Our new baby Ramen has stress marks :(

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hi there!
we've had our baby for just under a week now, and he still has stress marks! I just don't know if we are overworried or if there is something we are missing. here's WAY too much info, and if anyone has any ideas..... thanks so much for reading it!
(not really sure how to post pics but maybe someday....)
he's eating great, pooping, sleeping through the night, rarely hides. he wanders around and explorse a bit. he prances like a happy puppy when the crikets come out. he basks and watches us. he doesnt run away when we put our hands in to pet him, he seems to like being petted, and licks us sometimes. OUr son has only held him one time b/c we want him to get used to us, but today he ate a piece of greens off Danny's finger so that's pretty cool!
We are super new to the bearded dragon world, but our son had wanted one for years! We've read all the forums and have been preparing to bring the right baby home for a year now. We did buy a kit, but then also bought lots of other supplement stuff that everyone seemed to indicate would be better. Ramen did come from pet store, but a really nice small-ownership one that only works with a specific breader, and we waited for him to be 2.5 months old before we brought him home. He was the biggest of the 3 babies they were keeping and looks super healthy.
We've had him for almost a week now.
Ramen is a GREAT eater! he takes down 12 or so crickets 2 times a day, and mid day we give him another 6 w/ ease (one time we tried more, but he slowed down so i think we found his happy limit)
he eats his collard greens like a good boy, and poops 2-3 times a day right in his food dish - which makes for super easy and quick clean up! Every once in a while he gets a little zucchini - he's meh about it but eats a little) he sleeps through the night like a champ.
a couple of days ago he finished shedding his skin - so we did a little extra misting during that - he seems to enjoy it anyway so.....

ok - enclosure -
Ramen is in a 20 gal tank w/ reptile mat (like sand and rocks glued down) he's got a piece of wood, a platform/cave in his basking area, and another cave in his shady area. also have some climbing vines. got a hammock but it's WAY too big so we will wait on that.
We mist in the morning after breakfast and humidity stays right about 40.
2 digital thermometers - cold side is like 75-80 warm side floats about 90-100, and the basking spot is like 105
we have a reptisun uvb5 in a 12" hood fixture, and a 100w basking light (we have red bulb too, but don't use it b/c i'm thinking the tank gets warm enough w/out) water and food bowl.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Welcome to the site!

Stress marks are very common with babies! Especially when they are in a new environment. It might take him a few weeks to acclimate to his new surroundings.

Could you post a picture of him and your setup?

So do you have the T5 reptisun 10.0 (the HO version) or the t8 version?
And what is the distance of it from bulb to basking spot?

Good on not using the red bulb. It really isn't suitable for dragons :)

-Brandon
 

dannyandramen

Member
Original Poster
thanks so much! ok so actually not sure on the bulb, and of course we threw the packaging away.
it is a compact bulb and fixture, not the lenght of the tank, but we put it right in the middle and even w/ the basking /heat light off it really lights up the whole enclosure. the bulb says 10.0 uvb self balasted lamp. it doesnt say HO on it.
distance from the top of basking area is about 8", but he sometimes also basks a step down at about the 9" level - sometimes up top tho!
i took some pics but not sure this is going to work... fingers crossed!
oh, i forgot to mention a couple other things. we got a rad background, but it made him glass surf like mad, so we took it down and he stopped. i think he'd rather just look out. gonna try again when he's a little bigger.
also our house get pretty cold at night, so i have a space heater right near his tank for at night. it keeps his sleeping area right about 70-75
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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The fixture that's long on opposite side of basking is that the UVB? If it is can you please look on that bulb and tell us what it is---- brand and bulb
Karrie
 

dannyandramen

Member
Original Poster
The bulb says reptisun 10.0 uvb 5.0. But that’s all it says. It’s from zoo Med. and I know it’s a compact version. Sorry I threw the box away.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Is it a coil or tube? I can't tell if it's a 18" fixture or one of the new ones that has a long coil going sideways instead of straight down-- it looks like a T 8 w/ the 5.0 bulb--- it needs to go inside the tank approx 6-8 inches from basking spot - you need to either move it towards the heat bulb or get a piece of decor directly under it - the screen is filtering out 30% of those rays-- no cover over the bulb if there is one-- bulb needs to be exposed- at this point where it's at he is not getting enough UVB-- if IAM off and it is a coil you need to replace w/ a tube UVB - no coil
Karrie
 

dannyandramen

Member
Original Poster
Ok! Here are pics of new light arrangement and the uvb bulb itself. If the thought is that the uvb fixture should go inside the tank could definitely use some suggestions. There is a screen top. And mounting the fixture inside it- I thin that would put the bulb only 4-5” above the basking surface - isn’t that too close????
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Thanks so much to all for all of the info and advice!
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hi there,

No, that bulb shouldn't go inside. It's pretty harsh and doesn't quite provide the proper UV for our dragons. You should look into switching to the long tube version of that bulb. Either the reptisun 10.0 t8 or the HO version.

-Brandon
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I agree w/ Brandon --- looks like Reptisun has gone to a long version of the bad coil ---they have another one that sits directly downward and this one that version is a 13 watt --- those are insufficient as well- you want a Tube like Brandon suggested a T 8 or a T 5 -- you will need to get another fixture / hood w/ a reflector --- you cant get the T 8's at Petsmart or Petco or on line ---
Karrie
 

dannyandramen

Member
Original Poster
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Are any of these good? I found them on amazon. And I’m just not sure who to trust at the pet stores and there are soooooooo many options and I certainly don’t want to hurt our little buddy or stress him more (and selfishly we just can’t afford to buy too much mire wrong stuff).
Any opinions on these units?
I guess the good news his ramen seems to be a trooper and is still eating and pooping and basking and being happy to see us. So at least that’s something.
Thanks again to all of you for this it is so helpful and we are learning so much!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Yes you can use the fixture but I would get the Reptisun 10.0 T 8 bulb --- they can be found at your petsmart or petco --- make sure you take the cover off that fixture before placing inside the tank approx 6-8 inches from basking - the fixture will have a bulb in it but it is not as good as the Reptisun
Karrie
 

dannyandramen

Member
Original Poster
Hi there! Sorry for the delay. I literally just forgot to post updates. So it took us 3 day to find - bc we are newbs - but got the reptisun t8 long bulb in a fixture and my husband build a super cool mounting system so it hooks over the back glass it sits near the basking spot and the extends most of the length of the tank. Also got a ceramic bulb to boost the heat just a bit (bc our house is getting colder) monitoring temps a ton and only using the ceramic for like 2 hrs a day but it’s working well.
So ramen has had all these goodies for about a week.
We have started holding him for little bits of time while we clean the tank or right before feeding. He’s getting pretty used to it.
Still eating 40+ crickets per day and pooping in the food bowl and eating his greens.
He’s huge!!! I really need to figure out how to weigh this guy w out him making a run for it but he’s definitely growing!

But.... stress marks are still there.

But he never hides from us and licks the glass whenever danny comes in and comes close bc danny is now feeding live crickets strait from his fingers
So I’m hoping we are doing ok??????
Here’s an updated light pic.
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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I dont know how far the UVB is from the dragon but he needs to be able to sit under that approx 6-8 inches from the light- so if its not get a piece of decor and place under the UVB at the distance of what I posted -
Karrie
 

dannyandramen

Member
Original Poster
I’m really bad at taking pics but the uvb is directly over the basking spot and it is 7-7.5” from light to rock surface. It’s
right next to the basking light - almost touching but not quite
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok so distance is good then -- did you take the cover off the Zilla fixture?
Karrie
 
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