Hi Sarah,
Any mealworms, freeze dried or live, are bad for Bearded Dragons, as are Wax Worms.
How old will the Beardie be when you bring him/her home? How long from tip of nose to tip of tail? It is recommended that you buy a baby Dragon that is at least 8 wks. old/6 inches long, from tip to tip.
Take a cricket keeper or a 5 gallon tank, and put your crickets in there. At Wal-Mart, they sell small, plastic dishes. I found them in the same area as the flower pots. Take some substrate, such as Eco-Earth, and dampen it. Put that in the dish. You can also use play sand from Home Depot. Don't use in your Dragon's viv. It actually will work better than Eco-Earth. Dampen it, and place it in the dish. Make some dents in the sand with your finger tip. You can place some egg crates half in/half out of the dish. This offers the crix an easy way to climb in and out. Lightly cover it. If you feel you need to add water to the sand, later on, use only a few drops at a time. You don't want to drown any baby crix. They will breed in the play sand set up as I described. That is what I did, and the crix were breeding very well.
There are 2 types of play sand at Home Depot. Look at the bag of sand very carefully. If it has a warning that includes the state of California, don't buy it. It is the wrong kind. It has cancer causing material in it. Look for the other kind.
Here is a link to the better one:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100318476/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=Play+Sand&storeId=10051
The only freeze-dried feeders that I have ever seen were, in my opinion, too large for a baby Dragon.
If you wish to ask more questions, you can reach me by email in my profile.
I belong to a free Beardie group. You are welcome to join if you wish. It is called "pogona@yahoogroups.com".
I appreciate the time you are taking to get it all right. The best friend a Beardie cn have, especially a baby, is someone that is committed to caring for them, and offering the best environment, diet, possible.
Thank you for that.
Here is more general information:
I have used ReptiSUN 10.0, NOT to be confused w/the ReptiGLO. The RS 10.0 have a wonderful reputation as a reliable UVB source. Repti-GLO has been known to cause some problems for Bearded Dragons, by emitting UVC, rather than UVB.
I use a fixture that holds one 18 inch RS 10.0 flourescent tube, and two 100 watt household bulbs that face each other.
I have wooden and glass vivs. They both retain heat well. I suspend my lights IN-side the vivs. I use the refrigerator racks in the RV section of Ace Hardware. They extend out to 22 inches. I re-inforce them with heavy tape for extra stability. One viv stays around 102F and the other is a six foot long glass viv. It is heated the same way as the other viv. It stays @ 102-104F. Sometimes, it gets hotter. When it gets @ 106, 107F, my dragon goes & cools off. When I cut off 1 of the bulbs, she comes right back out to bask.
How cold does your house and the viv get at nighttime? A ceramic heat emitter is used IF your house & your BD's viv temps drop below 65F, and for extra heat during illness. 65F is too cold for Bearded Dragons. It emits heat, w/ no light. Nite temps should be @70-75F. Most Dragons seem to have a comfort zone of 102-104F (daytime temps). This is fine for Juvenile Dragons as well.
Please do not waste your money on nite lights. Your dragon does not need them. They are deep sleepers. They like it dark.
Buy a color coded timer for your lights. (www.drsfosterandsmith.com) The CHE will only make the entire viv (tank) hotter. Too hot for your Dragon. I suggest a winter schedule of 7-8 hrs on, and the rest of the time, have the lights off. During summer season, your lights can be increased to 10 on/14 off.
The UVB and heat source should be in the same area. Buy a digital temp gauge with a probe. They are at Wal-Mart for @ $15.00. Inexpensive and it works. Place the probe at the highest point your Dragon basks at. Leave it there for at least 45 minutes to get an accurate reading. With the Repti-Sun 10.0 tube, 12 inches is fine. Stay away from any coil type lites. They can harm your Beardies eyes.
You can also put a critter cavern in the cool side for your BD to sleep in. Again, www.drsfosteradsmith.com sells them. Shop around your local pet stores. Sometimes you may find an extra large one for a littles less than a medium sized hideaway. What do you use as a substrate? I use NON-adhesive shelf liner (the kind w/o holes) thru out the viv. It is much easier to clean, is inexpensive at Wal-Mart, and above all, is safe. In the critter caverns or hideaways, I use eco-earth as a substrate in their sleep area. My email is available thru my Yahoo Answers Profile. I can show you pix of set ups, of how the eco earth was used, (without wasting any, lol) etc.
Take care.
Emerald