Stress marks Concered Dad

Hello,

This is my first Beardie companion and I have a lot to learn. After finding this site and reading thread after thread I came across Belly Stress marks. I looked into it some more and have become concerned that he might be stressing out.

I've only had him a few days and want to make sure I am making him as comfortable as I can. To my knowledge he is only 2-3 months old. I bought a tank set because the "knowledgeable" pet store guys told me it would work great. After reading all the great info here I have replaced the whole set except the tank to meet all the suggestions from the Beardie family.

Here's where my concern is. He hasn't pooped since the day I brought him home. That night after feeding he vomited his food. (He hasn't done that since I added calcium/d3 powder) I fed him some baby chicken food, I've given him a bath and rubbed his belly. I'm pretty sure he enjoyed his spa day because he passed out. But still no poop. His basking area is reading 98f with a digital thermometer with a probe.

He is pretty active around the cage, and his diet has been mealworms, kale, and orange peppers. He is about 10"-11" from his basking light. Another question I have is can shedding have a stress effect? Because he started shedding the second day I've had him. Any info will help.

Hi there, it's good that you made some changes and hopefully your little guy will settle in for you soon. The term stress mark is misleading, it's perfectly normal part of a baby's pattern and they can be visible whether the beardie is just excited, stressed or not. Not a real thing to worry about really.

What had he been fed the night that he vomited, exactly what were the bugs ? Always remember not to feed him late and not too large an insect. It wouldn't mean anything if it was calcium coated [ as far as connection to his vomiting ] but the late evening or too large an insect or not enough heat would have caused his inability to digest food + then vomit. Be sure the bugs are smaller than the space between his eyes. Don't worry about rubbing the belly, this is not a good thing to do to a baby [ although people recommend it ] because we have no real measure of the pressure that can be too hard on a tiny creatures stomach and can actually hurt the baby. Just offer baby food squash/peas or prunes if you ever suspect impaction, also a drop or 2 of veg. oil. A 10 minute warm bath can help, too but not always necessary, esp. if the baby doesn't like it.

Since he threw up he probably has no food in his system, so nothing to expel right now. Offer him hydration by spray bottle or eyedropper to drip or lightly spray his snout.

And yes, shedding can cause a bit of stress ,but is not as bad as some owners think. He will probably start eating again soon and then the poo will come. By the way, can you show a few pics of his set up and also what exact type + brand of lights you have ?

Can you

Here is the set up.
I am currently using
Zilla Slimline desert 50 uvb t8
Zilla 50 watt day white basking light
And a ceramic bulb (can't remember what brand)
His mealworms are vita bugs small

Thanks for the info on the marks. I will try the oil today. Because he is eating worms just not pooping. I have been paying attention to size but my wife fed him once so some big ones may have been fed.

I am just worried he may be impacted and what may happen if he is. If the oil and baby food don't work what is the next step?

Nice little set up for a small beardie. A few things to tweek....the Zilla uvb slimline does not prodce a lot of uvb so you can mount it in the tank to be closer to the beardie. You also have to check to be sure that there is no plastic shield covering the bulb....that blocks all the uvb. How are the temps. in the tank ? Do you have the 50 watt basking bulb on at the same time as the heat emitter ? If not, the 50 watt bulb will not produce enough heat , you'll need a 100 watt bulb at least.

Feeding him crickets, dubia nymphs and bsfl [ fly larva , brand names are Phoenix worms or Calci-worms ] will be better than mealworms. A steady diet of mealworms can cause impaction and as you have see may have caused him to vomit, along with too low a temp. A baby dragon is MUCH better off on the other bugs I mentioned, which can all be mail ordered to save money. Be sure to make those changes + he should do better.

Thank you for all the info. I picked up some crickets and he seems to like those more than the mealworms. I also gave him some oil and changed his basking light to 100w. Now I just have to figure out how to mount the uvb bulb in the tank. Seems to have helped with his mood. He is now running around his cage. The temp in the cage has gone up from 94 to 102.

Side note: as I was typing this he pooped. All is well. And the marks on his belly are going away.

That's great, what size are the crickets, can you post a picture of them next to a dime ? And I replied to your p.m. as well.

Well I tried to take a pic oh a cricket next to a dime. But they keep jumping away. The biggest cricket in the box is a little bit bigger than half way across a dime. The rest smaller than that. In comparison to small size mealworms they are smaller in length.