Haha sorry if I offended anyone...but seriously finding a good petstore employee is like finding a needle in a haystack.

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"If you're not falling, you're not trying." - Sonni Trotter

~*~Lacey~*~

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I beg to differ Lacey. Megaray is not the only combo UVB/basking light. Powersun by zoomed is one and the TRex Active UV is also available....so yes they are out there......I agree with the other advice....good luck!

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Warmest Regards from Lyn

None taken. I don't trust other pet store employees either.

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Answers are great. But I prefer questions!

Visit me at www.jaysreptiles.com

Nice to know... Wish I'd known it before I bought it. However, Frank didn't do any pooping for the 3-4 weeks she was on newspaper either. Judging from the size of it, I wouldn't have missed it. I did remove the walnot stuff yesterday though, and replaced it with indoor/outdoor carpet. Oddly, the guy at home depot knew some stuff about reptiles, steered me away from the carpet I was going to get, and recommended this one, since, according to him, the weave was tighter and less likely to snag toenails.

>First off, don't beleive ANYTHING a petstore tells you, they are looking for profit most of the time where as online forums aere looking out for the well being of the animal.<

In fairness, the store personel didn't tell me. I read all the labels on all the stuff they offered, and selected the only one specifically labeled for bearded dragons. It seemed very fine, so didn't seem like it would pose a hazard if eaten.


>>From the sounds of it you either have a UVB light OR a basking light, but not a combination. If you want a combo light that heats and puts out UVB look here: Welcome To ReptileUV - Mega-Ray® UVB lamps for reptile lighting worldwide<<

Pretty sure the light I have is just a UVB light. I bought a basking light yesterday though - it's a red "nocturnal" light, which according to the box can be used 24 hours a day and not disturb their sleep habits. I also got an aluminum clamp light to hold it which I spent about 2 hours positioning yesterday so it was on her favorite spot. Which she hasn't gone near since I also got one of those digital probe thermometers but am not convinced of its' accuracy yet, since even directly under the light, it says its 85 degrees, and I can guarantee its hotter than that, having scalded my hands on it several times yesterday.

>Also realize that a UV light doesnt work if it has screen between it and the dragon unless the screen is something like a 1/4 inch between bars.<

So, how do you compensate for that and still keep the dragon in the tank (and the cats out of the tank?) There doesnt seem to be a way to get the light IN the tank...

>I personally would be VERY freaked out if Zola didn;t go for months, he could have kidney damage among other things. If you guys send out your blood at work to have pannels run i'd call the company and see if they have done enough bearded dragons to know what is normal, and even though you don;t see reptiles see if they'll do a full pannel to check things, or atleast find out what his BUN should be and check his Ca/Ph ratio.<

We don't treat reptiles, and though the lab we use does offer blood panels for them (which is the same lab the local exotics specialist uses) I dont think that anyone I work with would even know how to draw their blood. That being said, I would probably have been freaked out if she ever acted sick, but she's been eating well and active right along. At least after the first week after she arrived. I do animal control here and she was found as a stray (and I was not planning on keeping her initially, but as my other half has taken to her we decided she could stay). When she got here, she was COLD (it was still around 50 degrees at night, and 60 during the day) and who knows how long she was out. She was also quite thin but seems to have gained quite a bit of weight since getting here and was missing the ends of several toes. She didn't eat for several days, but then became voracious and up until this week, has been eating crickets like a pig.

>Another thing to add to what you are already doing would be to massage her belly from breastbone down to vent while shes soaking to see if you can get things moving.<

Well, I've been soaking her for a few minutes every day since the big poop. She absolutely hates it, but she DID produce a big poop yesterday while soaking. Not as big as the one the other day, but pretty good size. I had also given her some vegetable oil on Wed and Fri, so not sure if that helped or not, but since she did poop, something must have worked. It was firm in consistency, but didn't seem hard. The stool the other day was varied in texture - some firm, some loose.

So, how often can I expect her to defecate? Since we're getting into fall, and she's apparently an adult, I'm not sure if I should expect some changes in her behavior, since I've read they can brumate. And I'm not sure why she was digging so intently in the substrate. Was she looking for a place to hide, or could she have been seeking crickets? (we recently moved the crickets under the tank, so she can hear them below her).

I'm also not clear on how often she should be fed, having read a bunch of different things on the subject, or how many bugs at once. Generally speaking, she'll eat between 4-8 big crickets/day or as many waxworms, and is staying plump (she's gained weight) on that.

And any other hints on getting her to eat her veggies would be appreciated. We really did try to get her to eat them, but she avoids them at all costs, no matter what we offer her or what we try. And any thoughts on the pellets (which she also has no use for...)

Guesses as to her age either? I haven't actually *measured* her, but estimate her length nose to vent, to be about 7-8 inches, and her tail is about that too. I can fit about a thumb and a half between her eyes and she's probably about 4 inches around.

Thanks to everyone for their help....

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You need to replace the red blub with a regular household bulb warm enough to reach the proper basking temps of 100-105 (85 degrees is not nearly warm enough for basking). Temps also play a part in their eating habits, if proper temps are not achieve it sometimes decreases their appetite and messes up the digestive process. The light does not need to be on 24 hrs a day. The need a regular light cycle of 12 hrs on 12 hrs off. The 12 hrs off is there sleep time and cooling down period.

You can soak her for more than a few minutes in warm water, let her stay in there at least 20 min in the least. She should be defacating everyday. The stool consistency sounds right some firm some watery.

As far as digging,,,has she ever been kept with a male, most of the time they dig to lay eggs.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Not while I've had her, which has been for a few months now. I have no idea where or with whom she was kept previous to that, and honestly, I'm not 100% certain Frank is a she - she looks like a female based only on the pics I've seen and descriptions on how to tell (one bulge versus two, etc)

They are out there, but they are not as good as the Mega Ray. (Thats not a bias opinion, its based on the testing. They really aren't as good!)

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My leopard gecko eats 6 to 8 crickets a day...
My Bearded dragon eats about 40-50 bugs every couple days, do you just offer that much or is that when she stops eating?

Is the UVB bulb that you bought a long tube light or a compact bulb?

As far as the screen problem, you're going to have to figure something out for the health of your dragon, not offering UVB is not an option if you want her to survive.
Some options are you can mount the light inside of the tank and just make a space for the cord to come out the top of the tank or you can custom make a lid using widely spaced hardware cloth.

One extreme measure i've taken to get omnivores to eat their salads is to buy a jar of all natural Preservative free chicken or turkey in gravy baby food and a jar of squash or sweet potato food, I warm it up until runny or add pedialyte, put it into a 3ml feeding syringe and drip it on their nose one drop at a time, they almost always readily lap it up once they realize its food (watch your fingers, Zola has destroyed my fingers and the syringes before) then I put it on top of their greens with some bright foods like grated squash or peppers, throw in some meal worms and hope for the best.

What are you putting in your salad?

How warm is your bath water?

How deep?

If you put just enough water to go up to their elbows and make sure its warm (not hot) then you can leave them in their until it cools off, and if nothing has happened you can refresh the bath water and try again.
Some dragons will only go in water, or at least they wont go in their cage. My guy has been going outside on the lawn all summer.

As for telling the age, it's impossible. We could tell you if it looked juvenile or mature from a picture, but dragon size depends upon their care so all information points toward her being small for her age no matter how old she is.

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"If you're not falling, you're not trying." - Sonni Trotter

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

I dont know about anyone else but the powersun costs $95.00 a bulb where I used to get them. I used to use them all the time until I found the megaray for 45.00 bucks a bulb, that was a huge savings, lol.

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