any tips???

[franny]

I found a Bearded Dragon breeder finally!!! I am going tomorrow to pick up one maybe two, but i deffinatly only want one male one female. I was told that they are 3 months old. It or they are going to live in a 75 gallon lizzard cage. I have two heat rocks but have read alot about how they are bad so I wont be using them, or is it bad? I also heard it can help in digestion? I am going to be using reptile terf for substrate, substrate heater, basking spot,of cource.
If you have any sugesstions or comments on what will help me i am very new to bearded dragons.
I am also wondering what baby beardeds prefer in there salads or can they eat the same as an adult but obviously smaller in size.

[doenoe]

Hello
OK, you can only keep the male and female together for a short time. After that you will have to seperate them, this is because they can get stressed with the living situation and can get sick of that. And i dont think you want that.
You are right about the heatrocks, they arent good for beardies. They cant feel if its to hot or not on their bellies, so they will just stay on the rock, even if they burn themselves.
A substrate heater isnt totally nescesary. Most people only work with spot lights to keep the temps right. Except when the temps go below the 60's at night, then you can look for an heatmat or something to keep the temps up at night.
I dont know anything about reptile terf, so i will leave that one for the people who do know it :)
And about the salads, my guess is that they can eat the same as the adults, but the biggest part of their diets will be crickets and stuff like that. They probably wont even touch their salads when they are young.
Ok, thats it. If im wrong about anything, im sure someone else will correct me :D
Greetz Daan

[C.m.pyrrhus]

but I definitely only want one male one female. I was told that they are 3 months old.
Since this is your first bearded experience (possibly your first herp experience maybe?), I would recommend that you stick to just one to start. It is generally better to begin with one to gain a better idea on how to care for these animals. They have also been known to eat other cage mates, especially at younger ages. I know many folks off hand that this has happened to when they introduced two beardeds as starters.

It or they are going to live in a 75 gallon lizzard cage.
Glass tank, screened cage or what? The 75 gallon is not a bad size for adults either, but a smaller tank may be better suited to raise a younger bearded in as it grows. I would avoid any cages that are heavily screened, as they have to much air loss and you will loose heat like crazy. You want to aim for proper temperatures as well as giving your lizard enough room to use to grow in. This also allows for a high and low end temp range and room to put in a decent hide.

I have two heat rocks but have read a lot about how they are bad so I wont be using them, or is it bad?
This is bad by all means. Never should any reptile be exposed to heat rocks, unless you cut the cords and use them as cage decoration. You will want to use 2 separate lights for your bearded. One should be a simple heat lamp to provide a strong heat gradient to bask under, roughly about 110° where it will bask. I have known folks to use ceramic heat emitters (works like a light bulb, but does not produce light) to achieve this as well. The other a high output UVB bulb designed for reptiles. You should aim for a bulb that has at least a 5% UVB output, usually listed as 5.0 in the name of the bulb. UVB light is a requirement for this species, as well as most species of lizards.

I am going to be using reptile terf for substrate, substrate heater, basking spot,of cource.
I would ditch the carpeting for good, and go with paper towels to start off. Heck, I would use the paper towels as long as the animal was captive. Not only do you want to keep husbandry as simple as you can, but also help quarantine the animal for a period of time will allow you to monitor its health. I will not go into detail why I feel any carpeting is bad. Paper towel is cheap, easy to use and replace and makes husbandry more of a breeze to control.

I am also wondering what baby beardeds prefer in there salads or can they eat the same as an adult but obviously smaller in size.
In any reptile salad, you should aim to put as many fresh greens as possible in the mix. Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens and dandelion greens are a great base of foliage. Never go with any lettuces as a general rule. There are a few fruits that are accepted by beardeds, but the greens should at least be the staple part of the diet. Younger beardeds seem to like inverts more, but they should always be presented with greens even if they do not seem to want it. Smaller pieces of food items are a must, as they are smaller than the adults and need the smaller pieces to consume it without risk of blockage (choking). I would recommend that you use a powder mineral additive such as Miner-All to the salad and to dust your inverts with. Not much is needed as it takes only a very little bit, but it will surely give your lizard a boost of needed nutrients for proper growth and development.


There are many keepers and breeders of bearded dragons out there, so you will find an abundant amount of resources to help you out. Certainly take the time to research as much you can and good luck.

[franny]

The cage is a glass tank its more wide then tall its a iguana cage and has a screen top. You guys are probably right about starting with one, but if i do eventually want another one can you introduced them together when they are older? and from different batches??? thanx so much for all the excellent info and will deffinatly be changing parts of my planned set up

[Dragon_Slave]

Yes, you can introduce beardies after they are older. If you had planned on getting a male and female from the same breeder anyway, that is not good, especially if you have means to breed them later on. When you have beardies with the same parents, or even just the same mother or father, you get into inbreeding which is not good at all! A lot of health problems can arise from inbreeding and it should be avoided at all costs.
I agree with starting them off in a smaller cage, and I feel that reptile carpeting is a good choice, or papertowels. Papertowels, of course, are cheaper... but I've personally raised my beardies on the reptile carpeting and I have had no problems with it whatsoever. :)

[Bighead]

I used cage carpet for a while and I got tired off washing it every day. It holds the stink pretty good if you don't. I recently switched to wheat bran, then to "Swheat scoop" which is a cat litter made of wheat bran. The advantage is, it's in a small pelleted form and has no dust. It also clumps a little easier. I'm not saying these are the only safe ones of course, but it's what I've found suits my needs best.