New bearded dragon won't eat

Hi I am a new bearded dragon owner and I was wondering how much my dragon should be eating? We brought him home Monday and it is now Saturday and he hasn't touched a thing. I mist him with water a couple of times a day because I haven't seen him drink much either. Otherwise he's been great! He loves to be held and petted. He looks good to me except that he has a black spot on the tip of his tongue. Not sure what that is. I have tried to feed him crickets, collard greens, carrots, peas and dried bearded dragon food with dried worms in it. Any advice would be helpful! Thanks

Hi. Congrats on your new baby. He probably has some relocation stress. That can last a couple of weeks. Can you give a rundown on his set up?

We have a basking light, a uv light and a black light for nighttime. We just bought the petsmart bearded dragon kit. It came with those lights a 30 gallon tank and a water dish. I bought him another bowl, eco carpet (the other stuff smelled horrible) and a lounging log. I also have a thermometer and humidity detector. I tried to feed him live crickets but he just let them crawl all over him so I took them out. He had his first bm yesterday. We take him out for an hour a day and let him run around. He seems to love that but when I put him back in his cage yesterday he threw all of his food all over the cage like he was having a temper tantrum. It was kind of funny. He's 10 months old.

The black lights are terrible for them. No need for any lights at night.

Try dropping one cricket near him at a time. It takes time for them to eating after being relocated. Mine took about a week. Some take a couple of weeks.

What are your temperatures and what type of UVB light do you have? And how do you measure your temperatures.

Thanks for answering. I hate to say this but those kits are crap. I bought one and had to replace all the lights, subtrate and thermometers. Those stick on thermometers are very inaccurate. A temp gun or a digital with a wire probe are the only ways to get an accurate reading on the basking spot. If that came with a coil/compact uvb light those cause lethargy, appetite and eye issues. A reptisun 10.0 Tube is what is needed. Hopefully once all of those are corrected he'll start eating like a champ.

Ok sounds like I have all the wrong stuff. Could you tell me what I need exactly for a bearded dragon? Food, lights, temp everything. We really adore Sunny and if he gets sick my son would be heart broken so I need to know what Sunny needs to be comfortable. Thank you!

Hi. You need a good uvb light either a reptisun 10.0 Tube t5 which can be placed on top of the screen or the t8 which is not as strong as the t5 and will need to be mounted in the tank. A good thermometer is very important. I use a digital with a wire probe or you can use a temp gun. You need to know the temps on the basking spot. He will also need a bright white basking light. I use halogen flood bulbs. As for feeding you can feed crickets, silk worms, Phoenix worms and dubia roches. Phoenix worms don't need to be dusted with calcium as they are high in it. Make sure the feeders are no bigger than the space between the eyes. Beautifuldragons.com has a good list that'll help you establish a good base for a salad. He probably won't eat much salad at first just keep offering it everyday.

Thank you! That helps me a lot. I'll let you know if he's doing better next week!

Sunnydragon":gqlqugtv said:

Thank you! That helps me a lot. I'll let you know if he's doing better next week!

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How is your baby doing? Did it start eating?

He still does not eat much. He is terrified of crickets so we won't even try those anymore. He will eat a few super worms every couple of days and he eats a few kale leaves but that's about it. I've read that bearys sometimes don't eat because they are too cold so I try to put him under his heat lamp but he never stays there for very long. He's so picky. And he is very thin. He sleeps all night though and I let him out of his cage atleast once a day so he can run around my sons room. Thanks for asking about him! I would love to send a pic of him if I can figure it out!

Hi. Here is a site that gives you a list of what to feed beautifuldragons.com. Also did you find a good uvb light? Brand? How about thermometer? Do you know the temps? A good thermometer is a temp gu or a digital with a wire probe.