learn to drink that way it will really help in the future. All mine turn their heads up when they see the dropper. lol.