mettle
08-30-05, 11:55 PM
I bought a baby beardie the other day.
I currently have him set up in a 20 gallon long tank with screen lid. He has a water dish at his cool end, uvb lighting over the tank and a piece of mopani driftwood under his heat lamp for basking. I currently have him on newspaper as he is small and I don't want him getting impacted.
So far he seems to have been eating the crickets I have been offering. Which is good. I have been gut loading the crickets with fish food and then putting some lettuce in as well for their moisture requirement. I was wondering if there were better things I could be gut loading the crickets with? Also - what type/brand of vitamin additive should I be dusting the crickets with and how often? Every feeding? Once a week? Bit foggy on this and different care sheets have told me different things. I wouldn't mind hearing it from some people who've put the care sheets into practice!
Also. Although he's been eating I don't know if he's been eating enough. What is a normal amount of crickets for a beardie to be eating? And should I let him eat in his enclosure, or move him to something smaller where it'll be easier to get at the crickets?
And how long should I be leaving the crickets in his enclosure before removing them? And if I remove them can I put them back into the cricket container I have so I can reuse them later?
When can I start offering him some worms? I never want to feed super worms because those things scare me. But in terms of meal worms and wax worms? And at what size can he start taking silk worms? I've heard that meal worms can contain too much chitin (sp?) and be damaging and that wax worms are to be regarded as 'treats' because they're so fatty. Opinions on this?
In terms of the bugs... If I notice he's not eating can I go a day without food and then offer him some again. Kind of the 'starve and feed' method people often use on fish? (I'm a fish guy - what can I say?)
I've also been told that I should start offering him greens and such from an early age. What should I be offering him? I've been told to limit the amount of acidic things (like fruits) because they could be harmful in high quantities. But I'm definitely looking to make a small grocery list here of things to keep on hand for him.
In terms of the enclosure... The 20 gallon long is just temporary. Don't worry! I have a 40 gallon breeder in the garage at the moment (36x18x15) waiting for him once he gets bigger. And then from there I'm going to custom build something for him. I simply had the 20 gallon long and have the 40 gallon breeder on hand so I figured I'd put them to use for the time being.
And lastly... Should I be providing some source of 'night time' heat? Should I be providing him with a place to 'hide' and sleep at night? He looks so sad laying on the newspaper.
Just looking to do the right thing here for my lil' guy! Don't want to make any mistakes! Thanks for any help that you can offer this novice!
I currently have him set up in a 20 gallon long tank with screen lid. He has a water dish at his cool end, uvb lighting over the tank and a piece of mopani driftwood under his heat lamp for basking. I currently have him on newspaper as he is small and I don't want him getting impacted.
So far he seems to have been eating the crickets I have been offering. Which is good. I have been gut loading the crickets with fish food and then putting some lettuce in as well for their moisture requirement. I was wondering if there were better things I could be gut loading the crickets with? Also - what type/brand of vitamin additive should I be dusting the crickets with and how often? Every feeding? Once a week? Bit foggy on this and different care sheets have told me different things. I wouldn't mind hearing it from some people who've put the care sheets into practice!
Also. Although he's been eating I don't know if he's been eating enough. What is a normal amount of crickets for a beardie to be eating? And should I let him eat in his enclosure, or move him to something smaller where it'll be easier to get at the crickets?
And how long should I be leaving the crickets in his enclosure before removing them? And if I remove them can I put them back into the cricket container I have so I can reuse them later?
When can I start offering him some worms? I never want to feed super worms because those things scare me. But in terms of meal worms and wax worms? And at what size can he start taking silk worms? I've heard that meal worms can contain too much chitin (sp?) and be damaging and that wax worms are to be regarded as 'treats' because they're so fatty. Opinions on this?
In terms of the bugs... If I notice he's not eating can I go a day without food and then offer him some again. Kind of the 'starve and feed' method people often use on fish? (I'm a fish guy - what can I say?)
I've also been told that I should start offering him greens and such from an early age. What should I be offering him? I've been told to limit the amount of acidic things (like fruits) because they could be harmful in high quantities. But I'm definitely looking to make a small grocery list here of things to keep on hand for him.
In terms of the enclosure... The 20 gallon long is just temporary. Don't worry! I have a 40 gallon breeder in the garage at the moment (36x18x15) waiting for him once he gets bigger. And then from there I'm going to custom build something for him. I simply had the 20 gallon long and have the 40 gallon breeder on hand so I figured I'd put them to use for the time being.
And lastly... Should I be providing some source of 'night time' heat? Should I be providing him with a place to 'hide' and sleep at night? He looks so sad laying on the newspaper.
Just looking to do the right thing here for my lil' guy! Don't want to make any mistakes! Thanks for any help that you can offer this novice!