ok i just got my guy yesterday the cage he came with i am not sure what size it is. he has two lights one is red which i was told was the uv light the other is a heat light the temp on the warm side is around 107.1 last i checked. he is about 6-7 in. long i am not sure how old he is. the lady apparently has only gave him meal worms for a while because that is all she gave me. i don't think she was dusting his food either how often should i dust? i have multi, cal w D3 and cal w/o D3. i have been offering mustard greens but he has not tried any. i spray him a few times a day and he will lick up the water. i have been trying to hold him for a little while throughout the day because he has not been handled much he done very good the last time i held him. what mutation is he? and is there anything else i need to do?
It is difficult to tell what morph he is, because bearded dragon morphs are subjective and depend on the lineage. With the exception of true traits (translucent, hypo, leatherback, etc) the colors depend entirely on where it came from. An orange dragon may be a sandfire, sunburst, blood, sunset... who knows what. Unfortunately, many breeders began developing their own cute names as a means to more easily sell animals - often buying stock from a source then just renaming it. For example, the Citrus line of yellows are merely dragons purchased from Kevin Dunne at dragon's den that he called Sunbursts. Essentially stealing all the breeding work he put into the breeding for that color. He is very pretty, and he has some nice oranges, but I cannot give an exact 'morph' without knowing the parents. Often beardies are labeled based on parentage...ie. blood red X sandfire orange. Now for husbandry: Firsty off - the red lamp is NOT a UVB producing bulb. While UVB is not in the visible spectra, the lights that produce it will emit white light. In addition, without knowing the age or brand of bulb, it is better to be safe than sorry and buy a replacement. I'm going to link you to a previous thread you made where this topic was addressed. At the bottom of my post, I provided some helpful and essential links. You'll want to check out the link regarding UVB lights - it was written by Cammy and is titled 'UVB Basics.' At the bottom of this post I will link you to this UVB topic to aid you. Supplementation - He looks relatively young, maybe 3-5 months depending on his previous care. You want to supplement 1x daily with calcium, 1x daily with calcium +D3, and once weekly or so with multivitamin. He will need at least two insect meals a day, allowing him to consume as many as he wishes in a 10-15 minute period of time in each feeding. He may easily consume, 40-60 insects in a single day....sometimes a little less, sometimes more. During growth spurts it is not uncommon for them to eat upwards to 100 insects. Keep offering salad every morning, I will provide a link at the end of this post with Salad item info so you know what you should be feeding daily and what to feed rarely or never. Dark leafy greens should be in every salad, such as mustard greens, collards, turnip greens, dandelion greens, etc. Squashes are good veggies items along with peppers and various other items. The site I will link you to will easily tell you everything in a color-coded fashion. He may be picky about salad right now, and we will worry more about that after you get everything set up perfectly and he has some time to settle in. Do NOT Feed mealworms. I repeat in bold and capital lettering: DO NOT FEED MEALWORMS. Not only are they are overall poor quality food item as far as nutrion is concerned, but they have a very hard, chitanous exoskeleton that cannot be digested. Their meat:shell ratio is inedeqaute, and they are fatty. While some geckos can get away with eating them on a regular basis, bearded dragons risk impaction if fed them as a staple food item. The way their stomach empties into the intestines is very anatomically poor compared to most geckos, making them prone to impaction with particulate substrates and hard meals like mealworms. Instead, try using crickets, roaches, silkworms, or solider grubs (phoenix worms, calci-worms) as staples. Make sure you are measuring with a digital thermometer w/ probe or tempgun, and if you are, the basking temperature looks great. The overall ambient temp of the warm end should not be that high (shoot for the 90's) but he needs a basking spot of ~105....and a cool end to retreat to in the lower 80's or upper 70's. Myself and Wren covered some other details in your recent thread found here: http://www.reptileboards.com/threads/need-help-deciding-asap.65186/ In addition and as promised, here are VERY helpful links that you should bookmark. I had posted them in the above linked thread, and will post them again: How to decide on a UVB producing bulb: http://www.reptileboards.com/threads/uvb-basics.64396/ How to decide on Substrate: http://www.reptileboards.com/threads/beardie-substrate-101.64836/ What salad items and insects to feed your dragon (GREAT site, I still use this all the time for references. Color coded for staple salad items, occasional, rare, and things to never feed): http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html In addition I'd recommend reading all of the "Stickied" threads at the top of the bearded dragon forum, they are highlighted in blue. These are all useful. And as always, if you have ANY questions, ask away! We are here to help you with anything! = )
i got the uv light i have a new cage picked out but i have to save the money for it and the temp i gave the 107 is the basking spot. he really din't want to eat this morning he only ate 2 roaches so i am hoping he will start eating better now that he has the uv
i feed him again last night and again he only ate 2. is it because he has not had the uv light? his belly seems a little full still but he did poo so i know he is not impacted. i hope he will start eating better
The lack of a UVB light may have led to a decreased appetite if he had gone a while without it. Hopefully now that he has one that should help. What brand and style UVB bulb did you get, and how far away is the basking site from the bulb, by the way? Also, is he spending most of his time basking or does he hide more than he basks? One last question: what kind of thermometer are you using to get your temperatures? It's also possible he is simply still settling in to his new home. It's normal for reptiles to eat very little when they are moved to a new location. Some settle in immediately, but others may take a few days or even a week or two to really get their appetite going. It sounds like things are getting on the right track. Just keep offering as much food as he will eat a few times a day. Hopefully with some time and patience he will be eating you out of house and home soon. =P
ESU Reptile Slimline Desert Fixture with 18 Super UV Lamp - Heating - Reptile - PetSmart this is the uv i bought i use a digital thermometer with probe the basking is about 6 7 in away from light and he goes on one side to bask for a little while then he will go on other side away from the heat and be under uv light the uv stretches the whole length of tank except maybe 4 inches
Awesome, sounds good. Just make sure you snapped off the clear plastic piece below the bulb since that will filter out the UVB if left on. I'd say just give him some more time to settle in and his appetite should pick up soon. Keep us posted! =)
