Expert: Joe Zarnick - 3/2/2011

Question
Hi Joe, my names Justin, i purchased a baby beardy about 6 months ago, he was about 8 inches total length at the time, he is now about 17 inches total length, growing fast i think, I have him in a 33 gallon tank now, but i am building a custom tank, about 100 gallon, currently i have one solar glo, all in one bulb for the tank, it works well, keeps his basking area about 110 and the middle of the tank sits at around 85, i turn it off at night and it doesnt drop below 70 for sure. With me building a new large tank, is one of these lights going too be enough or would you suggest me putting in another light somewhere, and if so what kind would you suggest. As for the diet, he eats his large share of crickets lol, but i am mainly feeding him an assortment of lettuces for his salad, i found it hard too find collard greens and mustard greens, dont even really know what they are really. is this diet not healthy for him? where could i find the right veggies and is this a serious thing that i should fix this second? The last question i guess i could as is substrate, i have heard tons and tons of different things, i started with that calci sand stuff, but found it was so expensive to replace, now i have some repti bark in there but again, find it difficult too clean and stuff, can i use just regular play sand or is this not a good idea? i would like too stay away from just plain paper towel as i find it doesnt look that great, thanks Joe! sorry for so many questions lol

Answer
Hey Justin, you may need to get another light. It all depends on how big the new tank and how much Watts the bulb is. Make sure you have both UVB and UVA, he should have a basking side and a cooler side. the only lettuce you should feed him is romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce will dehydrate him. A good veggie diet could be Collard greens, Romaine lettuce, or some fruit to go along with it. There are only a few things that he cannot eat, you can find a basic online site that will provide you with this information. I keep my 3 dragons on a diet of hornworms, crickets, Romaine lettuce, fruits, and other greens. Make sure that you are adding a sufficient amount of calcium. As for substrate, I use normal play sand. Play sand is sayd to be bad for younger dragons because the larger pieces can cause impaction. You can use a sifter for the sand. Play sand is probably the most all round used substrate. Don't worry about too many questions, the more the better. Hope this all helps.