Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, i just got my first bearded dragon on thursday. i know that you shouldn't start out with a young one but i had to, he was too caool to pass up on. so any ways, 1. would it be okay if i were to put a cactus in there with him 2. i am using potting soil as a substrate and i haven't seen anything saying that that is a good thing or a bad thing 3. he isn't eating too much, when i put a pellet in front of his mouth the first time he ate it right up,same thing with red leaf lettuce and 2 peices of carrots but he passed on a meal worm, i haven't tried crickets yet, because i am kinda worried that they may be too big for him. well thanks in advance, Colin

The reason it is better to get an older beardie is because babies have specific needs that must be met, or they will get sick or die. Researching on how to care for your dragon is critical.
First and foremost DO NOT feed your baby any more mealworms. They have very hard outer shells and your baby will have trouble digesting them. Problems caused include impaction and death due to impaction.
You need appropriate sized crickets, do not feed your dragon any prey larger then the space between it's eyes. If you have a hatchling, this would mean 1/4" crickets.
Secondly, a baby should not be on any substrate but paper towel, or butchers paper. When hunting their prey, they are inexperienced and often miss. Getting several mouthfuls of dirt would cause impaction and also can lead to death .
Do you have a basking spot/temp of 100-110? A UVB light?
Please do a search on "Bearded Dragon Care Sheets" and read everything you can. I can assure you, with your present care, your beardie will not survive.
I've included a starting link..
Beardie Care

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TheClassyLizard

i just got my first bearded myself yesterday, also a baby. she's so itty bitty and cute! the link you included was absolutely great! theres a lot of little details that either differ or are exluded in the various other care sheets ive found. i think this one will be my primary bearded info source

btw, whats the cheapest way to provide uvb light? is taking my little girl outside for a few minutes a day good enough? (i live in miami...its always warm and sunny!)

Real sun is definately the best source. 20 minutes a day would work great, longer if you have an enclosure/reptarium your beardie could safely stay in. Never use glass or plastic, it can over heat.
Make sure your beardie has a shady place to go if it gets too hot. I have hideboxes (not shown in pic) that are simply made of 3 pcs. of 2x6 wood, 2 sides and a top.
I leave my adults out for a few hrs at a time, they love it.

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TheClassyLizard

Outside is great but they still need the UVB in their inside enclosures. They need the heat also that is provided with the reptile bulbs for digestion. You can go one of two ways. On our adult cages we use the 4 ft flourescent bulbs and a dome light with the Day Glo bulb in it. On our babies they just have the Day Glo bulb over their basking rock. Both ways work well. Hope this helps. Terri
Reed's Reptiles

I've read, and been told that 20-30 min of real sun equals 12 hours under a UVB light. Why would beardies still need indoor UVB if they were in the sun daily? 5.0 bulb does mean only 5% UVB.
Just asking, incase you know something I don't..
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TheClassyLizard

I haven't read that. So you probably know something I don't. We don't take ours out due to not having adequate outside enclosures for safety from other animals. I just always thought they needed it at all times. Thanks, Terri
Reed's Reptiles

This will probably be long and I apologize for that in advance. I wouldn't use the cactus because beardies love to climb and they could get hurt on it. We use sand as our substrate from hatchlings on up but if you don't feel comfortable with that then use newspaper instead of the potting soil. They are desert animals.As far as feeding him, he really needs thecricketsand greens . I would hold off on the meal worms. Their exoskeleton is too harsh for the baby's systems. I would stick with just crickets dusted with rep-cal 6 days aweek then with herptivite 1 day a week. Greens such as collard, mustard, kale, turnip. We stay away from all lettuces because they are nearly all water and no nutrition. Give the greens first then the crickets. The crickets should be no larger than the space between the baby's eyes.Make sure his temps are 105 degrees on one side and that he has aplain creek rock to bask on. He has to have this to digest his food. Usually if the temps are right on the hot side they will be around 80 to 85 on the cool end. They will regulate their body temps by moving to the cool end of need be. Be sure that you are using a reptile heat bulb such as Day-Glo brand because they have the UVB that he will need in them. The wattage will depend on the size of cage he has. Use a reptile therometer to keep up with the temp. Place it on the hot end of the cage. Of you already know alot of this then I apologize. I just like to cover all the bases. Hope this helps. Terri
Reed's Reptiles

I agree with Christy and JTReed, no mealworms......I don't even give my adults them.....they are not very strong nutrionally and the exoskeleton in small ones can be deadly. When my dragons reach 12 inches, I then use superworms as treats, they don't have the exoskeleton and have better food value as they are meatier.

I would ditch the potting soil.....it often has additives which can be harmful if ingested and hatchlings aren't the best at catching their food and often get a mouth full of substrate with or without the cricket they are chasing. Although many experienced keepers use playsand from the start, they also know what to watch for as symtoms of impaction which can occur with sand......as a new keeper, I highly recommend you use paper towels, butcher paper or newspaper until your dragon is at least over 8 inches, preferalby 10....then you can switch to playsand or wheat bran like I use now.

You may have to order your crickets online to get the correct size ones and he really needs the crickets, or you could order small silkworms or eggs to grow silkworms. Pet stores often have only small or large and the many of the smalls may be too big. Check around for a local reptile shop....they often sell smaller crickets.

I would also ditch the cactus as JTReed said......a beardie with cactus tines stuck in him would be one unhappy beardie.....