Comments on: Caring for Bearded Dragons (Beardies)

By: muraad

muraad — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 16:02:44 +0000

i have run out or crickets for my dragon and cannot get any until tommorow, it wont eat carrots and im not sure if it will be ok is there anything else i can give it to try my sister has and adult and she said that apples will work is this right my beardie is 2 to 3 months old

By: jolyssa

jolyssa — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 02:53:02 +0000

males are not supposed to be housed together they WILL fight.

By: vaskenhauri

vaskenhauri — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 18:09:14 +0000

@robbie,

I would try the following things:

1) There's a chance that it's actually too hot in the cage now and the beardie actually does want to get to a cooler area. A digital thermometer from your local hardware store (spring for the $20 one) will tell you temps at either end of the tank–you definitely want the heat at once side so the beardie can self-regulate by moving towards or away from it. If it's more than 90-95 in the cool area, or above 110 in the hot area, you might consider reducing the time the heat lamp runs.

2) If the activity is not because the beardie is trying to self-regulate, then you may have just re-awakened an energetic beast from its poor, impacted slumber. I've had a few beardies, some are crazy energetic, some are downright lazy. As long as your beardie has what it needs in terms of food, heat, and water, just make sure she's not injuring herself on the walls and you should be ok.

3) 4-5 times a day is a lot, but if she hasn't gone in days, it may be perfectly natural. I have noticed that some beardies have a proclivity to pooping on their people, and they'll do it 5 minutes after they've just gone. If she's still having 4-5 movements a day in 3-4 days, it's probably worth a quick trip to the vet with one of those as a fecal sample (you may not even need to bring the beardie), so they can tell you if there's a parasitic infection to worry about.

By: vaskenhauri

vaskenhauri — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 18:09:14 +0000

@robbie,

I would try the following things:

1) There's a chance that it's actually too hot in the cage now and the beardie actually does want to get to a cooler area. A digital thermometer with an external probe from your local hardware store (spring for the $20 one) will tell you temps at either end of the tank–you definitely want the heat at once side so the beardie can self-regulate by moving towards or away from it. If it's more than 90-95 in the cool area, or above 110 in the hot area, you might consider reducing the time the heat lamp runs.

By: robbie

robbie — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 14:16:17 +0000

I have a question regarding excessive pooping. Here's the background: My son has a bearded dragon, approximately 3 years old when he got her. When he got her, she was under a light, no telling how old. She was impacted and very sluggish……He immediately purchased a stronger heat lamp, we were able to unimpact (?) her, and she has been doing much better. She began shedding skin on her head over the holidays and now looks beautiful. During this time, my son purchased and installed a Reptisun 10.0 UVB light. Within I would say 24 hours of the installation of this light, his dragon has become extremely active. She looks great, BUT she is also pooping now 4-5 times a day. She acts as though she wants out of her 40 gallon tank, something she never, ever, did before. Just this morning she pooped in the tank, and then an hour later pooped again (on my son!). Any insights? Thanks!

By: vaskenhauri

vaskenhauri — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:19:41 +0000

@alyssa,

The first thing to check is that the thermometer is accurate. I had a cheaper one that read in the low 90s all the time, and when I got a $20 digital from Walmart it read over 105 degrees!!! Once you're sure that the temps are really in the high 80s, here's what you can try:

I've always used MVB bulbs myself, in the 150W range. Because they use mercury and they put out UVB you need to be careful with the bulbs and not let them shine on people, just the beardie It's really hard to overheat a 40 gallon tank with a single bulb, and you have to remember that the 40 has around 4 times as much air to heat as did the 20, so it will cool much faster. I've started ordering my bulbs from http://www.reptileuv.com/ and I use the 160W on my 40 gallon tank (I live in New Hampshire so it's usually about 65-70 degrees in my house during the winter). The bulbs seem to last about twice as long as the competitors' do, and at $50 a pop, that's important. Also, if you're happy with the light situation but want to add heat, a ceramic heat emitter is a much better choice, as you won't waste energy generating light that you really want to use to generate heat. You can find those at your local Petco or pet store.

By: alyssa

alyssa — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 16:10:20 +0000

I have had my beardie drake for about three months. I don't knoe exactly how old he is, but he is about 9 inches from nose to tail. He is a fatty, loves to eat crickets, veggies and especially squash! I used to have him in a 20 long critter cage and the temps were perfect, 105-115 in the basking spot, and about 80 on the cool side. I was using a 75 watt repti basking spot lamp. Because he is growing I purchased a 40 long critter cage. It a a lot bigger, and especially deeper! The problem that I'm having now is the temps are kinda low! As of right now, I've increased the basking balb to a 100 watt, I also have a 10.0 uvb tube that I put in his basking area. The temps were so low that I added a secondary heat source. My thermometer is reading 89.9! I know this is not hot enough. Even if he sits closer, its still not warm enough. I guess my question is, should I use a 150 watt bulb or is this going to be too much? I love my beardie and only want what's best for him, but I don't wanna fry him! I'm also afraid that he isn't getting enough ubv sense all he does is bask and all my lights are crammed down on one end. I try to put the uvb tub as close to his basking area as I can. It seems like everyone has a different answer for what to do. I also was looking into mercury vapor bulbs, are these ideal for providing the best ubv, uva and heat? I know I have a lot of questions and I appologize, but its all in the best intrest of my beautiful baby drake! Any suggestions or answers would be greatly appreciated! Thank you again!!

By: Vasken

Vasken — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:43:53 +0000

It's very important that you have UVB lighting on the tank. If not, then no matter how much calcium you give him he will not be able to absorb it. He can only do that if the UVB light provides the Vitamin D3 that he also needs to break down the calcium. I recommend you get the regular light-bulb style or coiled fluorescent bulbs, not the long fluorescent lights, because then he won't be able to get closer/further from the light as he needs to. Assuming he has a UVB bulb already, dusting your crickets and veggies with calcium powder should help (not sure if that's the 'power stuff' you're talking about, but make sure you get him reptile calcium powder from a pet store). It definitely needs to be added to food–put it on whatever is his favorite and hope for the best. Also, beardies sometimes suffer from a communicable disease called metabolic bone disease, or MBD, that could cause the symptoms you're talking about. Unfortunately, it's fatal, and there's not much that can be done. Also, if he hasn't been having regular bowel movements, there's a chance that he's impacted (has a blockage in his intestines, possibly formed by eating the substrate). Either way, you should take him to the vet if he's still not eating. If he's that big at that age, he may have a good chance of survival. Good luck and I hope everything works out!

By: sabrina

sabrina — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 23:26:47 +0000

okay so we got a book and found out that he probley has calcium diffencency, is tthere anythign that we can give him that is really high in that?

my brother has this power stuff but hes not eating it and doesnt seem to show intrest

By: sabrina

sabrina — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 23:24:01 +0000

my brother has a bearded dragon and it is about 8 months, and 15 inches. He has a good and spoiled life but with in the last week has started twitching uncontrably, and not eating anymore. My brothers freaking out and i dont know what to tell him. Please Help!