New member and new beardie mom

Hey all!

I always come across this group when I’m googling beardie questions, so I figured why not join! Haha!

I inherited a young dragon (we think he is about a year old). I have him in a 50 gal glass terrarium with a 10.0 Reptisun UVB light. He also has a 100 watt ceramic heat emitter over his basking spot. His basking rock sits at about 100* while the rest of the tank is at about 84-90*. He has his rock, his cave, and his water bowl on a laminate type flooring. He also has a small hand towel in a corner that he likes to lay on. He gets 1-2 baths a week, and loves to snuggle into his blanket on the couch every evening. His diet consists of mixed greens (collard, turnip, dandelion, and his favorite mustards), butternut squash, blueberries, crickets and dubias. His greens are tossed in a liquid calcium supplement, and his dubias are dusted. He has daily bowel moments typically, though he’ll occasionally skip a day.

With all this said, sometimes I think he is trying to brumate. He’ll sulk off his rock to have a sleep in his corner. He’ll darken up a bit when he does so. Sometimes, I’ll pull him out for an extra snuggle, and as soon as he’s in his blanket..he’s fast asleep and he’s lightened right up. We noticed the other day that his femoral pores are more apparent now, and sometimes he’ll need an extra bath cuz he’s smelling a little musky. My husband says he’s probably going through lizard puberty and he’s just being a moody teen hahaha! In all seriousness though, is there anything I might be doing or or doing that could use correction? I just want to make sure the little guy is as happy as he can be

Thanks in advance, I look forward to being a part of the group!

Welcome to the forum! Are you using a bright white light over the basking area as well, or just the CHE? Ideally you'll want to use a bright white light like a halogen flood bulb or reptile basking light to produce heat along with the UVB. The goal is that they will combine to simulate natural sunlight (Bright white light with heat and UVB). It's certainly possible that he is acting up due to hormones but it could also be a reaction if the lighting needs adjustment.

CooperDragon":2esj8prx said:

Welcome to the forum! Are you using a bright white light over the basking area as well, or just the CHE? Ideally you'll want to use a bright white light like a halogen flood bulb or reptile basking light to produce heat along with the UVB. The goal is that they will combine to simulate natural sunlight (Bright white light with heat and UVB). It's certainly possible that he is acting up due to hormones but it could also be a reaction if the lighting needs adjustment.

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Thank you for your response! He does have a dome light on his basking spot as well. I don’t recall the wattage on it off hand, it was whatever the local reptile store suggested :-/. He’s apparently decided he doesn’t like blueberries anymore lol. Still loves his greens and squash though.

I did notice this morning that a large patch on his head has started to get that dull look like a pre-shed maybe. Maybe he’s just getting ready for another shed

OK that's good. It's OK if he isn't as into blueberries and is eating other things. They should be an occasional treat with salads anyway. If there is a dull patch on his head that is likely an oncoming shed, yes. They do tend to shed in odd patches and sometimes one scale at a time when they get older.

CooperDragon":6tsmzvro said:

OK that's good. It's OK if he isn't as into blueberries and is eating other things. They should be an occasional treat with salads anyway. If there is a dull patch on his head that is likely an oncoming shed, yes. They do tend to shed in odd patches and sometimes one scale at a time when they get older.

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Yep! He ended up shedding the entire patch on his head now he has a leg that’s looking dull. I guess he’s just a growing boy!