Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone!

New owner of beardies and new to this forums.

I just read through a couple threads while researching info and such. It looks like the people here have have pretty well grounded information and go out of their way to share it. Looks great so far!

I am new to the bearded dragon scene. My girlfriend has a beardie she is trying to "recoup" from before she met me 2 years back or so. I believe the beardie has calcium deficiency (crooked jaw, body stiffness and oddly angle feet) as well as missing her right front leg and part of her tail due to her last mate.. i think. More on her another time.

I was given my own pair of beardies about a month ago on father's day when my girlfriend and her son went out and picked me up a pair of youngins. I love them! They are very exciting to watch, even when they aren't doing anything really. They are full of character as well. The picture attached (I hope) is from this evening. The contraption in the background is soemthing i built for them out of dowels and fishing net that i am just experimenting with to see if they like it or if it is helpful. They like to be on it sometimes and it gets em some of that 5 watt UVB pretty close -which i'm hoping is good. I found the 60 gallon tank used on craigslist and got a what i think is a good deal on it with the stand and UVB flourescent bulb all for 150.

I believe i have one male and one female. I sure hope i do anyways. I know this doesn't distinguish it, but one of them has grown like twice as fast as the other. He just devours crickets and whatnot. The other beardie takes her time and will delicatly eat while the other just gorges himself til he is physically swollen. We'll see soon.

ok, enough about my guys and setup.

Just wanted to say hi and let you guys know this forum looks really helpful and nice.

Thanks in advance for info I'll likely be asking about.

Josh

I have a couple suggestions.

If they are 1 and a half inches apart you need to separate them right away until the smaller one catches up. Most likely the smaller on is stressed by the more dominant one and that is why she eats so carefully. She is on guard against being attacked by the larger one. If you don't separate them sooner or later the larger one will injure the smaller one. This is probably what happened to you girlfriends dragon.

UVB bulbs must be replaced at 6 months to a year depending on the manufacturer. I wouldn't be optomistic that the person you bought from on Craigslist will tell you the correct age. For a tall tank like that you'll need a Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0. Best would be one that runs the entire length of the cage.

Here is a web address with pictures for sexing your dragons.

http://www.dachiu.com/sexing.html

Males cannot live together so hopefully you have one of each or 2 females.

Thanks for the info on the UVB. I will find one of those brands/size you mentioned.

Best price is at petmountain.com. They are $15 there and are $40 in a pet store.

Thanks for pointing out this website. I was about to go to petsmart and spent 45$ for that repti sun 10.0 and 25$ for the fixture. I can't believe this site sells them for 15$. I wonder why that is. I have a problem finding a fixture to fit that bulb. The reptile section at petmountain.com doesn't provide one for the flourescent bulb. Do they or anyone else sell fixtures at a good bargain? Any information or links would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

The $25 for the fixture doesn't sound too bad. You didn't say what size you were looking for though. herpsupplies.com does sell the Flukers fixtures but their bulbs are more expensive $24.

http://www.herpsupplies.com/subcategory.cfm?id=1&sub=52

You can look around for fixtures at Home Depot (I have seen them there but their not cheap) Walmart or Target too.

I am temporarily using a 20 gallon untill I can sex my dragons. They are barely 6 inches so I'm still finding difficulty in sexing them. If i can keep the 2 I'll be buying a 100 gallon tank and if I have to give one away or seperate them they will be in seperate 60 gallon tanks. I was going to purchase the 24" repti sun 10.0 with a 24" fixture witch I assume fit's the bulb. It will fit all the way across the 20 gallon. My question is, if I plan on buying a larger tank should I go ahead and by a larger bulb and fixture or will a 24" bulb/fixture provide enough light for the dragons? I assume I can just put the 24" fixture on one side of a 100 gallon and the basking lamp on the other side. I would also appreciate any advice or pictures on setting up my tank. Thanks

I am providing a picture of my set up so far.

When you go to the larger tank you will need a fixture thet is as long as the tank. Not just for the UVB but for the light output as well. Dragons like bright cages and it stimulates eating and activity.

Thanx!
-----
0:1 Pacman
0:1 Rose Hair Tarantula
0:1 Ball Python
0:0:2 Bearded Dragon
1:1 Cat