Something's wrong with my new beardie

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Bdamas

Member
HELP! I recently have bought a baby bearded dragon from pet smart( I know not the best) and have had him for about a week. He has a 100 watt bulb and a repti sun uvb light in a 40 gallon terrarium. Once I got him he was eating about 10-15 small crickets a days readily but two days ago I tried to pick him up for the first time and he ran Away and tried to bite so I let him be. But now he only will eat about 1-2 crickets and closes his eyes and sinks down when I open his viv??? HELP PLZZ!!! (Ps I'm new to beardies)
 

CaramelBeet

Hatchling Member
Please give us a full rundown of your setup:
What specific UV light do you have? I know you said reptisun, but wattage, is it a tube or coil, what wattage? Does it have a reflector dome or hood? How close Is he to it on his basking spot?
What are the temperatures on his basking spot? On the cool side? What are you taking them with (probe thermometer, stick on dial, temperature gun)?
Is he getting two meals a day of as many crickets (or other insects) as he wants? How are they fed (into the viv, hand fed, separate tub)? (Make sure there are never any left in his tank, they will stress him out and may bite him at night)
How old is he?
How much does he weigh?
Can you give us a picture of him?
Does his food get dusted? How often? What with?
What sort of substrate does he have (tile, paper towel and newspaper are all good, sand is bad, calcisand or reptisand needs to be removed asap as it is awful)
Any other details you can give about his care/husbandry would be great.
Can you take some pictures of his enclosure?

It is possible that you just wanted too much too soon and gave him a scare, but it worries me that he's not eating much (and pet stores tend to give really bad advice, so if we go over his setup now, we can figure out any issues before they permanently affect him).
 

Bdamas

Member
Original Poster
He has 10.0 reptisun tube uvb bulb with a reflector hood. He Is also about 5-6 inches away from it compared to his basking spot( but he does climb closer to it on the foam wall). His basking spot Is at about 103-105 during the day and the cool side runs usually at 85. I am getting these with a stick and dial thermometer. I try and feed him 2-3 times a day and I usually put about 2-3 crickets in at a time but when he wont go for them I use the tweezers and place them in front of him so the crickets can't hide and I dont loose them, and like I had said it was working for a while but he started eating them less and less. Idk his weight and age but he Is about 5.5-6 inches including his tail. I have dusted his food 2-3 times a week w/ rep-cal Multivitamins and calcium. My substrate Is repticarpet not sand or anything loose.
 

CaramelBeet

Hatchling Member
Bdamas":2lcdabbl said:
He has 10.0 reptisun tube uvb bulb with a reflector hood. He Is also about 5-6 inches away from it compared to his basking spot( but he does climb closer to it on the foam wall). His basking spot Is at about 103-105 during the day and the cool side runs usually at 85. I am getting these with a stick and dial thermometer. I try and feed him 2-3 times a day and I usually put about 2-3 crickets in at a time but when he wont go for them I use the tweezers and place them in front of him so the crickets can't hide and I dont loose them, and like I had said it was working for a while but he started eating them less and less. Idk his weight and age but he Is about 5.5-6 inches including his tail. I have dusted his food 2-3 times a week w/ rep-cal Multivitamins and calcium. My substrate Is repticarpet not sand or anything loose.

What a cutie!
That's a good UV setup. Glad to hear that you have carpet and don't let the crickets get loose; you're doing pretty well!


Unfortunately dial/stick on thermometers are not accurate (can be off by 10° or more), you'll need to get either probe thermometers (one for the basking spot and one for the cool side), or an infrared temperature gun, so you can get an accurate idea of temperatures (correct temperature is critical for digestion and metabolism).

Also, for a baby (he looks about a month old to me), you'll want to dust five times a week with calcium powder, and twice with vitamin powder (only once a day, so like, dust in the mornings and don't dust in the afternoons or visa versa)

If, once his temps are confirmed, he still doesn't eat, you could try some other feeders too (silkworms are excellent for babies, black soldier fly larvae are good too, you might be able to get dubai roaches depending on which country you're in) to tempt him.

Please keep us updated!

(I also love the wall on the back, I'm slightly jealous hahaha)
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Looks like the 10% UVB tube is sitting ontop a very fine mesh lid, even if it's a T5HO tube , this is not good, the mesh I can see in the image will be blocking about 40% of the UVA and UVB.

See this for how I calculated this shading factor : viewtopic.php?f=34&t=235210&p=1809330#p1809330

See this for how to calculate the best position for UV basking spot (distance from the source) : viewtopic.php?f=34&t=235611

Aim is to have about 180-200 microW UVB / sq.cm at the basking spot.

Note a reflector will double the UV from a source by focusing the UV and redirecting UV that would otherwise be wasted towards the basking spot.

Example calculation of best distance globe to basking spot ":

if ontop of a mesh
if it's fine mesh, you need to compensate for the 38% loss ,
so the correct distance is X = (1-0.38)x ,

ie Arcadia T5HO 12%UVB in a reflector hood is x = 27cm , so X=(1-0.38)*27 = 16.7cm

In the case of a T5HO 10%UVB tube , all rest same , X = 16.7 * 12/10 = 20.0cm.


Another issue is that you seem to have no accurate thermometer , so you have no real idea what the temperature is at any location in the viv , ie
at the basking spot
in the warm zone
in the cool zone.
Those dial style analog thermometers are so inaccurate that they are useless. Could easily be reading 20 degF too warm or too cool.

Maybe you have another thermometer : if so what exactly is it ?
.... so we can check if it is an accurate one.

I strongly recommend buying a brace of digital thermometers similar to this http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-LCD-Digital-Temperature-Thermometer-Fridge-Freezer-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Reptile/172452294173?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140107090050%26meid%3D2f7042e06fbf49ef8ed29ef34ebfc083%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D391259141696

I've tested the ones I have and they are very good , +/- 1 degC (between -20 and 140 degC) , I tested them under laboratory conditions against substances of known melting and boiling points and against a type T thermometer.
I use 3 to 4 per full size viv (4x2x2) and rearing tub (100L) and they are very reliable.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Bdamas":u9t8vcls said:
HELP! I recently have bought a baby bearded dragon from pet smart( I know not the best) and have had him for about a week. He has a 100 watt bulb and a repti sun uvb light in a 40 gallon terrarium. Once I got him he was eating about 10-15 small crickets a days readily but two days ago I tried to pick him up for the first time and he ran Away and tried to bite so I let him be. But now he only will eat about 1-2 crickets and closes his eyes and sinks down when I open his viv??? HELP PLZZ!!! (Ps I'm new to beardies)

<<< he's scared of you .... this is why he is closing his eyes and sinking down when you open his lid, he sees a monster looming over him ....

Best to simply drop 2 or 3 insects in at a time and give him some space, only handling when necessary (ie to spot clean) and take things slowly , let him decide when he's ready to progress to more handling (and when ever you pick him up , never chase him , if he backs off or runs away from your hand, leave him be) , and when you handle him give him a food treat - this works wonders in gaining lizard trust.
 

Bdamas

Member
Original Poster
Thank you to everyone. I still don’t have a digital thermometer but I did what u guys did and he’s finially hunting his food down and he looks a lot more active. And just wondering I know someone said give him at treat when I handle him is silk worms good for this?
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
That's encouraging! Yes, silkworms are an excellent treat to offer by hand, as are black soldier fly larvae.
 

Bdamas

Member
Original Poster
Is there a certain website or store that I could get silk worms from or does it even matter. Thanks ssooo so much
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
There are several places to get them. I order mine from coastal silkworms. They come in a pod that contains some food for them although it's good to have some extra food on hand too.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, you really can't see what type of screen you have so can you post a pic showing the screen top ? Some screen only blocks a little bit of the uvb, just a picture can be helpful.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
CooperDragon":odphu4ku said:
That's encouraging! Yes, silkworms are an excellent treat to offer by hand, as are black soldier fly larvae.

Not only excellent treats , but excellent staples to give everyday for at least meal.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Bdamas":2bikeg2y said:
Is there a certain website or store that I could get silk worms from or does it even matter. Thanks ssooo so much

what country are you in ?

I rarely buy silkworms as catepillas these days , maybe a couple of times per year , because I let some silkworms mature (30 -40 say) to make cocoons and when the moths emerge I harvest the eggs ans set the aside in glass sample bottles or cliplock plastic bags in the door of the fridge to hatch as needed.

If you cant afford silkworms , can be pricey , buy a few hundred eggs and hatch your own. Works out much cheaper AND you will have access to silkworms year round that way which can be feed fresh or blanched / frozen the thawed mulberry leaves (can be free if you have access to some mulberry trees) or if no mulberry trees handy then nuked silkworm chow (expensive) is fine..
 
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