FlapJack16
Hatchling Member
Ever since my beardie came out of brumation, I haven't been able to keep him stable/consistent.
He is just about 18 months old.
He is dark half the time, and either runs around/glass/wall slides, or has his "hands" propped up on the glass doors to see outside. He also lays down kinda snuggled into stuff at the bottom in the middle of the day. And doesn't eat veggies.
He had a lot of stuff in his tank, (4x2x2) and (gross warning) would sometimes go to the bathroom, and be running around so much that he walked through it, dragged his tail through it, and dragged it over everything- bacteria central in there.
I took a lot of stuff out. Now, he has a grapewood stick to bask, 2 rock slabs, a half log hide, a smaller half log hide (both too small for him, need to find something to make him feel safe), and a little plastic bearded dragon "toy" I got for him when he was tiny.
His tank is all black pvc, with sliding glass doors, from maximum reptile.
I thought that maybe it was too dark in there- so I put up "butcher", or white paper on the walls, so it would be brighter. (suggestions for 3 sided wraparound backgrounds would be appreciated).
His basking spot is never below 91, and never above 105 to 110- any higher or lower and I adjust the temp. His ambient is high 70's to low 80's, and the "cold" side is never below 70- usually about 73.
I definitely need to make this more consistent- He has a timed outlet for his stuff, and another low-wattage basking lamp on the "cool" side, to add light and heat up that last little bit.
He has never opened his mouth to heat regulate- a few times when he was young, but that is it.
I always forget to turn that second one on- my memory isn't that great, even though I am under 20 (more that my head is in the clouds)- but I am getting better with it.
He has dual halogen bulbs for a basking spot, which I LOVE- nice, warm, bright even heating in a larger area, instead of just one bulb. Perfect.
As far as feeding, I give him fresh veggies every other day, since he seems to like the "crunchy" ones sometimes, and they usually don't dry up completely.
I have only really been giving him a small leaf of collards or mustards, ripped up, and throw in bell peppers sometimes, too.
I know they are supposed to eat more- but I am hesitant to buy more variety for him, like squash and other greens, because he just does. not. eat. them. ever. I don't even put vitamins on there. He doesn't even eat what I give him.
As far as food, he gets 6 to 10 superworms every other night or so- usually dusted with calcium and multivitamin.
he has a 48 inch zoo med UVB fixture, and has a T5 HO 10.0 zoo med UVB bulb.
I last replaced it in mid- august last year- to my understanding, they last for 12 months.
I am planning on purchasing a 22" bulb/fixture with a 12% arcadia UVB soon.
He goes to the bathroom 1-2x a week, seeming more and more hydrated each time since brumation.
Is the UVB dead? Tank too dark? Does he need a proper hide? A different basking spot than a grapewood stick? Parasites? Different veggies? Roaches instead of super worms? Hiding from too-big-UVB? Should I "force" feed veggies (offer a variety, don't feed bugs until he eats them, one method that seems popular).
Too cold at night? (64 at night). Sees something he doesn't like? (my messy desk, computer, cat in my room that doesn't go near him(only on few occasions, when he sits on the corner of my desk and looks at him- only done that a few times) the snake tank, etc).
He is also directly across from my ball python tank- but very rarely does he see him, AND, I am stacking the tanks very soon, with the beardie on top, so he will not see him.
And, my desk w/ my computer is next to him, if that matters- he does this when It is off, too, whether I am in here or not.
Right now, he is peeking out the glass, very dark, with "tired" eyes- and other times he will be bright, almost smiling, and seeming to feel pretty great. Still doesn't eat veggies.
He doesn't get taken out of the tank too often- I want to change that with warmer weather coming up- he can run around outside on the grass, or in a little 'pen' I might get. Pen might be better- outside can get scary for him- I have a big back yard with lots of birds overhead.
I feel pretty terrible- like I am not providing what he needs.
I can start recording consistent information, to help get a better average of what is going on- what he eats, temps, bathroom, weight, and behavior each day, stuff like that.
Side note- how do you guys keep calcium under control? No matter how I do it, even in the "rimmed" feeding dish with worms, it ends up on his face and all over the tank.
Thanks for reading my long post.
He is just about 18 months old.
He is dark half the time, and either runs around/glass/wall slides, or has his "hands" propped up on the glass doors to see outside. He also lays down kinda snuggled into stuff at the bottom in the middle of the day. And doesn't eat veggies.
He had a lot of stuff in his tank, (4x2x2) and (gross warning) would sometimes go to the bathroom, and be running around so much that he walked through it, dragged his tail through it, and dragged it over everything- bacteria central in there.
I took a lot of stuff out. Now, he has a grapewood stick to bask, 2 rock slabs, a half log hide, a smaller half log hide (both too small for him, need to find something to make him feel safe), and a little plastic bearded dragon "toy" I got for him when he was tiny.
His tank is all black pvc, with sliding glass doors, from maximum reptile.
I thought that maybe it was too dark in there- so I put up "butcher", or white paper on the walls, so it would be brighter. (suggestions for 3 sided wraparound backgrounds would be appreciated).
His basking spot is never below 91, and never above 105 to 110- any higher or lower and I adjust the temp. His ambient is high 70's to low 80's, and the "cold" side is never below 70- usually about 73.
I definitely need to make this more consistent- He has a timed outlet for his stuff, and another low-wattage basking lamp on the "cool" side, to add light and heat up that last little bit.
He has never opened his mouth to heat regulate- a few times when he was young, but that is it.
I always forget to turn that second one on- my memory isn't that great, even though I am under 20 (more that my head is in the clouds)- but I am getting better with it.
He has dual halogen bulbs for a basking spot, which I LOVE- nice, warm, bright even heating in a larger area, instead of just one bulb. Perfect.
As far as feeding, I give him fresh veggies every other day, since he seems to like the "crunchy" ones sometimes, and they usually don't dry up completely.
I have only really been giving him a small leaf of collards or mustards, ripped up, and throw in bell peppers sometimes, too.
I know they are supposed to eat more- but I am hesitant to buy more variety for him, like squash and other greens, because he just does. not. eat. them. ever. I don't even put vitamins on there. He doesn't even eat what I give him.
As far as food, he gets 6 to 10 superworms every other night or so- usually dusted with calcium and multivitamin.
he has a 48 inch zoo med UVB fixture, and has a T5 HO 10.0 zoo med UVB bulb.
I last replaced it in mid- august last year- to my understanding, they last for 12 months.
I am planning on purchasing a 22" bulb/fixture with a 12% arcadia UVB soon.
He goes to the bathroom 1-2x a week, seeming more and more hydrated each time since brumation.
Is the UVB dead? Tank too dark? Does he need a proper hide? A different basking spot than a grapewood stick? Parasites? Different veggies? Roaches instead of super worms? Hiding from too-big-UVB? Should I "force" feed veggies (offer a variety, don't feed bugs until he eats them, one method that seems popular).
Too cold at night? (64 at night). Sees something he doesn't like? (my messy desk, computer, cat in my room that doesn't go near him(only on few occasions, when he sits on the corner of my desk and looks at him- only done that a few times) the snake tank, etc).
He is also directly across from my ball python tank- but very rarely does he see him, AND, I am stacking the tanks very soon, with the beardie on top, so he will not see him.
And, my desk w/ my computer is next to him, if that matters- he does this when It is off, too, whether I am in here or not.
Right now, he is peeking out the glass, very dark, with "tired" eyes- and other times he will be bright, almost smiling, and seeming to feel pretty great. Still doesn't eat veggies.
He doesn't get taken out of the tank too often- I want to change that with warmer weather coming up- he can run around outside on the grass, or in a little 'pen' I might get. Pen might be better- outside can get scary for him- I have a big back yard with lots of birds overhead.
I feel pretty terrible- like I am not providing what he needs.
I can start recording consistent information, to help get a better average of what is going on- what he eats, temps, bathroom, weight, and behavior each day, stuff like that.
Side note- how do you guys keep calcium under control? No matter how I do it, even in the "rimmed" feeding dish with worms, it ends up on his face and all over the tank.
Thanks for reading my long post.
