I need help with my baby beardie !!

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trinityy

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so I got a baby bearded dragon from petco 3 days ago and it’s about 2 months old. on the first night , the beardie was jumping and running away from me when I tried to put her in her tank which I kind of expected mainly because I had her for barely a few minutes , so she didn’t trust me at all. she would only eat 1 bug and then bask or she’d only have one bite of her veggies / greens and then she’d bask but I was sure that relocation stress made her not eat as much so I was just assuming that it’d take time for her to adjust.

but then I noticed that whenever she was sleepy, she let me hold her, so on the second night that I had her, I held her when she was falling asleep and she fell asleep in my hands for like 15 minutes & when she woke up she didn’t jump or run away so I thought that progress was being made. I’ve been trying to hand feed her but she won’t eat the food unless it’s in her food bowl / on her mat , she won’t eat from my hands at all , even if I hold live hugs , she will just stare at me until I drop the bugs into her tank.

On the third day mango began to eat in front of me & seemed less scared of me / my hands in general and she also ate 5 meal worms and about half of her veggies / greens which was more than she had ever eaten since I got her. so I was happy , but then she slowly bobbed her head and also waved her hand once at me. she doesn’t do this repeatedly at all , but I’m just curious as to what this means because I heard that it’s a bad thing , as in they’re showing submission BUT it’s more like they’re stressed and afraid so therefore they’re submitting to you ? so if someone could tell me if this is accurate , that’d be helpful.

and lastly , I thought progress was being made so I decided to take a chair and sit down next to her tank and then she began to puff her beard a few times and hissed so I left her alone. I don’t know what to do , so if someone could give me some guidance on if this behavior is normal or what I can do to fix / change it!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
You dragon is going thru relocation stress -- the head bobbing is part of the mating and waving - head bobbing is dominance thing and the arm waving is submission --- now lets go over the lighting in the tank --- it is best to post a pic of the tank and lighting -- https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on the XIMG at the top of the message box then click on the pic it should post
What are you basking temps and how are you taking them? NO sick ons temps need to be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer and need to be 105-110 for a baby
Karrie
 

trinityy

Member
Original Poster
I posted the photo ! The lights are off because it’s very early in the morning and it’s not time for mango to wake up yet, I just turned my room lights on to take the photo and then turned them back off while she was sleeping. Anyways, I only have one lamp at the top of the tank. In the left side of the lamp is the basking bulb and in the right side is the UVB bulb. I’m using the lamp and bulbs that already came with zoomed’s 20 gallon bearded dragon terrarium kit.

I keep her basking temperatures at about 105° all day , however the temperature is recorded using the stick on thermometer that comes with zoomed’s bearded dragon terrarium kit and after reading through this website , I found out that it can be horribly inaccurate , so later on today I plan to go to my local pet store and buy a digital probe thermometer so that I can make sure that the temperatures are accurate.

today , I was also planning to print out some kind of desert like backgrounds and put them on all three sides of mango’s tank because I heard that they’re reflection may stress them out , but if this is a bad idea or if that’s incorrect please let me know!

also , I wanted to get mango the 40 gallon bearded dragon terrarium kit even though she is so young because I wanted to give her a lot of space , but I went to multiple pet stores near me and for some reason all of them were sold out, so as of right now, the 20 gallon is the best that I can do.

since I am going to my pet store in a few hours later on today to invest in a digital probe thermometer , please let me know what else I should change or invest in to make my baby bearded dragon feel as comfortable as I can make her as of right now in a new environment :)
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Try the upload again if they uploaded they will show up when you click on XIMG at the top of the message box then click on the photo -- it will show up in the message box w/ a bunch of letters- tell us what your using for a UVB-- is it a coil and looks like this https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/environmental-control-and-lighting/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-mini-compact-fluorescent-bulb-16227.html?cgid=500202 if it does you dont want it and invest in this
https://www.reptilesupplyco.com/wholesale-reptile-hoods-domes-fixtures/1884-reptisun-terrarium-hood-t5-24-zoo-med.html when you get it take the probe set it where he sits to bask wait 10 minutes and get the temp-- you want it 105-110--- I have pics of my 20 gallon tank I can show you how I had it set up --- please ask and I will post it if you need help
Karrie
 

trinityy

Member
Original Poster
108964-995165562.jpg
I uploaded the photo again, can you see it ? also, yes mango’s UVB is a coil and you said that those are bad so I’m replacing it right away ! this is her setup, and that black piece of fabric inside of her tank is a piece of a shirt of mine that I wore quite often, sometimes at night she’ll lay on top of it and I’m hoping that it will make her more familiar with my scent !

I’m actually heading to the pet store right now to get a digital thermometer, and a second basking bulb to go on the right side of the lamp, and I’m also going to try to find the UVB that you recommended earlier that I should get. If I can’t find it, then I’m going to order it online tonight.

lastly, I’m going to print out desert like backgrounds to cover all three sides of mango’s tank tonight so that she doesn’t get stressed out or aggressive from seeing her reflection. (if I shouldn’t stick these desert papers on her tank , covering all three sides then please let me know ! but I’m pretty sure that it’s okay ?)

so yeah, if there is anything about her tank that I should change or upgrade please let me know. and also yes, I would appreciate if it if I could see how you set up your 20 gallon tank ! and if there’s any brands or specific types of basking bulbs , UVBs , or anything else that I need that you really like / that are good for baby bearded dragons, please let me know , thank you !
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The back grounds should be fine just put them on the outside of the tank - here is my 20 gallon when I had it set up
97951-9562450009.jpg
the basking light was clamped on the end of the tank and the UVB was set width wise across - since it was a T 8 it was unobstructed and distance was approx 8 inches above -- the 5.0 bulb will be the same for yours in that fixture so you can set it up the same way --- on the end hanging was a CHE I only used it for one nite or so since Blaze was so little I kept him a little warmer - they are good to have on hand and they are used in the winter time on my tanks that I have -- I am in MN so its cold here -- basking bulbs you can get like this one are good https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/environmental-control-and-lighting/exo-terra-intense-basking-spot-light-14809.html?cgid=500202 I would get the 75 watt --
Karrie
 
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