Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My pair of rescued beardies has lain 2 clutches this year. One egg from the first clutch hatched over the weekend. The hatchling looks plump but is not lively. It is sluggish to move. Is this normal for a 2 day old beardie? From the incubator, I put it in a rubbermaid container with paper towels and a saucer of water. I have misted it several times but haven't seen it drink. It is ~80F. Do I need a reptile bulb or regular household bulb or none at all? How long before it eats? Are pinhead crickets and small mealworm larvae appropriate foods? I'm new to this!

greyhoundgirl@usa.net

It is not abnormal for babies to be a little slow for the first few days. they are still living off the egg they absorbed. but in order for them to remain healthy i suggest you get heat lights and floresent lights on them asap. 80 degres is too cold for them. they still need a hot spot like the adults and proper lighting.

peace,
nathan

You have definately got to get a basking area set up for him. The temp need to be around 115 to 120 degrees. I would backk off of the meal worm larvaes and just feed the crickets dusted in the mornings then a little lettuce and crickets twice more daily. I also left the hatchlings I had in the box they hatched out in untill they were moving around good in there. It takes a couple days for them to become a little more energetic sometimes but they should be scooting around within 3 days of hatching. I used a 75 watt UVA reptile bulb over a ten gallon tank for basking with little branches for them to climb on. Make sure to get a thermometer and check the area at the highest basking point to see if it's hot enough. They need the higher temps to digest food. You should also get a uvb bulb and fixture that runs the entire length of the cage for them. Hope this helps.

Robert

Please take the water dish out of the tank. They do not drink from water dishes, and most probably WILL end up drowning. Mist the babies up to three times a day.

You should never have taken them out of the incubator until you saw them moving around. Now that they are out you need to get the temps. rigt for them. You need to have a reptile theremometer in the hottest part of the basking area to show the temp at all times.

A previous post said something about getting basking temps to 120 degrees. I personally would recommend 105-110 degrees, with a good flat rock directly under the light, and maybe some small branches to climb if they need to get closer to the light. You also need the cool side of the tank, the side without light, to not get abouve 85 degrees. If the babies cannot get cooler when they need to they will die.

You need to be feeding 1/4 inch crickets... nothing bigger then the space between the eyes of the babies. If the crickets are too small the dragons cannot see them... dust with calcium powder ever feeding, offer food 3 times a day. Take out all uneaten food after fifteen minutes in the tank.

Keep a regular schedule to avoid stress. Get you lights on a times. 12 hours of light a day is good. Try to feed at the same times every day.

You need a good UVB tube light that you can run accross the top of your tanks. Never keep many more then five babies is one tank together. You can buy a regular house light bulb and put them into heat lamps to get your basking area temps up, as long as you have a good florescent UVA/UVB light as well. Make SURE it says UVB. Make sure the UVA/UVB light is within 12 inches of the basking rock because that is as far as the UV rays reach.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!!!!
This is an ABSOLUTLY horrible post. Why in the world would you NOT have found out how to care for hatchlings BEFORE you let your lizards breed. You have done so many things wrong already because you could not take the time to sit down and read a book on dragons. YOU are responsible for all of these little lives you allowed to be created, and for all of the pain you may cause them in your ignorance.

I appreciate all the feedback I have been getting - the hatchling has perked up nicely and is enjoying it's warmer thermal gradient. I fully agree that everyone responsiple for animals needs to educate themselves about their care. However, I am offended at the statement that I am doing such a horrible job, that I have no concern for their correct care, and that I can't take time to read about them. I rescued 2 abandoned beardies this year prior to breeding season. I found and collected the eggs and incubated them according to what I read in many articles/books, and from talking with others who have bred beardies. Unfortunately, only one egg hatched, probably due to the fact that I could not find them and move them from the parents' cage to the incubator fast enough.

I was out of town when this baby hatched and upon returing, I left it in the setup provided by my babysitter (temp., water saucer, etc.) until I had enough information to prove otherwise. I am absolutely responsible for it's care now, and I felt that making too many changes to it's new environment may be hazardous to it's well being. So I came to this site for help. I have been misting it, have provided UVA/B lights and heating source, and providing hiding places, even prior to posting/receiving these messages. Please keep in mind that all reptile keepers and breeders - even experts - disagree. Even the books/articles disagree. I simply did what I thought was best and took as many opinions into mind as possible, which is why I posted a simple, open message here, without first giving my husbandry details. Thanks to everyone for their help - hopefully I can prevent any more unplanned pregnancies!

And for the person who asked about the parents, they are in a 3'x6' stock tank (seperate from the baby, of course), on a cypress mulch substrate with heat/reptile light, water bowl, and lots of branches/rocks. Their cagemate is a blue-tongued skink and they pretty much stay out of each others' ways. When I palpated eggs, I placed a nest box (plastic box with a hole in the side filled with moist peat) to encourage her to lay in there, but instead, she scattered her eggs through the tank. Go figure! They eat fruit, veggies, crickets, worms, and flowers, all supplemented of course, 4-6 times per week.
-shell

if you keep your adults this way this defanitly shows how easy dragons are to breed... possably to easy in this case