My first care sheet.

[Reptile_Boy]

ok well i just finished my first care sheet.

this will be a free resource for people but i am asking any improvements before i put it up for good.

this is just one i have been kicking around.

View attachment Keeping Bearded Dragons.doc

please any improvments i will add. any thing you wont to contribute please say this is going up as a free one.


Cheers


Damien

 

[Reptile_Boy]

dont steel it until i put up a final copy this copy is copyrighted as well

 

[Nikki.]

ummm . I've noticed you've missed a bit of punctuation and have a couple of spelling mistakes .Its says - "the have a total of 5 species of of Bearded Dragon

Other than that , i reckon its fantastic !

 

[Reptile_Boy]

spelling dosnt matter at this stage. i will fix it up on the final copy

 

[Aslan]

Reptile Boy - Congratulations on putting in the effort to type that up - however, it still needs a LOT of fine tuning before it will be of considerable use...

Firstly, spelling seems to be an issue throughout with a few SMS style abbreviations being used...

I think the information is a little too basic in parts but also fails to explain some simple things to newcomers with a Bearded Dragon...ie, what is Top of Descent? what are pinheads? I certainly would not have known that before becoming involved in the hobby...

You mention that UVB tubes range from 2.0 to 10.0, but fail to mention that 2.0 would be nearly useless and that Beardies should have 10.0...

"A lay box should let the female burrow through to lay her eggs" - what is a lay box? how large should it be? what do I put inside it? how do I make it?

It may also be slightly better to advise an older age for Beardies to breed - I see you have given a length for the female, which is great, but this fails to take into account condition of the female. Could be dangerous to breed an undersized female, and as we see regularly depending on husbandry and feeding regimes the size of Beardies can vary greatly at different ages...

The entire section on 'Brumation' needs revising, it is missing words, has spelling errors and makes little sense in parts - it also fails to explain how you put your Dragon through Brumation...

I would probably also refrain from encouraging people to buy a Beardie "to show off with"...

You refer to licencing but give no information - this should go into much greater detail as it is an EXTREMELY important aspect...

You also refer to feeding Mealworms depending on the Beardie's age but don't explain when this is acceptable and when not...

What you need to consider when typing up a caresheet is that (particularly for Beardies) many people will have had NO exposure to keeping Reptiles previously and you will need to cater the caresheet to these people...I hope you take my points as constructive criticism in this post and use them to improve the information available in your caresheet...

If you need someone to proof read re: spelling/grammar prior to completion PM me and I would be willing to help...

Good luck, keep up the good effort...

Simon

 

[Reptile_Boy]

cheers aslan.

this is just a rough copy and when i say show of with i mean for competion.

but this will help


thanks again..

 

[Aslan]

Reptile Boy - I figured that was what you meant, but hoped pointing it out might help you realise the way it comes across...

Again, I hope you didnt take anything the wrong way - it was all meant as constructive criticism...

 

[Kirby]

be carefull using brand names. eg. top of decent should be in italics and inverted commas.

you dont touch on many hiden dangers eg. heat mats/rocks (heatign elements breaking) dangers of substrates, impaction, calci-sand crushed walnut. etc. etc. nor do you mention a good and usfull uvb. you could send them to uvguide.co.uk so they can see test results etc. available to us is the reptisun 10.0 and the reptiglo 8.0 as good and usfull bulbs.

you could mention uvc and compacts (the dangers)

mentioning only mealworms as a constant dish thing is a little silly. they arent fullfillign innutrition. you could mention silworms and superworms (zophobias morio) for adults.

warnigns like 'pinky mice' for adults only. limit 2 a month. and to ajust the diet apropriately.

suppliments for younger dragons who are growing should be closer to 4 times a week (one of three feedings) cal with d3, then once a week herptivitamin.

when brumating, try and make them poop via a bath before going back to sleep. semi or undigested foods cause problems ina brumating dragon.


its a great try, i know your still young and im happy to see your enthusiasm to make a care sheet. there is a few spelling and typo's and a few comments probably necessary. you could always link to some other internet care sheets. no site, forum or careshet will ever cover everthing..

lookin good.

 

[Kirby]

lol. posting at work is slow.. and you get alot of replies in between..

sorry..

 

[alex_c]

pretty good overall

 

[Reptile_Boy]

bump any more improvements?

 

[dpeica]

When's your book coming out?

 

[Reptile_Boy]

what book lol this is just a care sheet lol

 

[hornet]

First think i see your refering to Pogona minor subspecies as species. There are 6 species of Pogona with Pogona minor having 3 subspecies. The species are P.barbata, P. henrylawsoni, P. microlepiodota, P. minor, P. nullarbor and P. vitticeps. P minor subspecies are P.m. minima, P.m. mitchelli and P.m. minor. Insted of refering to a good tank for starting hatchling's as 50L just say a 2ft tank. With substrates you should point out pro's and con's and also mention what substrates are a big no no. As mentioned there are many spelling and grammar errors. Insted of "Bearded dragons are desert livers" it should say "Central bearded dragons are a desert dwelling species". Also with saying how old they need to be to breed age is not important, you could have a tiny 16month old or a breeding size 12month old so just stiick to the size. With the breeding section you sohlud mention that you need to keep the eggs the right way up as turning can kill the embryo.

 

[Kirby]

perhaps try gettign an idea of a detailed caresheet. or perhaps some ideas for paragraphs and things to talk about.. have a look at..

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/

http://www.freewebs.com/kirbydragons/caresheet.htm
(i have alot of veronicas articles, of course with permission)

perhaps you could go into what veg and greens are good. what fruits and veg are good. what SHOULDNT you feed.

EDIT- avocado, rhubarb etc.

feel free to link to those sites in your care sheet.

 

[Reptile_Boy]

thanks kirby i am gettin new ideas. like adding a few tables etc. i am hoping it is succesful care sheet for my age