Help my baby bearded dragon Stasia!!!?

Question

My boyfriend who is a reptile... i wuld say freak! bought me a baby bearded dragon a month ago. he took care of it 4 3 weeks & a wk ago finally gave it to me 2 care 4 on my own. i only have snakes i have a boa, burmese python, 4 corn snakes & ect...never had a problem except da 1 snake dat had its throat popped open but thats another story....N E way

da first 3 days i had no light on it @ all (Culdnt get a lamp)

i mean it was hot so i figured it wuld B ok till i got 1. but den i didnt feed it 4 a least 5 dayz cuz i thought it ate once a week!! omg smh i feel horrible 4 dat (plz dnt make me feel worst!!). my bf was really disappointed in me as it is! i usually look up info on it asap.

.. so i got da lights, uv & floresent n bout 60 crickets...day 5 i fed it 1 at a time 10 total, day 6 i put about 8 in 4 da day 1 was left over. day 7 i got lettus.

stasia is about 2 months old in a 10g tank, uv bulb n a 110 floresent lightbulb, n climing rock...but 2day day 8...

Answer 1

Ive bred beardies in the past and currently have a couple of two month old youngsters.

Mine get fed twice daily on small crickets, small 'hopper' locusts, mini mealworms (feed the ones that have just shed, theyre white, if you can as they are easier for them to digest). Feed as many insects as they will eat in one go and leave the few 'left over' ones in there for them to catch when they want them.

They also get leafy green stuff (nasturtiums leaves and flowers, dandylion leaves, baby spinach, any dark green salad leaves) grated carrots plus a small amount of fruit added to it about three or four times a week.

If you also feed the insects on the same stuff they ingest it (called gut loading) and this benefits your dragons too. I also add fish flake (you know, the stuff you usually feed goldfish) to the insect pots as again the vits/minerals they ingest from this also benefits the beardies.

Feeding starving insects is no good as its far better to gut load them first.

The viv is a 24"x18"x12". Any bigger at this young age and they may find it hard to catch the crickets/locusts. Obviously it will get upgraded as they grow and they will eventually have a 5'x2.5'x3' multi level viv as adults.

I have a Hagen Repti Glo 10.0 tube suspended 10 inches from the floor of the viv for UV requirements. This tube has been designed with desert reptiles in mind and gives out 33%UVA and 10%UVB which is perfect for beardies.

Heat wise I have a hot rock which has a thermostat built in as well as a 40watt bulb about six inches above it to up the ambient tempreture. There is a thermal gradient in the viv, the other end remains unheated. The water dish is kept up this end so as not to cause excessive humidity (they are desert reptiles after all!).

Theres also a large branch in there which provided climbing/exercise and also a place for the babies to stay 'out of sight' from each other.

If baby beardies feel annoyed with each other (especially if one slightly bigger) then they should be able to move away and get out of sight from the more dominant one. Otherwise theres stress and the risk of missing tail tips and toes!

If the diet is excellent, you gut load the livefoods, feed greens, veg and fruit and use calcium suppliments sparingly (I've never overdone the calcium, just fed a varied diet and mine have always bred successfully and never had bone problems). If you provide high UVA/UVB output tubes designed for desert reptiles and give them plenty of heat with a gradient, then theres no reason why you babies shouldnt thrive.

Answer 2

She should be alright. Just get her on a schedule. You might want to ask your bf if he had her on one and if so....stick to that. Make sure she always has fresh lettuce in her tank and feed her twice a day (about 10 crickets total). Get to the pet store whenever you can and buy some Calcium with VIT.D (it's powder in a small white bottle with a pink label) put some in a baggie, add some crickets and shake. That's the best way to get your beardie to take her vitammins. There's also a blue lable that should be used twice a week.  You can also get her some juvenile bearded dragon food. All three items are from Rep-Cal.  She may be sleepy due to lack of vitamins..

The tank should be o.k. for now but you really should get a bigger tank for her as she grows. She needs a spot to bask and a cool spot to cool off whenever she gets to hot.

You may want to check out beardeddragon.org  that's a good site to find out all about beardies.

Oh, and make sure you hold her everyday. She needs to get used to you:)

Hope this helps. Good luck with your new beardie!!

The tank

Answer 3

your suppost to feed it every day 6 crickets a day