Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok.. sorry to be THAT girl, but just want to make sure I'm doing right by the new kid..

After I've been a life-long snake person, the boyfriend fell for a baby beardie at the Manchester, NH show last weekend. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll be the one to feed/clean/maintain him, so I just want to be positive I'm on the right track. And yes I have done my research elsewhere, just looking for feedback.

We have him in a 20long right now, full to bursting with hides, logs, rocks, etc. for climbing and hiding - both horizontal and vertical spaces used - which he seems to love poking around. UTH under one hide on a timer for PM only (our house gets chilly in northern MA at night) which is where he's slept every night so far. Temps by temp gun at this very moment: cool side 73F, warm side 86F & hot spot 102F. Basking light on the hot side & UV over the whole deal. Paper substrate. Screen top.

His feeding is all over the charts.. the man we bought him from sent us home with a cup of medium Phoenix worms which he seems to really dig. I'm not sure how MUCH he should be eating though. Day 1 he had maybe 4 and lost interest. Day 2 he ate 14 (3 feedings throughout the day) with no interest in veggies. Day 3 he ate 5 worms and a few mouthfulls of dandilion greens and a small piece of grape throughout the day. Still trying to get my hands on small enough crickets since that seems to be the staple. I do have multi-vitamin and Ca powder but I've read the Phoenix worms don't require dusting due to their high Ca content.. comments? He seems to "graze" more than gorge - but his belly looks full and he's the most attentive little thing. He's passed only one stool since we got him (3 days).

I think that's the story. Please let me know where I can improve. As I said I'm not new to herps, but God help me if something happens to the boyfriend's new baby. Thanks in advance!

-Tami*

I would not be overly worried about his eating right now if you just got him, probably just acclimating. Try to get those crickets and let him eat as much as he can, also keep his greens in there at all times. Personally, I would bump his bask up to a higher temp. of about 120(surface temp). This might sounds extreme but I guarantee your dragon will make use of these temps. Overall he sounds like he is doing well considering you just picked him up. Good luck.

Yeah I would say the temp is a little low 110-120 would be in a better range. If your house doesn't get below 65-68 at night you don't need any heat source for the beardies at night. As long as he is not hanging in the hides for most of the day you will be fine though. Just feed him at least twice a day as much as he wants. Young beardies usually do not eat much greens. That will pick up when they get near the year mark and much more after that. You seem to be doing all the right things if you got pics of him and the cage those would help a lot. Good luck!

You didn't mention how long he is. It's hard to guess how much he should eat without at least his length. I'm not a Pheonix worm believer and would recommend you try to find appropriately sized crix. Gutload them prior to feeding them to your beardie. The pet store chains sell a grain insect food which is fine. The orange cubes etc. are worthless. Use apples for moisture.

I would also not recomend the under tank heater. He's fine without even if your house drops into the low 60's. Lower temps. slow reptiles metabolism and will allow him to rest. Babies should have higher basking temps. than adults. I would recommend 110-115 max. Higher temps. create dryer environments and there is always a dehydration risk with baby dragons. My suggestion would be to drip water onto his nose with an eyedropper at least once a day until he stops licking it.

Thanks everyone for the advice so far!

He's a hatchling, 7-8 weeks according to the breeder, and about as long snout-to-vent as my middle finger (I'm bad with inches!)

The UTH is really just a safety net - it is the smallest size ZooMed makes, so it only takes up a small corner of the tank. We have an outflow fan in our bedroom window due to dust allergies so it gets reeaaally chilly here some nights. It just makes me feel better that he's got a warm hide if he needs it.

I'm misting him (& his rock) 3 times daily, & he scrambles around licking the water off everything so I'm sure he's well hydrated. The temps I took were first thing in the morning so as a comparison: at 1pm I'm getting 87F on the cool side, 96F on the warm side & 109F in the hot spot. This is the warmest part of the day in this room when the sun is hitting it directly. Would you still recommend a warmer hot spot? (P.S. the tank is nowhere near the windows - no direct sun)

Last but not least.. where oh where do you get good quality crickets small enough for a hatchling? I've been unable to find any locally, & my first mail-order was a flop - all dead.

Well my little finger is almost 3.5" long. So maybe your dragon is 6"ish total length? You can just buy small (3/8" at most pet stores. There are good bulk internet cricket suppliers, some are not. Reputable internet suppliers will replace dead insects.

I'm a little concerned about the cool side temp of 87. It really needs to be closer to 80 or less. My sugestion would be to move the basking spot farther from the cool side.

You said "when the sun is hitting it directly" then said "the tank is nowhere near the windows" What does this mean? No sun should shine onto a glass terrarium. It will rapidly overheat the enclosure.

Supplements...I dust with a phosphorous-free calcium powder at most feedings to make up for the sometimes poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous.

I dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene won't lead to an overdose like preformed vitamin A will. Excess preformed may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the dragon towards MBD.

I dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder as well. D3 from supplements can build up in the system so don't overdo it. Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight of a UVB light will provide most of the D3 the dragon needs and shouldn't lead to an overdose as long as the dragon has the option of moving out of it. UVB from either source should not pass through glass or plastic. Here's a good site with information about light. Some compacts and tubes have been found to cause problems but the Repti-sun 5.0 long tube is still okay.
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are all players in bone health and need to be in balance. When trying to balance them its important to look at the supplements, what you feed to the dragon and what you feed to the insects.

Gutloading and feeding your insects well is also important. I gutload crickets with an assortment of greens (dandelion, kale, endive, collards, escarole, mustard greens) and veggies (carrot, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, etc.) I feed the same things to the dragons along with a bit of fruit (apple, pear, melon, berries, etc.)

Appropriate tempaeratures also play a part since they aid in digestion.

Good luck with your dragon!

I meant when the sun is hitting the room - it's right on the broad side of the house facing the road, so around noon-1pm the sun shines right on that part of the house & it gets warmer. Don't fret, the light does not come close to hitting the aquarium.

I can certainly move the basking site farther toward the opposite end of the tank - just requires some furniture redecorating. He doesn't spend much time on the cool end, though.

Not much I can add to what has already been suggested.

Its not unusual for a dragon to eat erratically during the first week they are in a new home. Takes them awhile to get settled in. As he's only 8 weeks old, offer food 2-3 times a day, greens all day, insects morning, afternoon and early evening or at least morning and early evening (at least 2 hours before lights out). A mix of insects is good, so phoenix worms, small crickets (space between the dragon's eye is good, should be able to get away with 1/4 inch crickets or smaller). It would have been a good idea to pick up small crickets at the show when you boyfriend bought him, but too late now.

There are many good online places to order crickets. Check the businesses tab ontop of the page here. Make sure they have a live arrival guarantee but keep i mind you have to be there to receive the crickets. If they all arrive dead, call them right away. Most will resend the order.

I would still dust the phoenix worms with calcium with D3. They do have a high calcium/low phosphorous content but the older the worms are, the less calcium stays..if they start to pupate much of that calcium is reverted into indigestible exoskeleton which your dragon won't use. The dark worms are pupating but if they are white/clearish then they are at their best to feed to dragons.

Small butterworms, silkworms and hornworms are good too, as variety but at this age, crickets are the best to go. They are cheap, and with dusting and proper gutloading, they are healthy too. You can order 500-1000 1/8th inch crickets and keep them in a tub with egg grates, gut load and slice of orange for moisture, this way they won't grow too big for your dragon before you use them up.
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PHLdyPayne