Bearded dragon's mouth keeps on opening

[thor2012]

We in Northern Jersey about about 25 mins West of NYC...in ADK's we in Russia/Morehouse area...SoWest corner of the park.

How well do these little fella's travel???

We did get the AcuRite you mentioned Diamc, seems to be right on. W 75 w household bulb (only thing in house) basking spot seems to hover in low 90's....Good or bad??? Does it need to be higher?

He seems to be thriving, going poop regularily (once a day, hope that is good :?: ) Eating crickets as fast as we drop them ...hand feeding greens and fruit. He takes it easily from my son's hand - VERY cute!

What else do I need to know??????

 

[bdalton]

I can't really say how well they travel, all of them are different. You can take him on a trip to petsmart and see how he does.
Your basking spot could be higher. For babies and juvies you want to aim for 105-110 and adults 100-105.
If a 75 watt household is giving you low 90s, a 100 watt will probably do the trick! You have the same thermometer I have, their great!

 

[thor2012]

Here's another question I'm afraid to ask...Thor ben with us since Sat. Yesterday, my son started having some type of skin reaction...benadryl made it go away but back now...Could he be allergic to the Beardie or perhps to some of the Repti-vite, Calcium or Desert Blend (we bought but not using) ???

 

[diamc]

That's great that you found the AcuRite thermometer. Does it have the 2 readings as well as the humidity level? Are you checking the temps in the 10 gallon or the larger tank now? If the 10 gallon, seems like the reading should be higher than the low 90's. Just to make sure you're getting a good reading and if it is the dual thermometer, place the probe so that it is actually resting on (touching) the basking spot and place the thermometer part way over on the bottom of the cool side. Wait about 45 min for the temp to stop rising then the "out" reading will be for the basking spot and the "in" reading for the cool side. Is that the way you checked the temps? How old or how long from tip of nose to end of tail is your little guy?
Any luck finding the Repti-Sun 10.0 tube bulb?

Great to hear that he is eating & pooping well. Bet your son is in his glory when he eats from his hand. If you want to see something else that's cute, pick up some 100% juice (no sugar added) like cherry, apple, grape or cranberry. Dilute with 3 parts water (warm water to take the chill off) to 1 part juice and use a plastic medicine dropper and put drops on his nose for him to lick off. It's adorable watching their little tongues go around in circles to get every drop of the juice. :lol:

It's true, some beardies travel better than others and a change like that for a baby can kinda stress them out. Would probably be safer and easier on him to leave him home until he gets a little bigger and have grandma care for him while you're gone. When they become juveniles, then it is much easier on them. You could take him on a short trip though as bdalton mentioned and see how he does but I would recommend that you use a leash though because they can escape from your hands or get lost very quickly if they get scared or stressed out.

Does your son have allergies? Did he break out in a rash or hives? Sometimes their little claws can irritate the skin a little, always a good idea to wash your hands before & after handling with anti-bacterial soap. Has your son been touching either of those supplements or the desert blend?

So, you live in northern NJ, not that far from us really. We used to go camping in the Adirondacks quite often before we had beardies.

 

[thor2012]

Diamc - a bit of a mystery. On Saturday we were at the Hamburg PA reptile show where Thor became part of our family. Before we took him home however Alex touched a miilion critters of al shapes and sizes. We then picked up Thor from the breader for our hour + ride home. Thor was a pleasure and we've all been playing him, crawling all over us etc. It's only last two days that Alex has started to break out however. If it was Thor, my initial thought would be it would have happened much before tues/wed of this week? Please tell me I'm right!

At this rate, Thor is part of the family...might have to send Alex packing !! :lol: Yes, he's standing next to me as I type this (Alex, not Thor!)

 

[diamc]

It sure does seem like he would have broken out sooner, are you sure there isn't either something new in Alex's diet or new detergent, etc perhaps?

Uh oh, you better NOT send Alex packing. Anyway, he needs to be with Thor! :lol:

How did you make out with the temps?

 

[Kristen623]

WOW, thank goodness I read this thread. I also have a 150 watt basking lamp in a 10 gallon tank. No wonder why he stays on the cool side. I feel awful. I need to get another bulb the second I get out of work today!!! Although I will be getting a 20 gallon tank this weekend so the 150 shoud be ok then, right?

 

[bdalton]

Maybe your son is having a reaction to something like the calcium powder or something the crickets are eating. I would definetly think if it was the beardie he would have broken out at the show.
Try the process of elimination with calcium, cricket food, the gel, vitamin powder and anything else you can think of.
I know my sister had a sugar glider and anytime she would pet it she would be fine, but like diamc said, when she held her and her nails scratched her even the slightest bit, she would break out in hives. If she took Benadryl before holding her she would be fine.
If his reaction isn't too bad, I'd hold off on benadryl so you can figure out what's causing it so you make sure he doesn't touch whatever it is.

Good luck

 

[bdalton]

Kristen, a 150 watt will probably be way too hot for a 20 gallon as well. I use a 100 watt in my 40g breeder and a 150 watt in a 75g to get a steady 105.

When I used a 20g I used a 65 watt floodlight and that got me to 105-108 or a normal clear 60watt household bulb.

 

[Kristen623]

Thanks for the info. I have a thermometer in the tank & it reads like 90 degrees on the hot side. Its a cheap thermometer, with the plastic needle & sucton cupped to the glass wall towards the bottom of the tank. Maybe I need a better thermometer. Rango does stay on the cool side of the tank so that"s probably why.

 

[bdalton]

Yeah, don't go by those thermometers. If That's reading 90, your glass is 90, so your basking spot is much higher. I'd switch to a regular household bulb under 75 watts until you get a probe thermometer. You can get one right at Walmart, but it's very important to get one ASAP. Too hot can overheat him and cause dehydration, where too low he can't digest properly.

 

[Kristen623]

Yes, I get out of work at 3 today and am going right to the pet store to get a digital thermometer and a lower wattage bulb. I don't want to burn my lil guy. He's only 3-4 months old.

 

[dangit12]

good job.