New Beard Owner Needs Help

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lbumba06

New member
Hi,

I have previously owned a bearded dragon when I was younger and despite him living 11 years I have come to realize as I started researching care instructions for my new beardie that I realized I did everything wrong. Our new little guy, Blue, is our family's first pet so I want to make sure I do much better than the first time. Our new guy has been home about two weeks and he has been very skiddish when it comes to handling so we are taking it slow, he often gets very dark and has lots of black lines down his beard and belly which I have read is a sign of stress so I have been giving him his space to adjust. He is in a 40 gallon inclosure, has a repti-sun 10.0 uv light and a 150 watt basking light, its 110 on his basking side and 80 on the cool side. He gets a diet of crickets, Phoenix worms, dubia roaches and dandelion greens. He's not a big fan of greens but he picks at them here and there and it started off with a small appetite but has generally progressed to eating a lot more. My concern is in addition to not wanting to be handled he gets very active at night and starts climbing the rock face background on his inclosure, he often will climb all the way to the screen and try and climb on that. At first I thought maybe he just likes to climb but yesterday he started glass surfing. So I am trying to understand if the two behaviors are related and if so how I can help him? Does he just need more time to settle in? Should I keep doing what I am doing and be patient? At what point should I get worried? There is so much information out there sometimes it can make your head spin so wanted to see what everyone here has to think from actual experience. Thanks in advance for any response.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok so the glass surfing is normal - they do this as exploring my little one did it too when he was young -- normal --- and they like to climb and jump when they are little too so that is normal as well -- your basking temps how are you taking them ? NO stick ons please they are inaccurate you need a digital probe thermometer -- and the UVB is a coil or a tube fixture in a hood? NO coils please they are inadequate especially in 40 gallon tanks -- you will need a long tube fixture if that is the case -- the two MOST IMPORTANT things in the tank are the basking temps and the UVB they control the behavior and over all health of your dragon- you have him on a good diet you can use your phoenix worms to lure him to the salad bowl -- use them as salad toppers -- are you dusting your insects w/ calcium D3 and vitamins w/ beta carotene ? If you need more help ask and we can help
Karrie
 

lbumba06

New member
Original Poster
Hi Carrie,

Sorry for the delayed response. Yes both the temps and UV are monitored and within the recommended ranges and any insects other than Phoenix worms have been getting dusted with calcium and multivitamins, plus crickets have been getting gut loaded. The glass surfing has subsided a bit as has the climbing on the ceiling which is reassuring. Still working to get him to let me handle him, he is still very skiddish. I am trying not to force the issue to cause more stress but it’s been about 3 weeks and he still will rarely let me handle him.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Yep patience- you need to hand tame by hand feeding- bsfl are good or worms- take a piece of clothing or fleece blanket and put in his hide something w/ your smell- he needs to learn to trust you-- only hold him for like a few minutes he needs to acclimate to his tank and surroundings-
Karrie
 

Packersfan00

New member
Hi,

I have previously owned a bearded dragon when I was younger and despite him living 11 years I have come to realize as I started researching care instructions for my new beardie that I realized I did everything wrong. Our new little guy, Blue, is our family's first pet so I want to make sure I do much better than the first time. Our new guy has been home about two weeks and he has been very skiddish when it comes to handling so we are taking it slow, he often gets very dark and has lots of black lines down his beard and belly which I have read is a sign of stress so I have been giving him his space to adjust. He is in a 40 gallon inclosure, has a repti-sun 10.0 uv light and a 150 watt basking light, its 110 on his basking side and 80 on the cool side. He gets a diet of crickets, Phoenix worms, dubia roaches and dandelion greens. He's not a big fan of greens but he picks at them here and there and it started off with a small appetite but has generally progressed to eating a lot more. My concern is in addition to not wanting to be handled he gets very active at night and starts climbing the rock face background on his inclosure, he often will climb all the way to the screen and try and climb on that. At first I thought maybe he just likes to climb but yesterday he started glass surfing. So I am trying to understand if the two behaviors are related and if so how I can help him? Does he just need more time to settle in? Should I keep doing what I am doing and be patient? At what point should I get worried? There is so much information out there sometimes it can make your head spin so wanted to see what everyone here has to think from actual experience. Thanks in advance for any response.
Mine also climbs way to the top of the brach in basking spot sometimes doesn't eat much also picks at greens salads sometimes need help
 
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I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

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