baby dragon!

[Khrysty]

Hi all,

A baby beardie was sorta dumped into my lap the other day. I'm already in love with the cuteness and curiosity this animal has. He is about 2 and a half inches long right now and unsexed. We've decided not to name him until we know the gender.

Since his arrival was unexpected, I wasn't prepared for him. I've set up temporary housing in an extra 20 long. At what size will he be uncomfortable in the tank? What's the appropriate size for an adult? 40 breeder or 55gal..or bigger?

He has a heat pad on all the time, a CHE at night and a UVA bulb during the day. I can't get his basking spot to go over 95 though. I keep reading that it should be around a hundred.

No UVB lighting yet. Is repashy's calcium plus ok to dust his food with too? And will the D3 in that be enough for him until I can get to the store to get a bulb?

How does shedding work with these guys? Do they need a moist hide? Do I bathe or mist him when I notice he's going into shed?

Thank you so much, in advance, for your help, guys. I really appreciate it.

 

[acpart]

I have only cared for adult dragons, though I may end up with a baby (but that, if it happens, will be an unusual and fascinating story). I'm sure there are other people who will respond who have more experience with babies. If you're having trouble getting the temp up, you could try making the basking spot closer to the light, unless you've already done this. You could try a halogen puck light; those get pretty hot. I keep my adult in a 40 gallon: 36"x18"x18". This is probably the minimum size for an adult. I can't accommodate anything bigger and she spends as much time as I can allow on my front porch in the summer and in the living room in the winter. I dust her feeders with Repashy Calcium plus and use a full spectrum florescent which I change every 6 months. I don't use heat for her and she does fine. I've read that babies need to be misted to keep their humidity up and could use a few water dishes to help with humidity as well. They also need several meals a day of live feeders and greens. Enjoy it!

Aliza

 

[shakti75]

Khrysty, funnily enough, I am normally a beardy owner who came here because I had a leo unexpectedly given to me and came here for advice. Since I saw your post though, I figured I would try to help out. The 20 long you have the beardy in now should be fine for a while, since when they are babies, too large of a space can stress them out. Warm side should be around 90-95 with a basking spot around 105-110. I would just keep experimenting with bulb wattages til you get his basking area warm enough, or he won't digest his food. They don't need UTH like leos do. They are desert baskers, so they prefer heat from above.

One meal dusting, 5 times a week with the calcium and 2 times a week with a multivitamin is what I do. I usually dust with the multi vitamins on the weekends and calcium during the week. Their food should be no bigger than the space between their eyes, so at the tiny size of your little guy, pinhead crickets, most likely. 3 feedings a day, as many as he can eat in 15 minutes. Beardies eat A LOT! Some type of greens should be available to him all day, avoid lettuces and spinach. Mustard, collards, turnip greens are all good choices, along with different types of squashes. This website has a really good nutrition page, along with tons of other good info.... http://www.beautifuldragons.com/home.html Don't be surprised if he doesn't eat much for greens, if at all, for a while, but keep offering them. When mine were babies, I gave them greens first thing in the morning and waited an hour or two before giving insects. If they were hungry enough, they would go for the greens and mine all love their salads now.

Beardies don't need a moist hide and they don't generally drink water from a bowl. They get their moisture from their food and from baths every couple days. I normally bathe mine every other day, because they are trained to go to the bathroom then also, making cleanup much easier, lol. Let them bathe for 15-20 minutes in warm water, same temp as you would for a baby. They will absorb the water through their vent and they may drink some of it too.

They tend to turn dull when they are going to shed, sometimes all at once and sometimes different body parts at a time, usually starting with their tail. Mine takes forever to shed and they get pretty irritable during this time and may not eat as much. Soaking them in a warm bath can help speed up the process just refrain from pulling their skin. Do NOT try to make it's tank humid, as this can cause upper respiratory infections, which are not fun, trust me.

For UVB lighting, I would highly recommend getting a zoomed reptisun 10.0 tube, not the coils. The coils have been known to cause serious eye problems, as have the repti-glo tubes, which I experienced first hand. If at all possible, stick to Repti-Sun. Petmountain.com has the best prices I have found for the uvb bulbs, along with most everything else.

I don't know if I answered all of your questions, but if you have any others, please don't hesitate to ask, as that is what I will be doing soon about leos, hehe.

Oh and another thing, try to stay away from mealies for a while. They have been known to cause impaction in very young beardies. Much better to stick with crickets.