Another Baby Dragon Won’t Eat

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Tmccurry

New member
Hope you guys can provide some help since I do not have access to any vet within 3.5 hours that can provide assistance. We bought a baby bearded dragon from the dreaded PetSmart (I now know that’s bad) for our daughter for Christmas 1.5 weeks ago. He ate decently the next day, but has since resorted to eating maybe 1 cricket a day. So far no luck with greens/fruits. Baby food has also been a bust (he will take a couple licks if we put it on his nose).

We have bathed him every other day (Goes to the bathroom daily. More liquid then actual poop lately). We give him water drops on his nose a couple of times a day. Seems to be becoming more lethargic.

We are using a 100w basking lamp supplemented by a 65w “moon lamp” and the reptisun 10.0 uvb. Substrate is a vinyl tile (pic below). 40 gallon tank and the temp gun shows the basking spot 105-106 and the coldest part of his cage (far right) 78-80 degrees.

Please, any help.

Edit: we have attempted feeding him in various locations (smaller travel tank, 40gal tank, and bath bucket)



102274-8113713255.jpg
 

destiny1998

Extreme Poster
Photo Comp Winner
Hi. It looks like you have a coil/ compact uvb. Those are very weak. They cause appetite,lethargy and she issues. I'd replace the uvb with a reptisun 10.0 t5 long tube. Also the moon light is not needed. The tank looks good overall.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
At the very least :
1) cut the mesh so there is hole in the mesh directly under the UV globe , mesh is likely blocking up to 45% of the UVA & UVB , this is bad.
2) make sure the UVB globe is an EXO TERRA 26W UVB200 , it's the best compact UVB globe available and is very powerful and produces a very nice UV spectrum cf others.
3) basking spot no farther than 8 inches from the 26W UVB200
4) check the temperatures
>> basking spot NO HOTTER than 40 degC
>> warm zone about 36 degC
>> cool zone about 30 degC.
Give the hatchling about 1 hour to warm up before 1st feed of insects.
Give it at least 2hrs to bask after it's last meal of insects for the day.

What size crickets are you offering ?
See this for guidance : viewtopic.php?f=45&t=244111&p=1859195#p1859195

Might just be relocation stress , but could also be temperatures are wrong.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I agree, I am not a fan of the compact/coil UVB lights. While they may be powerful, they spike
in levels & don't produce very good wavelength for long periods of time. They have been known
to cause harm to their eyes & their health.
I would recommend replacing the compact/coil & upgrade to either the Reptisun 10 or the Arcadia
D3 12% or 14% T5 tube instead. The UVB light is so much better quality.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

Tmccurry

New member
Original Poster
I am not using a compact coil/uvb bulb. The UVB is a reptisun 10.0 secure IN the terrarium (the picture is my setup). The fixture on top is the 100w basking lamp and 65w “moon” lamp.

Temps rang in the terrarium from 41C/105-106F down to 25C/78-80F furthest from the basking spot (checked with a digital IR instant thermometer)

Crickets are “small” definitely no bigger than the gap between his eyes.

102274-5463702283.jpg
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Tmccurry":20y4jkig said:
I am not using a compact coil/uvb bulb. The UVB is a reptisun 10.0 secure IN the terrarium (the picture is my setup). The fixture on top is the 100w basking lamp and 65w “moon” lamp.

Temps rang in the terrarium from 41C/105-106F down to 25C/78-80F furthest from the basking spot (checked with a digital IR instant thermometer)

Crickets are “small” definitely no bigger than the gap between his eyes.

102274-5463702283.jpg

The T5 tube needs to repositioned so it's more or less overhead when the dragon is basking.
I'd ditch the "moon globe" , if you need overnight heating, replace with suitable wattage ceramic heat emitter.
 
Tmccurry":1y8zdwcq said:
I am not using a compact coil/uvb bulb. The UVB is a reptisun 10.0 secure IN the terrarium (the picture is my setup). The fixture on top is the 100w basking lamp and 65w “moon” lamp.

Temps rang in the terrarium from 41C/105-106F down to 25C/78-80F furthest from the basking spot (checked with a digital IR instant thermometer)

Crickets are “small” definitely no bigger than the gap between his eyes.

102274-5463702283.jpg


I can see the UVA/UVB tube in the first picture but from the angle of the picture I can see how others missed it.

I have a few suggestions for you. I had a baby a while back that I was rehabbing for a local pet store. He was so tiny and wouldn't eat either.

First I would get some small Dubia...I get mine online but we have a local pet store that carries them when I am out and waiting. Or you could ask on craigslist. Almost of times there is someone in your area that breeds them, you just have to find them. Dubia are easily gut loaded, don't die off like crickets and they have better nutritional content than crickets. One dubia is about the equivalent of 5 crickets of the same size so they can eat less. That way, if he's only eating one or two he's getting better nutrition out of that one or two.

What I would do is get a smallish tub and feed him in that with a basking light on him. I left the baby in it for longer than 15 minutes, more like 30 and he would eat one or two.

Being from Petsmart I can tell you that you are probably seeing the results of improper lighting. There they have a red heat lamp on them at night and the light set up during the day isn't right either. They need the UVA/UVB on for 12-14 hours a day and then all lights off at night. The drop in temps as well as the dark helps him to regulate hormones and metabolism. (if your house does drop below 65 at night you can do a ceramic heater but don't it heat up the viv too much) So the way Petsmart was keeping them, they are a little messed up for a while and it will take him a few weeks to regulate. If you are making sure that his temps are right and you are keeping the UVA/UVB on him for at least 12 hours and shutting off all lights at night I would suspect that you will start seeing his appetite increase within a week or two.
 

Tmccurry

New member
Original Poster
Today I actually saw him eat 7 crickets. Maybe we are on the upslope. Tried doing some searches for Dubia roaches and can’t seem to find any local. I’m also low on crickets.

Does anyone have any experience with ordering dubia roaches from some place like amazon?
 
Tmccurry":2t4jah3p said:
Today I actually saw him eat 7 crickets. Maybe we are on the upslope. Tried doing some searches for Dubia roaches and can’t seem to find any local. I’m also low on crickets.

Does anyone have any experience with ordering dubia roaches from some place like amazon?

Awesome!

I order mine from www.kimbrellscoldblood.com
Actually found him on this forum years ago and have used him ever since. He ships Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. He’s got everything you need including roach chow and water crystals. I always order 500 at a time. They are super easy and done die off like crickets do.
 
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