Somethings Wrong

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SammM

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I bought a girl beardie from a friend who only fed her and didnt do anything else so she is lazy and a bit fat. I bought her because I felt I had a connection with her and he said he feel that she is a chore. When I got her I knew she would be diffrent for a couple of days bc it would be knew. He had a mat and I switched to sand because her food got under the mat and I wasnt able to keep tabs on her meals. I got her about 4 days ago and she won't eat, won't poop, she was basking but now she just lays on the cool side. She was reactive but now she won't look around even if you make noise or sudden movements. When I went to buy her a bigger cage and everything I needed they said it was probably just her being nervous and the guy that owned her said she doesn't eat much and it's normal for her to only poop a couple days. Im worried and everyone says she is fine but I just have a feeling. I gave her a bath yesterday to try to help her poop. I massaged her body and didn't feel any hard spots. I even tried the trick where they soak and then you put them on a cool spot and it makes them poop but I've got nothing. She is about a year and two months. The lady at the store said she might be about to lay eggs but I'm still worried.
 

Beardeddtagonlover

Hatchling Member
Hi Sam there is a lot of good people on this forums that I'm sure will reply in the mean time can you post pics of your enclosure this is how https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ to upload in box choose ximg also how old is your beardie? How long have you had her ? What UVB temps? Sand is the worst thing they can get impacted I always tell people shelf lining with no adhesive as you can make lot of mats with a roll that is what I use bugs still get underneath.also I'm not going to Lie to you samm it is a chore owning a beardie they poop often need to feed them daily,calcium, multivitamins and diet veggies,fruits etc.but you need to enjoy it and not see it as work but taking care of your animal.it could be moving stress specially if putting in a new tank but it could be other things when we know the info I asked we can give you some advice.
 

destiny1998

Extreme Poster
Photo Comp Winner
Hi. Take out the sand especially it's calcisand. Also what kinds of lights are you using? Do you know what the temps are? She probably has relocation stress. Give her time.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Please do let us know what the temperatures in the tank are & how you measure them, as
well as the type/brand of UVB lighting you are using. It usually takes a week or so for them
to get accustomed to a new home.
If you can post some pictures of her & the tank setup that would be helpful too so we can
see the physical condition of her.
To avoid impactions, we recommend using non particulate substrate but instead try either
non adhesive shelf liner, carpet, or textured slate tiles.

Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie
 

SammM

Member
Original Poster
I went to petsmart and petco and they told me that if I mist it would be okay to use reptisun w100 basking bulb and the reptisun uvb 10 bulb. For night I use zilla night black heat. I have a 40 gallon tank and the night bulb barely makes light is that okay? I kept the log from her old tank bc she loves it. She lays on it no matter what. My boyfriend moved it to the cool side and we got a cave rock that she can bask on but she will only lay there if we put her there. Minutes later she moves back to her log. The woman at petsmart told me that she thinks sand is the best because it makes them feel more in the wild and it will give them exercise digging for their food. She is a ou a year and two months and I got her about 5 days ago now. I have calcium sand and I mixed it with thermal sand bc I don't want a heat rock.
 

TracyMarie

Hatchling Member
There are many people here that are extremely knowledgeable about how to care for bearded dragons. I would definitely toss out most of what anyone at pestsmart or petco says. A lot of it is not correct. At first glance she looks pretty healthy.

First off I would get rid of all of that sand. Paper towels would be better than that for something you could use right away. I use the reptile carpet, it's not expensive.

Secondly, I don't see a UVB tube bulb, what are you using for UVB if anything? This is what you would want to correct ASAP that costs money. Getting rid of the sand and adding paper towels is pretty much free.

I'll see who chimes in next, but you can work on the sand issue while waiting on the next responce from someone more experienced than me.
 

TracyMarie

Hatchling Member
Here is my big guy with a basic set up. He has a 34 inch UVB on the inside of the tank running down the middle of the terrarium. A basking light on top left side for his basking spot and a night time NO light CHE on the right for if the temps drop below 65 degrees.

Everyone here helped me get set up when I first got my first Beardie back in Feb/March of this year.

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Beardeddtagonlover

Hatchling Member
hi Samm get rid of the night light if you room stays 75 at night you dont need any type of heat if you need a heat source get a ceramic heat emitter you will need to put that ona thermostat to prevent overheating just a standard off and on will do yes get rid of ther sand i would recommend getting a t5 36 inch zoo med light fixture it hold 34 inch t5 10.0 light the reason for this if you like to upgrade enclosures in the future to like a 4x2x2 you can use the same light being a 40 gallon tank it will not fit the lenght of the enclosure because the 40 gallon is like 35 inch long but you can put it on top of the screen your beardie will get the whole 34 inches you will have the light fixture for a very long time.very few petsmart/petco staff know what there talking about there is 1 lady that knows at a petsmart that i go to but she has a ball python and a bearded dragon the rest don't know anything,also misting dragon is not needed giving a bath twice per week is sufficient depends on the beardie they don't like it. people that can give you good advice is experienced herp vets the vet i go to now very knowledgeable with beardies.i hope it all goes well keep us updated.
 

SammM

Member
Original Poster
Thank you so much for all the replies. I'm sorry if I upset anyone but I do think I am going to keep the sand. The lady at the pet store did have bearded dragons. Also I have a basement room so I do need the night heat bc it gets really cold but I will check out the heat emitter for her instead. The uvb light is in the middle of the three lights. The girl said the screen will take a bit of the uvb out but not enough to be a problem.
 

TracyMarie

Hatchling Member
I've had my new girl since Saturday and finally got her 34 inch UVB bulb installed inside her tank, boy she was so happy when I put her in it. Until then I had the 34 inch on top and another 18 inch on top too with hoods to make it go down. I did that much to make sure some was going through. I could see her colors change after 15 minutes of her being under direct UVB. It DOES make a huge difference, and not having to deal with impaction and the vet bills it creates is well worth it.

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