Getting my 1st bearded dragon.

[Vilurum]

So in about a week or 2 I shall be getting a bearded Dragon which is around a month and a half old.

So I am using this time to read up and get the equipment I need and was wondering if you could tell me if I have it right.


Nice spacey cage
Reptile carpet then when it is fully grown I would plan on switching to sand.
Basking spot (do I need a cave for it if I have this?)
Log parts for it to climb on (put in the microwave for about a minute to kill germs)
Water dish and Veg dish (what vegs do they eat? Was thinking carrot cucumber lettice)
Now heres where I am unsure, what lights do I need and what types? Do I need a heat mat if I have a heat bulb?
I plan to have a bottlecap filled with calcium powder.

What size crickets would I need as I read if they are too large they can block them up and kill them, would crickets I have been feeding to a flat rock scorpion, pink toe tarantula and chilean rose tarantula or do I want the tiny tiny crickets?

I will bath in shallow warm once a week under constant supervision.

How often should I feed crickets? every day or second day also how many?
There will be fresh veg at all times aswell.

Also do I need to clip the dragons nails or anything?

I am sure its all been asked before but we all have to start somewhere so any help is welcome.

Thanks in advance.

---------- Post added at 04:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:15 PM ----------

No help?

 

[Lolita]

i can't answer all of your questions cause well i don't have time right now.

spacey cages are good but make sure it's not too big for a baby beardie they sometimes have a hard time finding food if it's too big i recommend about a 40 gallon breeder tank.

reptile carpet can actually work for a beardies entire life if you want something more natural when they grow up i recommend eco earth since it seems to cause less impactions.

boiling log parts would be better than microwaving.

they eat pretty much anything lettuce kale carrots just don't feed them spinach it can be bad for them.

UVA/UVB lighting with overhead heat emitters i try to avoid UTH for the fact that from everything i've read they don't have heat sensors on the bottom parts of their bodies.

you can try leaving calcium in a cap they wont always use it though so make sure to dust their crickets at least once a week.

for crickets size nothing bigger that the width between the lizards eyes is what i do and have never had impaction issues.

i feed daily to every other day it's really up to you.

if you put a rock or something for them to climb on thats rough textured you most likely wont have to clip claws

 

[Vilurum]

Thanks for your time.

Just to be sure 1 UVB is all I need a 2 5 10%? Do I leave this on 24/7?

 

[Embers To Ashes]

here is everything I know about baby beardies. This is what a freind of mine who has raised baby beardies told me.

Do not give baby beardies any substrate at all. That includes the reptile carpet. They can bite off peices and swollow them while they are catching their food and will become blocked and can die.

Keep the hot side of their tank between 100*F and 110*F. Keep the cool side around the mid 90s. Use heat lamps to do this. Never use heat rocks.

You have to feed them ALL THE TIME. By that I mean at LEAST three servings of crickets a day + a dish full of vedgies. They like colerd greens. The crickets you feed him should be smalls or pin heads. When you dust with calcium, make sure you do NOT use the kind with added D3.

**They MUST have UVB lighting or they will die**

Real or fake rock or stone is a great basking place because it gets realy warm. Put this on the hot side of their tank. You should also provide him someplace to hide.