HELP! New Beardie mommy! What do I do?

I am SO WORRIED as a new beardie mom and EVERYTHING on the internet is telling me what I am doing is wrong and all have different info!!! someone PLEASE tell me EXACTLY what i need to change, whats going on, and what i can do for my baby!!!!

I have questions if someone wouldn't mind answering; My bearded dragon has been sleeping alot lately and been sluggish - is she about to shed? Could she be trying to go into brumation? Is she sick? I've been feeding her (she's a female) a balanced diet of greens and veggies, crickets and meal worms (although she hasn't been alot and she prefers the bugs to her veggies- i try to make her eat her veggies first)for a 12-13 month old bearded dragon regularly and giving her enough proper uva uvb light(and natural light) and all of my bulbs are new- she doesn't drink much water (ive only ever seen her drink from drops i put on her nose ONCE since we got her a month ago) so Ive been offering it to her via syringe every chance i get (she gets mad at me haha) and been giving her daily baths/soaks- (maybe its an issue with water quality?-ive been using strickly tap water (hard water in SanDiego CA i think))she has been pooping regularly so it isn't impaction and i have been trying to get her out for natural sunlight and exercise/cuddling every chance I get (she's in a glass tank and i can imagine how boring it can get in there) she's got a cool end of her tank which stays around 76-80 and her basking end of the tank at around 86-98 : i have attempted to adjust both temperatures a bit higher just in case they were too cold but she opens her mouth (which is a sign she's trying to cool off) and have since gone back to her normal temps- (she had recently upgraded to a larger tank with a branch, her log hide her water "tub" and her salad bowl that is tegreshed daily and with plenty of room to dig and move around in ) she is a very colorful citrus dragon and her colors have been looking dull/greyish lately which is why I suspect shedding- could she just be overly exhausted? Her red warming bulb stays on all night and her mvb AND basking bulb are on during the day- does she need COMPLETE darkness to sleep properly? could someone "shed" (haha) some light on this for me please? Ive also been told that kale and meal worms are bad for beardies- but this was what Noodle's previous owner had used (in addition to the loose wood chips that we use for her tank- she has sometimes eaten a bit of it but it always comes out in her poop) - can she be going into brumation?

I am SO WORRIED as a new beardie mom and EVERYTHING on the internet is telling me what I am doing is wrong and all have different info (i also use mercury vapor uvb/uva/heat bulb btw) someone PLEASE tell me EXACTLY what i need to change, whats going on, and what i can do for my baby!!!!

see my comments, advise, and recommendations in your other thread here viewtopic.php?f=6&t=234427

I think as already mentioned in your other post, please immediately get the wood chips out of that tank!!! This is the very first thing you should do, any loose substrates like wood chips, calcium sand, crushed walnut shells, pebbles, loose gravel, etc. can be deadly and usually at the very least cause major health issues. Use only solid substrates like flooring tiles, non-adhesive shelf liner, paper towels, etc. So the first thing I would have you do is immediately get the wood chips out of her tank and just use paper towels and replace daily until you can get to Lowes or Home Depot to buy some nice looking stick-on tiles or whatever it is you want to use.

After that please answer ALL the questions posted to you in your other post, along with some photos of her and her enclosure and lights. Usually any lethargy, lack of appetite, constant dark coloration is due to improper lighting and improper temperatures. I can tell you 2 things that stick out as red flags to me immediately: #1 is the red night bulb, pitch it! Beardies must sleep in the dark because they see in color, so any lights at night disrupt their sleep. Her nighttime temperatures should drop, just like they do in the wild, and as long as her tank doesn't drop below the 65-70 degree range at night then she needs no nighttime heat source. If her tank does drop below the 65-70 degree temperature range at night because your house is cold, then you need to buy a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE), which screws into a normal lightbulb fixture but emits no light, only heat. Typically though most people need no nighttime heat source...#2 is what you list as your "basking side temperature range" of 86-98 degrees...That's a huge range. Your beardie's enclosure should have 3 distinct temperature zones and they should be measured using either a digital thermometer with a probe on a wire or a temperature gun. Those are the only accurate ways to measure the temps, and really the only way possible to get a reading on her basking spot, which is the most important temperature. Her cool side should be opposite the side with the basking spot and measure 75-80 degrees, so your cool side is good. The hot side is the side that contains and surrounds the basking spot, and the hot side should be between 88-95 degrees. The actual basking spot should be between 98-103 for an adult, and between 105-110 for a baby or juvenile. They seem to each have their own ideal basking spot temperature, so if you find when she is on her basking spot she is mouth gaping, then try raising the basking bulb up a bit, or even trying a slightly lower wattage basking bulb.

Also, regarding her UVB lighting, which is the most important lighting she has and needs, as every body system is dependent on the proper wavelength and amount of UVB, please list the brand, model, and type of UVB lighting you use, and also how far away her basking spot is from the UVB bulb. This is very important. I think you said you have a Mercury Vapor Bulb, which is good depending on which one you have, because she's getting her heat, her UVA, and her UVB all in the same spot, as long as it's an appropriate distance away from her basking spot (in inches) and it's one of the appropriate brands of MVB bulb.

Hello,

Sorry you have had to sift through so much information, it is overwhelming indeed.
We will try to help as much as possible so definitely fill in as much information for us so we
can better direct you.
You can post pictures of your dragon & of the tank so we can see that also.


Tracie

Drache613":186gg9bp said:

Hello,

Sorry you have had to sift through so much information, it is overwhelming indeed.
We will try to help as much as possible so definitely fill in as much information for us so we
can better direct you.
You can post pictures of your dragon & of the tank so we can see that also.


Tracie

Click to expand...

Here are some pictures

Hello,

Thanks for posting the picture. That is a piece of felt or some type of mat for the substrate right? If so, that is perfectly fine for him. Just keep it washed out frequently, or you can get a few more for easy change outs while one is being washed, etc.
The lighting will need to be changed. It looks like you are using a compact/coil type of light for the UVB?
We recommend using either the Reptisun 10 tube or the Arcadia D3 12% tube both of which are great bulbs. They are the conventional T8 bulbs. There are T5 tube bulbs now which are high output that you could consider. The tube bulb should take up about 1/2 to 2/3rds of the length of the tank with the basking light being placed at one end of the tank directly beside the tube bulb.
The basking light needs to be a bright white light such as a nice halogen flood light/bulb.
Since she is around a year, you can cut back the calcium to 3-4 days per week unless she is having calcium issues. The repcal calcium with D3 is fine & so is the herptivite. The vitamins only need to be given weekly.
I didn't see a digital probe thermometer in there so you'll need to get one of those. Walmart has a brand called Acurite with a probe you could buy & it is usually around $10 or so I think.

How is she doing today?

Tracie

Hi again....is that a double dome light fixture ? My screen tends to be dark + I can't see what all you have. If so, I don't think those hold a mercury vapor bulb. Can you turn the dome over [ while you shut it off ] and take a picture of the bulbs ? If you need a good mercury vapor bulb, the Mega ray is the best. Here's where you can get one :
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjhz8X0iuPUAhUBVCYKHVnVDKgQFgguMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.joshsfrogs.com%2Fmega-ray-mercury-vapor-bulb-100-watt.html&usg=AFQjCNHsveVhxRc8VNCtiyUu8Qwigqx0gg

That will provide heat and uvb in one. Set up a nice long basking log that goes from the floor to at least 10" off the ground, beardies love to climb. I get my logs,branches + driftwood from outside. Clean any visible dirt off and pop them in a preheated 250 oven for about an hour -75 minutes to kill any potential pests. Just don't use any pine or sappy wood.

Next, it would be good to put down non adhesive shelf liner....if you put it on a wad of newspaper it creates a nice soft [ relatively ] floor.

The vitamins + calcium are good. Get rid of the freeze dried food, use it only in emergency. It's kind of like if we would eat beef jerky or dried food in pouches instead of the real thing. Offer greens to her as well. And lastly, no need for a water bowl, just spray her snout once a week for a drink and bathe her if she's dirty or if having a long shed.

Here are some updated pictures- i chucked the wood chips and put in some shelf liner she has her soft hut/with a soft towel inside and her logs/branch at the moment i took her water bowl out since ive never seen her drink it or bathe in it- but after doing so she has been regularly and thirstily!! Been drinking from a syringe (she was looking dehyrated more since i changed her substrate) i was thinking of getting an exoterra reptil rock/fountain or trying to train her to drink from a bowl (in case i work late and my boyfriend has to watch her


Heres the set up now and the uvb bulb i use- i also got one probe thermometer (want to get another one but still unsure how to position/place the first) she likes the basking light and the uvb to be separate for some reason and she isn't too pleased that she cant dig anymore haha

Ive also been trying to find a place besides the basic pet stores that carries a larger variety of live bugs (maybe intetested in growing/keeping my own??) the last crickets o got her are too jumpy and although she LOVES mealworms, i have been informed that they cause problems- haven't seen her eat any fruits or veggies besides kale (both from my hand or in a bowl) and i want to get some other ideas for salads! -planning on regularly giving her a bowl and leaving it for when she gets curious enough to try it- but she's still an insect fiend- i have a multivitamin repcal and a calcium repcal that i mix together (as the instructions say) and put at the bottom of a bowl with meal worms on top (lightly dusted and if she misses she gets more vitamins) **** i only give her those once a week in fear that i will poison her or something- am i doing that right?

O.K, that IS a MVB, Powersun 100. If you put in a 200 watt exoterra uvb compact next to it you'll get plenty of uvb. The set up looks pretty good, if you can get a branch up higher that will be even better.

Crickets are easy to feed....put them in a jar with a pinch of calcium powder and shake until they are stunned. Then drop a few at a time in with her. I've done that for years, beardies like them when they look weak + slow. Use calcium powder every other day or every 3 days, vitamins only 1-2 X and not heavily.

AHBD":2n6ql52t said:

O.K, that IS a MVB, Powersun 100. If you put in a 200 watt exoterra uvb compact next to it you'll get plenty of uvb. The set up looks pretty good, if you can get a branch up higher that will be even better.

Crickets are easy to feed....put them in a jar with a pinch of calcium powder and shake until they are stunned. Then drop a few at a time in with her. I've done that for years, beardies like them when they look weak + slow. Use calcium powder every other day or every 3 days, vitamins only 1-2 X and not heavily.

Click to expand...

I have a zoomed reptisun 10.0 compact uvb but i have heard so many horror stories about compacts and i am so worried that if i put one next to the other in my bulb and she gets too close to the lights(even through the screen) she's get burned or go blind! - can anyone else weigh in on this??

The 100w Powersun should produce plenty of UVB within about 8-10 inches of the bulb. It should be mounted within that range if possible. Through a screen, it should sit closer to 8'' from the basking spot since the screen will intercept some of the output. If that doesn't produce enough heat, a ceramic heat emitter or second basking light may be needed.

No, the light is going through the screen, it's not going to affect her eyes and the 100 watt will not burn her, I've used those for years both with screen and w'out between the dragon + the bulb.

CooperDragon":1jjk9cdj said:

The 100w Powersun should produce plenty of UVB within about 8-10 inches of the bulb. It should be mounted within that range if possible. Through a screen, it should sit closer to 8'' from the basking spot since the screen will intercept some of the output. If that doesn't produce enough heat, a ceramic heat emitter or second basking light may be needed.

Click to expand...

I have two more lamps/fixtures coming so there will be more options for lighting soon- but for now can i put the mercury and the compact uvb bulb side by side ?

You can but I don't know that the compact would add any benefit. I'd just keep the MVB running on it's own and add some heat if it's needed.