(Part 3) Top products from r/BeardedDragons

> Regarding the heat mat, this is something that we have underneath the bottom glass of his viv, with a layer of felt on top of the glass so he doesn’t have direct contact with any of the heat elements.

Well, looks like I've got egg on my face then! Okay, way less concerning but!

>We live in the north of England, do you think it would be fine to take away the heat mat during the night and him have no heat source, or could you suggest an alternative?

Heat matters, and you are on the right course with paying attention for nighttime heating matters! If your house drops under 19C at any time, then supplemental heat is a requirement! 19C isn't some magical "they will die" number, but it gives them a nice healthy minimum safe range, below which we can have problems!

The issue then, comes with how we give them this heat. Bearded Dragons are hard wired little lovable scalebabies. They do things because they are programmed to. For instance, light == warmth to them. If they are cold, they will go to sources of light (thus why heat lamps are great! And making sure your UV tube runs along next to it gets you double the benefit!). Likewise, if they are hot, they will avoid light, and go down. They will seek out the lowest point they can, to beat the heat.

See how that might be a problem? If the primary source of heat at night is under his tank, his brain doesn't understand how to cope and he will drive himself to the least comfortable place he can. Woops!!

What you really want to offer to keep him over 19C at night is something like this. Ceramic Heat Emitters screw into a normal light socket, so you can treat it just like your already existing heat lamp. The plus here, is that they produce zero visible light. This means that it's fine to use at night, as it wont disrupt their sleep!

It's not a replacement for your basking lamp (once again, that light helps drive good behavior and lets him become comfortable!). But it's an awesome addition to a vivarium when your house cannot provide safe temperatures on it's own!

Buy one, get yourself a fixture to mount it around the middle of his tank to keep everything safe at night, and slap that puppy on a timer! If you are worried about getting things just right, you can over buy the wattage on the bulb, and then use something like this to tune it just perfect for your baby!

Again, Y wish you all the best luck in figuring out what's wrong here. I hope it's some environmental thing that you can identify and correct with this dude! It sucks when we mess up, but it's so nice when we get to fix it!!!

From what I understand you want to feed however much she can eat for 10 minutes. When I fed mine crickets I had a spare 10 gallon tank that I kept them in so I would just stick her in the cricket tank to eat to her hearts delight and then put her back once she stopped eating. Worked out way better than chasing down cricket that she didn't eat. You don't want to leave the bugs in overnight because they will nibble on your beardie while she is asleep.


I recently bought this temp gun to keep track of her basking area. I was pretty sure that the temp was right because she opens her mouth when she basks but the gun gives me more comfort to know the exact temp. http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lasergrip-774-Non-contact-Thermometer/dp/B00837ZGRY

I also bought a separate stand and light fixture to set up in my bedroom so she can run around in my room. There aren't any places she could get stuck in my room and after running around a bit she always comes back to the basking spot in my room.

You don't have to buy the reptile bulbs for a heat lamp, you just want the uvb which you will have with the zilla light. The heat light I use now I bought from Wal-Mart and it heats the tank better than the mercury vapor bulb I had before. They have them at Walmart and probably any feed stores because they are often used to keep chicks warm. http://www.walmart.com/ip/GE-250W-Heat-Lamp-Red/16911779

Also you can get an inexpensive light fixture from either home depot or lowes. Clamp Lamp

Also if she is a girl you want to make sure you dust her food with calcium powder. The reptile specific ones are pretty expensive so I bought this at amazon a few years ago and I still have a ton of it.

If you want to keep your crickets hydrated instead of buying those cricket water crystals just buy Non-toxic ones My first bag I bought in 2013 and didnt need to buy a new bag until 2015 and that is because I am raising my own Dubias now.

Something else...I've had him since Sunday night. He ate yesterday (Monday) about 20 crickets but wouldn't eat a second time so I ended up having to take them out of his cage. I put 10 crickets in this morning and still not eating just yet. Is he stressed?

I'm using these thermometers on the back a little above halfway up about where his basking spot is: http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Economy-Thermometer-Humidity/dp/B004PBB1JE/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

On the warm side...83ish....on the cool side...70ish. I have a 100w basking light sitting on the lid and on the cool side the Reptisun 10.0 compact (for now)....why the low temps?? Should I get a higher wattage for basking and if so...what wattage should I try? 150w? What about UVB? I'm probably going to order the Reptisun 10.0 tube with a hood...deciding on the hood right now. I've just gotta figure out if this thermometer (which gets good reviews from beardie owners) is accurate or if I need to add maybe a 75w lamp with the 100w or bump up to a 150w or what...the temperatures are really stressing me out right now and I know he may be stressed at first but I feel like if his temps were higher that he'd be eating regardless...

Thanks for all of the help...I really want to get this temperature thing under control. He's been very active and attentive and appears healthy and doesn't show any signs of being unhealthy...I'm just worried about those temps, though.

Thanks again!

as others have mentioned relocation stress is a thing. they sometimes don't eat for the first few days you have them. but getting them comfortable will speed up your time table a little bit.

​

I highly recommend you live feed them some feeder insects https://dubiaroaches.com/collections/bearded-dragons you can get the baby bearded dragon variety pack and it seems to be a pretty balanced diet for baby beardies. it has baby Dubai roaches and nutriworms or soldier fly larva whatever you want to call them.

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Here are my recommended reads from the sidebar for new dragon tamers

• basic cheat sheet https://imgur.com/a/CrvIE
  
• to determine if food is good or bad for your dragon check out this link http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
  
• Guide on Bearded dragons https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4-LK25H4wfvMFJTVXJZaUExT3M/edit
  
  i think pet smart calls dubia roaches spotted roaches if I remember right. they are expensive there though thats why I linked the site. the problem with shipping roaches is they might die when it is to cold out so you have to get them inside asap I use a cricket container to hold them since they can't fly they tend to climb into the tubes it makes it easier to feed them. I like to have 2 containers so that between shipments i can clean out the containers without having to deal with them.
  
  ​
  
  Hope this helps :D

It is this guy I found on Amazon the other day. It's made of styrofoam and held up by strong magnets. Super neat! I like it a lot and so does the dragon!

It might help to get a longer tube one that would go almost the entire length of the tank, that way he is able to still get uvb light on the cool side.

It might also be worth looking into a Mercury Vapor bulb, they put out a lot of UVB light and I have heard they can help with MBD, don't get one from a pet store though, they are super expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-PowerSun-Mercury-Vapor/dp/B0002AQDJK/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1494350837&sr=8-4&keywords=mercury+vapor+bulb

$100 in a pet store versus $40 on amazon, they are robbers.

absolute essentials are a basking bulb and a UV bulb. I'm in the UK so sorry for the probably-non-native links, but something like these:

UVB tube bulb (UVB is important, not UVA!)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zoo-Med-SR-05-Repti-18-inch/dp/B0009YJ3BE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494516822&sr=8-1&keywords=reptisun%2Buvb%2B18%2Binch&th=1

Basking light

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Exo-Terra-PT2136-Intense-Basking/dp/B0002AR3OY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1494516880&sr=8-2&keywords=basking+bulb

you'll then want some tank decorations, a hide or built up hiding spot, a basking location (like a stump or a rock or something by your basking bulb) and then what ever else you want to dress the enclosure with.

Get yourself some calcium with D3, as you'll need to powder the meals that they eat.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Reptiles-Amphibians/Vetark-Professional-Nutrobal-Reptiles-50/B00393SPSE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1494517062&sr=8-3&keywords=calcium+d3+reptile

That one there is a reptile specific one. some will say you don't want to overdo the d3 and you can just feed them regular calcium carbonate on those days (you can find this anywhere. CaCO3. I have a 2kg catering bag that I use for both the lizard's food and my own heartburn issues!)

I think that covers it. As always - remember to check the care guide in the sidebar, it's got plenty of good setup info in there for new owners

Needs some more decoration and stimulation for the dragon! Give it more places to hang out in. The double lamp will be okay for a little while, but I highly recommend you get a large basking lamp for the warm side and a UVB tube (reptisun 10.0) that covers the rest of the tank so there's nowhere that the light isn't covering. Also, the hammock definitely should be raised a bit, if it's on the floor there's really no point in it. Finally, get another, perhaps bigger bowl. You should have one for worms and one for a salad every day. A water bowl is optional.

Overall, about a 5/10. It's a good starting place.

Link for reptisun: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K2BN7HK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_jJKBzbR93V32J
(The actual hood for this could be found at a pet store or online, I got mine at petco)

The hood I use for my basking bulb: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001OS0SB8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_nKKBzb8KP9T4W

My basking bulb itself (or at least similar enough to it): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CRJXJZ4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ILKBzb8CFDQNE

This is a small cat/dog fountain that contains a filter. According to the instructions, it's top shelf dishwasher safe. The small foot print helps when you have a 40g breeder and my guy is only 8 months I wanted to avoid any chance of drowning. It's also better than the reptile fountains out now because most of the don't have filters and harder to clean. The light can be controlled with a small push switch.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DENJQU4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

> Yeah he’s been on panacur sorry

If it was me I'd give him a month or so to recover from the previous treatments. I'm not telling you to go against your veterinarian's advice, that's just what I would do.
I'd be using Bene-Bac gel and Reptaid during this time to help restore his gut flora.

It's not uncommon for a small pinworm count to show up in healthy animals and at low numbers treatment is not necessary. But stress and poor husbandry can cause an increase and I'd treat only if that happened.
Again, I'm not telling you to go against your veterinarian's advice, that's just what I would do.

You don't mention your dragon's age?

Will your mother let you keep [roaches] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nedCYxxfd5g)? They live longer than crickets do, are easier to take care of, do not make as much noise, and do not smell as bad as crickets do. It takes a few months to get a colony started but once you have a colony you never have to buy feeder insects again.


Instead of buying cricket feed, if you have a feed store nearby you can feed your insects a mixture of chicken feed, calcium, and fish food. You mainly want to feed the insects a diet that is high in protein so dry dog or cat food will also do for feeding insects.

For moisture you can cut up potatoes and toss those in the bin or you can buy [water crystals] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0051V22VS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) One package will last you a while, can just put a couple of spoonfuls of the crystals into a clean empty milk jug and fill it with water. These crystals allow your feeder insects to drink water without drowning.

https://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Cricket-Pen-Size/dp/B0073KOGOG/ref=br_lf_m_ww83k73y62454pn_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&s=pet-supplies is my favorite of the 2 I use. They only say for 100 but we have done a bit over 250 and almost none died they just crawl like 40-50 in each of 4 tubes and then rest at bottom. You wouldn't be able to keep 250 all the time but we buy them that many and after a day or 2 it's down to more manageable numbers

Fluker's Ceramic Heat Emitter 100 Watt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002DHO6S/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_AVjbvb0AP9PCN

Zeus and hades each have one of these
They work very well. :)

Since you asked your mom I'm assuming you're younger. I highly recommend an older beardie as they are so much cheaper to take care of. My 5 month old eats around $25 - $50 of bugs a week. I try to cycle through bugs so the cost depends on if I'm giving him BSFL (cheaper) or dubia roaches.

Adults only need bugs 2x a week and the rest of the week you just feed them veggies like collard greens and butternut squash. Which isn't only cheap but you can eat them too!

The bearded dragon kits in pet stores suck. Don't use night light lamps. Use a ceramic heater if you're house drops below 65F at night. There are also fairly cheap temperature controllers that will turn the heater on and off at night to keep the tank from getting too warm or two cold at night.

Don't get the fixture for the UVB bulb at a pet store. They're a ton cheaper at hardware stores.

I'm currently using a basking bulb from a pet store, but spot lights from a hardware store will also work for a cheaper price.

Get a bigger tank than the minimum requirement. If you end up with a beardie that likes to explore it can become stressed being cooped up in a tank that it finds too small.

These are what I use for my recommendations above:

Temperature Controller for ceramic heater

Ceramic Heater

UVB Bulb

UVB Bulb Fixture

1. You can get something like this to put his heat lamp on: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DZ5NVBQ This should help regulate the temperature, it will turn the lamp on if the temperature is too low, and off if the temperature is too high. I believe there is another model with a channel that will turn something on if the temp is too high and off if it is too low (the opposite), so you could hook a fan to it to regulate temperature downwards.
   
   This thing can also be set to two different temperatures at different times. Keep the temp lower at night and use a ceramic heat bulb that doesn't show light to keep things from getting too cold. https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Ceramic-Infrared-Emitter/dp/B001F9CV7K/
   
   As far as food goes though, I don't think you can leave a juvenile alone for two days. I just don't see a way around that, they eat too much.
   
   
2. I have no experience in this area, but I feel like he would get used to it. Animals are quite a bit more flexible than people give them credit for. I don't think the two different territories would both him too much. As others have said though, acclimate him to one area at a time. Home first for a few months, and slowly introduce him to the school. Setup both habitats the same (temp, timers, decor, etc) to reduce the stress.
   
   
3. Again, no experience in this area. I'm sure it wouldn't be pleasant for the beardie to get yelled at, but mine sits in the living room with the TV and doesn't seem bothered or stressed by it at all, but it sounds like my volume levels don't compare to yours.]

It's a cling on one by All Living Things, and I got it at PetSmart! Link!


It was a dome fixture that came with a kit(It's kinda cheap but it works), It came with two. Also, I was using this PetSmart brand bulb that was a 100 watts,(brand was All Living Things, DO NOT get it. Total crap), and another 150 watt house hold bulb and had to use both of those to get to 105. It was bad. But, Since that damn 100 watt went out (in less than a month) I gave in and bought a ZooMed Basking bulb from PetSmart, It was about $20 for 2. But, here it's 10 for two(never knew or I would have got it, oh well!) So, it'll save me a trip when this one goes out.

You could probably use a dome like this. or this And this one I had to raise it because it got to 116 and it was too hot.

Just make sure the bulbs wattage doesn't exceed what it says it can take on the little sticker.

Thanks! The kit I bought came with a larger aquarium (30" x 12" x 12"). I have the calcium powder for the crickets (2nd pet store told me to use it). The 2nd pet store was very informative. These are the lights I currently have:

• Exo-Terra 75W Intense Basking Spot. This is the one I got at PetSmart that they told me is the only light I needed.
  
  These came with the kit:
  
  
• Desert Series 50 Fluorescent Coil Bulb
  
  
• Day Blue Light 150W
  
  
• Night Black Heat
  
  The temperature gauge I have in there also shows humidity. I'll grab a 2nd one tomorrow and put them on separate sides of the tank.

Magnaturals 37096 Rock Ledge Extra Strength Magnets, Large, Mojave https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003712U1Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_y.fOBb43P1FMP got it from here. They have magnets that you put on the outside of the tank so you can put it were you want.

You can buy reptile water conditioners if you're concerned. You'll want to find one that conditions based on what minerals are present in the tap water so asking a local reptile vet for product recommendations is a good idea.

This is the one I use. You can use any one really, just make sure that it does NOT have the auto shut-off feature. A lot of them do, so you have to be careful when buying. Push button ones usually have auto shut-off and dial or slider switch ones usually don't.

https://www.amazon.com/Sunbeam-731-500-Heating-UltraHeat-Technology/dp/B00075M1T6/ref=cm_sw_em_r_cawdotod_rz58wb087954H_tt

Make sure you gut load the feeders. They get a lot of their water from bug guts and greens. Also, if you drip the water onto their snout (avoiding their nostrils) they will usually clean that area which will force them to drink it. Another thing you can look into, if your humidity is already kinda low, is this: Pet Water Fountain, Uniclife Dog Cat Automatic Electric Drinking Bowl with LED Light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DENJQU4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_uP7-ybSYY0NSF

Zoo Med makes a special dechlorinator with electrolytes in it that's meant for drinking water and bath water- http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSafe-Water-Conditioner/dp/B0002568SG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416568003&sr=8-1&keywords=zoo+med+water+conditioner. I use this occasionally if the chlorine levels seem higher than normal in my tap water.

I just have this lamp off of Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009GCQWX2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Dzt2AbTNQFBNC

And then I'm cheap af so I just cover the top will foil to act as a reflector.

This is the bulb I have. And I am planning on getting tiles, just getting a cutting them will take a couple weeks. Thanks for letting me know about the kale, I will have to start using other veggies. He is currently seven months old.

https://www.amazon.com/Reptaid-Supplement-parasitic-bacterial-infections/dp/B006X3YHO8 pricy but worth it.

Oooh, so something like this guy?

We have her lights automated, wouldn't be too hard to automate one of these on when the light goes off!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002DHO6S/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0002DHO6S&linkCode=as2&tag=bdlife-20

I've got 2 of these and 1 of these. I much prefer the under-tank one, as it's adjustable. The other one sticks to the side of the tank and you can't move it without destroying the adhesive, though you can replace it with adhesive from Home Depot or something.

I bought 1000 superworms off of Amazon and they will last 6 months to a year. Only $22

Worms on Amazon

18 inch tube and I meant burned on the uvb I was told to get a fixture like this instead of what I have no which is just an aquarium lid

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00002N5H5/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1422143247&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=213N0CKQRAL&ref=plSrch

I have a 3ft long tank so i use the 2ft long arcaida 12
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arcadia-FD3P18-12-Percent-Reptiles-24-inch/dp/B002UE7A7U/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1375289011&sr=1-1&keywords=arcadia+12

and that is plugged into this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arcadia-ACR18-Vivarium-Controller-Watt/dp/B002UEAX9C/ref=pd_bxgy_petsupplies_img_y

I got this one! :D

I started my colony with some dubias I bought off Craigslist for $5.

For breeding, I used the advice on this page. I feed high-calcium chicken feed, which can be gotten for very reasonable prices when you buy in bulk at your local farm store. I use this heating pad (I need the larger one because I have two bins). It appears this smaller one is the same only smaller (same as far as not having an auto shut off "feature").

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002AQDJK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2YKHLMXRLPQLV

I've never checked the temps, but maybe a medical heating pad? We use this as our beardie doesn't like heat on his belly.