Please Help, I Do Not Know If It Is An Illness

JLynn87 · Sep 9, 2017

I just cleaned out my beauties 40 gallon tank and put new carpet in there. I left for 1-2 hours and noticed a clear liquid on his Hamic and a strong smell of urine. I looked around for what could be causing the smell and found that it was his tank, I took out the Hamic and it reeked of urine. He has been pooping even though he is not eating, I have also noticed his urate has been white up until an hour or two ago. I'm not sure what this could mean, I've only had him for two weeks and he has not had any kind of a bad smell what so ever. I am also worried that he has not really eaten this week from what I could see.I keep collards and juvenile fortified food for him at all times and I have offered him crickets and mealworms, he had eaten probably three crickets and maybe a half a dozen meal worms this entire week. His eyes are a bit sunken in and he seems extra scared of me, I thought he was just beginning to shed, that was until the smell. Being that it is a Saturday night I am worried that he needs a vet and I won't be able to take him in until Monday, is there anything I can do or should I be worried at all?

I do not know his age but he is very small, he weighed 7 grams 7 days ago when I took him to the vet to be sure I was feeding him properly. I use a T8 rep the sun tube for his UVB, and 100 W basking lamp, his humidity levels are around 20 to 30 and he's temps have varied a lot as I have been trying to get them between 95 and 110 for basking. I also give him calcium powder, but since he is not eating he hasn't had any. I don't know if this makes any difference but I did move his terrarium to a new location so he would not be on the floor. I give him baths every 2 to 3 days and he drinks water, but today he did not drink half as much as he normally does.

Drache613 · Sep 10, 2017

Hello,

Sorry your dragon isn't doing well. You haven't had him for very long. Was his appetite good
when you first got him, or not? Did he have too many mealworms when you first got him? How
large of crickets were you giving him? Were they larger or smaller than the space between his
eyes?
What are you measuring the temperatures with, a digital probe or a temp gun? If you can,
post some pictures of him & of the tank setup, too.
The Reptisun 10 tube is a good bulb. What is the distance you have it from your dragon & is
there a screen or plastic in between him & the UVB?

Tracie

kingofnobbys · Sep 10, 2017

JLynn87":eklruc05 said:
I just cleaned out my beauties 40 gallon tank and put new carpet in there. I left for 1-2 hours and noticed a clear liquid on his Hamic and a strong smell of urine. I looked around for what could be causing the smell and found that it was his tank, I took out the Hamic and it reeked of urine. He has been pooping even though he is not eating, I have also noticed his urate has been white up until an hour or two ago. I'm not sure what this could mean, I've only had him for two weeks and he has not had any kind of a bad smell what so ever. I am also worried that he has not really eaten this week from what I could see.I keep collards and juvenile fortified food
Exactly what is it ?

for him at all times and I have offered him crickets and mealworms, he had eaten probably three crickets and maybe a half a dozen meal worms this entire week.

<<< at 7g he has to be no older than 8 weeks old (likely only 4 weeks old),

He is not eating nearly enough at all .
guidance for you :

FEEDING SCHEDULE (I recommend at least 2 hrs lights/heat on before first live feed and after last feed of the day)
>>> when are you offering live feeder insects ? what are they ? how big are they ?
>>> when are you offering greens and other veg ? what are you offering ?
good guide is here : http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html

Suppliments used ?
>>> is the calcium powder vitD3 fortified ? == use with caution.
Potential risks are hypervitaminosis D3 (from excessive ingestion of vitamin D3) and inability to metabolise dietary calcium leading to a buildup of calcium in your beardies blood (hypercalcemia).

basic Feeding schedules :

hatchlings
three feeds of live appropriate sized insects per day as many as they want per session offered a few at time if it's hoppy or fast moving
+ offer fresh high calcium greens daily (might not eat it).

Juveniles (6 months to 12 months)
two feeds of insects per day
+ offer fresh high calcium greens daily (might not eat it)

Good staple insects
>> BSF maggots
>> blowfly gents
and the pupae and flies , great for hatchlings and juveniles , naturally rich in calcium
>> silkworms
small (1-1.5 inch for sub 3 month olds)
medium (1.5 - 2 inch for larger hatchlings and juveniles)
large ( > 2 inch for beardies older than 12 months.
>> crickets / roaches / locusts , must be gutloaded with calcium rich foods and greens & dusted LIGHTLY with calcium powder.

Repashi GRUBPIE is acceptable as a backup food.

Hard and soft pellets are dubious , ok mixed in as softened croutons through their greens/salad (maybe).

Bites = rubbish food.

His eyes are a bit sunken in and he seems extra scared of me, I thought he was just beginning to shed, that was until the smell. Being that it is a Saturday night I am worried that he needs a vet and I won't be able to take him in until Monday, is there anything I can do or should I be worried at all?

I do not know his age but he is very small, he weighed 7 grams 7 days ago when I took him to the vet to be sure I was feeding him properly. I use a T8 rep the sun tube for his UVB,
How and where it is installed ?
ie
reflector hood ?
ontop a mesh lid or under the lid ?
how far from the basking spot ?

and 100 W basking lamp, his humidity levels are around 20 to 30 and he's temps have varied a lot as I have been trying to get them between 95 and 110 for basking. I also give him calcium powder, but since he is not eating he hasn't had any.

<<< in his case it's perfectly acceptable to take charge and assist feed him his appropriate size bugs each meal , at least some of the bugs . see this for a good approach : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYVe79z5wEM
or even to use a syringe to feed a stubborn non-feeder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYol3D3TEk4
- but its very unusual for very young hatchlings to refuse to eat UNLESS they are VERY SICK.

I don't know if this makes any difference but I did move his terrarium to a new location so he would not be on the floor. I give him baths every 2 to 3 days and he drinks water, but today he did not drink half as much as he normally does.

JLynn87 · Sep 10, 2017

These pictures are from the set up I had prior to yesterday late afternoon, I was told the UVB light was not at a good angle at the back of the tank so I got a new screen cover in order to hang it from the top of the screen. There is nothing between the UVB bulb and him, it is on the interior of his tank. For at least the first week I had him I was using the coil bulb that came with the set up, I change that once I found out the problems oil UVB bulbs can cause. I do not have any sort of a reflector hood, I was going to try putting tinfoil to help with the reflection.

With his new set up he's able to get much closer to the heat lamp and UVB bulb, I am pretty sure I had it too far away for him. Once I got him something to perch on closer to the lighting is temperatures are around low 100s, again, the entire time I've had him the temperatures have varied due to difficulties maintaining proper levels. I have three thermostats, one digital probe on the cool side (low 80's) one digital probe resting on the top branch of his perch (101-109) and one that sticks on the warm side of the tank (not digital, 90-95). I also have humidity gauge on the back interior of his tank. I am looking to purchase the gun since I read it is most accurate.

Now as far is feeding and supplements goes I have tried him on zoo meds natural juvenile bearded dragon food with Adam vitamins and minerals (pellets and I spray w/ water to make them soft). I keep National Geographic juvenile bearded dragon entrée fortified daily diet (moistened pellets) that look similar to peas; the pet store told me they contain everything a dragon needs if they are not eating life food. I am not sure that he's actually eaten either of those things as I try to keep count of what I put in to see if he is while I am not around, the count is the same number each time. For the calcium powder I use Fluker's Repta Calcium with vitamin D3 and phosphorus free. For fresh vegetables I have offered shredded carrots, very small amount of red cabbage, a little bit of kale and collard greens, it is difficult to tell if he is eating this, I have not witnessed but I have found vegetables outside of the shallow dish I put them in.

For live critters I started him out with baby crickets, he initially was eating three crickets morning and evening; however, he slowly started eating less and less. Sometimes I think the crickets are a bit large for him but it is difficult to tell if they are within the distance between his eyes. I tried him on the meal worms when he started eating a bit less of the crickets, I thought it was a good switch in the beginning as he was eating about three in the morning and Afghan at night. I was told that he only needs to eat twice a day and have fresh vegetables readily available for him at all times. I have his lights on timers, they are scheduled to turn on about 530 every morning and turn off around 830 each night. I feed him around seven in the morning since I have work at 8 AM. I feed him again around 5:30 PM sometimes later if I do not get off work in time. When I took him to the vet she guessed his age to be around two months or so, she said my feeding schedule was suitable and he seemed healthy, I do believe this was before I gave him meal worms but I cannot be sure. I knew he was a little bit I did not realize that he was considered a hatchling and that he needed to be fed three times a day with live food, I have tried to hand feed him and it does not work he will not eat from me. I was putting him in a feeder place so that he would have an easier time catching his food, this was working out well in the beginning, once he started eating less I was told to try feeding him in his home, this did not help in putting him in the separate feeder was no longer working. I ordered quarter inch Dubia roaches, they should be here Monday or Tuesday; is he too young for dubias? As I mentioned before, he is pooping almost every day, between Friday and Saturday I believe he actually went four times, they all seemed normal as they were dark informed.

Since he is very stressed I assumed this was the issue, he has stress marks on his chest and back. It is my intention to not handle them unless it is bath time or his weekly deep cleaning. Also I just thought about it, when I was deep cleaning his tank yesterday are used Windex for the fingerprints I left inside. I was cautious in the amount I used and I let the tank sit for at least an hour before returning him to his home, was this not OK for me to use?

I am going to buy him a gram scale today, I want to be sure he's not losing weight; the only scale I have now measures in ounces.

His light should be turning on any minute and I will take pictures of his new set up and of the fortified foods I am using. I greatly appreciate the responses, it is very stressful being a first time beardie parent. I thought I had all the right answers from the pet store, but after coming home and researching, I have found there's a whole world of things I did not know.

I live in a sort of small town and there are very few pet stores, for the life that I should be feeding him is there a good website to order from? I ordered his Dubia's from Dubia roaches.com.

JLynn87 · Sep 10, 2017

Again, I don't believe he's actually eaten any of the fortified foods.

The branch is new, I just leave the probe right in this position. He moves all around the new branch, he seems to really like it as he has not spent much time away from it.

I have two basking bulb is up top, the 100W is too much during the day as it can get into the high 90s still outside. I use the 75 W bulb during the day.

I forgot to mention that when he drinks water or opens his mouth I inspected as thoroughly as I can, there have been no changes since I have had him. The tip of his tongue is very light almost white, the further back in his mouth I look, the pinker it gets. I am not sure how long bearded dragon's tongues are, he doesn't put his out too far at all.

I tried to get an up close picture, I do not know what shutting will look like as I have red bearded dragons can you shed in sections. His scales seem to be dryer even with baths and spraying and they seem to be more pronounced this is why I thought he may be beginning to shed.

Within about 10 minutes of his lights coming on he moves to his basking spot.

I do love this little guy very much and hope there's nothing seriously wrong.

AHBD · Sep 10, 2017

Hi there, it's good that you have made some changes for your little guy, that will hopefully help him out. It's very likely that his problems were caused by a combination of things....the heat + uvb were not enough for him, this causes lethargy + lack of appetite, then he ate some mealworms which are more difficult to digest. So if he's pooing continually he's probably not impacted but make sure not to feed him mealworms anymore, at least until he's in the 12-13" range [ then only as a treat ]

I hate to see when someone spends their good money on those prepared foods, beardies rarely eat them. You can feed that stuff to your insects though.

The quarter inch dubia MAY be O.K for him, you'll have to see.

JLynn87 · Sep 10, 2017

Would it be premature to take a stool sample to the vet tomorrow? Or should I perhaps give him more time to adjust, his stress marks are insane on his chest, I believe all the changes have been difficult on him?

AHBD · Sep 10, 2017

Yes, see if the changes you made will get him going better without him having to take meds. right now which can be very harsh on a baby dragon.

JLynn87 · Sep 10, 2017

kingofnobbys- thank you for the links, I tried The method for stubborn eaters, I could not get him to open his mouth much, but I tried to put the cricket in and he would not chomp down on it. I am not wanting to force too much, worried that I may hurt him. What kind of baby food would be good for him, I want something that has protein but I don't know if he can have protein from any source?

EllenD · Sep 10, 2017

You haven't had him long and the coil UVB likely hurt his eyes, so it may be a combination of relocation stress, as they tend to not eat much the first week or two due to that, and the coil UVB. Your setup looks good now, the Reptisun UVB tube is a T8, so it must be inside, with a reflector (use foil until you can order a clip-on reflector, Arcadia makes one if you google it), and HE MUST BE ABLE TO GET WITHIN 6-8" OF TBE T8 TUBE. So measure the distance between his main basking spot and the unobstructed UVB tube and make sure it's within the 6-8" distance...Also, IS YOUR REPTISUN T8 UVB TUBE A 10.0? This is extremely important, because if it's a 5.0 it's essentially like having no UVB light at all, and you need to get a 10.0 IMMEDIATELY. Your temps sound okay, basking spot should be between 105-110, Hot Side Ambient between 88-93, and Cool Side Ambient between 75-80 max, this is very important because he must always have a place to go cool down that is considerably cooler than the rest of his tank. 80 is a cool side max. Nighttime temps should naturally like the desert does, they can go down to 65 degrees and you need no nighttime heat source at all, and it should be pitch black, no light. Also, HIS DAILY PHOTOPERIOD UNDER A 10.0 UVB TUBE AND A BRIGHT WHITE BASKING BULB AT ACCURATE TEMPERATURES AND AT ACCURATE DISTANCES NEEDS TO BE AT LEAST 13-14 HOURS EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!

Also, something people rarely think about when they're new owners is that their beardie's 10.0 UVB tube and bright white basking bulb must not only be on every single day for at least 14 hours, but also that these two lights must be on for at least 1-2 hours in the morning before feeding them anything at all, and they must also be on for at least 1-2 hours after they eat their last meal of the day before they are turned off for bed. If they do not get 1-2 hours under their lights before eating and 1-2 hours under their lights after eating before bed, they cannot and will not digest their food properly, and this will result in improper absorbtion of nutrition, vitamins, minerals, etc. as well as impaction from passing undigested food.

EllenD · Sep 10, 2017

Now it's very common for baby beardies (he looks to be around a month old, most pet shops sell them as soon as their vendors ship them, and this is too young and too small to go home, but it's what they do so we have to deal with it) to come home from the pet shop with parasites, worms, or a moderate to high coccidia count (a low coccidia count is normal and does not cause issues nor does it need to be treated). So it's possible that he does have parasites or worms. But if you've only had him a week then I think it's mostly relocation stress plus that coil bulb. Having a fecal test done is a good idea, the problem is that most exotics vets (unless you have access to a certified reptile vet) will prescribe very harsh Antiprotozoan and Antiparasitic meds that will no doubt kill what little appetite he has and make him much worse. I'm normally all for a vet visit if there are issues, but I don't think it's necessary if a baby isn't eating the first two weeks. If after 2 weeks he's no better then yes, he's sick and needs to go, but I think the meds will just start a downward spiral that will end badly. That being said, your daily diet needs modified badly, as baby and juvenile beardies eat very little to no greens and veggies (you still need to offer PROPER fresh greens and veggies every single day, but he most likely won't start eating a lot of them until he's closer to a year old, if he does it's a bonus).

Baby and juvenile beardies need at least 2 live insect feeding sessions every single day, 3 is better, up to 6 months, then go to 2 live insect feeding sessions. These feeding sessions should last 10-15 minutes, and the beardie should be allowed to eat as many live feeder insects as he wants. They need a ton of live insect protein during their first year of life. I have a 4 month old male I got at 4 weeks old, and he gets 3 live insect feeding sessions every day, where he eats as many BSFL as he wants. One in the morning after his lights have been on for an hour or two, then another between 1-4 in the afternoon, depending on when I can leave work, and then the third around 7 at night. I turn his lights on between 6-7 in the morning, and his first feeding is around 8. His last feeding is around 7 at night, and I turn their lights out between 9-10 at night. So he has a photoperiod that lasts from 6 in the morning to 10 at night, which is 16 hours. Sometimes it's an hour or two less if I sleep in on the weekends, but it's always at least 14 hours long every day.

EllenD · Sep 10, 2017

Lastly, please don't feed him anymore mealworms at all, they have little nutritional value at all, they're mostly fat, and they can cause him great impactions due to the chitlin shells. They are only an occasional treat for adult beardies of proper size, but honestly they aren't a good treat either and I'd avoid them completely. Great live feeders for beardies are crickets, roaches (dubia or other species), Phoenix Worms/Reptiworms/Calciworms/BSFL (all the same thing), silkworms, and I'm seeing more and more people feed appropriately sized superworms as a staple feeder (YOU CANNOT FEED YOUR BEARDIE ANY SIZE OF SUPERWORMS UNTIL HE IS AT LEAST 16" LONG!!!). I feed superworms as an occasional treat to my 10 month old female who is 19" long and weighs over 500 grams, I never give them to my 12-13" long 4 month old or my rescue boy because they can't safely eat them. I don't know about using superworms as a staple feeder, they are high in fat and honestly I don't know if their nutritional content is good enough to be a staple, but people are doing it. Either way your guy can't have superworms for a long time. I guess you're feeding crickets, which are great staple feeders. I'd feed the crickets all of those commercial beardie pellets you bought, along with some fresh greens and veggies. That way your beardie will get the nutrition in the crickets. All of those commercial bearded dragon foods are typically a waste of time because beardies won't eat them. What I will tell you is this: NEVER EVER BUY OR FEED ANY COMMERCIAL BEARDIE FOOD THAT CONTAINS FREEZE-DRIED INSECTS OR VEGGIES!!! EVER!!! They contain no nutrition, no moisture (beardies get their hydration from their food mostly), and cause impactions. So nothing freeze-dried at all, ever!!! As far as pellets go, most dragons won't eat them, but if you have a beardie that does eat them occasionally then great, but you need to buy the right ones, and you need to know that those pellets can not be considered a part of his daily diet, they are just a bonus. I keep fresh pellets in all 3 of my beardie's enclosures, I really don't know why I do this, I just always have done it because I wanted them to always have something to snack on that was healthy. I did some nutritional research to figure out which dry pellets are the best for bearded dragons, and unfortunately most of them are junk. The 2 brands/types that are actually really great for them if they'll eat them are #1 RepCal and #2 Mazuri. The RepCal come in a bottle and are fruity smelling, I always buy the small, juvenile ones because the adult ones are too big. The RepCal pellets are green, red, and brown, and my 4 month old actually really likes them, but only if they're dry, none of them will eat them moistened, which is better because once you moisten them they're only good for a day and have to be thrown out because they mold. He actually picks all of the red pellets out of the RepCal, he immediately eats every red pellet when I put some in his bowl, lol. My 10 month old female eats all of the RepCal pellets I give her, but again only if they're dry. So I always make sure they have some in their enclosures, but I don't at all consider them part of their daily food. The Mazuri pellets are just as nutritious as the RepCal, they come in a bag and are small and brown. The problem is that you they smell like dog food and they don't like them. So I bought one bag, tried them, and then fed the rest of the bag to my superworms and my BSFL.

You will probably want to consider starting to feed him by hand some homemade slurries with an oral syringe by dripping it on his snout and letting him lick it off. He needs to get some nutrition in him, and he needs his Calcium and multivitamins as well, with some hydration too. You can actually use the pellets in the slurries! Hopefully the slurries will stimulate his appetite, and the hand feedings will help him get close to you, settle in, and get over the relocation stress so he starts eating on his own. You can buy a ready-made reptile nutritional supplement online and in some pet shops, like Oxbow Critical Care or Carnivore Care, but you can also make one yourself. I usually buy some unflavored Pedialyte, some squash baby food, and use some of the beardie pellets. I empty the baby food into a microwave-safe container and then add some of the pellets, making sure they're all submerged into the baby food. Then add a little unflavored Pedialyte and mix it all up. Let the pellets soak for a while until they can be completely mixed into the baby food and the unflavored Pedialyte. Then add a pinch of calcium powder and a pinch of multivitamin powder. Mix it all up, and microwave it for a minute. You may need to let the pellets soak a little longer after microwaving it to get them to completely dissolve and mix in. Then test it on your wrist, you want it warm like a baby bottle but not hot. Hold your baby and drip a little on his snout, letting it run down over his lips/mouth. They usually really like it. When he starts licking it off drip some more, lick then drip, etc. Give him as much as he'll eat, and then wrap up the container and keep it in the refrigerator and reheat it. I'd do 2-3 hand-feedings of this a day while still offering him 2-3 live cricket feedings too. Continue the slurries until he starts eating a normal amount of live crickets every day.

kingofnobbys · Sep 10, 2017

JLynn87":4iyumfgc said:
Again, I don't believe he's actually eaten any of the fortified foods.

Use fortified packaged food and pellets to feed the roaches / crickets / locusts , as they are not good for your dragon (as staples or even IMO as treats).

They are actually great food for the insects , I use Rep-Cal adult beardie pellets straight from the bottle to feed my crickets + some carrot .

The branch is new, I just leave the probe right in this position. He moves all around the new branch, he seems to really like it as he has not spent much time away from it.

I have two basking bulb is up top, the 100W is too much during the day as it can get into the high 90s still outside. I use the 75 W bulb during the day.
>> I can't make out if there is a shaped reflector in the tube's hood , if there is you need it orientated facing DOWN so the UV is all directed DOWN rather than OUT.

<<< how long has he had that dramatic kink in his tail ?
<<< can you put up a closer from side and from above image of it ?
(likely not an issue - if a healed tailed injury).
I forgot to mention that when he drinks water or opens his mouth I inspected as thoroughly as I can, there have been no changes since I have had him. The tip of his tongue is very light almost white, the further back in his mouth I look, the pinker it gets. I am not sure how long bearded dragon's tongues are, he doesn't put his out too far at all.

I tried to get an up close picture, I do not know what shutting will look like as I have red bearded dragons can you shed in sections. His scales seem to be dryer even with baths and spraying and they seem to be more pronounced this is why I thought he may be beginning to shed.

Within about 10 minutes of his lights coming on he moves to his basking spot.

I do love this little guy very much and hope there's nothing seriously wrong.

He looks very you judging for the photos, not more than 2 months old.

I think when you sort out the temperatures and UVA and UVB , he'll come good and will be eating you out of house and home, you'll be complaining he's eating of small fortune in insects every week.
In the mean time , it's OK to hand feed the insect to him.

JLynn87 · Sep 10, 2017

I greatly appreciate everyone's guidance, this is been very stressful on us both and have had many sleepless nights due to worrying. It is saddening to hear breeders will sell to pet shops and pet shops will sell baby beardies too young, but it's already done so again I appreciate everyone's help through his hatchling stage.

I took everything out of his tank washed it with Don dish soap and hot water then let it sit in bleach and scrub begin and rinsed and running hot water for a few minutes, I changed his substrate carpet and cleaned in and out of his tank with bleach water (rinsed and dried) as well.

I am getting ready to head to the store and will get him baby food to syringe feed him. Due to my job I cannot guarantee that I can make it home during the day to give him crickets, but I certainly will on the days that I can. I do have his lights come on A hour and a half before I feed him and I feed him his last meal about an hour and a half to two hours before I turn his lights out. I was worried that I was keeping the lights on too long, I am glad to know that I can have them on A bit longer.

I have just a few more questions for the time being, first how long before I should notice some changes in his eating? Would it be all right to handle him since I already have him out for hand feeding? Is there anything I can do to calm him during the feeding sessions? Lastly, since the house is empty at least 8 to 10 hours a day, five days a week would turning on a TV or music be beneficial or does that not have any effect at all?

kingofnobbys · Sep 10, 2017

JLynn87":1m98dymo said:
These pictures are from the set up I had prior to yesterday late afternoon, I was told the UVB light was not at a good angle at the back of the tank so I got a new screen cover in order to hang it from the top of the screen. There is nothing between the UVB bulb and him, it is on the interior of his tank. For at least the first week I had him I was using the coil bulb that came with the set up, I change that once I found out the problems oil UVB bulbs can cause. I do not have any sort of a reflector hood, I was going to try putting tinfoil to help with the reflection.
<<< better than no reflector in the hood , as is he needs to be able get about 4 inches for the T8 10% tube to get sufficient UVA (influence apetite and activity) and sufficient UVB (necessary to enable him to metabolise his dietary calcium and form natural VitD3 in his skin. A reflector will double the UV at the basking spot , so it will the be fine about 8 inches from the tube.

Id visit Ebay and look for a T8 slip on reflector or better still a T8 reflector hood for the viv.

With his new set up he's able to get much closer to the heat lamp and UVB bulb, I am pretty sure I had it too far away for him. Once I got him something to perch on closer to the lighting is temperatures are around low 100s, again, the entire time I've had him the temperatures have varied due to difficulties maintaining proper levels. I have three thermostats, one digital probe on the cool side (low 80's) one digital probe resting on the top branch of his perch (101-109) and one that sticks on the warm side of the tank (not digital, 90-95). I also have humidity gauge on the back interior of his tank. I am looking to purchase the gun since I read it is most accurate.

Now as far is feeding and supplements goes I have tried him on zoo meds natural juvenile bearded dragon food with Adam vitamins and minerals (pellets and I spray w/ water to make them soft). I keep National Geographic juvenile bearded dragon entrée fortified daily diet (moistened pellets) that look similar to peas; the pet store told me they contain everything a dragon needs if they are not eating life food. I am not sure that he's actually eaten either of those things as I try to keep count of what I put in to see if he is while I am not around, the count is the same number each time. For the calcium powder I use Fluker's Repta Calcium with vitamin D3 and phosphorus free.
<<< careful with VitD3 fortified calcium.

For fresh vegetables I have offered shredded carrots, very small amount of red cabbage, a little bit of kale and collard greens, it is difficult to tell if he is eating this, I have not witnessed but I have found vegetables outside of the shallow dish I put them in.
<<< you'll find better greens and veg here http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

My gang's fav greens are buk choi, kale, dandelion (leaves and flowers), nasturtion (leaves and flowers)
<<< at his age not so important to eat greens and veg , he needs lots of dietary calcium, intense UVB (160 - 190 microW UVB / sq.cm) and lots of high quality live insects every day.

For live critters I started him out with baby crickets, he initially was eating three crickets morning and evening; however, he slowly started eating less and less. Sometimes I think the crickets are a bit large for him but it is difficult to tell if they are within the distance between his eyes. I tried him on the meal worms when he started eating a bit less of the crickets, I thought it was a good switch in the beginning as he was eating about three in the morning and Afghan at night. I was told that he only needs to eat twice a day and have fresh vegetables readily available for him at all times. I have his lights on timers, they are scheduled to turn on about 530 every morning and turn off around 830 each night. I feed him around seven in the morning since I have work at 8 AM. I feed him again around 5:30 PM sometimes later if I do not get off work in time. When I took him to the vet she guessed his age to be around two months or so, she said my feeding schedule was suitable and he seemed healthy, I do believe this was before I gave him meal worms but I cannot be sure. I knew he was a little bit I did not realize that he was considered a hatchling and that he needed to be fed three times a day with live food, I have tried to hand feed him and it does not work he will not eat from me. I was putting him in a feeder place so that he would have an easier time catching his food, this was working out well in the beginning, once he started eating less I was told to try feeding him in his home, this did not help in putting him in the separate feeder was no longer working. I ordered quarter inch Dubia roaches, they should be here Monday or Tuesday; is he too young for dubias? As I mentioned before, he is pooping almost every day, between Friday and Saturday I believe he actually went four times, they all seemed normal as they were dark informed.

Since he is very stressed I assumed this was the issue, he has stress marks on his chest and back. It is my intention to not handle them unless it is bath time or his weekly deep cleaning. Also I just thought about it, when I was deep cleaning his tank yesterday are used Windex for the fingerprints I left inside. I was cautious in the amount I used and I let the tank sit for at least an hour before returning him to his home, was this not OK for me to use?

I am going to buy him a gram scale today, I want to be sure he's not losing weight; the only scale I have now measures in ounces.
<<< a glass top flat scale is good , if you can find one that can weight 0.1g that's great , http://www.dshop.com.au/buy/0.01g-digital-precision-kitchen-platform-scale-sta/3395?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzJzZjomb1gIVEx9oCh2YVgs1EAQYASABEgJbQPD_BwE

I used a digital pocket assayer's scale that can weigh 0.01g and it was fine until my gang got too big about 300g and long , then I switched over to the kitchen scales that can weigh 1g.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Kitchen-Digital-Scale-3kg-0-1g-Multi-function-LCD-Home-Food-Weighting-Tool/352109254116?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150313114020%26meid%3D56ac33cbf054449bbcc66a05b6c5b2e3%26pid%3D100338%26rk%3D12%26rkt%3D30%26sd%3D142395869197&_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726

His light should be turning on any minute and I will take pictures of his new set up and of the fortified foods I am using. I greatly appreciate the responses, it is very stressful being a first time beardie parent. I thought I had all the right answers from the pet store, but after coming home and researching, I have found there's a whole world of things I did not know.

I live in a sort of small town and there are very few pet stores, for the life that I should be feeding him is there a good website to order from? I ordered his Dubia's from Dubia roaches.com.

Please Help, I Do Not Know If It Is An Illness

JLynn87

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