I will pay for it myself and look after it, but i need permission first, and need her to phone and order it!
Answers:
this is not something you should jump into. I surfed the internet for months gathering info before I purchased 2 red-ear slider turtles. They need a lot of room, heat, and special foods. They need their habitat to be very clean. You need to ask yourself if you can afford the accessories you will need to keep your tortoise healthy. They would not make the best pet. He will not interact with you. Ask yourself why do I want a tortoise? Maybe you would be better off getting a traditional pet like a bird, cat, or dog. They are easier to care for and your local vet would be able to take care of any issues that would come up. You need to show your Mom you are responsible and ready for the committment. Think twice - get a cat or dog!
I always worry a bit about tortoises for kids. I'm guessing you are about 12-14 years old (forgive me if I am a bit wrong!).
Here is the deal. Tortoises with proper care can live 30-50 years. You'll be around 45 when it is in its old age.
Between now and then, you'll
- finish school
- start college
- finish college
- get married
- have kids
- see those kids go to school
- see your kids graduate college
- move 2 or 3 times
- change your mind about everything from your favorite food to your style of music.
. and through it all, you will need to be taking care of the tortoise day in and day out.
I would convince mum by showing your skills and dedication on an easier pet, perhaps a pet rat. Build mum's confidence in you step by step.
Monday, May 24, 2010
I want a pet snake. Are they hard to take care of?
What sort of care do they need? What are some good, small, harmless breeds? I like snakes!
Answers:
Snakes are the best! pets you can own. All they need as young pets are a ten gallon tank, a secure lid, some newspaper on the bottom and an under tank heater (depending on where you live you need to keep the tank around 80 degrees so you might need a clamp lamp to keep him warmer. Put something he can hide under, kleenex box, or any old box and a water bowl and he is happy! Feed him pinkies once a week (unless you go for the ball python) and hold him and love him and he will be a happy happy camper.
Small and harmless, eh?
Propbably a plain old garter snake
eat worms and what not.
i had one
yes
No. Everything you need is love.
Depends on the snake. Why don't you contact these guys? They know a lot about reptiles.
http://www.turtlediscovery.com
Corn snakes are the best beginner snakes, they are easy to take care of and get hold of and can become very tame.
Just thought i would add in that ball pythons have teeth, they do get quite big and are chunky besides, most people will tell you they are NOT good beginner snakes.
Get a ball python they don't get that big they are very friendly only need fead once every 1-2 weeks, they are perfect begginer snakes.
snake? are you sure? it isn't a fish or a dog..
i think a captive bred ball python makes a great pet
Wow, a previous poster stated that Ball Pythons have teeth. What a revelation, especially since ALL snakes have teeth except for the egg-eating snake.
Anyway, some of the more common and best beginner snakes are corn snakes, milk snakes, Ball Pythons. Ball Pythons are great if you want a larger snake that is docile, yet they do need a little bit more attention as far as how they are housed and their heating requirements.
All snakes can get by with much less attention than most other pets. They require a secure cage, heat, fresh water, and food once a week to once a month depending on the age of the snake. They don't need to be handled very much, but they will be more calm and used to you if you handle them for a few minutes a couple times a week. Also, adequate humidity is important during their shed cycle.
I think that ball pythons are a really good small breed, grow to just over 2 feet long. Here are a few sites that are good for learning about them
Hello,
All snakes have teeth. Your goal for your first snake is to get one that is known for a good disposition. And for this regardless of what an above poster said a Ball Python is actually a great first snake because they are known as calm. You mentioned small and Ball pythons will eventually obtain 5 feet in length. There are MANY snakes that will not get this big and are still known for having a calm nature. Corn snakes are good as well as garter snakes and I have had great experience with gopher snakes. I used to catch (and release) them in the wild and they never tried to bite me. King snakes can also be great but i have met some that were more agressive than others. If you got a small juevenile then you could end up with a trustworthy snake.
Bottom line do your research and have all the supplies ready before the snake comes home.
All the snakes mentioned will start out on a diet of pinkies or for the ball small mice. The garter snake however will eat goldfish and amphibians.
corn snake buy a fish tank and put newspaper under it buy a dog bowl cut a hole and then that will be its house trust me on this then all you have to do is change the newspaper
Answers:
Snakes are the best! pets you can own. All they need as young pets are a ten gallon tank, a secure lid, some newspaper on the bottom and an under tank heater (depending on where you live you need to keep the tank around 80 degrees so you might need a clamp lamp to keep him warmer. Put something he can hide under, kleenex box, or any old box and a water bowl and he is happy! Feed him pinkies once a week (unless you go for the ball python) and hold him and love him and he will be a happy happy camper.
Small and harmless, eh?
Propbably a plain old garter snake
eat worms and what not.
i had one
yes
No. Everything you need is love.
Depends on the snake. Why don't you contact these guys? They know a lot about reptiles.
http://www.turtlediscovery.com
Corn snakes are the best beginner snakes, they are easy to take care of and get hold of and can become very tame.
Just thought i would add in that ball pythons have teeth, they do get quite big and are chunky besides, most people will tell you they are NOT good beginner snakes.
Get a ball python they don't get that big they are very friendly only need fead once every 1-2 weeks, they are perfect begginer snakes.
snake? are you sure? it isn't a fish or a dog..
i think a captive bred ball python makes a great pet
Wow, a previous poster stated that Ball Pythons have teeth. What a revelation, especially since ALL snakes have teeth except for the egg-eating snake.
Anyway, some of the more common and best beginner snakes are corn snakes, milk snakes, Ball Pythons. Ball Pythons are great if you want a larger snake that is docile, yet they do need a little bit more attention as far as how they are housed and their heating requirements.
All snakes can get by with much less attention than most other pets. They require a secure cage, heat, fresh water, and food once a week to once a month depending on the age of the snake. They don't need to be handled very much, but they will be more calm and used to you if you handle them for a few minutes a couple times a week. Also, adequate humidity is important during their shed cycle.
I think that ball pythons are a really good small breed, grow to just over 2 feet long. Here are a few sites that are good for learning about them
Hello,
All snakes have teeth. Your goal for your first snake is to get one that is known for a good disposition. And for this regardless of what an above poster said a Ball Python is actually a great first snake because they are known as calm. You mentioned small and Ball pythons will eventually obtain 5 feet in length. There are MANY snakes that will not get this big and are still known for having a calm nature. Corn snakes are good as well as garter snakes and I have had great experience with gopher snakes. I used to catch (and release) them in the wild and they never tried to bite me. King snakes can also be great but i have met some that were more agressive than others. If you got a small juevenile then you could end up with a trustworthy snake.
Bottom line do your research and have all the supplies ready before the snake comes home.
All the snakes mentioned will start out on a diet of pinkies or for the ball small mice. The garter snake however will eat goldfish and amphibians.
corn snake buy a fish tank and put newspaper under it buy a dog bowl cut a hole and then that will be its house trust me on this then all you have to do is change the newspaper
I want a corn snake?
i heard good things about the corn snake. they are not poisenous they get calmer then they age, they like to be handled and played with, and they can grow up to 4 or 5 feet.
the thing is how big of a cage does it need? can i put him in one of those glass hamster cage?
when i 1st get the snake how do i tame it to not bite me bcuz i would like to play with it.
how much do they cost? and how much do u think it will cost to care for it? how much will it cost monthly.
thx for answering
Answers:
Corn snakes are I great. I have one, among four other snakes. A large glass aquariam will do ok. A 20 gallon size or so. You will need a locking lid of some sort. Ventilation is important. You will need good substrate that won't aggrivate the lungs, heat lamp, hiding caves, and another heat source, such as an under tank heater (which is what i use and love). They stick to the bottom of the tank and provide a warm bed. However, i suggest sticking it to a piece of tinfoil rather than the tank itself and then taping it to the tank so you can still move the heater without damaging it since they glue is super adhesive. I am fairly knowlegdeable in the snake area, so you can contact me if you need.
http://www.anapsid.org/corn.html.
that site will tell you all you need to know. if you have any other questions, IM me.
ivyrakestraw on yahoo messenger.
chek out www.repticzone.com, and go to the snakes forum, u can talk to people that own them.and find out everything u need to kno from regular people like u and me. its the best site ever.
NO! Never put a snake in a glass hamster cage.. it needs something more secure.. and depending on the size it needs more space than a hamster, and it needs this light thing which keeps it warm. That's the only question I can answer at the moment.
so get 1
140 dollars. By off snake zoos
A corn snake needs a 20-gallon aquarium or equivalent, and bigger is better. Mine is in a 29. You need to set it up so it is room temperature on one end, warmer (for basking) on the other. This will require a basking light and a heating strip. (yes, both, and a timer for the light) Don't forget to provide multiple shelters so the snake has a choice of lairs, and can pick a warmer or cooler one as needed.
NO snake likes to be handled, let alone played with. They will tolerate being handled, but for a snake, that still pushes a lot of the "predator attacking me!" buttons, and it stresses them. And playing with them is right out -- they are live animals, not toys.
A good corn snake (get a yearling, not a baby, for your first snake) will cost you $50-$100 (US), depending on where you buy it. Fancy colors can go for, well, as much money as you have. Snake, cage, cage furnishings, etc., together will cost you in the $200-$300 range. One of the items you should buy is a good book on corn snakes.
A couple I would recommend:
Corn Snakes: The Comprehensive Owner's Guide (Bill %26 Kathy Love)
Corn Snakes %26 Other Rat Snakes (Patricia %26 R.D. Bartlett)
Read the book BEFORE you commit to getting a snake! Remember, corn snakes can live for 20+ years; this is a major commitment on your part.
hey - put it in the microwave and you can have a pop corn snake
corn snakes are really cool. The ones I had were very active, but they were escape artists. Get a critter cage. Looks like an aquarium, but comes with a built on screen lid that snaps shut and locks. I currently have two Boas, one large and one small, and a lucistic texas rat snake. Critter cages have worked great with them, but how big depends on the size of the snake. They are active,and need space to move around good. Good luck with your corn snake!
the thing is how big of a cage does it need? can i put him in one of those glass hamster cage?
when i 1st get the snake how do i tame it to not bite me bcuz i would like to play with it.
how much do they cost? and how much do u think it will cost to care for it? how much will it cost monthly.
thx for answering
Answers:
Corn snakes are I great. I have one, among four other snakes. A large glass aquariam will do ok. A 20 gallon size or so. You will need a locking lid of some sort. Ventilation is important. You will need good substrate that won't aggrivate the lungs, heat lamp, hiding caves, and another heat source, such as an under tank heater (which is what i use and love). They stick to the bottom of the tank and provide a warm bed. However, i suggest sticking it to a piece of tinfoil rather than the tank itself and then taping it to the tank so you can still move the heater without damaging it since they glue is super adhesive. I am fairly knowlegdeable in the snake area, so you can contact me if you need.
http://www.anapsid.org/corn.html.
that site will tell you all you need to know. if you have any other questions, IM me.
ivyrakestraw on yahoo messenger.
chek out www.repticzone.com, and go to the snakes forum, u can talk to people that own them.and find out everything u need to kno from regular people like u and me. its the best site ever.
NO! Never put a snake in a glass hamster cage.. it needs something more secure.. and depending on the size it needs more space than a hamster, and it needs this light thing which keeps it warm. That's the only question I can answer at the moment.
so get 1
140 dollars. By off snake zoos
A corn snake needs a 20-gallon aquarium or equivalent, and bigger is better. Mine is in a 29. You need to set it up so it is room temperature on one end, warmer (for basking) on the other. This will require a basking light and a heating strip. (yes, both, and a timer for the light) Don't forget to provide multiple shelters so the snake has a choice of lairs, and can pick a warmer or cooler one as needed.
NO snake likes to be handled, let alone played with. They will tolerate being handled, but for a snake, that still pushes a lot of the "predator attacking me!" buttons, and it stresses them. And playing with them is right out -- they are live animals, not toys.
A good corn snake (get a yearling, not a baby, for your first snake) will cost you $50-$100 (US), depending on where you buy it. Fancy colors can go for, well, as much money as you have. Snake, cage, cage furnishings, etc., together will cost you in the $200-$300 range. One of the items you should buy is a good book on corn snakes.
A couple I would recommend:
Corn Snakes: The Comprehensive Owner's Guide (Bill %26 Kathy Love)
Corn Snakes %26 Other Rat Snakes (Patricia %26 R.D. Bartlett)
Read the book BEFORE you commit to getting a snake! Remember, corn snakes can live for 20+ years; this is a major commitment on your part.
hey - put it in the microwave and you can have a pop corn snake
corn snakes are really cool. The ones I had were very active, but they were escape artists. Get a critter cage. Looks like an aquarium, but comes with a built on screen lid that snaps shut and locks. I currently have two Boas, one large and one small, and a lucistic texas rat snake. Critter cages have worked great with them, but how big depends on the size of the snake. They are active,and need space to move around good. Good luck with your corn snake!
I want a big 20+lb lizard. What kind should I look for and how much is it gonna cost me?
Answers:
Tegu! Argentine black and whites are supposed to be VERY docile (almost dog tame) and get larger, while red/blue tegus are smaller and still tame. If you get one of them, they're usually 1-300-ish bucks, and eventually need a LARGE (8 foot minimum) custom built enclosure when grown, so it'd end up being very expensive, but worth it!
iguanas are as cheap as 10 bucks each and get huge
well, if you call Bigfoot a lizard, check out my question, there is good info
I don't know specific kinds of lizards. As to what it will cost you..is that the initial cost or the cost to have your hand re-attached after he bites it off?
I would recommend a savannah monitor, or a water monitor. Larger monitors, including the water, can be difficult to handle. Large monitors are not cuddley and they can be unpredictable and dangerous. They not only bite when threatened they also attack raking with their extrememly long sharp claws. Keep this in mind, many people have been seriously injured by large monitors. If you really must have a big one, go for a water, they are very docile and placid if handled often from when they hatch.
A savanna Monitor would be the best choice if you get it as a baby and handle it a lot. It can become very tame even dog-like. If need more info on it let me know. Much better than a iguana. You can get a baby for $50 or even less
I sincerely hope you are kidding. The world is full of people who get pets on a whim and know nothing about them. Properly caring for a reptile is expensive. They need tons of special care and some need UVB lighting. Why torture an animal because you think it might be cool? AND.. large reptiles are dangerous, especially an improperly cared for monitor (which can grow up to six feet in length).
An alligator might fill the bill.
Red Tegus awesome color and nice and thick maybe $250
You're looking for a water monitor, maybe a croc monitor. Either one is notoroius for being mean though. Price range is anywhere from $180-$800, depending on size, coloration, etc. That's just for the animal. Roughly $150-$200 for the set up, and you gotta remember what these things eat, whole animals. Water can eat whole live chickens, so feeding gets kind of expensive.
get a monitor, look up prehistoric pets on the internet, they'll tell you everything
U should start off with a baby iguana and it will get about 20+lbs! A baby will cost u bout 15$-25$!check the local rescue groups in ur area.
i want a BeardedDrangon but wat do i feed them i dont wanna do mice. do they grow big so there hard 2 care 4.?
somone told me that there tooken from the wild and kept in filthly tanks and grow so big like iguannas that you have 2 let them go? what do i use the keep them wat do i feed them. how much money are they.
Answers:
No they are not taken from the wild. They are captive bred. Most only reach around 16-22" in full length. Some may reach up to 25". Usually the larger dragons are german giants or have german giant in their bloodline though. They are a little on the expensive side. Don't feed them any kind of mice, like pinkies. They contain parasites, are extremely hard for beardies to digest and have poor nutritional value, except they're loaded in fat. It's best you stay away from pinkies. Feed crickets, silkworms, or lobster roaches as there staple (everyday diet) and waxworms, superworms, pheonix worms, and butter worms as treats only. 1 or 2 a week. Sometimes, dragons will get "addicted" to fatty foods like treat worms and wont eat nothing else and gain a whole bunch of weight in the process.
Babies/juveniles are to eat atleast 3 times a day, as many as they can eat in 15 minutes. This can easily add up anywhere between 30-100 crickets per day. Adults only need about 30 max per week.
You'll need reptile multivitamins and calcium supplements (like Repcal's calcium and Repcal's Reptivite for example) to dust crickets and sprinkle greens. For babies and juveniles, dust their crickets with calcium 6 times a week and vitamins 3 or 4 times a week. For adults, dust their crickets 4 times a week with calcium and 2 or 3 times a week with vitamins. I feed my adults 4 crickets a day in the evening (so they'll eat greens during the day). You can buy spray supplements for adults to spray on their greens if they don't like the dust on their greens if needed.
For feeding greens, check out this page: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.co. for a color coded food chart. The foods typed in green can be fed everyday (as a staple). The foods typed in black can be used as treats only. Please watch out for off Ca:P ratios (calcium to phosphorus ratios) and oxalate acid when feeding your dragon. Phosphorus and oxalate acid binds calcium.so your dragon may not be getting the right calcium he needs. Read the whole page if you can. It will greatly help you understand better than I can explain.
You can order crickets in bulk. I buy mine through the pet store. I get 1,000 crickets for $20. There are lots of sites on the web you can buy crickets from.
You also need a UVB light. UVB rays help them obsorbe calcium for proper growth and bone stucture. Beardies deprived from UVB rays will suffer from metabolic bone disease. Get a tube UVB light (not the screw in socket kind) and the bulb needs to be atleast an 8.0 (8% of UVB). Reptisun 5.0's are ok since they are equal to a Reptiglo 8.0. The UVB bulb needs to be changed ever six months. www.lllreptile.com has reptisun 10.0's (highly recommended bulb) for about $22. From what I understand, they are usually around $40 since they put out more UVB than any other flourcent bulb in the market. A Reptiglo 8.0 and other UVB bulbs run about $20-25 depending on where you buy from.
You also need a heat light. Regular household bulbs work good and are cheap. You do not need the expensive UVA basking spot lights from the pet store. You can also use halogen bulbs and indoor flood lights. Basking temps for babies need to be around 110. Juveniles basking temps can range between 105-110, and for adults 100-105. Measure your temps with a digital thermometer with probe. They measure surface temp, not air temp. You need to measure surface temps when you check. basking temps. Wal-mart has digital thermometers with probe for about $8. The little round ones at the pet store can be as much as 20 degrees off and measure air temp. Air temp can be as much as 20 degrees below surface temp. Place the sensor of the probe where ever you want to read temps.
You also need substrate (bedding). Do not use sand. Calci sand, childrens play sand, etc all holds a risk of impation and killing your dragon. Walnut shells, repti bark, etc can tear up the dragons intestines when ingested. All loose particle substrates hold in moisture which harbors bacteria.and isn't good for your reptile. Go to Lowes or Home Depot or another store like that and get some ceramic tiles. They look awesome in cages and are easy to clean. They're a lot cheaper than a few bags of shell or sand too..and you don't need to change tiles unless you are simply tierd of the design. I got my pieces of tile for 32 cents at Lowes on sale. Took me about 6 peices to cover the cage.and the store should be able to cut tiles if you need them cut. Non-adhesive shelf liner also works well for a substrate. You can buy a role from Wal-mart for about $5 depending on your taste. Reptile carpet works good to that you can get from the pet store. Paper towels are also good substrates, especially for growing babies. You can also use yesterdays newspaper, computer paper, or butcher paper.
For a cage..you need atleast a 20 gallon for a baby. The baby will grow out of it once it hits around 10-12 inches in full length. Then he/she can be moved in a larger cage. 40 gallon breeder cages are good for juveniles and adults. It can last the dragon it's whole life. However, if you have a large adult.say 18" and over, you may wanna consider a bigger cage. Adults need atleast 36" in length and 18" in width for cages. Don't depend on the gallon size.
If you have any reptile shows near you, you can pick up a normal baby dragon for $20 probably. Whatever the price of a dragon, really depends on the morph. Normal dragons are usually the cheap ones.
Check out this forum: http://bearded-dragons.com/boards/index.. . They have all the updated information on how to properly care for bearded dragons. Check us out, and if you have any questions, no matter how many, don't hesitate to ask. Good luck!
try using wikipedia.com to find ur answers, but uuhhh go to petsmart or whatever. I wish i knew what a bearded drangon was :(
My daughter had two. One of them died. She had them for several years. They were both just over a foot long and were fully grown. She kept hers in an aquarium with sand in the bottom which she cleaned regularly. She had some kind of dry food she fed them and she also went to a local bait store and purchased crickets for them to eat. Hope that helped.
Beardies are great, for the right person however. Here are some links with great info below.
TDK
When the male is an adult it gets up to 2 feet long including the tail. you can feed them chopped meat, crickets, leafy greens, and earthworms. You can keep it in a aquarium big enough for it, and provide rocks and branches to climb and stuff. The live for about 10 years. Dont kno how much they are. lol
Mice are not recommended. They are used sparingly to help fatten up pregnant female beardies.
Common food for bearded dragons are crickets, superworms, silkworms, hornworms etc., along with various vegetables and fruits.
Setting up a bearded dragon tank can be quite spendy along with the routine expenses. Need to have a basking light, a UVB bulb, large tank etc.,
Read up a few caresheets and buy all the supplies needed for the setup before hand.
Some bearded dragon caresheets:
http://www.reptilerooms.com/sections+ind.
http://www.australianbeardies.com/care.h.
You should not feed your beardie mice. I have a huge bearded dragon, five years old and hes massive. One of the biggest ive ever seen. He alone is kept in a 65 gallon terrerium. To continue from your other question, i personally feed mine a bowl of veggies (kale and one other veggie such as peas or carrots for variety) every other day. and adult bearded dragon food every other day that its not eating veggies. Then 12 large crickets everyday on top of that. every few months i get him a fuzzy or pinky mouse, but nothing bigger than that. They arent good with digesting big bones and that really fattens them up. They dont grow big at all, about a foot and a half with tail. When i say massive i meant they grow fat and wide. They arent supposed to be kept in filthy tanks at all. They need to be attended to everyday so that they have a bacteria free cage. If you are gonna buy one make sure it is captive breed and not fromt he wild and they dont cost much i paid 100 for mine canadian.
We owned a bearded dragon for about 18 months. They are wonderful pets but you have to do your homework first before getting one. You have to feed them the right balance of veggies, fruit, crickets, worms, etc. plus a calcium supplement along with diet. Also lighting and basking area is important. Do some research before getting one. Ours was an adult when we got her and we didn't know how she had been cared for prior to our getting her and she had metabolic bone disease, stopped eating and drinking, couldn't walk, so we put her down. What a way to die. Please do extensive research 1st and get one from a reputable source. gl
Bearded Dragons are very versitile when it comes to feeding. They will eat vegetables, manufactured Bearded Dragon foods (I recommend Zoomed foods), crickets, mealworms, and mice. Mice are very fattening, though, so I dont suggest giving them many. Vary their diet so they do not get bored and get the most out of their foods (vitamin-wise). Also, if you feed them mealworms or crickets, make sure to dust them with a calcium powder/suppliment once or twice a week.
go to Petco(or any petstore) and ask for a caresheet. You should also look online for more information
Answers:
No they are not taken from the wild. They are captive bred. Most only reach around 16-22" in full length. Some may reach up to 25". Usually the larger dragons are german giants or have german giant in their bloodline though. They are a little on the expensive side. Don't feed them any kind of mice, like pinkies. They contain parasites, are extremely hard for beardies to digest and have poor nutritional value, except they're loaded in fat. It's best you stay away from pinkies. Feed crickets, silkworms, or lobster roaches as there staple (everyday diet) and waxworms, superworms, pheonix worms, and butter worms as treats only. 1 or 2 a week. Sometimes, dragons will get "addicted" to fatty foods like treat worms and wont eat nothing else and gain a whole bunch of weight in the process.
Babies/juveniles are to eat atleast 3 times a day, as many as they can eat in 15 minutes. This can easily add up anywhere between 30-100 crickets per day. Adults only need about 30 max per week.
You'll need reptile multivitamins and calcium supplements (like Repcal's calcium and Repcal's Reptivite for example) to dust crickets and sprinkle greens. For babies and juveniles, dust their crickets with calcium 6 times a week and vitamins 3 or 4 times a week. For adults, dust their crickets 4 times a week with calcium and 2 or 3 times a week with vitamins. I feed my adults 4 crickets a day in the evening (so they'll eat greens during the day). You can buy spray supplements for adults to spray on their greens if they don't like the dust on their greens if needed.
For feeding greens, check out this page: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.co. for a color coded food chart. The foods typed in green can be fed everyday (as a staple). The foods typed in black can be used as treats only. Please watch out for off Ca:P ratios (calcium to phosphorus ratios) and oxalate acid when feeding your dragon. Phosphorus and oxalate acid binds calcium.so your dragon may not be getting the right calcium he needs. Read the whole page if you can. It will greatly help you understand better than I can explain.
You can order crickets in bulk. I buy mine through the pet store. I get 1,000 crickets for $20. There are lots of sites on the web you can buy crickets from.
You also need a UVB light. UVB rays help them obsorbe calcium for proper growth and bone stucture. Beardies deprived from UVB rays will suffer from metabolic bone disease. Get a tube UVB light (not the screw in socket kind) and the bulb needs to be atleast an 8.0 (8% of UVB). Reptisun 5.0's are ok since they are equal to a Reptiglo 8.0. The UVB bulb needs to be changed ever six months. www.lllreptile.com has reptisun 10.0's (highly recommended bulb) for about $22. From what I understand, they are usually around $40 since they put out more UVB than any other flourcent bulb in the market. A Reptiglo 8.0 and other UVB bulbs run about $20-25 depending on where you buy from.
You also need a heat light. Regular household bulbs work good and are cheap. You do not need the expensive UVA basking spot lights from the pet store. You can also use halogen bulbs and indoor flood lights. Basking temps for babies need to be around 110. Juveniles basking temps can range between 105-110, and for adults 100-105. Measure your temps with a digital thermometer with probe. They measure surface temp, not air temp. You need to measure surface temps when you check. basking temps. Wal-mart has digital thermometers with probe for about $8. The little round ones at the pet store can be as much as 20 degrees off and measure air temp. Air temp can be as much as 20 degrees below surface temp. Place the sensor of the probe where ever you want to read temps.
You also need substrate (bedding). Do not use sand. Calci sand, childrens play sand, etc all holds a risk of impation and killing your dragon. Walnut shells, repti bark, etc can tear up the dragons intestines when ingested. All loose particle substrates hold in moisture which harbors bacteria.and isn't good for your reptile. Go to Lowes or Home Depot or another store like that and get some ceramic tiles. They look awesome in cages and are easy to clean. They're a lot cheaper than a few bags of shell or sand too..and you don't need to change tiles unless you are simply tierd of the design. I got my pieces of tile for 32 cents at Lowes on sale. Took me about 6 peices to cover the cage.and the store should be able to cut tiles if you need them cut. Non-adhesive shelf liner also works well for a substrate. You can buy a role from Wal-mart for about $5 depending on your taste. Reptile carpet works good to that you can get from the pet store. Paper towels are also good substrates, especially for growing babies. You can also use yesterdays newspaper, computer paper, or butcher paper.
For a cage..you need atleast a 20 gallon for a baby. The baby will grow out of it once it hits around 10-12 inches in full length. Then he/she can be moved in a larger cage. 40 gallon breeder cages are good for juveniles and adults. It can last the dragon it's whole life. However, if you have a large adult.say 18" and over, you may wanna consider a bigger cage. Adults need atleast 36" in length and 18" in width for cages. Don't depend on the gallon size.
If you have any reptile shows near you, you can pick up a normal baby dragon for $20 probably. Whatever the price of a dragon, really depends on the morph. Normal dragons are usually the cheap ones.
Check out this forum: http://bearded-dragons.com/boards/index.. . They have all the updated information on how to properly care for bearded dragons. Check us out, and if you have any questions, no matter how many, don't hesitate to ask. Good luck!
try using wikipedia.com to find ur answers, but uuhhh go to petsmart or whatever. I wish i knew what a bearded drangon was :(
My daughter had two. One of them died. She had them for several years. They were both just over a foot long and were fully grown. She kept hers in an aquarium with sand in the bottom which she cleaned regularly. She had some kind of dry food she fed them and she also went to a local bait store and purchased crickets for them to eat. Hope that helped.
Beardies are great, for the right person however. Here are some links with great info below.
TDK
When the male is an adult it gets up to 2 feet long including the tail. you can feed them chopped meat, crickets, leafy greens, and earthworms. You can keep it in a aquarium big enough for it, and provide rocks and branches to climb and stuff. The live for about 10 years. Dont kno how much they are. lol
Mice are not recommended. They are used sparingly to help fatten up pregnant female beardies.
Common food for bearded dragons are crickets, superworms, silkworms, hornworms etc., along with various vegetables and fruits.
Setting up a bearded dragon tank can be quite spendy along with the routine expenses. Need to have a basking light, a UVB bulb, large tank etc.,
Read up a few caresheets and buy all the supplies needed for the setup before hand.
Some bearded dragon caresheets:
http://www.reptilerooms.com/sections+ind.
http://www.australianbeardies.com/care.h.
You should not feed your beardie mice. I have a huge bearded dragon, five years old and hes massive. One of the biggest ive ever seen. He alone is kept in a 65 gallon terrerium. To continue from your other question, i personally feed mine a bowl of veggies (kale and one other veggie such as peas or carrots for variety) every other day. and adult bearded dragon food every other day that its not eating veggies. Then 12 large crickets everyday on top of that. every few months i get him a fuzzy or pinky mouse, but nothing bigger than that. They arent good with digesting big bones and that really fattens them up. They dont grow big at all, about a foot and a half with tail. When i say massive i meant they grow fat and wide. They arent supposed to be kept in filthy tanks at all. They need to be attended to everyday so that they have a bacteria free cage. If you are gonna buy one make sure it is captive breed and not fromt he wild and they dont cost much i paid 100 for mine canadian.
We owned a bearded dragon for about 18 months. They are wonderful pets but you have to do your homework first before getting one. You have to feed them the right balance of veggies, fruit, crickets, worms, etc. plus a calcium supplement along with diet. Also lighting and basking area is important. Do some research before getting one. Ours was an adult when we got her and we didn't know how she had been cared for prior to our getting her and she had metabolic bone disease, stopped eating and drinking, couldn't walk, so we put her down. What a way to die. Please do extensive research 1st and get one from a reputable source. gl
Bearded Dragons are very versitile when it comes to feeding. They will eat vegetables, manufactured Bearded Dragon foods (I recommend Zoomed foods), crickets, mealworms, and mice. Mice are very fattening, though, so I dont suggest giving them many. Vary their diet so they do not get bored and get the most out of their foods (vitamin-wise). Also, if you feed them mealworms or crickets, make sure to dust them with a calcium powder/suppliment once or twice a week.
go to Petco(or any petstore) and ask for a caresheet. You should also look online for more information
i want a bearded drandon but how much are they and the tank somone said that i need 2 get a new 1 after a wile
Answers:
They always need to be kept in a cage unless your handling them.I answered your other question, so check it out. To refer to someone else's answer.
Never feed mealworms. They have a hard exo skeleton and high amount of chitin in their shells that are hard for beardies to digest.
Why did you make a new question? You can edit/add to your previous question.
Read up on some caresheets and than feel free to ask away.
40gallon breeder tank or similar homemade or bigger is recommended for an adult bearded dragon.
Some bearded dragon caresheets:
http://www.reptilerooms.com/sections+ind.
http://www.australianbeardies.com/care.h.
Bearded Dragons are between 40 and 80 dollars. They grow to a length of 20 inches. I would recommend a 50 gallon tank for an adult and a 15-20 gallon tank for a young bearded dragon.
Feeding Breaded Dragons
There are many food sources they can thrive on, but you have to have a variety in their diet. The commercially- bred house crickets (Acheta Domestica), Mealworms (Tenebro Molitor), King mealworms (Zophobas morio), and pinky mice. All these food items can be obtained from your local pet store or online.
The vegetation is also a good part in there diet. I have a type of vegetation in there cage all the time. But make sure it is cut up in small strips. The one vegetation you should not feed them is iceberg lettuce because it will give them diarrhea. In iceberg lettuce there is no nutrition at all. They benefit by eating dark, leafy greens such as collard greens, kale, red-tipped leaf lettuce, mustard greens, hibiscus flowers and finely chopped or grated vegetables.
Enclosures
Indoor Vivaria
The minimum size for the adult bearded Dragons is 72"L x 16"W x 17"H vivarium. Use at least a 55-gallon tank if you have one to two Dragons. Try to get a bigger width if possible. Most tanks can be purchased at a local pet store or online.
Outdoor and Greenhouse Vivaria
In the warmer months dragon owners put there dragons outside. This is good because it allows their animals to direct sunlight during the normal hours. The direct sunlight is healthy for them because it allows the D3 to activate the calcium. (The UBV bulbs do the same but not as effective).
In some areas where it is warm all year round Dragon owners keep their Dragons outside all year round. If your Dragon is kept outside have an heat source such as a heater for the extended cool times, with daytimes temperature bellow 55 F. If they remain in a outdoor exposure you should build a structures that the natural ground forms the bottom of the enclosure. The sides should go below ground in case of digging. I personally would not leave the Dragons outside during the winter months. There are too many things to go wrong and kill your dragon if it gets too cold.
Substrates
Land
The dragons need space to climb and a place to run. The Dragon natural habitat is relatively dry and people found that the dragons are happier in a more basic habitat. If there is too much clutter the dragon will not do much. Also breading will be difficult for them. There should be a rock or two in the tank so they can have a lower place to bask. The branches should not be closer then 5 inches from the heat lamp to prevent over heating and thermal burns. There should be a sheltered place where they can crawl into to hide or sleep. Sometimes the females do this to get a break from the males during mating session.
Heating
The temperature in the daytime vivarium should be 80-85 F with one or more basking spots. The nighttime temperature can safely drop to 70 F.
In the basking spot there should be the primary heating unit. This should be a reflector fixture placed above the basking spot. In large tanks there can be more than one heat source. In the basking spot the temperature should reach between 90-100 F.
Some people use a secondary heat source such as under tank heaters, and heat rocks.
(I have heard mixed messages about heat rocks some say they are great and others say they are a danger. This is because bearded Dragons don't have heat sensors on there under belly and cant tell if they are being cooked. Any decision is up to you.)
Get a Fire Alarm in the room you put the Tank!
IMPORTANT: There should be good airflow in the tank. Lizards can suffocate from not enough oxygen.
Maintenance
It is important to keep the tank clean. Clean out the stool every other day or every day. Sterilize the food and water dishes every 4-5 days. Do an over all tank sterilization every 4 weeks or sooner.
If you used carpet the carpet should be taken out and rinsed out. If you used a substrate like sand the sand should be changed when it looks spoiled. To remove the stools from sand just use a cat scupper.
Makes sure that the water level is high and there is fresh vegetation in the food dishes. Change the vegetation every day.
Keep the tank clean just think would I want to live in there?
When setting up the tank there should be some care in the placing of sticks and dishes. There should be a heat lamp on one end of the tank where it is they're basking spot. I have the food and water dish on the opposite end because I found the water and food does not dry up as fast. If the water is directly under the heat lamp the water will evaporate. There should be some sticks in the cage but the highest end should be no higher than what is a safe level for the lizard in climbing out and if it is too close to the heat lamp it can give them thermal burns. I have mine 6-8 inches from the heat lamp at the highest point. I have a couple of rocks under the heat lamp for them to bask on. If find that they spend most of there time on them. If you use sticks from the out side you have to sanitize them. I take bleach and water and scrub it until it is socked with the solution. You should cook it in the oven at 150-200 for about 15 min and it should get rid of any bugs. If you are not sure if the bugs are gone get anther stick or cook it longer or at a higher temperature. Be careful it is wood and can catch on fire.
You can start your own colonies of prey and will never have to buy them again. The only problem is you have to maintain them and keep them clean. This is not a problem if you get into a routine. The crickets can be nosy. But it is worth the expense you save.
Crickets- I started my own colony with these instructions and they are thriving.
Get a medium tank. A ten-gallon will do fine.
Have a water source either the Sponge Idea or the water bits. (If you use a dish with water they will drown and you will have heavy losses.)
Have a food source either the Dry Prey Food or the food bits.
Have a dish (butter dish works fine) and fill it with potting soil. Pat down until firm. Moisten it with a spray bottle.
Get 100-200 crickets or more for the first colony.
Keep soil most
Don鈥檛 take away from colony. You can take the babes that are made and then put 30-40 crickets back into the original colony.
Have another tank for the feeder crickets. (The ones you will feed to the lizards.)
Keep up the food and water.
Clean every week.
Warning: Crickets may be noisy so think where you will put the colony tank. It should be in a warm area but it doesn鈥檛 need to be heated.
Mealworms and king Mealworms- They are vary easy to breed but it takes patience. You get a small 2-gallon container form the local pet store. Then you put all the mealworms into it. Add oranges or potatoes on the top. I would add a piece of egg carton in the top for the beetles. The larva turns into beetles and lay eggs and then you get more mealworms. Be careful not to take too many mealworms or you will exhaust the colony supply. Add corn meal every week for there food. Change the orange or potato so it doesn't start to mold and kill off your colony.
Wax worms- Are a fatty source of food. I would not recommend this to be the staple food source but as a treat or for pregnant Dragons. You do the same thing as mealworms except the larva spin a cocoon and turn into moths so you need a closed container.
i want a baby iguana so should i get it now or wait until summer?
Answers:
Do not get a iguana if its your first reptile it is really hard to take care of your will get cuts a lot they are expensive to take care of the caging is really hard as well just make sure its what you want first and do a lot of research and i would definitely wait till the summer to get one if you were to get one Also get the tank and everything set up before you get it REMEBER TO MAKE SURE YOU WANT IT!
depends where you live.
ask at a local pet store or animal shelter (ASPCA or Humane Society)
wait until you know enough about them that you dont ask silly questions like this.
if you live near boston u can have mine.he isn't a baby but he is about 3 feet long
whichever. but be SURE that's what you want. i have two iguanas i am trying to find homes for.
why wait get it now,but get the tank setup
i don't think it matters as lon as you keep a heat lamp on it. i got my geco in winter and he was fine.
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