New Beardie mom rehoming??

Hi, I am new to the reptile world so this may be long sorry. I got our new and first bearded dragon from an AD on craigslist. I am told he is a boy named Mushu and we got him about four days ago. He is very friendly and likes to lay on my young children 3 and 4 year old boys and likes to be held. I gave him a bath yesterday for the first time and he seemed to enjoy it. my only problems and concerns are he isnt very active in his cage and doesnt seem to bask very long usually just hangs out in his hammock on the other end of the tank. its a 40 gallon take and I believe he is almost a year old. he hasnt drank any water at all either and maybe ate 4 crickets and very little spring mix yesterday otherwise nothing. I dont know if maybe because its a new place he is still getting use to it. but they said he was a very picky eater and only liked the spring mix. I will be trying butternut sqaush tomorrow along with dandlion greens and collard greens. Should i be giving him more baths to make sure he is hydrated more or what to do. I want to make sure he is healthy and that i am doing everything i can for him. Any tips or help you can give me i would greatly appreciate it. i even tried strawberries and blueberries but he wont eat anything. I am actually usually scared of reptiles but i pick him up and pet him and turned our extra spare bedroom downstairs for him to come out and run around. I plan on ordering a better light tomorrow for prime day so hopefully that helps.

Hi, him not eating much could be relocation stress. Try ordering some new worms for him to try. My beardie loves hornworms and will never turn one down. It's not uncommon for them not to drink water. Mine never drinks water but gets enough hydration from his food and baths. I also recommend if you have a water bowl in the tank, take it out. It will raise the humidity in the tank. What are the temps in the basking area? It's possible it could be too hot if your beardie isn't going over there. And also what UVB do you have? I assume this is probably that new bulb you're ordering. I recommend baths about 2-3 days a week. Of course, if your beardie likes baths then feel free to bathe him more often.

Arawood":h8ekmjrl said:

Hi, him not eating much could be relocation stress. Try ordering some new worms for him to try. My beardie loves hornworms and will never turn one down. It's not uncommon for them not to drink water. Mine never drinks water but gets enough hydration from his food and baths. I also recommend if you have a water bowl in the tank, take it out. It will raise the humidity in the tank. What are the temps in the basking area? It's possible it could be too hot if your beardie isn't going over there. And also what UVB do you have? I assume this is probably that new bulb you're ordering. I recommend baths about 2-3 days a week. Of course, if your beardie likes baths then feel free to bathe him more often.

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Right now as i am still learning how to use the lights best I am using the ones he came with. i would say the basking area today was around 91 92F but the first 2 days it was probably to low around 88. that why i am ordering the mercury all in one heater and UVB and UVA lights for him and then they use a red light at night to let him know its bed time. He seems okay when we have him out not stressed but maybe i dont know what to look for. should i not have him out so much since he is still getting use to being in a new home and new people. I have tried the worms i heard werent good for them so i am gonna order some horn worms for him tomorrow off amazon as well. he pooped in the bath and seemed to want to eat more after so i feel like bath everyday might be good for him.

Hello,

Which brand of MVB are you going to be purchasing?
I would recommend using a ceramic heat emitter at night for him, instead of a red bulb. The
colored lights can disrupt their sleep cycle.
How are you measuring the temps, what type of thermometer are you using? A 40 gallon is a
decent sized tank so you should be able to regulate the temperatures pretty well.
The basking temperatures should have a range of 95-105 for optimal body temperatures for him
with a 78-82 range in the cooler end.
Mushu is probably experiencing some relocation stress also, which is very normal. It may take
a week or two for him to completely settle into his new home.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

Thank u. I am buying this mega ray vapor bulb from Amazon it has great reviews. Since he is getting used to all this should I be having him out so much or should I just leave him alone. Also what about baths should I give him more to help him poop and stuff? I am using a digital thermometer in the basking area and then a little stick on that came with him on the cooler side. Right now the basking is only at 91 degree at the hottest so I am ordering that bulb tomorrow. He loves to be in his hammock and seemed to sleep earlier then normal.

I agree with Drache, no red light and definitely need the basking temps to be higher. If the temperature is too low it may be causing his metabolism to be slow and he may not eat as much as he should. But good thing that'll be taken care of soon You could bathe him everyday if he enjoys it in warm water. If a beardie hasn't pooped in a couple days a bath will usually take care of that. You could also rub his belly in the bath (from beard to vent) to help him go. It's not unusual for a beardie to be falling asleep before his lights turn off. I have my lights on 12 hours although a lot of people recommend them to be on for up to 14 hour, and my beardie still gets sleepy an hour before the light turns off. This is completely normal for him and he's been doing that for 8 years. I also don't use any lights for him at night because it doesn't get very cold in my house but of course it doesn't hurt to use the ceramic heat emitter.

I am so glad i found this place because now i feel like if i need a question answered i can come here and u all should know the best since we all own one or more haha. Thank u all for the advice he has started eating more greens i noticed and i went out and bought some butternut squash and some dandelion greens, the grocery store i went to were out of collard greens and mustard greens so i will have to keep looking. i had fed him one meal worm but now i am throwing them away since i know they are bad for them. I also would like to find a place that sells silk worms for him and i am feeding him crickets as well. he seems to like bath so i have given him one today and yesterday. Should i just turn the red light off and not use it anymore even tho i dont have a ceramic emitter yet or keep using it for now??? also i ordered the all in one mercury bulb should be here wednesday so hopefully it will work better. I am posting a couple photos of Mushu sleeping in his hammock. he loves it and is always on it. I am starting to really fall in love with him but i am still learning to be okay with him crawling on my neck and shoulder he really likes it but when he looks at me and started coming toward my face i freak a little and have to bring him back down on me??? I think we will get better in time but i am also afraid that if he is on my shoulder and trys to climb around or fall i wont be able to grab him like i will need to which i think also scares me a little. okay enjoy the photos and if you wanna check out more of him check my page on facebook @huiephotography1

We're here to help if your house doesn't get too cold I'd say go ahead and turn off the red light. The room my beardie is in never drops below 72 and he's quite comfortable. If he's ever feeling adventurous and wants to climb you I'd say just sit on the bed or couch so if he does jump off your shoulder he has somewhere soft to land. And as for worms, have you tried ordering from mulberry farms? They have silkworms along with many others and offer combo packs so your beardie can have a nice variety of worms!

UPDATE: We just got the light today so tomorrow we will try it out and see if that helps him be healthy and good. I also feel like he is getting more warmed up to us so thats really good seems more active and ready to go but still not eating alot of i am thinking of ordering some hornworms for him from mulberry farm tomorrow and keep trying with the dandelion greens and mixed greens. I have to find a store to buy some collard greens and mustard greens still. Here is a couple photos of him sleeping. I love how he like holds his hands in his hammock haha.