Beardie questions

My fiancée and I got a little 5 week old beardy at the reptile show last week and I just have a couple questions.

Can they get the hiccups? Sometimes after he eats it looks like he has the hiccups. We have made sure the food isn’t too big. He doesn’t have any signs of a repertory infection.

Is it normal for them to bask and sleep away the day? He is only active a few times other than that all he does is sleep. The basking side temp is between 107-110 and the cool side about 85-88. He spends most of his time in his tree.

Just want to make sure i am taking the best care of him that i can. He gets fed crickets with calcium dust and a couple small meal worms that have freshly shed so that their shells are not too hard. It is hard to get him to eat his veggies. I places pieces of kale in the tree and he will sometimes eat it and he is also offered banana, blueberries, and strawberries. None of which he really touches.

Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Does he have UVB light?

The light is a Repti basking spot lamp http://www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/normal/p_22686_19358.jpg here is what it looks like. It says it porvides beneficial UVA I dont see UVB on it. I thought any basking light gives off both. At night he has a ceramic heat bulb on both 100 watts

Oops! You need this exact bulb: ZooMed Reptisun 10 UVB. Just get one of those little fluorescent strip fixtures and set it on top of the viv. This is VERY critical. Your dragon will get metabolic bone disease and DIE without UVB, and all UVB lights are not created equally. What's more, you need to change the bulb, even though it still works, at no more than six months, because the light decays. The compact fluroescent bulbs have been measured and are not adequate. An 18" tube will be fine. Until you get it, get him out in the sun for 15 minutes a day. eBay has them at a nice price, or right now, Big Apple Herp says they are on sale, but I didn't check the price. You need this in addition to the hot basking bulb, but it can be at the opposite end of the viv.

Nanci said:

You need this in addition to the hot basking bulb, but it can be at the opposite end of the viv.

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I do agree that you absolutely, positively NEED this UVB light. It is quite imperative that you do, unless you spend quite a bit of time out-doors with him EVERY day.

I do not think, however, that it would be wise to put it on the other end of the viv since he will bask under the heat lamp most of the day and he'll need the UVB even while he's basking (just as if he were under the actual sun). Not to say that Nanci is wrong... but this was a suggestion that was given to me by a beardie breeder.

Another thing to check is to make sure that the temps where he spends his time are actually those temps.

Our beardie, King Kam, loses his appetite if we don't have either bulb (one or the other goes out) OR the temps aren't right. If it gets too cold at night (when both bulbs are out), then it might be necessary to have a night time bulb (blue or red) to help keep the heat up.

One more thing, do you soak him once a week or so? We have found that when we soak King Kam, he is much more alert as well (plus, he passes his wastes easier too). He HATES the soak, but it helps him stay hydrated and, as mentioned before, he passes his wastes easier.

Hope this helps! Let us know if there is/isn't any improvement. But I hope there is!

Fred

I agree with what every says but I do have one question.... how are you measuring the basking area temps? If you are using the regular gages they can be off by as much as 20 degrees. You should get a thermometer with a probe or use an infrared temperature gun if at all possible. I bought my infrared thermometer from Radio Shack for $15.

Thank you bery much for the help. I had read about the UVB but I thought that the basking bulbs gave off both UVA and UVB.
The temp of where he spends most of his time is about 108.
We have let him soak and spray him every day at least twice.
Is using a ceramic heat bulb at night ok? It keeps the temps about 105 at night.
I am using a prob thermometer to measure the temps.
I also noticed he is starting to shed does that have anything to do with his energy level?
Thank you again for the advice i am going to take him out side for a bit to enjoy the sun.
He seems to eat fine he just wont eat his vegies or not as much as i would like him to. We have tricked him into eating a few and feed him the meal worms and crickets near the vegies and he someties pics up some. I have also spred little pieces around in his tree since he is always licking it.

CassieK said:

He seems to eat fine he just wont eat his vegies or not as much as i would like him to. We have tricked him into eating a few and feed him the meal worms and crickets near the vegies and he someties pics up some. I have also spred little pieces around in his tree since he is always licking it.

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Young beardies eat less veggies and more "protein" (live foods). As they get older, the ratio between the two tends to level out with them eating less "protein" and more veggies.

However, don't stop feeding him the veggies as he will take what he needs of them.

King Kam doesn't like his veggies much. So I tend to drop the crickets and mealworms onto his "garden salad" so that he gets a mouthful of veggies every so often.:eatpointe

Well instead of a full 15 min. sun bathing it was a 8 min bask and 7 min chasing and trying to eat ants lol dragons are so much fun.

Will he be ok I will get him the correct light tomorrow and make sure he gets more sun. We have barley had him a week. so i hope not having the right light wont hurt him.

Thanks again for the help.

I think he will be fine. Enjoy him while he is small....they grow so fast. I think I was lucky in that mine loved his veggies from the day I got him and the breeder had never fed him any veggies at all.

jkeithh1969 said:

I think he will be fine. Enjoy him while he is small....they grow so fast. I think I was lucky in that mine loved his veggies from the day I got him and the breeder had never fed him any veggies at all.

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LOL. Chasing ants. Too funny.

Yeah... as jkeith1969 said, he should be fine. Just be sure to get the light sometime in the very near future. He'll need that to develop strong bones.

I recommend going to the public library to get a book on caring for Beardies. Its only to reinforce what you need to do. I think you're doing well!

Did you mention a name for him? Pics would be GREAT! LOL.

Fred

I think it a girl but my fiancee has named it Pintsize. I have read through a few different dragon books. This one is my i feel the best one and will hopefully get it next pay check. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Bearded-Dragons/Philip-Purser/e/9780793828876

Wow! LOTS of color for such a little one! Colors should / could intensify as he/she grows. Too KEWL! Congrats!

Pintsize is a great name too. LOL.

The book is the same one I have. You'll enjoy it and find that some of what I said is directly from that book. LOL. (I tend to be a SPONGE for information).

However, I would recommend reading other books as well. Just to have a "well-rounded" education on your new pet.

Keep posting pics of "Pintsize" as he/she grows. I'd love to see how she develops.

Fred

Already i have noticed that were she started to shed got very vibraint orange after being outside. Both the day and mom were beautiful. and i think we got her for a good price $60 didnt seem to bad.

Congrats!! I really think I want to get a beardie soon myself..lol..though I am holding off for now cause of my financial situation..lol

That is a beautiful little beardie ya got there :0)

thank you, it is pretty dang cute

Cassie your new lil Pintsize is adorable!

Congrats on you baby Dragon!

I have three adults and 21 3wk old hatchlings (my first clutch )

A good forum for info is: www.beardeddragon.org
I post there occasionally as 4 Draco.

Thanks again everyone I will check out that web thanks

Don't let her eat anything outdoors! (Bugs) You don't know if they've been somewhere else and consumed pesticides.

And, you don't have her on sand, do you? That's another thing petstores say is ok and it is definitely not. You know how they lick everything? They lick sand, too, and can get impacted and die.

I have probed thermometers in Isabel's viv, but they get moved a lot by her. A temp gun is _really_ nice for spot checks, just the basking area varies a lot from inch to inch.

If you can, for greens, try dandelion greens, or mustard, collard or turnip greens in addition to the kale. I've heard they like cilantro, too, as a garnish. I think it helps to offer new foods a week at a time, instead of every day, so they have plenty of opportunity to think about it.