New beardie almost always black?

[kcombs816]

Hey there,

We have a new bearded dragon. He is only about 5 inches long, we've had him for 6 days.

His tank is very large, temperatures (measured with a temp gun and basking spot measured with both a probe and a temp gun regularly) are always within correct range, he has plenty of hides, a UVB light... All in all his tank seems like it meets all expectations. But he's almost always black. Not just his beard, but all the way down his belly, and even his top side gets darker. Also, for the past couple of days he has not been coming out much, he has spent a large amount of time hiding in his plants.

He gets water, and also his veggies are wet when he eats. He doesn't eat a whole lot of crickets, only around 15/day (in two feedings), but after that he starts running from them. He eats veggies twice per day, but only around 10 bites maximum.

He isn't impacted, he poops every day.

I have his lights on for 12 hours and off for 12 hours.

Here are two things I have noticed:
1. When he gets taken out of his tank to socialize with us, the black tends to fade.
2. His tank is the type that has black coating on the sides and back. Sometimes, when he is near the sides or back, he sees his reflection and runs at it.

Other than that, he stays in one spot (hiding in his plants) for a majority of the day. Many times I will even have to move him to his basking spot after he eats to digest because he will just go back and hide. Not all the time though.

He does get calcium every other day, but no multivitamin yet. Is it possible the lack of multivitamin is the problem? Or possibly he is stressed out by his reflection? Or maybe something else I haven't thought of?

Thanks everyone, sorry this was so long. I'm just worried!

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

Interesting - it could well be that he thinks the reflection is indeed an aggressive beardie. Might be worth changing it quick.

 

[QueenElfEars]

I would make sure the lil guy can see no reflections whatsoever in his tank just to be on the safe side.
My beardie has wallpaper all along the insides of his tank, the only bits which are not covered are his doors.

See if that improves his mood. Good luck

 

[kcombs816]

Okay so we got a backdrop for his tank, and other than the fact that he isn't attacking the walls anymore, he hasn't changed. He still isn't eating much, still hiding in his plants for most of the day, not eating a whole lot, and black all the time.

We did notice something though - he is starting to shed. Could this have something to do with his strange behavior?

 

[Claudiusx]

he is starting to shed. Could this have something to do with his strange behavior?

Yes, especially due to the fact that you just got him and he is likely still going through relocation stress.

-Brandon