We just bought 2 baby beardies today need advice im new at reptiles?

Question

i have read up on these beardies off internet sites just wondered if theres anything you know that i dont to give my beardies a happy home.

Answer 1

What advice are you looking for in particular?

Did you do any reasearch before buying your BD's?

Answer 2

well, Its too late now, but you should ALWAYS research before you buy. The following is my personal care sheet for beardies, and I certainly hope it helps you!

.:HEATING/LIGHTING:.

A bearded dragon will need to be kept in a minimum of a 55 gallon tank. The general rule of thumb is “the bigger, the better” (for adults). This needs to be more ground area than height. Put a UVA/UVB light across the back of the tank, and put a basking lamp on one end of the tank. Make sure the lights used produce enough UVA/UVB to help the beardie produce the vitamins/nutrients necessary to keep them healthy. Insufficient UV can result in the development of MBD, AKA Metabolic Bone Disease. This is much like Osteoporosis in humans, and can immobilize/kill the beardie. There has been a rise in problems resulting from the use of certain UV bulbs; A really good one to use is the Zoomed Reptisun 10.0 bulb (lower #s are not strong enough!). For hatchlings, the basking temperature should be between 105-110 degrees F and the opposite end ("cool down" or regular temp.) needs to be between 75-85 degrees. For adults, the basking temp. should be between 90-105 degrees F and the cool down temp should be low to mid 80's. At night, you can turn off all heat/lights as long as the temperature will stay above 60 degrees. Never let night-time temps drop below 60 degrees! Your beardie could freeze to death! Put a digital thermometer on each side of the tank and make sure it never gets too hot or too cold. The lights need to be on for 14 hours a day, and can be turned off at night if temperatures are above 65 degrees. buy a timer to do this for you. Do not use stick-on thermometers; they tend to be VERY inaccurate. To read temperatures, use a temp gun or, as I stated earlier, a digital thermometer. Make sure it can read the temperature within about 2 degrees of the actual temp. It is recommended that you allow your beardie to enjoy supervised time outside is natural sunlight, as long as the temperatures are appropriate.

.:SUBSTRATE:.

Substrates tend to be a huge topic amongst experienced owners; people argue that sand is good, that carpet is good, wood chips are bad, calcium sand is good, etc. Don’t worry about this; many owners simply avoid “particulate”, or loose, substrates. This includes sand, woodchips, and crushed walnut shells. Carpet can snag tiny claws, so don’t bother buying it. Put a baby dragon on paper towels or non-stick padded shelf liner, and if you want, move it to tile when it gets bigger. If you choose to use tile, get an “unfinished” tile that can help file down their claws.

.:FOOD:.

Bearded dragon food isn’t as much of an issue as you may think. First of all, babies need 20% veggies and 80% insects in their diet. You can give them crickets, phoenix worms, freshly molted meal worms, or small silk worms. Crickets need to be dusted with calcium. You can use a calcium/D3 blend. A good calcium supplement is Rep-Cal (pink bottle), and a good multivitamin is Herptivite (blue bottle). Phoenix worms and silkworms, however, are naturally packed with protein and calcium, so they don’t need to be dusted. Do not feed your beardie anything that you caught outside, since wild-caught insects can carry illnesses or have ingested some level of pesticides. Never feed it anything larger than the space between the beardie’s eyes. Veggies can include kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, and collard greens as staples, then some other things added to make a salad. This includes prickly pear cactus leaves (Nopales), bell pepper, occasional berries, and any type of squash imaginable.

Check out the color-coded nutrition guide at www. beautifuldragons. com for more food ideas and nutrition content. Below is a good feeding pattern to follow.

**HATCHLINGS (up to 2 months).**

~Mist / Spray - 2-3 times daily with distilled water

~Young Insects - feed 2 or 3 times daily - Calcium dust once every day and 2-3 times with a multivitamin. Insects should never be any larger than the space between a Beardie's eyes.

~Greens/Vegetables - every day - DO NOT dust

**JUVENILES(approx. 2-6 months)**

~Insects - 1 or 2 times daily; Dust every other day with Calcium and 2-3 times a week with Multivitamins.

~Greens/Vegetables in the morning every day - DO NOT dust  

**SUB-ADULTS & ADULTS (7 months +)**

~Insects 2 or 3 times weekly - Calcium dust once a week and vitamins once or twice monthly.

~Greens/Vegetables - every day - DO NOT dust.

*Do not feed your beardie within 3 hours of bed-time, since it takes a long time to digest food.*

.:WATER/BATHING:.

Many people choose to use a water dish in the tank. However, it is strongly advised that you DO NOT do this; the heat will evaporate the water, causing the beardie to contract a respiratory infection from the humidity. Most people choose to mist their bearded dragons instead of risking the respiratory infection. Mist it once or twice daily, and hold the misting bottle near its face, allowing the beardie to drink from a small stream of water. Don’t mist the entire tank; only the lizard. This is especially useful when it sheds. Buy a humidity gauge to monitor humidity levels. The in-tank humidity needs to stay around 20%.

Bearded dragons need to be bathed weekly; to do so, get a plastic bucket and fill it with shallow water (to the elbows for babies, and to the shoulders for adults. Let the beardie soak for 10-20 minutes once a week. This also gives you enough time to really clean out the tank.

.:SEXING:.

Generally, it is very difficult to s*x a bearded dragon that is under 6 months old. Regardless, here are some basic ways to figure out if yours is male or female.

*Male Characteristics*:

~Males have a large, defined triangular head.

~Generally males have a more defined and larger beard and jawline.

~Tail is thicker at the base, and tapers down to the tip.

~If you gently lift the tail towards the head, a male should have two bulges right above the vent, forming an "hourglass" shape.

*Female Characteristics*

~Females have narrower, slightly longer heads that are more well-proportioned to their body than that of a male.

~Narrower tail base that tapers evenly to the tip.

~Usually have wider, flatter bodies.

~When the tail is gently lifted towards the head, there will be either one bulge above the vent, or none at all.

When lifting the tail, be careful and do not pull it too far, or the tail can break.

.:BREEDING:.

*Note: It is recommended that unless you really know what you're doing (not to mention have alot of money!), don't attempt to breed, since it can end in disaster. *

Females can produce eggs whether they have mated or not. These eggs are not fertile, and need to be disposed of. A lay box IS necessary, or egg binding can result. Be sure to provide a large tub with about 8-10 inches of soil (vermiculite free!). The soil needs to be just damp enough that it holds together when moved (test it by gently shoving a fist into it; the soil should not "cave in".)

.:CLEANING:.

f***s need to be removed when ever they are present. They can be wiped off any surface with ease. Once a month, the tank needs a thorough cleaning, and the substrate needs to be replaced. To clean, you should use Nolvasan. Nolvasan has no harmful fumes, and is great for disinfecting/deodorizing the tank.

.:OTHER:.

For basking purposes, beardies need a rock, log, or branch to sit on. One great idea is to buy a log half from a pet store so it has a basking area and a hiding place. You can also make your own custom basking spot by following the directions at www.beautifuldragons.com; click the "homemade platforms" link. Do not use heating pads or self-heating rocks because they will burn the beardie’s belly!!! The heat receptors are located on top of its head, so your beardie can’t detect high temperatures easily under its body.

Try to keep the tank as empty as possible; avoid crowding it with accessories, and allow the beardie enough room to move.

When you first get your bearded dragon, try not to handle it for the first 4 days. It needs some time to get used to its new surroundings. Remember to buy everything BEFORE you buy the lizard.

After the first 4 days, handle it for a couple minutes each day, until it gets used to you.

With these tips, you should have a fairly easy time caring for your new bearded dragon.

**RECOMMENDED MATERIALS**

-UV lighting: Zoomed Reptisun 10.0

-Basking light: Duramax "Spot" bulb (available at Home Depot)

-Calcium/D3: Rep-Cal Calcium with Vitamin D3 phosphorous free (pink bottle)

-Multivitamin: Herptivite Multivitamin (Blue bottle)

Answer 3

1)They love heat =] more the better

2) Get a electronic thermometer

3) Be ready to separate them if they are two males, in the future

Answer 4

what did you want advice on? if its just general info try www.mybeardeddragon.co.uk

Answer 5

Kuddos on researching your beardie before your got it, and then checking here to see if there's anything else you can learn.  An informed owner makes for a happy one, and a healthy and content pet.

Lizard_lover covered the basics for the most part (just read the post), but I didn't see the mention of D3 in the calcium, which you need to supply while using UVB lighting.

Oh, and I also believe a 55 gal. reptile tank is the smallest you can use for an adult beardie.

Also, do a bit of research on UVB lighting (I'll post a link to get you started).  Presently, there are some lights out there causing illness and blindness.  For the most part, the blindness is temporary, but it's painful for the lizard, and they keep their eyes closed, force feeding is necessary, etc.  Best way around that is not to use a suspect source of light.

In case I have some you haven't peeked at yet; I'll also post a few links you can check out when you have time.  There's a lot info. there.  But, please note my disclaimer:

--Please do not keep your lizard(s) of any age on play/repti sand or loose substrate.  Impaction and bacteria issues are real and serious – and can result in death.  Consult your reptile veterinarian for their opinion.--

You'll run across care/dietary suggestion/advice which is contradictory as you research the links.  Any information dilemmas you have can easily be resolved by your vet.

If you don't already know of a qualified exotics/reptile vet, you can contact “herpetologicalsocieties.com“ for the closest one in the city of your state.

I'll also post you a basic recipe for gut loading insects for your beardie.  Never feed baby beardies mealworms.  They have a hard time digesting the tough shell, and it has even been known to cause impaction in some cases.

GUT LOADING CRICKETS for REPTILES:

The number one problem:

Dried up and malnourished pet store crickets and mealworms. These food items are essentially useless. A dehydrated and unfed cricket contains almost no nutrients at all; refrigerated mealworms are even worse. A lot of the variety in nutrients found in wild insects is actually in the stomach content - usually plant material. We need to duplicate this to provide the best for our reptiles; without the risk of illness/disease/parasites which can result from feeding our pets wild insects.

Please note that wax worms, while fattening, are not nutritious.  Young geckos can eat small silk and phoenix worms, as well.

Basic Dry/Staple Cricket Food:

Equal amounts of dry Iguana food, dry dog food, chick starter mash, oatmeal (you can add dry baby food wheat/rye/barley, etc. as well; even shredded wheat - no sugar).

Grind these items together.  Place in a small lid/bowl for the crickets to eat.  Store the unused portion in the refrigerator or freezer, until needed.

Supplement daily with one of the following: sweet potato, bananas, zucchini, oranges, carrots, strawberries, assorted squashes (acorn, yellow, etc.), grapefruit, green beans, apples, kale, spinach, cactus pads, and just about any other nutritious item you can think of (do not use white/yellow potatoes - these are starchy and only good if used as a moisture source during shipping, and NEVER use Avocado - it's poisonous to most animals).

Provide the dry food and kale at all times (kale is readily available during the winter months, too), rotating the other food items through in succession. The key is variety, and to provide an assortment of varying nutrients. What you are trying to do is offer your reptiles crickets with guts 'loaded' with fresh foodstuffs.

The crickets should be gut loaded for 1-2 days prior to offering them to your reptiles.

Also, provide fresh clean water in a lid/bowl, adding a sponge or folded paper towel to prevent drowning.

  

Don't offer more crickets than the reptile(s) will consume within: 1.) a few hours if it’s a lizard, salamander, frog/toad, or 2.) a few minutes, if it’s a water turtle, so you know the crickets will still be full of the good stuff when eaten.

The crickets should be dusted (shaken in a plastic bag gently to coat them) with vitamins (keep these refrigerated) and calcium D3 powder 2-4 times a week, depending on the age of the reptile.

Be sure to remove any uneaten crickets so that they do not soil your pet's environment/water or bother your pet, once it is full.  Crickets CAN turn the table - and feast upon your pet! Or aggravate them, causing stress and even cessation of eating.

Also be sure the crickets are the correct size for the reptile.  The cricket should be the same size long as the reptile’s head is wide (about the space between the lizards’ eyes).

Congratulations on your choice of a beardie as a pet, and enjoy!

I hope this has been helpful.