Worried new beardie momma! Sick!!

Hello!
I’m very concerned about the baby I recently purchased a week ago. Last Sunday. My husband and I went to a pet store and purchased a beardie, baby. He was the smallest in the tank. We didn’t know size mattered and to be honest probably still would have purchased him to give him the care he needs. We were not educated on him. We are brand new and actively researched. The baby is Lathargic and super skinny! He isn’t eating or drinking. I began misting him today, we discovered his tank heat wasn’t right and see how active he becomes when it is right. I am a teacher so he has to go from the home tank to classroom tank. I force fed him today baby food, sweet potatoes... I just want to be a good momma, and him to live a long happy life! He appears to have grown longer just on wider in the week he have had him, he’s not eating crickets.... please help me!

Hi there,

Most of the time, when you get a new dragon they will go through relocation stress. During this time they usually have a pretty decreased appetite, but it should build up over the first week or so until it becomes normal. As long as the husbandry is in order, everything should be fine.

I will mention it's probably not ideal to be moving him back and fourth daily. At least for now until he settles in. It can be very stressful on a young one to constantly being in a new environment.

Proper lighting and temperatures are very important during this time, and for the rest of your dragons life. We could go over your setup with you to make sure everything is ok?

We just need to know what uvb bulb you are using, brand/type/etc.
What the temperatures in your tank are - mainly your basking surface temp
And what you are using to measure your temps.

I'm not sure force feeding is really necessary at this point, it can be very stressful on them. And the goal here is to minimize stress in the beginning.

-Brandon

Thank you!! At first I’m out home tank it didn’t they above 85 basking side. So yesterday I went and got the lights from the school set up due to seeing how active he was at work versus how lethargic he was at home. So now the basking side is 100.6 f I use a digital prob thermometer, we use the repti sun 5.0 uvb and the zoo med 120v-100 w max, that was only used at school until today. The one at home was 120 v 60hz 50 w and didn’t get the area hot enough.
Any and all help is appreciated! I just want the baby healthy and to be a good momma!! Thank you!!

Ok good, as long as you are measuring with that, you should be fairly accurate! 100 is much better for a baby, but still, they like it a little warmer at their basking spot than that. If you can, shoot for 105-110 at the basking surface, with a gradient down to 75~ on the cool end if you can.

Reptisun's are good bulbs, but typically the 5.0's are for tropical creatures, and the 10.0's are for desert creatures. Is your bulb a long tube, or a bulb that fits into a standard socket?

You will most likely want to upgrade your uvb bulb to the reptisun 10.0 long tube. And you want it to span about 2/3'rds or so of your enclosure. They come in a stanard version and a High Output (HO) version. I would go with the HO version only if you have a larger tank, or will be mounting the UVB on top of the mesh. The mesh cuts out some of the uvb rays, so the stronger bulb is preferable in that situation.

As far as basking bulbs (heat bulbs) go, you don't have to use reptile basking bulbs. You can use normal household bulbs if you want. All they have to accomplish is a bright light and provide proper temps for your setup. A lot of us use household bulbs, but if you can get your temps good with the bulb you have now, thats fine! Either lower the bulb a bit closer, or try to raise the basking surface a bit higher.

-Brandon

Great!! Thank you! And I will get the baby a 10, we do use a light socket uv bulb, I’m still worried about how skinny he’s gotten ? in the short time I’ve had him, I hope with proper heating and his increase in activity the baby’s appetite will improve ?‍ So new to this!!