Our new bearded dragon

[birdlover82]

So we picked up our bearded dragon today rather then leaving it in the horrible store. Wish I would of realized all this before getting it from there but oh well he was already paid for before we noticed how thin the quaker was.
But here it is. Still need to look to see if it's male or female.

Which I'm open for any info from those of you who have or had these guys too. I want to do everything as perfectly as I can. I think getting new pets like this is almost like babies you do all your research but you are never prepared enough for when it comes home.
Already realized we'd forgotten to get a thermometer. So will be going and getting anything else tomorrow.
Here is it's tank set up so far. Which we are already watching CL for a bigger tank.

What would be some good things to add to it's tank? It seems boring. I also put a paper bag between the tank and mirror. Just went up to check on it and it kinda went crazy about it's reflection.
Oh and we have the Zilla slimline desert 50 UVB T8 fluorescent bulb. Is this a good one? And I need to have it where it can get about 6 inches from it right?

 

[Blazeybird]

What a cutie pie! I love beardies! I think sand would be much appreciated by your new bud

 

[Saemma]

wow. So that is what a bearded dragon looks like. I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw your title. Congrats? How long is he/she and what would he eat?

 

[ortegah]

Your tank is perfect just the way it is. I don't recommend sand or anything else in there at least until he/she is full grown. They can accidentally ingest it and it can kill them from impaction. What do you intend on feeding him? I suggest collards and kale as well as superworms(when he gets bigger) and crickets. I highly recommend Mealworms, Live crickets Red Worms at Worm Man's Worm and Crickets Farm as he has the best prices I've found so far. Oh and give him a bath at least once every other day. He'll probably get used to relieving himself in the warm water and honestly it keeps the tank and the room much better smelling. Nothing worse than beardie poo!

 

[Blazeybird]

Wow ok, thanks Heather. I dont know much about dragons. Every time I see them though they have sand so... ya next time I wont be so quick...

 

[waterfaller1]

I think sand would be much appreciated by your new bud

How would you keep it clean?
I would use tiles. That's what I used for my leopard gecko. They look good, clean up easy, and retain warmth.
Congrats on your new beardie!

 

[ortegah]

Oh I didn't mean to contradict what you said. I actually didn't see what you said before.

 

[Blazeybird]

No no, I was just horrified that I gave wrong advice!

 

[ortegah]

Oh and here's a great forum about beardies Bearded Dragon . org

And a great starting point for info Bearded Dragon . org - Bearded Dragon Care Sheet

 

[waterfaller1]

I didn't know enough to say about the impaction about beardies, but it's a big issue when keeping geckos too. So many die..so sad. They even have sand they sell specifically for them and tell you it's ok to use,

 

[ortegah]

No no, I was just horrified that I gave wrong advice!

It's common thought that beardies live in sand, so I understand how you would think that. It's ok when they are adults but even then they recommend playsand and not the stuff they sell in the pet store. They advertise that the special sand for beardies made of calcium is safe but even that causes impaction.

It's really easiest just to use paper towels to line their cage. Sifting sand is so nasty and it makes a big ol dust cloud!

 

[ortegah]

I didn't know enough to say about the impaction about beardies, but it's a big issue when keeping geckos too. So many die..so sad. They even have sand they sell specifically for them and tell you it's ok to use,

Yeah that stuff is darn expensive too! It's so much easier to just line the cage with paper or paper towels. I had my beardie trained to poop in the tub when she had her bath.

 

[rockoko]

grats Susan! He's cute!

 

[birdlover82]

Thanks everyone. I already knew the danger of using sand.
Looks like my son is wanting to name it Woody. Was up earlier looking in at it and it got really excited and all puffed up and even hissed at us. Which I was wondering should we wait any certain amount of time before holding it or should we just start holding it now? We did hold it in the store before we bought it and it was all calm then. My son can't wait to hold it.
Heather when you say bathe do you mean like put it in the tub? Would a kitchen sink work because we don't have a tub up in our living quarters just a shower stall. How much water would I put and would I do it luke warm like a baby's bath water?
As far as feeding I have crickets for right now but was wondering about mealworms. I'm going to be ordering them from now on probably because with a bull frog and now the Beardie we'll be going through the food.
I'll check out that forum in the morning. I'm worn out and headed to bed. Too much excitement today for me.

 

[ortegah]

Thanks everyone. I already knew the danger of using sand.
Looks like my son is wanting to name it Woody. Was up earlier looking in at it and it got really excited and all puffed up and even hissed at us. Which I was wondering should we wait any certain amount of time before holding it or should we just start holding it now? We did hold it in the store before we bought it and it was all calm then. My son can't wait to hold it.
Heather when you say bathe do you mean like put it in the tub? Would a kitchen sink work because we don't have a tub up in our living quarters just a shower stall. How much water would I put and would I do it luke warm like a baby's bath water?
As far as feeding I have crickets for right now but was wondering about mealworms. I'm going to be ordering them from now on probably because with a bull frog and now the Beardie we'll be going through the food.
I'll check out that forum in the morning. I'm worn out and headed to bed. Too much excitement today for me.

If he's hissing, I'd say leave him be for a day or so. As for a bath, I always just used my bathroom sink and then made sure I disinfected it afterwards I always heard that superworms were better for them than mealworms, but either one works. They really aren't recommended until they are older though. Crickets really are the best thing for them when they are little. But beware, they aren't cheap to feed. That's why I always ordered them online, typically 500 at a time and kept them in a large rubbermaid container. Oh I almost forgot about the depth of the water. I would fill it up like just enough that they can still stand in the water. Our beardie, Sandy(yes I know original ) would relax her back legs and just float until her poop would move down the chute and then she'd potty. After flushing out the sink I'd fill it back up and let her soak until she got restless.

 

[birdlover82]

If he's hissing, I'd say leave him be for a day or so. As for a bath, I always just used my bathroom sink and then made sure I disinfected it afterwards I always heard that superworms were better for them than mealworms, but either one works. They really aren't recommended until they are older though. Crickets really are the best thing for them when they are little. But beware, they aren't cheap to feed. That's why I always ordered them online, typically 500 at a time and kept them in a large rubbermaid container. Oh I almost forgot about the depth of the water. I would fill it up like just enough that they can still stand in the water. Our beardie, Sandy(yes I know original ) would relax her back legs and just float until her poop would move down the chute and then she'd potty. After flushing out the sink I'd fill it back up and let her soak until she got restless.

Well my hubby couldn't wait and held him/her last night. Got bit too. But then it mellowed out and was fine. We fed it some crickets and oh my goodness was it ever a hungry beardie. Ate probably a dozen small-medium crickets. I love the noise they make while chewing the crickets. So cute!
We are planning on ordering crickets. Because it is so much cheaper. Growing up we used to have to order crickets since we were 3 hours from the closest pet store. So I know all about the cricket boxes. I've also researched more into keeping and breeding them.
Have you ever heard of pinching the mealworms heads off so they don't bite the inside of your lizards mouth? My brother told us about this years ago when he got his leopard gecko Leo.

 

[ortegah]

I've never heard that before. We never had any trouble with the worms. Sandy spent very little time messing around with them and would chomp them up super fast As for a dozen crickets, that's mild! They can eat many more than that! Sandy as a baby was eating 50 crickets a day. As they get older they don't need as many, but they need a ton of them for about the first year or so. It was more expensive to feed my beardie than it was to feed my 4 dogs put together!

 

[birdlover82]

I've never heard that before. We never had any trouble with the worms. Sandy spent very little time messing around with them and would chomp them up super fast As for a dozen crickets, that's mild! They can eat many more than that! Sandy as a baby was eating 50 crickets a day. As they get older they don't need as many, but they need a ton of them for about the first year or so. It was more expensive to feed my beardie than it was to feed my 4 dogs put together!

Wow. Now I know what to expect. My hubby was telling me to order 1000 looks like that's what I better do. My bullfrog eats at least 6 a day too. Plus I can share some with my mom for my brothers lizard Leo.
Is there any thing I should do to help with it shedding? Because it's started to shed it's tails skin today. I know with leopard geckos you make sure they have enough humidity.

 

[ortegah]

Just the baths and keeping up the humidity and he'll be fine. It shouldn't be too stressful for him and he might let you help him get off the loose skin.

Yeah I didn't realize how many crickets she would eat a day. They say to feed them as many as they will eat in 5-10 minutes. Also make sure there is plenty of greens that have been rinsed off. That will help get moisture into his system.

 

[Babybreau]

He's neat... for a lizard.. and I'm not a lizard fan...