Hello,
Your tank should be a 40 gallon breeder because the Dragons need floor space. They are not arboreal and climbers.
The Desert Blend is walnut shell is very dangerous and cause a major problem. It can perforate the intestinal tract and can also cause serious issues with blockage this is about the Desert Blend: Graphic: http://mrskingsbioweb.com/beardeddragngrossanatomy.htm
I suggest using a solid substrate like tile, cage carpet, slate or paper. Sand can also cause skin problems and corneal ulcers in the eyes.
The basking area should have 100*-110*F and the cool side of the tank in the 85* range. This is important for digestion and passing of stool. If the temps are not correct, this can also cause a problem.
You need to have 2 lights, a day time basking bulb as well as a UVB. I
recommend a Reptisun 10.0. The UVB bulb is needed to stop Metabolic Bone
Disease.The UVB needs to be changed every 6 months. The UVB should be a tube type.
The Red light should be changed to a regular basking light. The Red light can cause Thermal burns. The heat pad is not needed because Dragons need light from above, they do not sense heat from below. Dragons have what is called a third eye Parietal eye which senses the light from above: http://www.anapsid.org/parietal.html
Coil UVB bulbs can injure the eyes.Compact UVB problems: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-info.htm
The UVB bulb should not have any plastic between it and the Dragon, it needs to run the length of the tank and be no more than 12" from the Dragon. Both lights should run daily for 12-14 hours a day. UVB cannot penetrate glass so sitting by the window, does not supply UVB rays which are needed to metabolize calcium.
You should be feeding Collard greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens,
escarole and curly endives. Butternut squash, peppers and various berries are
great for a treat. The Kale can bind calcium. The Veggies should be put in fresh
daily, and done about an hour after lights on.
They need 20% veggies daily and 80% live prey under a year of age. This is a chart for foods and is colorcoded:
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html
The live prey should include crickets, silk worms, roaches, goliath worms and
phoenix worms.Meal worms are high in chitin the outer shell and hard to digest.
Super worms, butter 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.
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.
Joan