My beardie won't eat, and sleeps all the time!

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amyb

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Hi everyone,

I just bought a baby bearded dragon 3 days ago - he's very young, probably between 6 to 9 weeks. I'm kind of concerned with him.. All he does is sleep all day and night (there are a few times a day where he moves about for a second or two and he's able to pick his head up just fine). Usually, when I pick him up, he'll immediately fall right back asleep in my hand. Also, he hardly eats. The day before yesterday he ate 3 crickets, yesterday he ate 2, and today he's only eaten 1.
I brought him to the vet yesterday, which wasn't very helpful.. The vet did say, however, that the very, very tip of my beardie's tail is necrotic. It had been that way when I bought him.

Some info on his tank....I've got him in a 10 gallon. I'm using 3 types of lights.. a heating light, a UVB light, and a night heating light. His basking spot is about 110-115 degrees, and the cool side is usually around 80-85. The humidity is around 35-40. There's a small water dish, a food dish (I'll put a few chopped pieces of lettuce in there), a log and a rock in his tank. I'm using reptile carpet as a substrate. I've been trying to feed him small crickets covered in the calcium powder..

Please help... I don't understand why he's sleeping all the time or why he won't eat!

-Amy
 

Gail

BD.org Addict
What are you measuring the temps with? I'd be worried about over heating in a tank that size, 10 gallon are hard to create a heat gradient in. Did the vet do a fecal?
 

amyb

Member
Original Poster
Gail":39y10bv2 said:
What are you measuring the temps with? I'd be worried about over heating in a tank that size, 10 gallon are hard to create a heat gradient in. Did the vet do a fecal?

No, the vet wasn't very helpful... He just felt his abdomen and told me it felt empty, and that he was acting somewhat depressed. I have a 20 gallon long tank that I can switch him over to, but I was reading online that baby's would get lost and don't like smaller tanks? What do you suggest? I'm measuring the temps with these circular black thing that stick to the wall..
 

Nasubi77

Sub-Adult Member
amyb":1mx4twtn said:
Gail":1mx4twtn said:
What are you measuring the temps with? I'd be worried about over heating in a tank that size, 10 gallon are hard to create a heat gradient in. Did the vet do a fecal?

No, the vet wasn't very helpful... He just felt his abdomen and told me it felt empty, and that he was acting somewhat depressed. I have a 20 gallon long tank that I can switch him over to, but I was reading online that baby's would get lost and don't like smaller tanks? What do you suggest? I'm measuring the temps with these circular black thing that stick to the wall..

The 20l would be much better. If your therm reads 110 on the wall, it is probably WAY too hot on the actual basking spot. I seriously doubt that either reading is correct (Those stick on therms can be off up to 20 degrees)...I don't see how you can get temps of 115 and 85 in a 10g.
Sometimes babies can get overwhelmed in an extremely large tank, but a 20g would not classify as "extremely large." It is just right for a baby. Definitely switch tanks.

Get a digital thermometer with a probe on a wire. Wal Mart sells one made by Acurite for $12 and it's perfect. The probe should go directly on the basking spot for the basking temp and the base unit of the therm can go anywhere on the cool side for that temp.

Also, what kind of UVB do you use? Which brand, strength and is it a tube or compact coil? The only recommended brand and type at this time is the Reptisun 10.0 tube. Any other type and any other brand can cause the symptoms you describe i.e. sleeping a lot, not eating. The not eating can also be attributed to relocation stress since you only got him a few days ago, but the right bulb is important regardless.

You don't need the night light. His temps can drop to the low 60's, so if you are comfy in your house, you most likely do not need any heat source on him at night. Beardies can see red and blue lights, unlike their nocturnal cousins, so a night light can interrupt their sleep. If his tank does get too cold at night, a ceramic heat emitter is the best choice for supplemental heat.

Lettuce is not a good veggie to feed him. Aim for dark, leafy greens, like collard, mustard or turnip greens. Don't expect him to pay much attention to veggies at first, but they still should be offered every day. Here is a good list that shows you which veggies you should and should not feed your beardie: Beautiful Dragons

I think once you get your temps sorted out and the right UVB and give him a few days to settle in, he'll be just fine!
 

amyb

Member
Original Poster
Nasubi77":26hj2bcr said:
amyb":26hj2bcr said:
Gail":26hj2bcr said:
What are you measuring the temps with? I'd be worried about over heating in a tank that size, 10 gallon are hard to create a heat gradient in. Did the vet do a fecal?

No, the vet wasn't very helpful... He just felt his abdomen and told me it felt empty, and that he was acting somewhat depressed. I have a 20 gallon long tank that I can switch him over to, but I was reading online that baby's would get lost and don't like smaller tanks? What do you suggest? I'm measuring the temps with these circular black thing that stick to the wall..

The 20l would be much better. If your therm reads 110 on the wall, it is probably WAY too hot on the actual basking spot. I seriously doubt that either reading is correct (Those stick on therms can be off up to 20 degrees)...I don't see how you can get temps of 115 and 85 in a 10g.
Sometimes babies can get overwhelmed in an extremely large tank, but a 20g would not classify as "extremely large." It is just right for a baby. Definitely switch tanks.

Get a digital thermometer with a probe on a wire. Wal Mart sells one made by Acurite for $12 and it's perfect. The probe should go directly on the basking spot for the basking temp and the base unit of the therm can go anywhere on the cool side for that temp.

Also, what kind of UVB do you use? Which brand, strength and is it a tube or compact coil? The only recommended brand and type at this time is the Reptisun 10.0 tube. Any other type and any other brand can cause the symptoms you describe i.e. sleeping a lot, not eating. The not eating can also be attributed to relocation stress since you only got him a few days ago, but the right bulb is important regardless.

You don't need the night light. His temps can drop to the low 60's, so if you are comfy in your house, you most likely do not need any heat source on him at night. Beardies can see red and blue lights, unlike their nocturnal cousins, so a night light can interrupt their sleep. If his tank does get too cold at night, a ceramic heat emitter is the best choice for supplemental heat.

Lettuce is not a good veggie to feed him. Aim for dark, leafy greens, like collard, mustard or turnip greens. Don't expect him to pay much attention to veggies at first, but they still should be offered every day. Here is a good list that shows you which veggies you should and should not feed your beardie: Beautiful Dragons

I think once you get your temps sorted out and the right UVB and give him a few days to settle in, he'll be just fine!


Thank you very much for all your help! I'll switch him into the other tank as soon as I'm off work and get that other thermometer. I am using the Reptisun 10.0 tube already, though.
Again, thanks so much! Hopefully I see him more active and eating more in his new tank.
 
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