Q's

[Carpetfreak2004]

i have a million q"s befor i get my dragon next week.first i know u have to have a basking spot of about 105 degrees and i know that they need to get (UVB)- both from light.can this be achieved with 1 bulb.i have a clamp lamp that says it is for incandescent bulbs or ceramic heat emitters -so what ever bulb i get i need it to be able to go in that.so it needs to be a screw in bulb.any suggestions on a bulb(specificly) how many watts and how expensive it will be? i have a 15 gallon.i am really confused with all that stuff so if any one can help please.also i have an undertank heater which is covered with paper towels so the animal does not bet burned.it gets up to about 86-90 degrees on one bottom end in the tank. should i leave this on all night?also if any one can tell me specificly what vitamins i need to put on its food?sorry this is so long but i need to know stuff so it lives happily.

[mark129er]

best spot to find the answers to these questions is a care sheet, do a search for bearded dragon care sheet in any search engine

[mark129er]

quick search found these, I'm at work with nothin better to do....
hope they help.

www.rockfordreptiles.com/bearded_dragon/care.html

www.bright.net/~a1rep/a1bdcare.html

www.wnyherp.org/cs-beardeddragon.html
www.sundialreptile.com/care%20sheet--bearded%20dragon.htm
www.paulfirlotte.com/beardie.html

[Carpetfreak2004]

thanks but i have read all the care sheets a in the world and the q"s i am asking are not in all of them.pleas some one i am confused

[bidden]

UVB and heat are not in one lamp, unless you find a mercury vapor lamp which run about $95(in canada). I have not heard any thing good about them.... Plus your clamp lamp is probably not rated for one.

you need a flourescent fixture and a "reptile specific" UVB bulp, PLUS your clamp lamp for heat. I recomend using a normal halogen spot lamp, they give off lots of heat and are a lot cheaper than the "reptile" heat lamps.
a 50-60 watt should do.

You don't need the under pad, they like to bask. it's not going to hurt but its not needed.

keep in mind that it will out grow your 15 gl tank in about 4-6 months, you need at least a 50gl to properly house a full grown beardie.

You need to dust your crix with calcuim and D3 once a day. and it's recomended to dust with a herp vitamin mix every week(you can find both at any petstore that carry reptiles)

I recomend buying "the bearded dragon manual" It will answer all your questions and more. It is very informative.

Plus all these questions are very basic ones that should be answered in almost any caresheet. try doing a little more research and reading, I'm sure you'll find what your looking for.

[ReptiliansDOTca]

First off with bearded dragons, I like to vary the temperatures between 95 and 120°F depending on the individual dragon. For the younger guys, the temperatures are usually around 115°F under the basking spot. I gauge their desired temperature by how much time they are spending basking - so for example if they are spending all of their time basking, the temperatures should be raised, if they are spending very little time basking, the temperatures should be lowered.

UVB and basking temperatures can be achieved through one bulb, but they are expensive and generally range near the $100.00 mark. For your situation, I would pick up a normal bulb and then a fluorescent reptile specific UVB/UVA bulb such as the Reptisun 5.0. As for what wattage, that is not something we can tell you over a forum. You will need to expiriment with different bulbs, and see which achieve the desired temperatures. As for the undertank heater, it is unnecessary, and you can remove this. As for vitamins and supplementation, the only thing you will have to add to your dragons diet manually is a calcium supplement. For babies and young dragons, I would add a calcium supplement on a daily basis. Once they grow older, it can be reduced to three times a week, then one time a week.

In addition to supplementation, you will have to gutload your crickets with food, which will give your dragon the essential vitamins. Feed the crickets a variety of dark greens, include bok choy, mustard greens, dandelion, nappa and kale. Avoid spinach and lettuce specifically, the lettuce has little to no nutritional value aside from its water content.

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

[ReptiliansDOTca]

Ah, I knew I was forgetting something - your tank size. Keep in mind that must be only temporary, and when I mean temporary, it is a very short period of time, lol. I would start saving for a 60 gallon tank, and as soon as you have the funds, move him into that.

[Carpetfreak2004]

well the fixture for the bulb is about 20dollars the bulb is about 20dollars thats 40 dollars the mercury bulb is 41 dollars so i guess i'll just try and get that.thanks for all the advice