Actually, we bought our dragon lots of new stuff today because of how much we have learned. We are completely re-doing his tank. I know that it's stressful for them, so we figured it would be best to do it as soon as possible. Poor thing

We just bought him some small crickets to try out for the first time. We've been feeding him small mealworms for the past day or so. We also bought a UVB/UVA light and a nighttime heat light and some EcoEarth to replace the sand. We also bought a temp and humidity gauge. I really want to keep this dragon for a very long time I love him so much already!!!

ok what kind of uvb/uva bulb did you get? they aren't all the same... Also same question with the temp and humidity gauges, if they are the little dial ones that are about 2" in diameter they aren't worth anything... also add in some veggies to the diet as well

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Would he be able to eat mandarin oranges from a can? I don't want to hurt the little guy, and he seemed vaguely interested in the ones I was eating earlier. And I believe that the nighttime bulb we got him is a ReptiSun, and it seems to be working quite well. I'm not sure what brand the other light is. Also, we did not get the gauges with the needles and stuff, we got the stick-on flat ones. They also seem to be working quite well. Since the EcoEarth dried out a little, we've had a little trouble keeping the humidity up in the tank and we have to mist it often. We're just not sure what we should do while we are all away at work in order to keep up the humidity. We have a vine-like thing in his tank for him to climb on, and at one end we put fake aquarium plants suspended from the cage top. He seems kind of wary of the plants. Is he just scared? He also doesn't seem to get in his little water pool too much. What kinds of veggies should we give him? We work at a restaurant and we brought him home some romaine but he didn't seem to like it much. All he did was sit on it....

you just need to give him a chance to get settled in... Toss the stick ons and go for a digital combo temp/humidity... Go to lowes or home depot and get one from there. If you can get one with a min/max reading that would be best. to help with the humidity try covering the top with plasticwrap or foil except for where the lights are... Also make sure that the holes in the screen top are 1/4" or larger to allow the uvb to reach the dragon.

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An occassional taste won't hurt but don't make it a staple...too acid! It can upset their stomach
Do you mean the UVB bulb? Thats waht the reptisun is and it should not be running at night.
Those are useless. They measure the temperature of the glass wall, not the air inside the enclosure. Think,... touching a window in your house in the winter. The temperature of the glass is not the temperature inside the house.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

No, the bulb is a black nighttime heat bulb. And the UVB/UVA bulb is never on at night... We turn it off at night so the little guy can distinguish between night and day. Also, is it bad if he's trying to climb up the sides of his tank? He was actually sitting in his little water pool tonight ^_^
Is there anything else I should know?
Oh, and those gauges don't work even if they are on the inside?

By the way, we decided to name him Spike ^_^

The fish tank ones are useless. You can get a nice digital at home depot that measures humidity and temp in 2 places in the tank for $12.

What number is your UVB bulb? They are usually marked by a number, like 2.0, 5.0, and 10.0

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

If he continues to try and climb the sides or butt his nose against the side, then cover the back and sides to prevent a glare. This is normal for them to do. Make sure you give him lots of things to climb on and plenty of water at the bottom big enough for him to get into and soak.

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MARSHA

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

The pool is plenty big enough for him. We got the biggest one we could find at the pet store. It fits all of him but the very end of his tail. He has plenty to climb on. He loves his vine ^_^