beardie baby

Question
QUESTION: I have a 11 week old beardie.  My little guy was doing fine but today does not seem interested in eating and just sits with his eyes closed. I did give him a few very small meal worms yesterday, but that was the only change in his diet of mainly crickets as of yet I have not seen him really eat any greens. At least not when I am watching. Last few days he has had a very big appetite. Many crickets, 5-8 3x a day.  He has been pooping everyday also. What is up?

ANSWER: Hi Pam,
At 11 weeks old he should be eating a lot more crickets than that,  about twice the amount that he is eating in a day is more on the normal side for their eating habits.   Its very important that all insects be the proper size to prevent any problems.  Never any larger than the space between their eyes..
On the greens, its important to make sure they are chopped up really fine for him.  Try adding some grated butternut squash to the greens.
I would check the temperatures...many times temperatures being off in one of the needed areas can cause the problem. If all the care is correct, and he still isn't eating in a day or two, or if he acts lethargic, or ill in some way in less than that time,then I would get him to a vet that can treat reptiles to have a fecal check done for internal parasites.


BASIC BEARDED DRAGON CARE:

HOUSING:
For an adult bearded Dragon, a 50 -55 gallon is the smallest recommended tank.  For a baby, nothing less than a 30 gallon tank will work for a very short time, so its best to just start out with the adult sized tank....you can add rocks and branches for climbing, being sure to not stack rocks too high to prevent them toppling over.  Branches need to be secure. They like to have a hide log or cave too!!  All items brought from outside need to be cleaned well before placing them in the BD's tank.  To clean them, there are a few methods: to wash in a bleach solution of 1/4 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water.  Let them soak for about an hour, rinse them in hot water several times and then let them dry in the sun until completely dry. If the items are small enough, they can be baked in an over at 200 degrees for about 2 hours, check often to be sure they are not starting to burn.  The items can also be boiled(simmered) for 30 minutes or so and then allowed to dry completely before
placing in the tank.  I also suggest washing any pet store items such as caves, rocks, branches, etc before placing in the tank as that if the store would happen to have mites they can also be on the items we purchase. Any of the above methods are acceptable for cleaning.  CAUTION!!!  On store bought branches...be VERY careful with the driftwood pieces that have the holes in them!!!  Be sure the holes are small as that if the holes are large, the BD MAY be able to get his head in them but not able to get it back out!!! A secure screen top is necessary for bearded dragons as that also they do not require much height for climbing..they can and do climb!!  NEVER USE HEAT ROCKS OR HEATED CAVES!!! They malfunction and cause severe burns and even death!!!!
SUBSTRATES:
Young bearded dragons MUST be kept on paper towels, newspaper or other non particulate(loose) substrate to prevent them from getting any loose substrate into their mouth and swallowing it which can and does cause intestinal blockages.Once the BD is over 10 inches, some people have had good luck using play sand mixed with 50% of peat moss.  I prefer the safe substrate of the newspaper, or other non particulate substrate to prevent any problems and also for ease of cleaning.
LIGHTING:
BD's need UVB, which is the special lights that come in fluorescent tubes or special screw in bulbs
(mercury vapor)that are designed to produce uvb and heat. The tubes do not produce heat. UVB is needed by the BD
to be able to absorb the calcium in the foods they eat. Without the uvb, they will develop metabolic bone disease.
With the tubes, they must say that they produce BOTH uvb and uva. The uvb needs to be 5% or higher. Repti Sun 5.0 and 10.0(not compact) are TWO of the best uvb tubes on the market. The repti glo 8.0's are a great uvb source also. Arcadia 5.0 (UK), which is the uvb tube available in the UK is a good uvb tube. These need to be positioned 6-8 inches(for the 5.0 and 8.0 and 8-10 inches for the 10.0) over the BD so that they get the uvb that is needed. Recommended length of the tube is 24 inches or more. They need to be replaced every 6-9 months as that they stop producing uvb long before they stop producing light.  They need to have access to uvb and basking temperatures for 10-12 hours daily.  At night, no white lights!!! There has been new studies that have proven that compact uvb lights, both the spiral/coil type and the ones that look like long "U's" laying on their side and a few other brands are causing what basically amounts to snow blindness in reptiles.  To read more on this, you can go to
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm  Here is a link to a letter from RZilla on their product: http://www.zilla-rules.com/assets/006/13278.pdf

There are tubes and bulbs that say ''full spectrum'' but they do not produce any uvb.
On the mercury vapor , they also produce heat. They also produce the uvb and uva. The best on the market now are the
MEGA RAY or the T-Rex.  www.reptileuv.com has more information on the Mega Ray lights. When using these, the distance is much greater
than the uvb tubes and the directions must be followed that
are listed for the light. When using the mercury vapor
lights, you don't need to have one light for uvb and one for
heat. The Mercury vapor lights provide both.

HEATING AND TEMPERATURES:
Bearded Dragons have specific temperature requirements.   For heat when using the uvb producing fluorescent tubes, a regular household lightbulb will work for DAYTIME heat.  The wattage needed will vary to each situation such as tank size, room temperatures, air flow.   Their basking area temperature must be between 95F and 105F degrees to allow proper digestion of food. Your basking area must be where the uvb light is as well as the heat source.  Be sure that the BD cannot get too close to the heat source as that they WILL get burned! The ambient temperature range   in the mid 80's .   Cool daytime range of normal room temperature of low to mid 70's.  Nighttime temperatures in the low to mid 60's is fine.  NEVER USE HEAT ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  A good digital thermometer is a must.  I like using the duel ones with the probe...cost about 15$ at Wal Mart.  The probe can be placed in the basking area at the BD's level to monitor this temperature and the main unit can be placed in one of the ambient temperature areas.  When reading them, the "out" reading is the probe area.

DIET:
Bearded Dragons eat and need both animal proteins and vegetable matter!!!  As young dragons they eat a bit more of the insects.  As they get older, as adults their diet is more of the vegetable matter. As young BDs, the diet is about 80% animal proteins and 20% vegetable matter.  As they get older, the ratio changes.  An adult will eat about 80%-90% vegetable matter and 10-20% animal proteins.
Animal protein sources are: Crickets, superworms, silkworms, roaches, hornworms, waxworms.  Waxworms are considered candy to a BD so only feed on occasion in a small amount(2-3 worms).  ALL insects must be properly gutloaded for at least 48 hours prior to feeding to the dragon.  For crickets and superworms, this can be done with vegetables, plain cereals and commercial foods for the species.  Silkworms and the other insects have their own diet needs. Its best to feed the crickets in a separate feeding tank such as a 10 or 20 gallon size tank or container with a well vented lid.  This can make it easier for the dragon to catch the crickets and prevents any stray crickets in their "home" tank from deciding to nibble on the BD if he happens to not find them all.  If you do feed in his home tank, be sure to place a 1/2 potato in the tank to help prevent the crickets from biting at the BD.
ALL insects fed must be no larger than the space between their eyes to prevent choking.  Be sure to dust the insects daily(for dragons up to 14-15 inches) (2x wkly there after)with a good calcium source such as Rep Cal calcium powder with no added Phosphorus. Young BD's up to 4 months of age will eat more crickets than anything. At this age they will usually consume anywhere from 10 to 30+ correctly sized crickets three times a day.  Be sure to remove any uneaten crickets that are not consumed in a 15-25 minute time frame.  For this reason, its easier to use a separate feeding tank for the bearded dragon.  A 10 gallon tank(with a screen top) works well.  Its best to offer their "salad" of greens/veggies before offering their morning insect feeding when they are hungry to prevent any problems with them preferring NOT to eat their salad.   Their salad consists of Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens...... this is the BASE of the green part of their vegetable diet.  To this, for variety you can add arugula, escarole, endive,small amounts of bok choy or other Asian greens.  For the vegetable part of the diet, green beans, butternut squash, acorn squash(other winter squashes are also acceptable) yams, sweet potato.  For color, sweet peppers can also be added in a small amount.  For baby BD's, using a food processor for the greens and veggies works well.  As they get older, greens should never be larger than about an inch x an inch in size.   Never feed lettuces as they have no nutritional value.  The hard veggies should be either food processed or grated.  Fruits can also be offered in small amounts.  Good fruits are figs, papaya, melon, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries....and many other fruits... these need to be mashed or chopped.  Watermelon is a good source of water for the dragon.  Their salad can be dusted once or at the most, twice a month with a good vitamin supplement such as RepCal HerptiVit.  This is by no  means a complete list of foods the dragons can eat.
You can also offer baby food chicken or small bits of boiled chicken.
Be sure to provide a dish of FRESH drinking water at ALL times!!!    Misting their salad will also help get much needed water into them.  NEVER FEED any MICE or other mammals to your Dragon!!!

WATER:
As stated above, always provide a dish of drinking water and mist their salad.  You can also bathe your dragon a few times a week. (many bathe them daily for "bathroom duties") Temperature of the water should be between 85 and 95 degrees.  The depth should never be any deeper than to cover his back when laying FLAT!!!  Never leave them unattended at bath time to prevent possible drowning.  Many love to soak and swim for 15 minutes or more.  Never bathe less than two hours before his basking lights go out.   Doing so can cause him to become too chilled, risking the chance of a respiratory infection.

A vet check up is recommended and a fecal sample taken in to be tested for any internal parasites.... To find a qualified vet in your area you can go to
http://www.anapsid.org/vets/

http://www.arav.org/Directory.htm

More in-depth care info can be found at:
http://www.bio.miami.edu/ktosney/file/BDcare.html
http://www.sundialreptile.com/care%20sheet--bearded%20dragon.htm

http://www.blackninjakitty.com/herps/dragons

Most bearded dragons will take long naps (generally,if they are  over a yr) in the fall.. this is called Brumation.  is a form of hibernation.  You can read more about that at  http://www.bio.miami.edu/ktosney/file/BDbrumate.html



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

QUESTION: Diane thanks so much for your information.  My little guy did eat about 15+ the first day but than I began reading about overeating and compaction and the 5 or 10 minute rule. So I thought it was better to not feed so much. Thanks so much for this info.  It will help tremendously.  I put him in a ten gal. to begin with because I was afraid he would be hard to catch.  I also have a  compact bulb for uvb/uva and it is a repti sun 10%. Should I get a larger one? I had planned to buy a 150 gal for him in a month or two. What would be the best way to add uva/uvb to one that size for him now? About heat, I bought a undertank heater and a heater that does not have a light source with it for overhead in a proper lamp. But I have been having problems regulating the tank.  To hot one one end to cold on the other. How is the best way to set up a 150 gal tank for a little guy only 6-7 inches long he likes to bask in the heat but my light source is then not over him directly which bothers me.  Is this a problem or will be get enough like that.  The temperature on his basking spot in the day get between 90 and 105. Yesterday got higher when the fireplace was on so I turned off the over head heater.  He still seemed to like it.  The other end is around 80-90. How is that? Thanks so much for your help I have just been searching for reliable info and it all seemed so contradictory I was lost.  My husband is a vet. pathologist but knows nothing about reptile husbandry. He would be able to tell about parasites etc. but not how to maintain one of these guys in a tank.  He is as intreged as I and enjoys him/her. I named him after my dad Bob or Bobbie.

Answer
Hi Pam,
Glad to be of some help!!  
The 10% compacts are one of the "problem" lights...  Although a 150  gallon is would give him tons of room, going to a 60-75  gallon tank is sufficient and  get a Mega Ray (I use them on all my igs and tons of "beardie people" use them on their beardies)they provide wonderful uvb and heat all in one bulb.  They fit in a regular dome fixture with the ceramic socket.  You would use the 100 watt most likely.
For now, I would get a fixture for the uvb tubes, one that is 24 inches long...then get one of the recommended fluorescent uvb tubes...then, when you switch to the larger tank, you can still use the fixture, with just a regular daylight fluorescent tube to give the beardie more light..they LOVE light!!
Its almost, if not impossible to regulate temperatures in a 10 gallon tank.  Basically, when the tank is small, you set up your basking area and the rest of the temperatures "happen" on their own. The "other" end is a bit high, but...as I said, near impossible to regulate a small tank completely.  A very simple "fix" is to take an ice pack and wrap it in a towel and place it in the cool end...
Sometimes, placing the uvb source on an angle gives enough room to get the heat source and uvb over the beardie, where its needed.
I also have problems with temperatures in the "critter room" in the winter as there is a wood stove in their room...which is a HUGE room..but can get toasty warm, especially for the leopard geckos. Igs habitats are large enough that there is plenty of room to allow for the cooler areas they need. If you are having real problems providing for a cooler area in the small tank right now..I use thermostats ((zoo-Med) ordered on line at www.reptiledirect.com  or other places) on my heat emitters...thermostats are only for use on NON LIGHT heat sources...they make life easy as they turn off an on to a pre set temperature...They cost about 25$....but well worth it..
That is great on your hubby.....you can have him run fecals all the time!! I'm sure he has access to the medications and dosages recommended...if not there is a  good chart at http://www.anapsid.org/resources/rxdose.html