Guidance from an experience Bearded Dragon owner needed.

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Hey my name is Ray, I just bought my new bd baby about 3 days ago. The petsmart owner says he is 3 months old but he’s like 4 inches long including tail so I believe he’s 1 months old. Anyways I brought him home in a new 10 glass with 2 stick on thermometers (one on each side). I have a basking lap that’s 50w and offers UV on one side and a repisun 10.0 UV bulb covering the whole back glass. I believe his new home is great (I’ll include a photo).

Anyways I noticed the first day he had like 1 or 2 crickets and It was difficult to get him to eat. I research everyday and watch videos on advice and I found force feeding. I force feed a few pieces of greens/fruit, followed by 10 crickets. If I wasn’t to force fees he would just lay under the basking lap.

He doesn’t bite, doesn’t show aggression or annoyance, he has his tail up every now and then, once he moves his arm In a circle which was cute, but he does close his eyes more times that I’m comfortable with which too worries me. Also has dark tiger stripes on his underside which I read is stress but I don’t know what from. Is It the new move, because he runs on the glass wall once in a while, the lighting, the force feed?? I also scheduled a vet meeting in like 4 days just to make sure he’s all good to go. Any help would be great please thanks.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi Ray, that is a very nice looking set up indeed, great climbing log for him because these guys love to climb + good positioning of his heat bulb ! I see the cutie up there. :) There are a few things to address though .....have you actually measured him or just guessing his length. I used to raise beardies, they hatch out about 4", so he is the size of a newly hatched baby if you are giving an accurate measurement. When you say that you force fed him, I assume that you meant " assist feeding " . Not literally forcing his mouth open [ that can break a baby's jaw ] Assist feeding is fine until he gets a better appetite, usually they do after they settle in. Next, how big are the crickets ? This is SO important with a tiny hatchling. The crickets MUST be smaller than the space between his eyes. A baby can swallow a larger bug but can't digest them, that can lead to impaction and even death.

Next, is the uvb bulb along the glass inside the tank or on top of the screen ? I can't tell from the picture. Your temps. sound good, the thermometer on the wall will be somewhat accurate [ people will tell you it's off by a lot but it's not really true , sometimes they are by just a bit ] And last but very important, the wood chips are unsafe, beardies often swallow these type of flooring. Best to get some non adhesive shelf liner for now or paper towels. BTW, he will outgrow the tank very quickly so you need to start saving up right away for a new tank. He can be 12-13" long in 3 months time.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
He's NOT in ANY WAY , even remotely the age claimed by the shop assistant …. who IMO is totally clueless or lying through his or her teeth.

I agree if he's (or she's) that small, you have a VERY YOUNG hatchling.
This is what a 3 month old looks like :
9feb2016-peppa-at-3months-side.gif

My girl Peppa at 3 months old.
Same dragon at 5 weeks old (when we arrived home)
19dec2015-baby-girl.gif


ie my Puff was 8g and his sister Rex was 7g at 6 weeks old (bought from a local breeder - I collected from them in person), and my Toothless was 11.1g and his sister Peppa was 13.5g at 5 weeks old , (also bought from a(nother) local breeder and I collected in person).
At that age my little ones were small enough to wrap their arms and legs around my thumb.

I suggest a weakly weighing and tracking his weight while he's growing (wont be full grown til he's about 2 yrs old).

Get rid of the bark bedding …. it's going to hold moisture and will pose a severe impaction risk (they have a habit of taste-testing everything they see (this is how they learn about the world) and of cause it will hide rogue insects.
Paper towels will suffice until you are ready to install loose laid tiles or lino for the bedding.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Rshargani098":kmadigrj said:
Hey my name is Ray, I just bought my new bd baby about 3 days ago. The petsmart owner says he is 3 months old but he’s like 4 inches long including tail so I believe he’s 1 months old. Anyways I brought him home in a new 10 glass with 2 stick on thermometers (one on each side). I have a basking lap that’s 50w and offers UV on one side and a repisun 10.0 UV bulb
T8 or T5HO tube ?
I strongly suggest moving the UVB tube UNDER the mesh lid , benefits
1) instant doubling of UVA & UVB just by removing the mesh that's under the tube
2) instant increase in UVA & UVB by moving the tube a few inches closer to the basking spot and the floor.

covering the whole back glass. I believe his new home is great (I’ll include a photo).

Anyways I noticed the first day he had like 1 or 2 crickets and It was difficult to get him to eat. I research everyday and watch videos on advice and I found force feeding. I force feed a few pieces of greens/fruit, followed by 10 crickets. If I wasn’t to force fees he would just lay under the basking lap.

I put this together for someone else who had a poor feeding hatchling : viewtopic.php?f=45&t=244111&p=1859195#p1859195


He doesn’t bite, doesn’t show aggression or annoyance, he has his tail up every now and then, once he moves his arm In a circle which was cute, but he does close his eyes more times that I’m comfortable with which too worries me.
Is perfectly normal for all beardie to close one or both eyes while basking , and to nap during the day too.

Also has dark tiger stripes on his underside which I read is stress but I don’t know what from.
Everything with very young beardies is super expressive including body markings, colours, "stress marks" are not always indicative of stress.


Is It the new move, because he runs on the glass wall once in a while <<< occasionally just means he can see there is a world beyond the glass and he's courious, or he's seeing his own reflection.
If this is only short periods occasionally during the day , it's not an issue.
the lighting, the force feed?? I also scheduled a vet meeting in like 4 days just to make sure he’s all good to go. Any help would be great please thanks.
 

Rshargani098

Member
Original Poster
Hey thanks to the both of you. Yes Kingofnobbys I agree my girlfriend and I believe he’s actually smaller than your 5week old or nearly the same. I would say around maybe 4weeks? Also thank you AHBD, the advice was very appreciated.

The temperatures occasionally do say is basking is about 95F and cool side around 80F, through the night (like last night exact) his cool side was somewhere between blue 75 and green 80 (stick on thermometer). I’ll take the advice and get a heat gun, removing the bark and leave the sand mat It came with, removing the mesh top and move the UVB fluorescent closer.

Mr.Mittens’ (that’s his name) poops normally once in the morning right after waking and somewhere in the afternoon so that’s great. His urate is white and his poop is a normal well poop looking turd haha. I cut his veggies and fruit very small diced shaped and after I assist feed him alittle bit of that and crickets I place It in his small tray of water so maybe he’ll try some throughout the day.

Anyways my concerns now are his lethargic acts, meaning he tends to just stay on the log and not explore the tank and his tendency to keep his eyes close (while in tank). At some point he wouldn’t do that basking pose with his chin up, he’d more like just lay there. I’m probably over protective of my baby boy but I want him to be healthy as any proud owner would.

Outside the tank he stands better with his curved tail, and seems to be more energetic outside the tank soooooo taking what I’ve read people would say the problem is in the tank right? So what is It the lighting??
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Can you show how your uvb is set up right now ? And yes, if he's just hanging out on his log near the heat bulb he may not be warm enough. Try a 75 watt bulb for sure, that's probably the problem. Oh, and sand mats can also be a problem, the little bits of gravel easily come loose and also it's not easy to clean at all !
 

Rshargani098

Member
Original Poster
101987-3469831213.jpg

This is the UVB fluorescent hood that I connected to my dresser with command strip over the mesh lid. The UVB is about 15wats 10%UVB and the heat lamp is 100wats while the bulb is 50wats.

Based on my image how would I place the uvb closer in the tank and as far as my current basking lamp is, is there anything I can do with that?
 

Rshargani098

Member
Original Poster
If I move his log closer to the front glass and move the UVB hood Inside the tank do you think it would be too close? Also do you think it’s smart to remove the mesh lid all together and place It on only during night?
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
You DO need mesh/screen of course or the baby will easily get out. :) Some screen does not block much uvb at all. Look at this picture + see if your screen s very fine like window screen or if it's the larger gauge like this. :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29906/full

The larger gauge blocks very little uvb and is fine. I'm not just an owner, I hatched + raised loads of babies over many years. These screens are fine. If your bulb is the Zilla, be sure the fixture does not have plastic coverig the bulb, if so, remove it.


And I think your baby may be slightly dehydrated, I thought you had a 50 watt heat bulb, but a 100 watt is going to be very hot. Offer him water by spraying him on his snout, or use a eyedropper to drip water on his snout. And if you missed it in my last reply, the sand mat is not a good product, it's impossible to clean and some of the bits will come loose + possibly be eaten.
 

Rshargani098

Member
Original Poster
101987-8194809789.jpg

Yeah so I believe maybe my mesh holes are slightly smaller than your example. And I apologize I miss wrote, the heat lamp I have can hold up to 100wats while the bulb itself is 50wats so that should be fine.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Yes, the screen is small so what you can do is attach the uvb fixture under the wire like this. :

I looped wire through the screen. BTW, I know this is a pain but can you get a better pic of your uvb light fixture ? It's so dark in the pic, I just see a black box.

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/30028/full

Your heat bulb should be a 75 though, a 50 is not going to be strong enough in most cases. And he still needs some water, they dehydrate quickly as babies so try the method I mentioned.
 

Rshargani098

Member
Original Poster
101987-2156872177.jpg
101987-3437948357.jpg
101987-964765395.jpg

No it’s no trouble at all I appreciate you helping. Your feed back is great. The hood is hovering over due to the command strips On the back.

I see that you used twine to latch the uvb from underneath the mesh?? How did you do that? Also I’ve seen some people with enclosures that have the bulb itself inside, is this ideal?
 
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