Please can someone help me urgently

Status
Not open for further replies.

Newbie93

New member
Hi
I just rehomed a bearded dragon today. I got it off a young girl around 14 years old or so. It is my first reptile, as I messaged this person online I did ask if I could come in and they could talk me through how to care for it as they have been doing.
So the girl tells me to put the long light on all day and then turn that one off at night and turn the heat one on at night until an hour after you wake up.
When I was at her house I had no questions as she seems to know how to care for her dragon and she has been doing so for 9 months.

I've come home super stressed. He is not eating and I'm doing what she said with the lights but everywhere I've read online says to not use any lights at night.
I'm super stuck and stressed if anyone could help me out if be grateful.
I'm always very nervous about handling him tomorrow as he seems so grumpy and miserable I'm scared he might try to bite me
 

hdochow

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sir Henry of Scales
first off, welcome the the world of beardie moms and dads! we are a crazy group that cares deeply about our animals and tend to stress out a lot.

right off the bat, i will tell you your animal will go through relocation stress, and getting past that takes time no matter what you do. they will eat less, and their behavior will be off.

i am not a pro on lighting that is not specific to my vivarium, so it would helpful if you gave specific details about what type of lighting/fixtures/etc you have. there will be people on later tonight that can help with that, but they will need input from you. posting pictures of your set up would help too.

beardies do not need heat at night unless your house gets below about 65°. they also should not have any type of lights on at night. they need the cool and dark to sleep well. and in general, colored lights, like black-light or the red lights, are just bad.

being a person that took in an ill dragon from someone, i can tell you one thing.... you have come to the right place! the people here have helped me go from a very ill dragon to one who is absolutely thriving. just keep asking questions and responding to the reply posts you are given.

welcome to the family!
 

Newbie93

New member
Original Poster
Thanks for your reply. I'm literally making myself anxious. There are two lights I've been given with the vivarium. One is the UVB? Light? Looks like a tube. And the other one is a Basking light which looks like a regular light bulb almost.

As the girl who gave me the dragon said, I've turned the basking light on and turned the uv one off right now as its 11pm. I keep popping my head in the other room but he's not asleep. I feel like I should turn it off but then I also feel like if he has spent his whole life with it on at night will he be stressed out in complete darkness tonight.

I'm actually feeling physically sick with worry and very anxious as I have no idea what to do. I really don't want to wake up to a angry dragon.

Also I asked the previous owner when was the last time he had live food and she said it was 10 days ago almost. I have no live food so il be off to get him some crickets tomorrow. But he hasn't eaten today and I'm just a wreck. I feel like he's starving and not sleeping
 

hdochow

Sub-Adult Member
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sir Henry of Scales
the long light should be the uvb. and the regular bulb should be the basking light. they both should be on during the day and off at night. am i understanding correctly that she told you they should be on during opposite time intervals?

they both should be on during the day and off at night. i cycle my lights on at 8 am and off between 830 and 9 at night.

what did she tell you about feeding and vitamin/mineral supplementation?

the crickets will be fine to feed right now, but there are bugs that are way more nutritious . we feed dubia roaches, but they are not legal to have in all areas. what are you giving for salads/veg?

right now, you are doing the best you can, and should be proud of yourself for being proactive with your dragons care. sleep well for the night at least. there will be more information for you to process when you hit your morning.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok so like mentioned earlier the dragon will go thru relocation stress but hes going to be continuing stress w/ the lights being left on at nite --- he needs a photo period of 12 hrs on 12 hrs off - please post a pic of the tank so I can help you get this set up and correct -- I am going to help you
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on the XIMG at the top of the message box then click on the pic it should post ---- I am going to post a bunch of info for you to get this straightened out
Basking temps need to be 95-100 for a adult / juvie dragon and they need to be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/environmental-control-and-lighting/zoo-med-reptile-terrarium-digital-thermometer-14914.html?cgid=500202
UVB it needs to be a long tube fixture looks like this https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood.html
these things I just posted are the MOST IMPORTANT things in the tank -
You do not want a coil UVB looks like this https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-mini-cfl.html these are bad and NO good --
please post what you have and I am going to help w/ diet next
 

Newbie93

New member
Original Poster
I can't tell you how thankful I am to just even be reading your reply. I'm a mess here right now.

Yes that's correct. She told me to have them on at different intervals.
She said she puts on the uvb one during the day
Then at night turns that off and turns the basking light on during the night until after an hour after she's woken up.

That doesn't sound right to me at all to be honest now I'm thinking about it but she is also now not replying to my texts or anything. I did triple check with her before I left tho and that's what she said.

I'm now worried that if I do turn the basking light off
1) he's not had it on all day will be be cold if I turn it off at night (I put it on at 9pm it's now 11 43pm)
2) he's been bought up this way for 9 months . Is he used to thus lighting. If I change it and turn it off will be get anxious.


Bare with me I still very new to this. Il upload a picture of what I have

Thank you thank you thank you everyone!!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Turn the basking light on and UVB on in the morning --- he will be fine for one day --- nite time temps should be 65 -75 -- basking temps 95-100 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer - cool side of the tank 80's and you want the middle of the tank 90's --- you want a bright white basking bulb for basking and NO colored lights at all ------------- NO sand NO heat mats or rocks --- I need to know what that UVB is your using and how old it is------ I am gonna help you get set up here but I need information from you -- you can look on the bulb of the UVB and it will tell you brand and bulb ----
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

No members online now.

Latest resources

Latest profile posts

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

Forum statistics

Threads
155,901
Messages
1,255,699
Members
75,967
Latest member
Newbeardiemom09
Top Bottom