Not basking

JCYY · Jul 23, 2017

Hi Guys,
I am new to this forum and i hope to get some pointers.
I have 3 beardies, 2 of which appears very healthy but 1 will just not bask.
He is about 7 months old and 15", 270grams.
The only things its does is eat, and then do its best to hide.
Enclosure = 4x2x2, basking temp = 100f, cool area = 83f.
I started off MVB, exo terra both 125w and 80w with the same result. Then i thought it might be the lighting quality and changed to UVB exo terra 10.0 repti glo and exo terrs basking spot 50w separately, but also with the same result.
Spikey just likes to dig and hide no matter what and will not bask. He appears well for now but i am afraid his health will deteriorate as time goes by.
I tried taking our his cave but that makes it worse by him digging his enclosure and end up hiding underneath the newspaper. He has dug so often his nails are 80% gone. The other two beardies are in the same type of setup with similar temperatures and they are all doing fine. I do not think he is hiding from the light as i have tried a whole day with the lights off and he was still hiding.
This is just so weird and i am all out of ideas. We are never rough with him and we handle him everyday.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Drache613 · Jul 23, 2017

Hello,

Sorry your one is giving you trouble, there always has to be one like that!
The other two have the exact same lighting setup as he does correct but they are not hiding from the lights or digging?
Your basking light, is it a bright white basking light or is it a reptile specialty light witih a neodymium coating on it?
The Reptiglo 10, is it a tube bulb or a compact/coil light?
It is a possibility that he is just slowing down to brumate a little, at 7 months of age it does happen.
Is he of healthy weight? If you have pictures, please post them of him & his setup.
You could also consider getting a fecal done on him to be sure he doesn't have worms or parasites that could be affecting his behavior some.
Has his beard been black lately?

Tracie

JCYY · Jul 23, 2017

Hi Tracie,

Thank you so much for your kind reply.
Yes they are all using the exact setup (enclosure & lighting) and they are behaving really well, except for Spikey.
I know compact bulbs are no good so i am using the T8 tube with distance of about 12inch and above. He has been the same prior to this when i was using solar glo MVB(tried both 125w and 80w).
I am in Malaysia where it is hot and humid so the BDs here do not brumate - atleast we have never seen one do that. Our room temp is about 80-85F and its very hot outside, something like Mexico i think. I have them in my room to keep them comfortable.
As we do not have a reptile vet where we are from, i have tried 10 doses of reptaid to rule out parasitic issue - hopefully it works.
But he is eating ok, though not as much as the other two. The main problem is the hiding and not basking.
I will post some pictures when as soon as i have them.

Thank you,
Jason

JCYY · Jul 23, 2017

Sorry i forgot, the basking lamp i am using is Exo Terra Daylight basking spot 50w which coated with a Neodymium sleeve. I do not use the 'Intense basking spot' because it gets too hot - I have to mount the lamp inside the enclosure.

Thanks again Tracie

kingofnobbys · Jul 24, 2017

Sorry but you NEED to separate them all into their own individual rearing tanks ASAP , the little one is not basking because it is too scared to feed or bask because it is being dominated by one or both the others , this will never improve and will end in violence and nasty injuries and even them killing each other.

Likely other issues regarding care and setup coming into play as well. Need much more information and details on your beardie's setup and your husbandry otherwise we can't even hazard a guess.

Here's my Cheat Sheet :
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=234738&p=1806050#p1806050

If you work through it methodically , the chances are their are likely a lot of issues that need to be tweeked or changed and they will pop right out at you, if you can give very detailed answers we will then be in a position to offer help. Is impossible to help you if you don't provide thorough details .

I appreciate PetShop rearing vivs are pricey and setting up 2 more vivs will be pricey , so this might help viewtopic.php?f=34&t=233480

kingofnobbys · Jul 24, 2017

JCYY":2fqf4ego said:
Sorry i forgot, the basking lamp i am using is Exo Terra Daylight basking spot 50w which coated with a Neodymium sleeve. I do not use the 'Intense basking spot' because it gets too hot - I have to mount the lamp inside the enclosure.

Neodymium lamps are pretty hopeless, better off using a par38 colorless incandescent or halogen domestic spotglobe (plenty of heat & white light) + a T5HO 10-12% UVB (for UVA and UVB) in a reflector hood (mounted under the lid).

Thanks again Tracie

JCYY · Jul 24, 2017

kingofnobbys":d7piyq1k said:
Sorry but you NEED to separate them all into their own individual rearing tanks ASAP , the little one is not basking because it is too scared to feed or bask because it is being dominated by one or both the others , this will never improve and will end in violence and nasty injuries and even them killing each other.

Likely other issues regarding care and setup coming into play as well. Need much more information and details on your beardie's setup and your husbandry otherwise we can't even hazard a guess.

Here's my Cheat Sheet :
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=234738&p=1806050#p1806050

If you work through it methodically , the chances are their are likely a lot of issues that need to be tweeked or changed and they will pop right out at you, if you can give very detailed answers we will then be in a position to offer help. Is impossible to help you if you don't provide thorough details .

I appreciate PetShop rearing vivs are pricey and setting up 2 more vivs will be pricey , so this might help viewtopic.php?f=34&t=233480

Hi,
Thanks for your advice.
They are all in separate enclosures of 4x2x2 and with the same lighting.
I will provide pics tonight.

kingofnobbys · Jul 24, 2017

JCYY":30i1t0sp said:
kingofnobbys":30i1t0sp said:

Sorry but you NEED to separate them all into their own individual rearing tanks ASAP , the little one is not basking because it is too scared to feed or bask because it is being dominated by one or both the others , this will never improve and will end in violence and nasty injuries and even them killing each other.

Likely other issues regarding care and setup coming into play as well. Need much more information and details on your beardie's setup and your husbandry otherwise we can't even hazard a guess.

Here's my Cheat Sheet :
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=234738&p=1806050#p1806050

If you work through it methodically , the chances are their are likely a lot of issues that need to be tweeked or changed and they will pop right out at you, if you can give very detailed answers we will then be in a position to offer help. Is impossible to help you if you don't provide thorough details .

I appreciate PetShop rearing vivs are pricey and setting up 2 more vivs will be pricey , so this might help viewtopic.php?f=34&t=233480

Click to expand...

Hi,
Thanks for your advice.
They are all in separate enclosures of 4x2x2 and with the same lighting. <<< excellent , they are lucky little hatchlings.
I will provide pics tonight.

<<<< can the see each other ?

JCYY · Jul 24, 2017

Yes unfortunately they are able to see one of my beardies across the room in a separate tank thats about 5 feet away. I do not have much space but i doubt this could be the cause of it hiding? I think perhaps he is afraid of me. lol.
The other two are totally fine. He does show his beard once in awhile when he sees his own reflection, or the little one across the room.

JCYY · Jul 24, 2017

AHBD · Jul 24, 2017

Hi there, his bulbs are all good....my first thought is that he is bothered by the sight of the other dragons. Some beardies are just more prone to being stressed than others are. Other than that it seems like you take excellent care of him and he looks very good.

He's definitely eating well, already has a pudgy stomach.

JCYY · Jul 24, 2017

AHBD":a7om4478 said:
Hi there, his bulbs are all good....my first thought is that he is bothered by the sight of the other dragons. Some beardies are just more prone to being stressed than others are. Other than that it seems like you take excellent care of him and he looks very good. He's definitely eating well, already has a pudgy stomach.

Hi There,
Thank you for your response.
Yes I guess he is just more sensitive than the rest. I will try putting the other tank out of sight to see if that helps. He does go black beard as expected when he sees the other male from far.
Lets see how it goes, finger crossed.
Thank you, he is now a little shy of 15 inches and at 265 grams. He continues to gain about 15 grams per week.

kingofnobbys · Jul 24, 2017

JCYY":1w1uiu0f said:
AHBD":1w1uiu0f said:

Hi there, his bulbs are all good....my first thought is that he is bothered by the sight of the other dragons. Some beardies are just more prone to being stressed than others are. Other than that it seems like you take excellent care of him and he looks very good. He's definitely eating well, already has a pudgy stomach.

Click to expand...

Hi There,
Thank you for your response.
Yes I guess he is just more sensitive than the rest. I will try putting the other tank out of sight to see if that helps. He does go black beard as expected when he sees the other male from far.
Lets see how it goes, finger crossed.
Thank you, he is now a little shy of 15 inches and at 265 grams. He continues to gain about 15 grams per week.

Yep he looks nice.. he's a planker like my Peppa ....
.. can you do two stacks of two beardie vivs , a very good way of concerving floor space and a good way of reduce sightline stress .

More cuddles and snuggles for him .... make him feel more secure and relaxed, bit of handfeeding will show him you are nice too.

JCYY · Jul 24, 2017

kingofnobbys":xprjhvtv said:
JCYY":xprjhvtv said:

AHBD":xprjhvtv said:

Hi there, his bulbs are all good....my first thought is that he is bothered by the sight of the other dragons. Some beardies are just more prone to being stressed than others are. Other than that it seems like you take excellent care of him and he looks very good. He's definitely eating well, already has a pudgy stomach.

Click to expand...

Hi There,
Thank you for your response.
Yes I guess he is just more sensitive than the rest. I will try putting the other tank out of sight to see if that helps. He does go black beard as expected when he sees the other male from far.
Lets see how it goes, finger crossed.
Thank you, he is now a little shy of 15 inches and at 265 grams. He continues to gain about 15 grams per week.

Click to expand...

Yep he looks nice.. he's a planker like my Peppa ....
.. can you do two stacks of two beardie vivs , a very good way of concerving floor space and a good way of reduce sightline stress .

More cuddles and snuggles for him .... make him feel more secure and relaxed, bit of handfeeding will show him you are nice too.

Thank you. Yup I have 3 stacks actually but the bottom is used for dubia breeding for now. Plan to fix the 3rd when they have babies.

.

Will definately continue to hand feed and keep him close. I think he just needs more time. He is not eating as much as the rest. Best he does is 5 - 7 big crickets and 2-3 super worms and very little veggie daily. He used to be the strongest eater when I got him 2 months back.

Not basking

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