Just got my 1st Dragon :) help

Could you possibly PM me the vets name and contact info. I'd love to have a chat with them.

 

here take a look at this http://homepage.mac.com/exoticdvm/reptile/PhotoAlbum181.html I know that's a leopard gecko, but he died of impaction...from, guess what!! the "highly digestable" calci sand!!!! Here's a beardie, who died from, crushed walnut impaction!!! http://mrskingsbioweb.com/beardeddragngrossanatomy.htm

In the wild, Beardies don't live on the loose sand that is so disgustingly popular with stupid petstores. They live on compact, hard, dirt, clay, and sand that is not so loose, and in the wild, beardie's only live for 3-5 years, wanna know the cause of death? IMPACTION Because beardies like to run around and lick everything!!!

One more thing. Sand is a beautiful breeding ground for bacteria!!! When your beardie poops, liquid comes out as well that is infested with bacteria and it soaks into the sand, and I don't care how fast you say you can clean it up, it stays in the sand, and then the beardie has to live with it, and then the beardie risks getting coccidia...or giardia....do your dragon a favor, switch to a solid substrate for now....

Oh here's another one I found, on, oh my gosh, IMPACTION!!!! oh no it doesn't ever happen...... :roll:
http://www.reptilerooms.com/index.php?name...mpaction#186250

 

Sorry DarkNation, this is a touchy subject in the bearded dragon community. Just know that if it seems like people are yelling it's not directed at you, but most just likely venting frustration towards the pet store and vet that's giving poor advice.

 

Hi DarkNation - I know you mentioned that you didn't want tile for your beardies' tank... I just thought I'd show a couple of pictures of Bella's tank so you can see how good it really looks. The tile cost me about 30 dollars at the home depot and is soooo easy to clean. I just pop out the tile and replace it with a clean one. I throw the dirty ones in the dishwasher and they come out sparkling clean!!!

 

Tile actually DOES look really nice and i'm debating whether to put them in.. Edward is on paper towels right now, and has been since I got him.

 

Once you have tiles anything else just does not cut it.

Robert

 

I haven't tried it yet because I worry about the poops that land on more than one tile at a time. I can just imagine the liquid that will leak between them and go underneath, and removing multiple heavy tiles daily seems like more work than just wiping up a poo from the shelf liner with a baby wipe. I love the look of them and would try them otherwise, but that just seems like a lot of work to me, personally.

 

These are just regular ceramic tiles and I have fitted them together so tightly that there's really no risk of it running underneath. It's actually very easy to pop them out - they are light and wash well in the dishwasher

 

I think my husband would kill me if I put something that once has lizard poop on it in the dishwasher. I already have to rinse the washing machine out with bleach and water after washing my shelf-liner before he'll wash any of our clothes in them. If I put a poopy tile in the dishwasher, he would never eat off on one of our dishes again. :lol:

 

Your husband seems a little...over cautious lol. He must go nuts when you explain that all these ppl at the supermarket touch the food before you ever pick it up and that unless he bleaches the toilet seat before and after use....well you get the drift.

 

Oh, believe me, I know. I try explaining to him that no one has ever died from not filtering their water before boiling it and such, but it doesn't matter. He also has to wipe the lip of every soda can he drinks from, and wash the lid of a can before opening it (such as canned green beans), and the list could go on....

 

lol much respect to you, that would drive me crazy.

 

Well, you know, he puts up with all my craziness too. It's give and take. :lol:

 

well the problem is so far everyone ive talked to has a different oppionion on how to take care of my dragon, from the pet store, the vet and the breeder i got it from. The breeder and the petstore both use sand and heatpads and vet told me thats fine but you guys seem trustworthy cuz no one is disagreeing with what anyone says and many of you have been doing this for a long time. it just sucks i spend 400$ and 150$ of it im not supposed to use.... its a kick in the butt lol

 

I'd honestly start to question the vets credentials with herps within the herp community. Ask on forums if anyone else has used them, ask what animals they mainly dealt with and experiences etc. etc.

To be honest the most healthy looking dragons I've ever seen are from the ppl on these forums. If you are willing I'd love to know what vet you took your dragon to. Also petstores want to sell things, many of them don't really know or care about the reptiles health.

 

I wouldn't put anything from my reptiles in my dishwasher, microwave, oven or washer. I also won't keep things in the fridge or freezer that have to do with reptiles. I also wash my hands well after working with them and wear latex gloves when working with sick ones. I do because I am aware of what can be transferred from a reptile to me and my family. I don't have to be worried about it (zoonoses) if I follow good hygiene practices. I have been keeping reptiles for over 20 years...if I was worried about it I would have quit years ago!

By telling you all of this I am not trying to scare you into abandoning your reptiles or the hobby. I just want you to know that there is the possibility of becoming infected with a zoonoses so you will be able to protect yourself against these things and still continue to enjoy your pets.

CRYPTOSPORIDIA: Cryptosporidia (which dragons can carry) are very resistant to disinfection...so is your bathtub really safe after you disinfect it? I prefer to use things that I keep for the reptiles alone to bathe them in and clean their cages with, etc.

SALMONELLA: One study determined that salmonella could be killed by bleach....but also proved that bleach is readily inactivated in the presence of any organic matter--such as feces or pus---so do you really want to put your pooped on shelf liner in the dish washer or the washing machine?

Salmonella lives a long time outside a digestive tract.

"Salmonella is a rod-shaped, motile, aerobic and facultatively anaerobic, non-spore forming and Gram-negative organism. It can grow from 5°C up to 47°C with an optimum at 37°C."...
http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/pr...01_03_seae.html

"Three pathogens, Salmonella, Listeria, and Toxoplasma, are responsible for 1,500 deaths each year"...
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5no5/mead.htm

Freezing can decrease the number of salmonella...but doesn't necessarily kill it all....refrigeration also won't kill salmonella....so no fecal samples will be found in my fridge and no dead bodies in my freezer. Its much better to keep a little bar fridge for that.

PSEUDOMONAS: This is one bacteria that is difficult to get rid of in reptiles. "Pseudomonas aeruginosa is frequently resistant to many commonly used antibiotics."...
http://textbookofbacteriology.net/pseudomonas.html

Here are a few more sites....
http://www.anapsid.org/salmsymptoms.html
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.p...;A=1514&S=4
http://www.murphyanimalhospital.com/FrameReptileZoonosis.htm
http://www.exoticpetvet.net/reptile/zoonoses.html
http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ddusitwr.htm

Just my two cents worth...

 

ok guys the light i have for my dragons is a 26W Repti Glo 10.0 UVB Light and a Heatpad, now i going to go get some tiles and return the heatpad but what should i buy for heat lamp?? my tank is 17"x 17"x17"(inches) and would a hardware store have thermometers?

 

kinyonga if you follow proper hygiene and cleaning procedures keeping reptile related items in the freezer, cleaning in the dishwasher etc is not an issue. Any decent dishwasher with a sterilization setting works wonders (different then your regular settings). Anything kept in the freezer is in packaging that keeps any bacteria etc. from touching the freezer surfaces ever. The problem with your study about salmonella is the strain tested. reptile strains haven't even been isolated and identifiedif I remember correctly.

check out

http://www.reptilerooms.com/index.php?name...ight=salmonella

and

http://www.reptilerooms.com/index.php?name...ight=salmonella

I'm also pretty responsible in checking my herps fecals weekly to biweekly and monitoring any change in weight etc.

freezing bacteria just keeps it in a dormant state, kills a few cells but nothing worth mentioning.

Kaplan says this on using the kitchen sink:

"Most people have a choice of only two types of sinks - bathroom and kitchen. In most homes the kitchen sink is the largest of the two and usually has more counter space on either side than bathroom sinks .... if you do use your bathroom sink be sure and clear away rinsing cups, denture containers, toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes. Stow them where they won't get splashed. But most people will end up using the kitchen sink. If this is the case be sure to put away all utensils, glasses, cups, plates, food humans are going to eat, coffee makers, toasters, can openers --- just clear them all away and store where these items won't get contaminated. After you're finished be sure to wash and disinfect the sink, taps and surfaces you used. Here are a few tips: use two sets of sponges and gloves (one for human application, the other for animal); keep spray bottles of prepared disinfectant on the counter for immediate use in spraying down the sink and counter after a cleaning session. I also keep bottles of prepared simple "Green Soap" and Nolvasan (tm) in my snake room and iguana room, along with paper towels, so I don't have to keep going back and forth to the kitchen--- keeping it convenient if not actually completely simple-- often goes a long way toward the task getting done and done properly."

Heres how I see it, proper precaution taken = safety. To each their own.

 

also for my tile flooring is ceramic or porcelain tiles ok to use? or just slate tile?

 

home depot usually carries thermometers, the light depends on the room conditions every room and enclosure is different so you have to experiment. Ceramic tile is fine if it has a rough enough pattern for some grip.