Hello from the UK and some help please

First time owner, I got my new beardie on Thursday evening, it's about a month old and six inches long, I bought the exo terra beardie starter kit, 36" x 18" x 12" with the solar glo 125w UVA, uvb and heat bulb and bought some furniture.
I have the light on 730am-730pm each day.
Every morning I leave waxworms and chopped veg covered in calcium and vitamin powder on all and some purified water. I have misted occasionally or dropped water off my finger on to its head to keep hydrated.
My boys decided on picking the smallest of the litter so they are on the slim side.
Well I've read up on relocation stress and lack of eating, and it's only been a few days.
They've not really eat anything since coming home, but last night I managed 10 x stage 3 size crickets last night when fed with tongs, but this was over sittings half and hour apart as I was getting the head turn away when they had enough.
Well came home today and noticed only one of the 5 waxworms has been eaten, just tried tongs and no interest.
I've previously tried feeding in a big container but they ignore the crickets and just claws the sides to get out, which happened again today but they had a poop in there.
So being a little worried do I just go for it and take out the terrarium furniture and put some crickets loose in the terrarium and leave my beardie for a while to see if they prefer eating without being watched?
They bask a lot and nippy around the tank when they want to chase the fish in the tank next door, they've pooped the last two days, also been ok with petting and picking up, although not done it for last 2 days in case that was causing stress.
Any help gratefully received

Welcome to the forum! It's possibly relocation stress. It could also be a lighting issue. How far above the main basking spot is your Solar Glo? What are the surface temps in the basking area under the light and the temps off to the other side of the enclosure? The trick with a mercury vapor bulb is to be able to set it at appropriate height for the UVB exposure while still providing adequate surface temperatures across the tank. Since UVB exposure and temperature have a direct effect on their digestion, it's important to get this dialed in. Can you post some photos of your setup and your dragon? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.

CooperDragon":53i9tbbr said:

Welcome to the forum! It's possibly relocation stress. It could also be a lighting issue. How far above the main basking spot is your Solar Glo? What are the surface temps in the basking area under the light and the temps off to the other side of the enclosure? The trick with a mercury vapor bulb is to be able to set it at appropriate height for the UVB exposure while still providing adequate surface temperatures across the tank. Since UVB exposure and temperature have a direct effect on their digestion, it's important to get this dialed in. Can you post some photos of your setup and your dragon? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.

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Here's a pics of the setup and the dragon, I'm picking up a thermostat tomorrow, any recommendations on the best type?

That looks about the right distance for UVB, although the mesh top may be intercepting quite a bit. As far as thermometers go, I'd get something like this https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/swell-digital-thermometer/ I suggest getting two. One to put on the basking area (the composite bridge?) and the other to put on the cool side floor. This way you can tell what the gradient is at a glance. I wouldn't get a thermostat with a mercury vapor bulb because they don't handle dimming or on/off well at all. To go with a thermostat, I recommend using a halogen flood light for basking heat and connect that to the thermostat. Then use a separate UVB light (a 22'' T5 is a good choice) set on top of the enclosure next to the basking light.

Here is an example of the basking flood lamps I mentioned https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/arcadia-basking-solar-flood/ and a good option for UVB https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/arcadia-prot5-kit-desert-12/

CooperDragon":3389bgbv said:

Here is an example of the basking flood lamps I mentioned https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/arcadia-basking-solar-flood/ and a good option for UVB https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/arcadia-prot5-kit-desert-12/

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Thanks for your advice, I'll take a look and come back with any questions.

Well you've gotten great advice so far, so just popping in to say welcome to the forum! :mrgreen:

-Brandon

claudiusx":drybdepo said:

Well you've gotten great advice so far, so just popping in to say welcome to the forum! :mrgreen:

-Brandon

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Thanks Brandon, great to have people to chat with about Beardies

CooperDragon":rfj785ht said:

That looks about the right distance for UVB, although the mesh top may be intercepting quite a bit. As far as thermometers go, I'd get something like this https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/swell-digital-thermometer/ I suggest getting two. One to put on the basking area (the composite bridge?) and the other to put on the cool side floor. This way you can tell what the gradient is at a glance. I wouldn't get a thermostat with a mercury vapor bulb because they don't handle dimming or on/off well at all. To go with a thermostat, I recommend using a halogen flood light for basking heat and connect that to the thermostat. Then use a separate UVB light (a 22'' T5 is a good choice) set on top of the enclosure next to the basking light.

Click to expand...

I bought two digital thermometers and placed one on the basking surface and the other a couple inches above the surface in the cold, this told me that the basking end was all at 104, but the cooler end was too cold at 72, so put some polystyrene against the glass at the cooler end and also a towel over the mesh room on the cooler half and this raised the temp up to 77.
My beardie does help itself to a waxworm a day while i'm at work and also pooping everyday and is perky and pretty active around the terrarium. We had the first bath yesterday that went well seemed to really enjoy the warm towel around their body afterwards, they are also very chilled about being held and my hands very close to them.
Just need to eat more than the 1 or 2 crickets and not any veg, but I'm feeling much happier with things, so hoping the appetite picks up, but as long as I'm offering food and they are perky then I'll wait it out as it's only been at mine for a week and is 3-4 months old.

CooperDragon":2j6rxsgx said:

As far as thermometers go, I'd get something like this https://www.reptiles.swelluk.com/swell-digital-thermometer/

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+1 I agree with that type/style (digital with probe), but that link seemed a bit pricey vs. many I've been looking at on amazon for $2-$3 ea. (£1.50-£2.34) (also scroll down to products related to this item) unless there's some difference in quality? :dontknow: YMMV

I'm also finding (while looking for digital hygrometers w/ probe) is that hygrometer/thermometers cost virtually the same as just thermometers.

I wound up delaying ordering either though; I've been using a temp gun instead, and with a little practice, it's almost as fast as multiple thermometers at a glance.

N.B. Kinda by accident, we found that an intervening screen (top) also distorts the reading of a temp gun, e.g. a basking temp may read 105°F through the screen, but 115°F sans screen.