Does my baby beardie look normal?

I’ve had my baby for about a week now and i’m Already in love. But i’m Also extremely paranoid. They’re about 5 weeks old, poops regularly, eats regularly, usually active. But he does some weird stuff. He doesn’t really drink but i’ve Read they absorb and eat most of their water, but recently he’s become a bit wrinkly (unless flattened out) and I can’t tell if his eyes are sunken or not! (Posting picture). He also gets intense stress marks only when they bask, I have a 50w exoterra basking light and 5.0 uvb. Also posting a photo of my tank setup. On top of that he has a small bump on the top of his tail, it’s not visible but you can feel it, idk if it’s his organs or what. Thanks for your help!!

It’s best to get a plastic eye dropper & give home a drop at a time. Mine will drink 2 droppers full.

He looks good. If he isn't drinking from a dropper then he's probably getting enough from his food which is fine. His skin is loose so he can pancake out and puff out if he wants to and that's normal. I do suggest upgrading your UVB from a 5.0 to something a bit stronger. What kind of UVB fixture are you using? How far is it from the basking area? I can help you find a good fit if you'd like.

CooperDragon":phm48bad said:

He looks good. If he isn't drinking from a dropper then he's probably getting enough from his food which is fine. His skin is loose so he can pancake out and puff out if he wants to and that's normal. I do suggest upgrading your UVB from a 5.0 to something a bit stronger. What kind of UVB fixture are you using? How far is it from the basking area? I can help you find a good fit if you'd like.

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Thank you!! I have a 12’ bar light for my UVB and a 50w basking light. I used to have 75w but that was too hot. I have a 20gallon tank that I will upgrade in about a year

In a 20g tank I would get a 22'' T5 fixture that comes with a 5.0 bulb. I suggest moving it next to the basking light if you can so the most intense UVB is over the basking area with the highest heat. I would also plan on upgrading from the 20g tank much sooner than a year as he will outgrow it more quickly. I would expect him to be around 16-18'' long by 6-8 months or so. If you get a T5 fixture you can upgrade the bulb to a 10.0 when you upgrade the tank. You can use the same fixture which saves in the long run. https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26053-Reptisun-Terrarium/dp/B00AQU8F2O

I found that I’ve save a ton of money by buying a dimmer switch which can control the brightness of the lights and therefore the heat. This allowed me to go with the higher wattage bulb Instead of guessing, this way I can dim the bulb according to temperature needs.
You can get a dimmer switch at Home Depot for $6.00, Then plug your light into the dimmer socket and the dimmer into your surge protector. If You don’t have a digital thermometer with a probe I would say it’s a good idea to get one. They’re very accurate and It allows you to keep the thermometer on the outside of the cage where u can see the temperature and the probe on the inside in the same area your dragon basks in. Once You get a read on the temperature you can adjust the lights with the dimmer to bring temps up or down. This has helped me keep temps even all day. You should check the temps perioudically throughout the first few days to get a feel of how the temperature may change due to your homes climate settings.

Digital probes are good but the best way to accurate temps is from Infrared Heat gun - you can get them from Walmart Home Depot or Lowes for around $10 or so
Karrie