advice on beardie temps ( checking if i have it right or not)

[feathergrass]

OK so Buddha is 4 almost 5 weeks old and is lovely and fast becoming spoilt he is in a suburra 120 x 45 x 60cm enclosure with a reptile one uvb 10.0 three foot tube along the back and 2 reptile one 50 watt fan heaters
have a timer attatched to it all set for basicall 6am to 7pm then off
have a thermostate thats set to 38 max alarm will sound off if it goes over that so i have a thermometer probe just under basing point and it says 38 then midway down warm end i have another thermometer probe that says 31.5 and probe sitting midway down cool end says 28.4

he has a nice kidney shaped water dish and actully found he doesnt like carrot, brocoli, watercress or sweet potato ( didnt give him them this morning just gave him some plain old bok choy whcih he was seen chomping his way through)
he (i am assuming at this point hes a he ) eat lil crickets well too about 15 to 20 a day since i ignored both local pet shops

he is also doin a toilet job each day so far seems normal as in not runny and can be picked up and disposed of via a tissue..
so my question is are the heat temps ok and can anyone see anything i need to change

oh he has branches and a hide midway in his house and climbing vines ( which he loves and sleeps in)


thanks for your time from a probably paranoid first time beardie mum

( also i decided doesnt matter how much you read and research you get all nervy when you get your first reptile baby)

 

[ajandj]

Hi there, in my opinion, l would up his basking temp to between 40 - 43 degrees.
I would leave out the carrot and brocoli and change it to things that are recommended to be daily foods... like endive, dandelion greens and flowers, carrot tops (the green part), beetroot greens, turnip greens and l throw in mango for good messure.
also a couple of times a week i feed nasturtium flowers and leaves, rose petals, pansy flowers, bok choy, celery leaves,
lavander, rosemary, rocket. I have attached a food sheet that's easy to follow. Gave me some great ideas.
what substrate are you using?
do you dust with calcium and vitamins?
Sexing is difficult and as far as l know you can't tell until they are older.

I would have to agree about being nervy... best advice l can give is go with your gut. If your beardie and pooping and eating, putting on weight and growing, then you're half way there.
Also never be afraid to ask questions. As l was told, the only silly/stupid question is the one you don't ask
Enjoy your new family member.. they are fab !!

 

[JAS101]

u can raise the basking area temp , or put something in the basking area that the little one can get closer to the heat source .

 

[feathergrass]

u can raise the basking area temp , or put something in the basking area that the little one can get closer to the heat source .

he can get right up under the basking light and the uvb tube high enough that while hes little he wont hurt himself but i will have to lower his bracn as he gets bigger, thanks for the advice the dandelion is a no go we have none growing around where i live and what dandelion i have found i wouldnt cos the other pets poop and or pee on it
have planted rosemary nasturitums miniture roses for him he likes bok choy gonna try a lil of some food seperately otherwise he seems to ignore his salad bowl he poops and pees well have upped the temps as you suggested yes dusted his crickets three time so far this week
need to find a vitamin sup?

 

[ajandj]

i use vit powder whilst Yoda was little but now he eats his green really well, and a good variety l don't worry about it so much

 

[BigWillieStyles]

I reckon your setup sounds good. Ive got a beardy the same age. I try to mimic the environment in which he would come from. I have a basking light on a timer for a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the late afternoon (basking temp of 40 degrees). They dont need constant heat to survive, they require heat for digestion and to warm up there blood for increased activity levels for feeding. I give mine a spray of water every day or so as I havent seen him drink from the water bowl yet.

 

[ajandj]

I give mine a spray of water every day or so as I havent seen him drink from the water bowl yet.

Ahhhhhhh yes yes yes. I forgot to add this... Although my Yoda goes and either swims in his water dish or poops in it. I also bath once a week and more often when shedding to help with "itch"

 

[feathergrass]

thank you all for the great advice!
seems lil Buddha is doing everything he is meant to and even eating greens
just havent seen him drink from his ater bowl just playing in it lol

 

[ajandj]

don't worry if you don't see him drink, it's quite common. But that's why it's important to mist and bath so they don't get dehydrated.
Yoda doesn't like being misted, he actually flares up so l tend to mist the branches (as that's where he hangs most of the time) and the top of his hide, once i've stopped spraying, he will go lick it up. He also like to like my finger... i tend not to do that much as he sometimes gets a little...ummm.. carried away and chomps my finger... and man does it hurt

 

[Leasdraco]

Ive just acquired one thats about the same age.he loves his crickets but i havent seen him show much enthusiasm for greens yet.gave him endive and dandelion this morning.

 

[Tegstep]

I'd be decreasing the number of crickets. 15-20 is a hell of a lot.
6-10 is a good number to be feeding every 2-3 days, think about going up a size or just reducing down to 10 and making up the difference with veg. Beardies are like labradors, they will eat and eat their favourites until they explode.

 

[ajandj]

Feeding a few crickets every coule of days is not enough for a 1-2 month old beardie.
Rule of thumb is feed as many as they will eat over a 5-10 minute period. Beardies should be feed 2 - 3 times a day at this age. Yoda was eating anywhere from 25 - 40 small crickets TWICE a day when he was 4 months old, he also ate about 3-4 tablespoons of greens. Stats are 20 % greens and veg to 80% protein and as your beardie grows, they stats will reverse.
You should never feed crickets that are bigger that the space between your beadies eyes, so at 1-2months old l would definately feed nothing more than the small crickets, make sure you gut load them well before feed. Keep offering the green, i used a little puree apple to encourage Yoda to eat them, just a little and it did the trick. Only used the apple for a couple of days, he loves his greens.

Sorry to sound defensive but throwing your beardie a couple of crickets every couple of days in onewhere near enough for a 1-2 month old beardie. Yoda is 11 months old now and he eats 20 - 25 mediums crickets a day and maybe 1/2 cup of greens a day. He's 40cm from snout to tail tip and weighs 161 grams.

 

[feathergrass]

yeah i feed Buddha the cricks until he loses intrest in them 2 times a day which is about 10 to 15 this afternoon it was 17 lol i feed until he loses intrest and fresh vege twice a day and remove leftovers just before lights out i figure with a human baby we feed them til they are full and not intrested in food sio yeah lol

 

[ajandj]

i feed crickets, 1 at a time so as not to leave any in his enclosure. crickets are nasty little buggers and when the lights go out they will actually start to bite our beardie and as your beardie will be cold, they don't seem to feel it. I've seem some terrible photos of the bite left and they seem to take months to heal. I would prefer to feed out of the enclosure but Yoda doesn't want a bar of it so as l said, so safety l feed one at a time.