New Owner - Trying to figure things out

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aarmijo

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Hi Everyone
So glad a found this forum today! The search "new bearded dragon HELP" did not disappoint.

I thought I did enough research before buying my new bearded dragon, Shelly, at an expo this past weekend. As it turns out, I have no idea what I'm doing. The booth I opted to buy her from was exclusive to beardies, so I assumed I was getting solid advice. Maybe it was and I'm poorly executing... who knows.

I bought the 20 gallon starter kit, which I was told included everything I needed to get her all set up and comfortable (but that I would need to upgrade her home when she gets a bit bigger). I have the light on the far left side with a piece of wood for her to climb up on and get closer to the lamp if she chooses. Then I have the under-tank heater on the right side, with a hiding spot and a hammock for her as well. She has access to water all day long although I’ve only seen her drink, briefly, one time. There is a piece of felt-like material on the bottom which I have also covered up with a paper towel in an effort to keep her home clean. Except she hasn’t pooped… not even once since Saturday.

On Saturday I tried feeding her and she rejected everything I offered. I chalked it up to new-home stress and let her be. Yesterday (Sunday) I offered her the small roaches in the morning and she ate two before letting the others use her to climb on. I removed them and offered her many different types of fruit and veggies, to which she didn’t even fake interest in. Then I tried the dried food, which she did check out but never ate.

This morning I put some more roaches in there for her, but she only ate one and again watched the others crawl around her home until I took them out. I gave her greens and blueberries, plus a second bowl with the dried (but moistened) food before leaving for work. My husband stopped home for lunch and said it doesn’t look as though she has touched anything. And still no poop.

She will let me hold her, and is very curious about her surroundings. She’s alert and even showed me that she can JUMP (which I didn’t know about until she leapt across the couch). She’s not too fond of my youngest son, but she will let me hold her contently for quite a while so I have to assume that she’s at least comfortable with me? Or maybe she’s cold and using me as a heat source….

The heat lamp on the left runs for 13 hours, but the stick-on thermometer only shows 90-degrees which doesn’t seem right. I ordered digital thermometers (two) on Saturday but I’m wondering if I should go buy some in-store tonight if this is as serious as it seems rather than waiting until Wednesday for delivery?

Sorry for the rather long post, but I do appreciate any/all comments & feedback!
-Abby
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Welcome to the forum -- please post pics of your tank and little one - I am assuming its a baby? Right now she probably has relocation stress and it will eventually go away - at least she is eating some - yes be careful they do jump alot when they are little so beware because they can fall and hurt themselves- You will need to get a Infrared Heat Gun - it will give you most accurate temps for your basking area etc.. the heat mat should go - they can easily burn them selves as they heat thru their backs not tummys-- you can get a infrared heat gun from Walmart or Home Depot for like $10-- the most important thing right now is your lighting --- if you have a coil UVB it is no good -- please post pics and we can help better - nice choice for staple food --- dubias are so much better for staple per crickets-- he/ she should be eating 5-6 per feeding in a 10 minute period but like I said its probably relocation stress at this point-- 1 dubia = 6 crickets-- he/ she should also be getting his/ her bugs dusted w/ calcium d3 5 x per week and vitamins 2 x per week thanks
Karrie
 

aarmijo

New member
Original Poster
Hi Karrie
Thanks for the advice. I stopped by Walmart tonight but wasn’t able to find the temp gun so I’ll go to Home Depot tomorrow. When I got home, she was wide awake and I put her in a box with the roaches to see if she would eat more with less distraction. She hasnt eaten anything today, and ate two roaches (dusted) yesterday. Two is better than none though! Still no poops, which seems odd. She also hasn’t touched any fruit or veggies - I’ve tried many different kinds. Here’s a pic of the tank she’s in. That temperature sticker says the temp is only 86-degrees on the left side under the heat lamp. I will verify tomorrow after I go to Home Depot.
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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
You need to get rid of the UVB if its a coil--- you will need to invest in a Reptisun 10 T5, or the Arcadia D3 12% or 14% T5 tube, both of which are very good. You will need a T5 light fixture also. The coil UVB is no good and the ones mentioned are the ones recommended by most every one on the forum-- the basking should be between 90-105-- the roaches she ate yesterday were equivalent to 12 crickets - she should be eating more but you got her this past Sat? -- it may take her awhile to adjust - just keep offering the roaches and offer her some vegies as well greens mustard and collard maybe squash - she may not eat it and then again she may -- her main diet should be bugs at this point they wont start eating vegies mainly till around a year--- back to the UVB -- depending on the bulb you get if its a T 5 it COULD go on top of tank depending on screen mesh if its the fine mesh it will need to go inside tank if it has big holes in screen it could go on top --- it you get a T 8 bulb it will haft to go inside of tank -- T 5's are changed once a year where a T 8 is changed out every 6 months-- they lose their strength for rays-- and also the screen filters out alot of the rays-- get the temp gun first and then get a temp of her basking area for accurate temp and we can go from there but you want a temp of her actual basking spot where she sits --- it should be taken w/ gun inside the tank approx 2-4" from area
Karrie
 
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I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
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i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

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