Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey! Thought I'd introduce Budo, my beardie. His name is Barbudo, but a friend of mine likes to call him the Barbarian, idk why. Anyways, Budo is a 1-2 year old male normal beardie that I purchased from the East Bay Vivarium on January 5th at 3:45pm. He is AMAZING!!
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CrazyForHerps
0.1 Ball Python, Culebra (Cu)
1.0 Bearded Dragon, unnamed (waiting for me in CA!)
1.0 Tabby cat, Iraland (Ira)
Various feeder rats

Woaaaa, I'm really sorry about that. I just typed up a whole page about Budo... and only a few sentences come through...

Ok, so here's my shortened and revised story (if it will work!): I got Barbudo/Budo/the Barbarian (so says my friend) on Jan 5th at 3:45pm. He's 1-2 years old; the East Bay Vivarium wasn't sure. At first, he hated handling and would constantly scratch me, black beard me, and hiss at me. But now, several weeks later, we can go for 10 minutes with no black beard!! I'm so proud of him! He also loves running around my bedroom.

Sorry if several hundred pictures turn up here... I'm new to this forum and still figuring it out! I'll see if any of these pictures will come up....

Also, here's a video of his "palace" I built:
Budo's Palace

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CrazyForHerps
0.1 Ball Python, Culebra (Cu)
1.0 Bearded Dragon, unnamed (waiting for me in CA!)
1.0 Tabby cat, Iraland (Ira)
Various feeder rats

From the thermometer the basking spot is too cold...it should be up in the 100-120F range. Also, the rock is really not a good basking spot, too likely to tilt and roll and risk of pinching his tail or foot. (not sure how big that cage is dimension wise).

You would be better off moving that box and wood underneath the basking spot. Get rid of the CHE and increase the wattage of the basking bulb. Though CHE are good for heat, they dont' provide any light and bearded dragons do need a bright cage.

Find yourself some wide driftwood, bricks or other wide flat and stable items to make a large basking area. Remember yuo want the basking area to provide several 'ranges' of temperature for your dragon to bask in according to his needs. The very top should be the hottest area, at least 110F, even as high as 120F. This allows your dragon to warm up fast then move down to cooler parts of the basking area. I wouldn't recommend a basking area narrower than 5" wide. Bearded dragons like to spread out on their basking area to present as much surface area to absorb heat as possible.

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PHLdyPayne

I should have said this earlier, but actually, I took the video long before I got Budo, and I have made several adjustments since then. Also, I had just turned on all the lights when I took the video... the basking spot is at 103* and the cool end is around 80*. Since then, I also have lowered the ReptiSun 10.0; it is now around 8" away from the basking rock, and it also brightens up the enclosure.
My house gets down to 57* at night sometimes, so I really need the CHE to keep him from freezing at night.
I really like that piece of driftwood you use for your basking spot. I will keep my eyes open.

Thanks again!
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CrazyForHerps
0.1 Ball Python, Culebra (Cu)
1.0 Bearded Dragon, unnamed (waiting for me in CA!)
1.0 Tabby cat, Iraland (Ira)
Various feeder rats

I LOVE that picture of Budo! He looks so grand and majestic. I noticed some skin on his right leg that was left from his last shedding. So authentic...

Thanks! Yes, he was shedding. He actually looks much different now that he's out of shed. It was a big surprise for me to find out the true colors of his back. I'll take some more pics soon.
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CrazyForHerps
0.1 Ball Python, Culebra (Cu)
1.0 Bearded Dragon, unnamed (waiting for me in CA!)
1.0 Tabby cat, Iraland (Ira)
Various feeder rats

I've had that happen to me before too. I think it logs you off if you take a really long time to post. If I'm typing a really long post I always copy it first just in case that happens.

I watched the video and am curious about the temps. You have a probe on that rock which is a good way of measuring the basking spot temp. The basking spot temp. should be between 105-110. The ambient (air temp.) on the hot side should be 85-92 and the cool side should be 70-80. I also thought your cage looks pretty dark. But it could be the camera. Beardies like bright enclosures. My only other suggestion would be to elevate and enlarge the basking spot. Beardies like to be at the highest spot so that should be the basking spot.

I took that video two weeks before Budo came home, and I have made a few adjustments since then. First of all, I know the temps were all wrong; I had just turned on the lights. The basking spot is around 103-105* (I have a rheostat to dim the halogen if it gets too hot) and the cool end is around 80*. I also lowered the ReptiSun so that it is closer and gives off better light. I will take a few pictures of what it looks like now and post them.

Wow, you have some really nice enclosures, and a lot of beardies! I like the idea of the hide box also serving as a basking spot. I'll keep my eye out for a bigger basking item.
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CrazyForHerps
0.1 Ball Python, Culebra (Cu)
1.0 Bearded Dragon, unnamed (waiting for me in CA!)
1.0 Tabby cat, Iraland (Ira)
Various feeder rats

Wow. You've got quite a setup! Do you breed the dragons?

No, Budo is my first. But I am so fond of him, breeding is definitely a possibility in a year or two!
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CrazyForHerps
0.1 Ball Python, Culebra (Cu)
1.0 Bearded Dragon, unnamed (waiting for me in CA!)
1.0 Tabby cat, Iraland (Ira)
Various feeder rats