New Adopted Beardie

Hi everyone!

I just adopted a bearded dragon. I got him from a family who's boys no longer had the time to take care of him- I believe he is a few years old. They gave me all of the supplies, food, and equipment that they had, so his set up is mostly the same. I have had him for a week now, and as he is my first beardie, I want to know if his behavior is normal.

First of all, he has not eaten much. His previous owners fed him bearded dragon food from the pet store. I have been offering him this as well as salad, apples, and carrots. He did not eat for two days, so I bought him some crickets, which his owners mentioned he got about once a week. He ate these right away!

Since then, he has eaten a little bit of his food one day, but that is all. He has pooped twice.

I have been able to give him a bath, though he did not stay in for long. Other than that, I have been giving him water by spraying him. He will lick the water off of his nose.

In the past few days, I have been taking him out of his cage and holding him/ playing with him. The first few days I only pet him as I wanted him to get used to me. When he is out, he is very active, though still a little nervous (won't sleep on my lap or anything).

When he is in his viv, he will sit on top of his log, bask occasionally, or hang out in a corner and rest. I notice that he is sleeping/napping a lot, which worries me a little. Whenever I put him back in his cage, he does a lot of glass surfing, but only in one corner. I am not sure if this is due to stress or to his reflection. He has never turned dark or puffed his beard.

Anyway, I am sorry for the long post! I am just new to this and am not sure what is "normal". I guess I am just wondering if his behavior is normal for a beardie adjusting to his new home.

I am not sure how to upload a picture on here

First off thank you for taking the guy in--- second you can upload a image at the very top of this page there is a icon says Image Uploader use that -- -- What type of lights are you using? Basking UVB-- ? How big is his tank? the glass surfing usually means they want out-- He should be getting crickets or dubias every day if he is under a year - and they should be dusted w/ calcium powder and vitamins - under a year every day for calcium and 2 times per week for vitamins- if hes older than a year he should be getting the bugs a couple times a week -- they are mainly vegetarians after a year old- salad???? what is that? Like lettuce salad? He should be getting mustard greens, collard greens, kale once in a while I heard it was a calcium absorbant so I dont feed mine Kale, bok choy mine does not like bok choy, dandalions when in season-- the yellow flowers and the greens are good, there is a list here on this website that gives you a list of stuff you can feed them- I have a Citrus Tiger named Hiccup he will be a year at the end of Jan I believe-- I feed him Dubias Roaches he eats around 10 a day-- his salad in the afternoon of mustard and collard greens sweet potato cooked, either strawberries or raspberries 3 butter worms and 1 horn worm--- the dubias I order from dubiaroaches.com along w/ the butter worms the horn worms and the super worms-- I have never fed him meal worms-- the worms are all treats - the dubias are a staple feeder like the crickets- I dont like to feed him crickets as I was told by my vet that it gives them worms or coccidia --its normal for a little coccidia but high levels is not good - thats why I feed the roaches -- plus he likes the roaches better than crickets-- crickets are stinky and more work - the roaches are easy- I keep them in a 10 gal tank and feed them carrots apples sweet potato bascially the same thing you can feed the dragon they will eat-- the basking light is how they digest their food- it should be around 90-105 or w/ cool side of tank around 70-80- the UVB light should be inside of tank that is best so they can sit directly under it - mine is in the tank and Hiccup sits maybe 6 inches from it- his platform goes directly under it -- a good infrared temp gun works best for getting temps-- they are cheap like around $10 and you can get them from Walmart etc.......... also the UVB light is critical -- it will prevent the muscular bone disease -- if you click on the tip of the week proper UV lighting on the right hand side of this page it will give you a care sheet list -- please read that and it can answer a lot of your q's and and its good info

Karrie

Thanks for the reply! I am currently feeding him what his pay owners were feeding him, but will begin to transition him to what you have suggested. He is over a year old. By salad I meant kale, but good to know that is not the best greens to feed him.

His temps are right when I check with my infared temp gun. The previous owner did not use a UVB bulb of any kind. I am using a 26 coil one outside the tank for now but have ordered one To go inside the tank as I have read that is best. I am wondering if the UVB light is stressing him as he is not used to it. His tank is 40 gallons. I will try giving him more time to play tomorrow and see if that stops the glass surfing- though i think it is strange it always happens after I have had him out.

Here’s a good link for nutrition.
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html