New To The Site with "Sandy"

Hello,
I am new to this site with our beardie "Sandy".
Sandy is about 2-3 months old, male I believe, 10 inches long and is now in his new 55 gallon tank. Substrate is crushed walnut shells, which was recommended by the pet store. He has a hollow log for shelter, a climbing log, and his water and food dishes. Average tank temp is between 100 to 75 degrees. I have some concerns sice we moved him to his new home about a month ago. His "bathroom" breaks have changed significantly, sometimes with no action for 2-3 days at a time. Loved snow peas from day one and now doesn't seem to touch any greens that I give him. Loves meal worms, but now I am reading that they are not as good for him as we thought. Eats 2-3 large crickets a day, down significantly from the 5-10 larger ones he used to eat. He doesn't seem to chase his food, waits to actually be served, which leads me to wonder about the whole paralized thing. Color seems ok. Used to see him open his mouth to breath, but now he sits with his mouth slightly open & his tounge tip always exposed. I also have questions bout "bath time". I feel like a paranoid mother. Can I get some much needed advise? Thanks :roll:

First i would like to say Welcom to the forum!!!

Secondly i would like to address your choice of substrate. Although the pet shop recommeneded it is not safe for your beardie. If your beardie swallows the walnut shell it is not easily digestable and can cause significant internal damage to your BD.

Next, how old is your BD. He should really be eating more than 2-3 crickets a day. And i would definetely stop feeding him mealies. There are better worms that you can feed him such as Silkworms, wax worms, and pheonix worms. The rule of thumb for cricket feeding is provide as many crickets as your dragon will eat in a 5-10 min period. Although if you say your BD has loss his appetite, there may be an underlying cause for his loss of appetite.

If your BD is young i would not worry too much about him not eating his greens. Almost all of beardies when they were young were not to keen on their veggies. But as they got older they slowly started to switch on their own.

I am just making a few suggestions that i think can help youout a little better, Remember these are just my opinions. Hope i helped a little. :lol:

Thanks so much. After I posted, I read that it was strongly suggested to NOT use that type of substrate. I am going today to get the washable substrate padding--what are your thoughts on that? I saw that many were feeding silkworms, is there a size chioce as with the meal worms? Also, what advise can you give me on bathing the little man? I have never given him one, but I think that it might be a good idea to get him to relax and maybe relieve some possible constipation.
This thing with his tounge is questionable as well--he leaves the tip out all the time, like he's ready to stick it out. I have seen him gape his mouth the breathe, but this is really different. Thanks again.

I use a pad-like non adhesive shelf liner and it works great. Its easy to clean and has relatively no risk involved.


Jeez, walnut shells!? What will these pet stores come up with next?


Good luck with your new guy

cheers

The walnut stuff is going--I have been reading about the shelf liners and that's what I'm going to go with. Doesn't seem like it can get easier than that. Thanks.

When i bathe my guys i fill up a rubbermaid tub with lukewarm water just high enough so they can touch and keep their head above the water. You will find that he will "inflate" himself with air and will float and he might also try and get out but he will be fine. I leave my guys in there for about 10-15 minutes. You may also find that he may defacate in the water, when this happens i remove the soiled water and replace it with new fresh water. :lol:

are you sure your temps are right. they sound fine, but sometimes beardies will gape if they are too hot. i don't want to worry you, but they can also get respiratory infections. that is something i don't know much about as i have never had this happen. maybe you should post this concern in the health section and see if anyone can help you out. as far as your other concerns go, i agree with what you've already been told from other posters. good luck!