DragonCompanion21
Member
Hello, my beard is is named spike
He is around 7-9 years old (not sure how old he was when we got him but looked like a older teen beardie). I am new to this community and would like some feedback.
His environment:
He has to live in some unideal conditions, and my parents only get certain things. For example, his basking bulb only gets his 40 gal tank (unable to increase the tank size) to around 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit, and I am also unable to get a heating bulb. Additionally, his basking bulb only comes on from 11 am to 3 pm. He does have a UVB 10.0 bulb. His cool side is around 81 degrees Fahrenheit, but later in the day when his basking bulb is off there is not much difference. I usually take him out later in the day every other day, and he is usually active and walks around during that time until he gets cold and goes to sleep. Then I take him back to his tank. I bathe and let his soak him every week.
Some concerns I have:
So I have been feeding him green leaf lettuce (I'm hoping it's not as bad as iceberg lettuce) and 1-2 mealworms every other day until a couple weeks ago. I looked up some more information recently and learned all about how they aren't nutritious and mealworms aren't a good option. I felt so bad but he wasn't abnormally lazy so I didn't notice. I managed to get some mustard and collard greens, as well as a couple mangoes. However, he won't eat the greens as much and can't lick up some of the mangoes I give him as well as some fruits time to time. I am afraid this will make his condition worse. I am trying to get some dubia roaches, which I got permission for. I also have some calcium with vitamin d3 I use. He only poops every week or two, which I am concerned about. As far as I can tell, it looks normal though. He is not super active, but has some lazy times especially shown when he lays halfway on his log. I am also going to try and put in a hammock soon.
I would like to know if my beardie is okay, I care for him and lot and felt so awful when I realized I was taking care of him wrong. I originally got him from a rescue center after the previous person put two in a cage and they ended up fighting and he hurt his leg, which healed completely. I did feed him a lot better when be was young, and for years he ate crickets but they got out constantly and became too much of a problem. They were too hard to maintain. After I fed him superworms, but they actually ended up pricking me and Spike had some hard times digesting them. I would also like any advice for how to treat him better in the conditions I am limited to. I'm trying to take him to the vet soon, but would like some advice beforehand.
Sorry for this being so long
Thanks for any help!
He is around 7-9 years old (not sure how old he was when we got him but looked like a older teen beardie). I am new to this community and would like some feedback.
His environment:
He has to live in some unideal conditions, and my parents only get certain things. For example, his basking bulb only gets his 40 gal tank (unable to increase the tank size) to around 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit, and I am also unable to get a heating bulb. Additionally, his basking bulb only comes on from 11 am to 3 pm. He does have a UVB 10.0 bulb. His cool side is around 81 degrees Fahrenheit, but later in the day when his basking bulb is off there is not much difference. I usually take him out later in the day every other day, and he is usually active and walks around during that time until he gets cold and goes to sleep. Then I take him back to his tank. I bathe and let his soak him every week.
Some concerns I have:
So I have been feeding him green leaf lettuce (I'm hoping it's not as bad as iceberg lettuce) and 1-2 mealworms every other day until a couple weeks ago. I looked up some more information recently and learned all about how they aren't nutritious and mealworms aren't a good option. I felt so bad but he wasn't abnormally lazy so I didn't notice. I managed to get some mustard and collard greens, as well as a couple mangoes. However, he won't eat the greens as much and can't lick up some of the mangoes I give him as well as some fruits time to time. I am afraid this will make his condition worse. I am trying to get some dubia roaches, which I got permission for. I also have some calcium with vitamin d3 I use. He only poops every week or two, which I am concerned about. As far as I can tell, it looks normal though. He is not super active, but has some lazy times especially shown when he lays halfway on his log. I am also going to try and put in a hammock soon.
I would like to know if my beardie is okay, I care for him and lot and felt so awful when I realized I was taking care of him wrong. I originally got him from a rescue center after the previous person put two in a cage and they ended up fighting and he hurt his leg, which healed completely. I did feed him a lot better when be was young, and for years he ate crickets but they got out constantly and became too much of a problem. They were too hard to maintain. After I fed him superworms, but they actually ended up pricking me and Spike had some hard times digesting them. I would also like any advice for how to treat him better in the conditions I am limited to. I'm trying to take him to the vet soon, but would like some advice beforehand.
Sorry for this being so long
Thanks for any help!