Sleepy baby bearded. I believe a baby girl.

Hi guys I we got a bearded from a let store named Dave's Dragons. And she has been great... the last couple days tho she s been sleeping an awful lot. She still wakes to be sprayed and bask for a bit but it seems like she's going to sleep earlier and earlier every day. Today it was like real early... she has only had 2 good poops since we got her.... one prob 2 days ago. She shedded like a day later. I feel like they weren't feeding them as much as they could have. And may be we like shocked her with too much to fast... And now she's paying for it.. or something. Or am I doing something wrong? The guy that gave me my lighting has 6 of his own beautiful bearded dragons... all healthy and beautiful. So I know my lights should be good ...

Babies don't brumate ... is that correct?

No, babies don't brumate...How long have you have her now? There is a relocation stress period where they typically eat little and can be a bit lethargic, but usually that passes within a week, and honestly they usually don't sleep a lot through that, just the opposite, they become frantic.

Can you post a photo of her and her entire tank/lighting set-up? Usually when a fairly new baby starts to become lethargic, sleeps a lot, and then slows down the eating, it's due to inadequate UVB lighting, having the UVB lighting mounted incorrectly/too far away/obstructed, improper temperature zones, or a combination of all 3.

Exactly what UVB light do you have, it's right on the light if you don't know (Brand, wattage/strength, and type, meaning is it a compact, a coil, or a long fluorescent tube)? Is it on top of a mesh tank lid? How far away in inches is the UVB from her basking spot/platform? And how many hours a day are you leaving both her UVB and her basking light on?

What color is her Basking light? Wattage?

What size is her tank? What substrate do you have in the bottom?

What is her Hot Side Ambient/Air Temp, her Cool Side Ambient/Air Temp, and then the Surface Temp of her Basking Spot/Platform? What type of thermometer are you using to check her temps?

What is her daily diet? How often are you giving her both calcium powder and multivitamin powder?

I can't get her to eat greens yet either... are meal worms ok to try?

No, especially not for small babies. Mealworms cause huge impactions, which she doesn't need right now. She's not going to eat anything at all if you have a husbandry issue that doesn't get corrected...When you can, please answer the questions that I asked, as they will give us the whole husbandry/diet picture and we can tell you right away whether or not this is a husbandry issue, as it usually is probably 98% of the time in this exact situation with a new baby (this is probably posted between 10-20 times a week, seriously, and 98% of the time it's due to inadequate UVB lighting and/or temperature zones that are improper), or a diet issue, or an illness that needs a vet.

How can I post a pic. I just took a couple pics... she doesn't seem good. I woke her to give her a warm bath.... I think I signed up for whatever the photo thing is that's used here.. so now now to post a pic?

It's a little ghetto at moment because we are in process of switching some furniture in our apartment. It is a coil bulb. I know everyone suggests the long tube ones here... it's so conflicting. Everyone here tho seems to know best so I'm willing to do whatever u guys suggest. Our adult beardie has one of the 60 dollar all 3 in one bulbs.... I was thinking to get her one of those... the other bulb we have in there at moment is just a red heat light that I actually just now turned off.. maybe it's too warm under the uvb cuz it's the cool side she ALWAYS usually sleeping on. I also think the branch is too high. I don't like it. I like her bed side of the taller branch.... But the tall end is just too high up!

EllenD":2xyvwu9m said:

No, especially not for small babies. Mealworms cause huge impactions, which she doesn't need right now. She's not going to eat anything at all if you have a husbandry issue that doesn't get corrected...When you can, please answer the questions that I asked, as they will give us the whole husbandry/diet picture and we can tell you right away whether or not this is a husbandry issue, as it usually is probably 98% of the time in this exact situation with a new baby (this is probably posted between 10-20 times a week, seriously, and 98% of the time it's due to inadequate UVB lighting and/or temperature zones that are improper), or a diet issue, or an illness that needs a vet.

Click to expand...

I use the strip thermometers. One on each side. She ended up basking for quite a while after her little bath yesterday... I feel like it may of been the hot lite was too hot. It's a coil light. Not sure on wattage. I'm going to get her another one today. What would u suggest?

I'm still concerned. This morning she's in a corner sleeping. And every time I look at her I hold my breath until I see her breath.

She definitely needs a different uvb ASAP. The reptisun 10.0 t5 or you can get a MVB [ mercury vapor ] all in one. The Megaray + Powersun are good bulbs.

Another thing that may be the culprit....you say that you fed her too much one day + then she began acting like this. Please be specific, what exact size insects were they, can you post a pic next to a coin ? Has she poo'd since your last post ? If not then she is probably impacted. She needs the new bulbs but if she's impacted she also needs a natural laxative + extra warm bath daily. You can give her plain canned pumkin, baby food prunes, squash or sweet potato. Any or all of those with a drop of honey or olive oil [ or veg. oil ]

The inside setup looks fairly okay, I like the large branch your using so she can get as close as she needs to and can regulate her temps fairly well even up there most likely once you get proper lighting.

The coil bulb is not giving her any UVB at all, this is the main issue here most likely, although it could be what you fed her as well.
Theres only one type of coil bulb that gives proper UVB and that is the exo terra 25-26 watt 200UVB I believe, however that needs to be at around 4-6 inches away and possibly mounted underneath the screen.

She wont get better until you get her proper uvb.
I recommend going for a 22" or 36" Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 UVB bulb, with a reflective fixture that fits it.
This will give her enough UVB to thrive and live a healthy 15-20 years of life. Of course you have to replace the bulb every 6-12 months.

You also need to monitor temps correctly, you need the surface temps not the ambient temps and honestly I dont even think those even get that.
You'll want to get a temp gun or a digital thermometer with a probe. The temp gun is the most accurate.
Make sure her basking spot stays within 100-110.
Cool side should be 70-85.
Night time temps no lower than 65.

You'll also need a new basking lamp, beardies see red light so it can mess with their eyes during the day and at night. You'll want a regular bright basking bulb that is not colored.