Hello,

The information given you by the Pet supply was wrong about housing two Dragons together. They are solitary animals and should be housed separately. The only time we bring Dragons together is for breeding and at that time the female is brought to the male and then separated after breeding. We see bullying, tail nip, toes lost and other issues when housing two Dragons even as babies. My first suggestion is to separate these two Dragons.

The basking area is a little too cool should have 105*-115*F and the cool side of the tank in the 85* range. This is important for digestion and passing of stool as well as for the activity level. If the temperatures are too cool the Dragon will shut down since they cannot thermoregulate their body temperature.

I recommend a reptisun 10.0 florescent tube that runs the length of the tank or a Mercury Vapor Bulb. They put out the greatest amount of UVB rays needed for health. This is a link for UVB and about the different bulb output: http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Researchmain.html

The lights should run 12-14 hours a day. The UVB needs to be changed every 6 months. The coil bulbs are dangerous to the Dragons eyes. Compact UVB problems: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-info.htm

The UVB bulb or MVB should not have any plastic between it and the Dragon. The tube type needs to run the length of the tank and be no more than 12" from the Dragon. Both UVB/MVB or basking lights should run daily for 12-14 hours a day. UVB cannot penetrate glass and the UVB rays which are needed to metabolize calcium.

You should be offering finely chopped Collard greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens, escarole and curly endives. Butternut squash and various berries are great for a treat. The Veggies should be put in fresh daily, and done about an hour after lights on. Note: Too many carrots can cause some eye issues. Kale and Spinach can bind calcium.

They need 20% veggies daily and 80% live prey under a year of age and once
over a year of age we reverse the percentages to an 80% veggie and 20% live
prey.The live prey should include crickets, silk worms, roaches, goliath worms and phoenix worms.This is where you can order silk worms and phoenix worms: http://www.coastalsilkworms.com/ and http://www.mulberryfarms.com/

Super worms and wax worms are like giving the Dragon candy. All veggies and
prey should be dusted with calcium daily 5 days a week and vitamins 2 days a week.

I would suggest a Herp Vet visit to rule out any medical problems as well as
there may be a parasite issue in te one Dragon. It does look very thin and possible parasite issue going on. I suggest making some improvements in the diet and temps, as well as separating the two Dragons because that has great bearing on what may be happening.

This is a link for Herp Vets in NC: http://www.anapsid.org/vets/northcarolina.html You may have to travel a bit to see one of the Vets listed but the Dragon does need to be seen.

Right now to help your Dragon, we can do a soak on 50/50 warm water and plain Pedialyte to help with hydration. This usually will perk up a Dragon. You do not have to make it any higher than mid way up the legs. I suggest for supplemental feeding that we try some chicken baby food stage 1 mixed with calcium powder and some Royal Jelly which can be gotten in capsule form and opened into the baby food mixture. Drop on the snout and allow the baby to lick it off. Do not try to force feed as it can cause apiration Pneumonia.

Please hit Reply to Expert, if I can assist you further, and I will be happy to continue with you. If you are happy with my Answer, Please press the Smiley Face in the Rating Box, so I can be compensated for my answer. I am here to help.

Joan

Bearded Dragon Care Sheet

• Bearded dragons should be housed alone.
  
  



• Ages of bearded dragons follow these guidelines:

1. 0-3 months- baby
2. 3-12 months-juvenile
3. 12-18 months- sub

adult
4. 18 months + -adult

• Bearded dragons live as much as 10-12 years if well cared for properly.



• Bearded dragons have a very good temperament as long as they are cared for
  
  and handled.



• When you bring your baby home, it may be quite stressful to him/her to get
  
  use to new home. May not eat well the first 2-3 days. They may not need to
  be
  handled the first 2-3 days if skittish and nervous.



• Never use sand or any other type of loose substrate: Loose substrates can
  
  cause impaction (not being able to go Poop) in all ages of bearded dragons-
  they
  lick their environment to explore .It is difficult to keep germ free
  and clean.
  Ceramic tile, newspaper, non adhesive shelf liner and reptile
  carpet is what is
  most recommended. Use paper towels for the little one and
  as they get bigger you
  can change to something else.



• Be sure you keep your beardies home as clean as you can. Clean up by spot
  
  cleaning when needed. Clean & sanitize entire tank every 10-14 days. A
  good
  cleaning solution is a 20% bleach solution. If you choose to use wood
  climbing
  branches etc, these should be soaked in the bleach solution and
  rinsed well.
  Then bake in 250 degree oven for 30 minutes.



• Need a climbing accessory: to bask and to warm up under basking heat light
  
  and lower branches or platforms to come down and cool off.



• A hide of some sort like a cave.



• A food dish and water dish.



• Plastic spray bottle



• Can use artificial plants when they get older- 3 months or so.



• Digital thermostat and/or temp gun



• Tank size: Minimal size tank for this age is 20 gallon long



• Minimal size for older beardie: 4 months of age: 40 gallon breeder is the
  
  minimal tank size for older dragon. Can divide a 40 gallon breeder for a
  smaller
  dragon. Must have two lights for your beardie.

1. A UVB light source-best is 10.0 Reptisun that runs the length of your

tank. Your dragon must have this light to metabolize calcium. If not he will
get
metabolic bone disease, a serious condition. You can also take your
beardie
outside to bask in the sun for 15 minutes each day if your temps are
80 degrees
or above outside. You can purchase cages or reptariums from your
pet store.
Never leave a beardie outside unattended.
2. A basking type
light that puts
out heat and warmth above basking spot. Your beardie must
have warmth to digest
food & thrive.

• Lights should be on for 12-14 hours each day. Follow the seasons and light
  
  timers are a great luxury if you can get them. 6 dollars at Lowe's. No
  lights or
  warmth needed at night unless your temperatures get below 62
  degrees. If they
  do, there are ceramic heat emitters that put out no light,
  only heat. Use these
  at night if temperatures fall below 62 degrees.

• Temperatures have to be kept at the following ranges during the day:

Babies: Warm basking log: 105-125 degrees F
Cool side: 85-90
Adults:

Warm basking spot: 110-115
Cool side: 80-85
Measure temperatures
with a
digital probe type thermometer or a temp gun-these are most accurate.
Stick on
thermometers unreliable.

• Feeding a Beardie: Beardies eat live prey consisting of crickets, roaches
  
  and/or silkworms. Never feed any size of mice to your beardie. Never feed
  meal
  worms. They also must be given greens/veggies everyday. The younger
  they are the
  more live prey they should have. As they grow older the live
  prey decreases and
  the veggies/greens should be the major part of diet.
  Never feed anything bigger,
  than the space between your beardie's eyes. This
  includes both live prey and
  pieces of veggies/greens,



• A chopper or food processor is a huge help when your beardie is small.
  
  Always offer greens and veggies: collard greens, turnip greens, mustard
  greens,
  cabbage, red cabbage, fresh green beans, yellow summer squash,
  butternut squash,
  sweet potato, cactus pad. Apricots, strawberries, apples,
  blueberries,
  raspberries, cantaloupe- fruits are treats only.



• What is live prey? The easiest and less expensive live prey is crickets when
  
  you have a young or first beardie. The other live preys you can feed are
  
  silkworms, and special types of roaches. You can learn to raise your own
  live
  prey. Treats can be wax worms, super worms, and tomato/Goliath worms.
  You may
  find that ordering live prey from the internet is the way to go.....
  Never leave
  live prey or greens/veggies in tank overnight. . Crickets can
  bite your beardie
  when sleeping.



• Babies should get 80% live prey, and 20 % greens/veggies. But since the
  
  greens/veggies are a must when they are older, get them eating their
  
  greens/veggies very early. Give greens/veggies in small pieces everyday. You
  
  should eventually start decreasing your older dragon's protein intake when
  they
  are about a year to 15 months old. Their protein intake decreases to 20
  % live
  prey and 80% veggies/greens.



• A baby eat 50-75 crix a day depending on the size of the crickets. Never
  
  feed crix or veggies bigger than the space between your beardie's eyes. Use
  this
  guide when buying crix or chopping your greens/veggies.



• You must provide calcium dust without D3 and multivitamin dust for your
  
  beardie. You should dust the live prey with calcium one time a day, and
  vitamins
  3 times a week. Just collect your live prey into baggie and add
  enough calcium
  and vitamin to dust them. Then pour a few at a time into your
  tank. Some people
  feed their beardie in a separate tank so that no crickets
  can hide. Or some take
  out "furniture" from tank and feed this way. As they
  get older, 4-5 months or so
  dust live prey with calcium 3 times a week.



• Feed the veggies/ greens 1st thing in morning after lights on for one hour
  
  at least. Then after 2-3 hours offer crix. Then freshen green/veggies. Then
  give
  more crix. Make sure after last crix feeding there is at least 1-2
  hours of
  lights so that they can digest their food before night time.

*Beardies over the age of one year old during the winter

months will go into a Brumation like most Reptiles and Herps. It is a form
of
Hibernation that is governed by the weather and time of year. The lights
should
be on a shorter period at this time. Fresh greens should be available
during
this period. Do not feed live prey during Brumation.

Water: Mist your little one with the spray bottle 3-4 times a day. You can

also offer a small dish of water in your enclosure but be sure your dragon
is
not too small to drown in it. It is recommended that when your beardie is
2
months old you can bathe your baby in a small plastic container with warm
water-
not hot. It will help them to stay hydrated. As they get older you
can move up
to the bathroom sink and then to the bathtub. Very important for
bath enclosure
to be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed prior to bath time. Clean
between dragons
too if bathing more than one.

If you have any further questions feel free to ask. I like to start people

off with proper husbandry and then see if I can further assist.

This is for fruits and Vegetables

Nutrition chart: http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html

Sand as a substrate: http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/impaction/?page=3

Walnut shell Graphic: http://mrskingsbioweb.com/beardeddragngrossanatomy.htm

sexing bearded Dragons: http://repticzone.com/articles/sexingbeardeddragons.html