General Questions About Bearded Dragon

Question
QUESTION: I have a few questions about bearded dragons. I currently own a 6 month old bearded dragon. He is doing well, but I don't have good luck with them as two beardies have died in my past being less than 8 months of age. Here is my setup, 30 gal tank, with repti carpet. Standing driftwood, fake plants, long branch to climb, water dish, and a curve circle thing (IDK wut its called).I have two round meters, one for temp, and the other for humidity. Temp is in the range of 95-101 on the hot side. I dont no wat it is on the cool side, buh moves around alot to thermoregulate on the hot side. Now I started feeding him crickets first when i got him, immediately after i bought phoenix worms, silkworms and hornworms. He does not like silkworms or hornworms too much. He loves crickets tho. AFter about 4 months I am back to crickets, 1. should I dust the crix every other day or every week? I started giving him some carrots and cabbage, these were the things i have at home right now. I no they are not the best plants for him. I want to know what exact plants and veggies i can feed him. I have this site that chek it out n c if it is accurate http://www.blackninjakitty.com/herps/care/troystuttlegreeniglist.htm. O yea i have a zoo med uvb bulb 150 wats and a cermaic heat lamp. The closest he can get the bulb is 6 inches. I want him to start eatin greens, and i wanted to give hime something called a Spring Mix by Dole which has many greens, is this a good idea. I have more question, I will ask later. Thank You

ANSWER: Hello Moe,

The type of UVB light, is it a mercury vapor bulb, the Powersun?  
Please let me know the type it is.  
He may be too close to the UVB if it is a mercury vapor bulb.  how old is the bulb?
The round analogue type of thermometers do not measure the basking temps very well, but the ambient temps & the glass temps.  You will need to get a digital probe or a temp gun for better accurate readings of your temps.
The 30 gallon is ok, but you will need to upgrade soon.
Are you giving any calcium?  At his age, he needs calcium 5 times per week & vitamins 1-2 times per week.
Crickets are fine.  Do you gutload them prior to feeding them to him?  They need food 24/7 so they are nutritious when he eats them.
Great you have carpet & not calcisand, he should not get impacted that way.  
The Spring mix is not too bad, actually.  Maybe you could buy mustard or collard greens to mix in with that so he gets some dark leafy greens as well in with the spring mix.  
Do not give carrots on a daily basis, a few times per week is ok.  Do not feed cabbage at all, it contains high oxalates which will inhibit calcium absorption.
Here is a good site with things he can & can't eat:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

The black ninja kitty site is pretty good.  
Please let me know the type of UVB you are using.  Thanks.

Tracie

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QUESTION: Yes it is a mercury vapor bulb, but i dont think it is a Powersun. It is made by ZooMed I believe. And it should be no more than 3-4 months old. I think they are supposed to be changed every 6months ryte? I want to no a good mercury vapor bulb with UVB for him, any ideas? Well he climbs down the branch if he gets too hot, so 6inches is the closest plus he has other spots to hang out that are not as close. I heard calcium should be given everyother day or once a week, but i will start dusting the crickets for 5 days from now on. What kind of vitamins becuase i do have Zoomed's Juvenile Bearded Dragon Food, but he will not touch those at all. And yes I gutload the crix with cricket feed, and the orange cubes and yellow jely thingy. I will also start giving the crix some greens, is this ok? When i used to feed the crix, he doesnt eat them like he does the crickets, in result he has been get quite fat. Today he ate at least 50-60 crix, but the problem is that i can see his gut. Should I be worried that he is getting fat or that I am overfeeding him? Well i have lerned my lesson from my first bearded who died of impaction becuase i had calcisand. O yes, I might start feeding him silkies again, but i cannot dust the silkies. Is that ok? Ok here is an important question, from Beautiful Dragons I bought Calcium Glubonate. The problem with this is that it really dehydrated my first bearded dragon who died of impactation. Do you think I should start giving my current beardy this medicine at this age? He does not drink much water, how do i get him to drink out of his water bowl. I have tried with a dropper, and sometimes he'll drink and other times he'll get scared of it. The Dole also makes something called a Springfield Greens mix, which I havent looked into, yet. Thank you for the swift response, I greatly appreciate your time and effort. Thank You!

ANSWER: Hello Moe,

The Powersun is a decent bulb.  No, you can change it every 8-12 months but with the Powersun you might want to change it around 8-9 months.  The best mercury vapor bulb is the Megaray.  You can get it from:  www.reptileuv.com
However, at 6 inches, that is too close!  You will need to get it to 10-12 inches of distance from him.
The calcium needs to be given daily for him at his age.  How much does he weigh?  I will dose the liquid calcium for you, or are you using the dusted calcium?  What do you mean your first dragon got dehydrated, from the liquid calcium?
You don't have to dust the silkies, but you would need to put calcium powder on the greens then.  The green mixes are ok as long as you don't overfeed on spinach which will bind calcium absorption.
You can give the crickets some greens.
It is important to keep them hydrated, & you can do this by giving oral fluids with a plastic dropper or a syringe.  
You can get Herptivite vitamins which have beta carotene in them & are safe to use a couple of times per week right now.
The crickets you should use some dry gutload along with liquids for good overall nutrition.
Don't forget to get a digital probe or a temp gun to properly measure those temps with.   
That is excellent eating at 50-60 crickets daily.  They will tend to get a little beardie belly.  If you want to post a picture of him, I will take a look at him.  He will slow down on his eating at around 10 months & eat more greens.

Tracie



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I did see that site as I was reading someone else's question to you, but I didnt know how many watts I should get for my 30gal tank. The UVB bulb I have is using 150watts, which is alot. Electric bill is soaring becuase of it too. Ok I will take out his branch and lay it flat. BTW his name is Mr. Crowley and he has grown quite a bit in the last two months. I will dust his crix every day than. I will tell you his weight when I get home, but the bottle says give .1cc to every 500grams, i think, will confirm this when i get home as well. My first dragon did not like it and it dried his mouth area, and made it difficult for him to open his mouth, unless i pried it open. The liquid calcium made a stiky substance on my first beardy's mouth. I am kind of scared of administering the liquid calcium as Mr. Crowley does not drink water too mcuh, also I havent started him on greens yet so he does not get his water from there which is where beardies usually get there liquid.  I have yet to buy the spring mix, soon tho. And where can i get the Herptivite vitamins, is the vitamins I have not good enough? Will get a probe or gun asap. I will also post a picture when i get home.

Answer
Hello Moe,

The liquid calcium should be .1cc per 100 grams.  :-))  You can mix it with water if you would like to & then it wont be so stick on his mouth.
You can get the Herptivite vitamins at most petstores.  If you can't find it, here is a site that has good prices for you:

http://www.bigappleherp.com/REPTILE-SUPPLIES/Vitamins

The bearded dragon food, it is pellets.  Some dragons wont eat pellets for some reason.  I would try the vitamins so you can dust your feeders 1-2 times a week with the vitamins.  You could try to soak the pellets in applejuice or cranberry juice to soften them & he might eat them then.  If you want to try that first, instead of buying vitamins that is fine.  They are fortified with vitamins.  

I think you are using too many watts for the 30 gallon tank.  Please recheck your temps as soon as you get another thermometer. You must be using at least 200 watts which will over heat him.  The round type of thermometers are not good at measuring the basking temps.  He only needs probably 100 watts, at best for that size of tank.  I normally only recommend using a mercury vapor bulb for a 40 gallon or larger because they are overpowering & can be too strong & close for smaller tanks.  He will need an upgraded or larger tank soon, so you could get the Megaray when he gets a larger tank.  If you do use a Megaray for your 30 gallon tank, it absolutely cannot be any closer than 12 inches.  It puts out 3-4 times the UVB as the Powersun & they run pretty hot, too.  You would only need a 100 watt, too.  

Tracie