Just a couple of things

[addsiee]

Hey i am a new owner of 2 baby bearded dragons (Cleo and Caesar) as of yesterday and i just have a couple of queries... and any advice would be very much appreciated

First of all i want to know if it is hot enough for them/ if it isnt how to raise it....at the moment it is 80 F in the cool end and 90 F in the hot end, they seem happy with it but i could be wrong =/.

Also Cleo keeps coming up to the galss and just sits there? i have already fed them both (they had 1 cricket each but didnt eat the other 4 so i took them out), i have taken them both out but only for about 10 minutes as i didnt want them to get stressed, and they have also had water. i cant think what it could be unless she just likes to watch me.

things you might need to know;

* The substrate i use us Exo Terra Desert sand (neither of them eat the sand and they both like to bury in it and sleep at night which is really cute ) also thats what they had in the pet store so they are used to it from a very young age
* I use a 100w Basking spot lamp with a thermostat set to 95 F and a heat mat at night but they didnt need (well i dont think they do it was;
80 F at 11:15 pm in the hot end and 73 F in the cool end
80 F at 12 pm in the hot end and 72 F in the cool end
73 F at 12:40 in the hot end and 72 F in the cool end
70 F at 2:15 in the hot end and 70 F in the cool end
it so i switch it off at about 11pm after i came home and realised it was pretty hot (i was told as long as it was between 60 F and 80 F it would be fine, and seeming it was dead on 80 i didnt want it to get hotter when i was out the room/ sleeping)
*I feed them crickets with Nutrobal (calcium powder) and also leave cut up lettuce in there which i replace 2 times a day.
 Thats all i can really think of at the moment if there are anymore questions please ask and i will be more than happy to answer them to the best of my ability

Thanks in advance

[addsiee]

Also i've just read that i should seperate my beardies? which is worrying me because i have know where to but 1 of them.
They seem pretty happy with eachother (although could this be why Cleo is always by the window?).
They used to be in a Viv with about 4 others
There are no signs of them fighting apart from when i got them Cleo had a bit of her toe nail missing on one toe and Caesar had a bit of his tail missing but since i got them they havent fought and they have been close to eachother sometimes on the basking rock.
I dont no how old they are =/ which is pretty bad seeming i should have asked but i was just really excited about getting them that i forgot to ask but i will ask tomorrow. Also i dont no what gender either of them are cause apparently its to early te be accurate about it. but i will ask about that tomorrow as well.
They usually share the food (e.g if i put 2 crickets in they have 1 each)

sorry about all the questions and stuff i am just really worried and dont want them to get hurt, im so worried/nervous about something happening i havent really eaten much and i dont want to leave them alone just incase something happens, but maybe i just need to give them some space to settle in? maybe they just need to get used to the new Viv?

again if you have any questions i will try and answer them and thanks again

[Big-Al]

hi

Congrats on your 2 dragons....I'm also new with 2 dragons just 2 weeks...The male is def. settled in but my female is we think laying so i guess she's settled to..... You come to a gr8 place for info..
I can't help much  'cuase like you i'm new.. but here it goes subject to approval of course.

Don't house them together.....Seperate befor they see each other as food..tails toe's crickets who knows when their hungry
Dump the sand and switch to tile or old paper...I'm going to tile
Dump the lettuce as there is no nutricion in it
Get the care sheet in the general section..Its the first topic
get a good temp gun for checkin surface temps
There is a color coded feed sheet to download but i can't remember the location... Someone jump in with the url....  please..!!!!

Don't worry the more experienced beardie lovers in will help....I've found their advise to be a gr8 help
Oh yeah...post some pics....AL & congrats again...

[Big-Al]

hi me again
found that url for you..
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Happy dragons.....eat well
 Al

[addsiee]

Hi Al thanks for the advice
I cant seperate them at the moment cause i have know where to put them till i get paid and can afford to buy another viv which will be monday, im going to talk to my mate (who works at the pet store i got them from) see if they are from the same clutch....if they are will it be alright to keep them in the same viv or still seperate them?
The Lettuce is only really in there for the water on it atm but i will defo print out the feed sheet you sent to me thanks
also why is sand so bad for them? i no it can cause impaction but as long as they dont eat it (which they dont, i watch them closely lol) i dont see the problem plus they seem to like to bury in it and sleep.
I will also get a temp gun on monday to keep an eye on the surface temp.

sorry if it feels like im going against you on everything you say i dont intend to and i am taking everything you/anyothers say seriously , but ive just seen people say so many different things and it all ends up contradicting eachother. like my friend says only to seperate them if a) one is growing faster than the other or b) if they start to fight or nibble on eachother.

oh and also Cleo just moved from her spot at the window and is moving around alot more.....also she/he just waved at Caesar?!?! he/she doesnt seem to be bothered by it at all and is not bobbing his/her head or anything, he/she just sits there.....oh and if you havent noticed i think that Cleo is a Female and Caesar is a male but am not sure.

[beardiefan17]

Hi and welcome!

OK in regards to temps you basking area should be at a temp of around 110 F and 70 F in the cool area. As for your heating mat i would reccommend you take it out right away just because beardies can't feel heat from underneath them.

With Cleo staring it can tell you that there is something in her Viv that is stressing her or it could be just general behaviour as they sometimes notice their reflections in the glass. However, I would reccommend separating your beardies because beardies are solitary animals and when kept together they can get aggressive and hurt each other so try get another Viv asap if you can.

With your feeding 5 crickets a day definitely isn't enough you should give them as many crickets as they will eat in 15 minutes... the lettuce is also very low in nutrients so maybe switch to something like Rochette as a fresh daily green or take a look at the caresheet that Big al sent you it is really useful for new owners.

As for your substrate get that sand out asap it is very bad for beardies as they have a high likelihood of becoming impacted from sand the best and easiest thing as a substrate would be tiling. Sand is also very unhealthy due to the moisture of any faeces soaking into the sand and therefore the beardies live in their own waste this creates a higher chance of infections such as parasites ect.

Are you only using the calcium powder at the moment? If you are i would suggest you start dusting you food with a multivitamin too

Generally the waving is a form of mating submission and it is a signal for the male showing the females mating submission to him. If your beardies are still quite young do not let them mate as if the female is under 18 months and not fed properly she can get very hurt by the laying process and at worst can die.

Don't worry about asking questions its a good thing as you only learn from them As for your beardies they will be thankful for all the research you do as well and will be healthy and happy because of it

If you have any other questions just ask and I'll answer them as best i can.

[addsiee]

Hi Beardiefan and thanks
I thought it could be a little low heat how do i get it higher?
And sorry i should have been a bit more specific, the heat mat is on the back wall of the viv and is only set to come on at night.
I am going to ask tomorrow if its best i split them up and if so i will get everything i need on monday and ask about the sand too.

Yeah i did think that 5 crickets was a bit low, but they dont seem to be eating them =/ could have something to do with the heat, or that they are still settling in?
the Nutrobal contains per gram;
200mg calcium & 150IU, D3, plus vitamins A E K B1 B6 B12 C, folic, nicotinic & pantothenic acids, biotin choline niacin and minerals Na Fe Co | Mn Zn Se Cu

Im not sure what sex they are but i think im going to need to split the viv or get a new one just in case

thanks for the help

[beardiefan17]

No problem

Your beardies not eating is probably settling anxiety as they are still getting used to there new surroundings and generally when they are still settling they tend to avoid food but keep offering them food anyway.

As for your heat how far away is your bulb from the basking area?

For your nutrobal i think just PM perfectly flawed she is one of the experts here and she should be able to tell you whether your beardies are getting enough from that suppliment

For your night heating you don't have to worry about it because the beardies are used to night temps of aroung 60 F.

Do you bath your beardies at all?

[beardiefan17]

Oh and do you have a UV light? If so what kind?

[addsiee]

I hope thats the case and want them to be eating well asap but im just really worried about them atm.
I am there are 2 crickets in the Viv atm but they havent touched them.

The bulb is about 12 inches away from the basking area.

Thats good to know i did switch it off last night as i think i said. but tonight i will keep it on to see if they like it better.

I havent bathed them yet, i was going to wait for them to settle first. but i do put drops of water on the end of their noses.