Those of you with Bearded Dragons in here please

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Hunders

Hunders

Soldato
Joined
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Calcium/nutrobal powder.

Something for it to bask on, flat rocks or wood etc.

Personally I'd go with a suitable sand substrate but personal choice. :)
 
Are you buying a baby?

If so, then a 4 foot viv might be too big for them to start with. I was advised to buy a 2 foot then upgrade to a 4.

Get a tiny water dish, beardies do not require it, but I see no reason why to not keep one in there! I use kitchen roll as a substrate for now, easy to clean out, and no chance of them ingesting it!

Dont forget calcium supplement powder (dust all food with this, live and veg) and twice a week, use Nutrobal twice per week as a multivitamin. (http://www.evolutionreptiles.co.uk/products/vitamins-and-minerals/nutrobal/)


Oh, and pics when you get them ;)
 
DailyGeek said:
Calcium/nutrobal powder.

Something for it to bask on, flat rocks or wood etc.

Personally I'd go with a suitable sand substrate but personal choice. :)
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Ahh yes, I forgot to mention about basking rocks etc. They will be logs and various rock found outside and baked to clear it of any nasties.

Suppliments I still have from when I had a Leopard Gecko so I'm all good on that front.

I always liked my tiles that I had in my gecko viv. They're easy to clean and are 100% safe from risk of ingestion. Plus, I don't like the idea of sand getting into the glass runners and water bowl constantly.

PhillyDee said:
Are you buying a baby?

If so, then a 4 foot viv might be too big for them to start with. I was advised to buy a 2 foot then upgrade to a 4.

Get a tiny water dish, beardies do not require it, but I see no reason why to not keep one in there! I use kitchen roll as a substrate for now, easy to clean out, and no chance of them ingesting it!

Dont forget calcium supplement powder (dust all food with this, live and veg) and twice a week, use Nutrobal twice per week as a multivitamin. (http://www.evolutionreptiles.co.uk/products/vitamins-and-minerals/nutrobal/)


Oh, and pics when you get them ;)
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Yup! It'll be a wee dragon at around a month old or so.

I was considering buying a 3' viv but decided to go for a 4' so I didn't have to upgrade in a years time. I guess I should give it some more consideration.

I've heard that they don't tend to drink water but rather spend time soaking in it if they are hot so I may as well bung one in there.
 
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Sand is not recommended anyway due to the risk of impaction. Tiles are my choice when I get the 4 foot viv. Slate tiles cut to size, easy maintenance!

apparently the Arcadia D3+ 12% strips are better UV lights, but then, I doubt there is much difference in reality!

Incidently, here are my 2: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/beardylive
They are not that big yet, and I have only had them a month, and yea, I am now aware I may have to seperate them when they mature!
 
Yeah, sand can be a bit of a git with water bowls :o
I just like to try and mimic their natural habitat as much as I can, where they don't have tiles and kitchen roll :p

If you use the right sand, like exo Terra dessert sand, impaction isn't really an issue. Calci sand is evil though, clumps up inside them.

Had mine about 18 months now, he's getting big!
 
PhillyDee said:
apparently the Arcadia D3+ 12% strips are better UV lights, but then, I doubt there is much difference in reality!
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Ok, thanks for that. I will buy one of those rather than the ReptiGlo.

DailyGeek said:
I use sand and excavator clay :) they love to dig too
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That excavator clay looks like it could be good. I shall look into that more :)

How much food do you guys think that I should I expect to go through on a weekly basis with growing dragons?
 
I have 2, and they are currently getting through 2 boxes of medium black crickets per week. They are about 9 weeks old. I feed them twice a day. Fresh greens available all the time. I usually put it in just before light out, so if they are hungry when they wake up, they can munch on the greens before breakfast is served. Just remember: No iceburg lettuce.
You can order your live food online, luckily I have an excellent shop nearby (www.thereptilehotel.com).
Just bought a box of hoppers as a treat, you do not get many in there compared to crickets, but they love them, funny watching them catch them as they hop up and down :D.
 
Andelusion said:
I recommend you ask any questions here: http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/

Also be careful with 'found' rocks, logs and stones, they can have sharp edges.
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Very true.

I have lumps of sandstone from Marsden bay in mine. Only have the one largelump in there for their basking spot. Sea rocks are the best, pre-rounded edges! Yes, sterilised with milton tablets, scrubbed and baked at gas mark 9.
 
PhillyDee said:
I have 2, and they are currently getting through 2 boxes of medium black crickets per week. They are about 9 weeks old. I feed them twice a day. Fresh greens available all the time. I usually put it in just before light out, so if they are hungry when they wake up, they can munch on the greens before breakfast is served. Just remember: No iceburg lettuce.
You can order your live food online, luckily I have an excellent shop nearby (www.thereptilehotel.com).
Just bought a box of hoppers as a treat, you do not get many in there compared to crickets, but they love them, funny watching them catch them as they hop up and down :D.
Click to expand...


You shouldn't feed them before lights out as they cannot digest their food then. It is advised that they should not be fed within 2 hours of lights out.

I've got 3 baby beardies at about 4 weeks old, they currently live in a 6x2x2 viv, i was advised to go smaller too but they seem fine in there, they are finding and catching crix easy enough so i know they are feeding, if you do have any issues, you can always partition ypur viv. For the first few weeks, it's also advised to spray the leaves in the viv so the beardies can lick the beads of water from them until they recognise the water in the water bowl - it may take a few weeks. However, don't go overboard with the sraying as it may increase humidity in the tank.

Also, visit www.reptileforums.co.uk for a wealth of information.

Also, don't forget the pics when you get him/ her
 
If you are buying a beardie young then use newspaper as a substrate (cheaper than kitchen roll) the number of beardies are you going to be keeping has a massive impact on viv size. But it is best to start small and let the viv grow with them (or partition a big viv) as long as there is a hot part of the viv where they can bask and a cool part then they will be happy.

Immature beardies do not 'see' standing water so need to be sprayed/bathed every so often, be mindful you don't make the environment too humid though.

Calcium supplement on everything.

Don't expect them to start eating everything green-wise you put in there immediately. but they will eventually enjoy a varied diet. Mine are very partial to Kale, Spinach, parsley, green beans, and finely cut up grapes.

Damn I wrote this before I read everyone's posts. Well I have typed this so its getting posted.
 
Yes, Calcium 5 days a week and multi vits 2 days a week also. Let them settle in the viv for a week before handling too much, then get them used to being handled once settled in, bathe in tepid water once a week. When feeding crix / hoppers etc, only leave in for 15 minutes, remove any uneaten crix as they can bite/ attack your beardies.

Temps, you should aim for a basking temp of 110 / 115f (40-42C), at the hot end, then gradient the temp down to about 28c at the cooler end, on an evening, the temp is fine to drop to low to mid 20's, you should provide about 14 hours of UV in summer and reduce that to about 10 hours in winter, as sated earlier, it's much easier to do this with a timer, i've got a thermocontrol pro 2 controller which controls my ceramic heatlamp and both my UV's (you don't need 2 UV's though), it cost me £60 but you can set it and forget it.

My final point is hygiene, you should clean and disinfect weekly, spot clean your dragons poo daily / 2 daily, they usually go about 2 days without a poo, but it apparently sticks if you leave it lol. Check your dragons for parasites whenever you handle them, find yourself a local vet that will deal with reptiles just incase you ever need them. Fnally, read, read and read, they are very rewarding pets, they love attention just like cats and dogs, they will happily sit on your knee for hours and watch telly with you :p.

Here's a couple of pics of my babies.

4711793594_462d79ffb5_b.jpg


4711167141_2cb9f01dab_b.jpg
 
Cheers for all the help guys.

I just made an order for the cage and all ancillaries which should be with me tomorrow. I bought a ceramic heater with a thermostat which can be set to have a night time drop in temperature if attached to a timer which should be good for those chilly winter nights. I'm also going to buy another timer use for the lights as it would be good for it to be fully automated.

Having looked around a garden centre near to where I live, I managed to find some nice sandstone rocks selling for a few quid a piece that I'm going to use as a basking rock/climbing frame. I'm also going to buy some sandstone-look slim bricks that are designed to be placed on top of a wall which I plan on using for a cool effect.

A quick question - Do any of you use a heat mat at all? The guy in the pet store says they need one but I'm not convinced as everything I've read on the net about dragon husbandry doesn't mention the use of a heat mat.

Cheers.

Once the cage is all set up and running I'll buy a little dragon to put in it
 
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