Background:
I got my little guy from a family who can no longer take care of him. He's 9 months old and raised by a family with kids, lost the tip of his tail from co-habitation but overall heathy. Diet consists of cricket, woodies and greens.
Enclosure:
We build this enclosure from a vintage jewellery display cabinet, H62cm x L151cm x D45cm. I am using pet friendly fake grass as substrate with a lot of rocks on the surface for resting. He's got his own hide and a dig box with loose substrate (organic coconut coir). I feed him away from the digbox to prevent impaction.
We are using 22" Reptisun 10.0 T5 as UVB mounted on top of the tank, basking spots are within the 40-50cm range from UVB. Heat bulb is currently using the Exo Terra intense basking spot 100w from his previous owner.
Temperate on basking spot is 38 - hottest 42 Celsius and the cool side is area 22 - 24 celsius. Inside his hiding spot is around 19-20 celsius. I don't use heat at night as I live in Victoria, Australia, we use home heater during this winter and the indoor temperature won't drop below 19 celsius.
Here is a photo of his enclosure.
https://imgur.com/fJVM2ZE
My Questions:
1. Is my temperature and light source distant optimal for a 9months old dragon?
2. He is with me for nearly a week now, on some days he eats well (4-5 woodies and 10+ medium crickets), but most days he barely eats 3-5 crickets and sleeps alot. What can I do to help him adjust better and boost his appetite? What is an ideal amount of food for beardie his age?
3. So far I only see him eats his greens once or twice, how do i get him to eat more?
4. He is pretty used to handling but I can tell he is still trying to get use to my touch, how do I make him less stress with he's hanging out with my husband and I.
5. One of the days he slept all day and the next morning he opened his eyes when I checked on him so I took him to his basking spot. Is he brumating even though I did not let the temperature drop under 19(currently is winter in Australia). If yes, should I make him bask after feeding to help with digest? I have read horror stories about brumation with undigested food and parasites.
6. He doesn't drink much water from his water bowl, I am thinking of removing it in fear of rising humidity. How do i get him to drink water and make sure he's hydrated?
Any help is appreciated, we just want the best for our little buddy.
I got my little guy from a family who can no longer take care of him. He's 9 months old and raised by a family with kids, lost the tip of his tail from co-habitation but overall heathy. Diet consists of cricket, woodies and greens.
Enclosure:
We build this enclosure from a vintage jewellery display cabinet, H62cm x L151cm x D45cm. I am using pet friendly fake grass as substrate with a lot of rocks on the surface for resting. He's got his own hide and a dig box with loose substrate (organic coconut coir). I feed him away from the digbox to prevent impaction.
We are using 22" Reptisun 10.0 T5 as UVB mounted on top of the tank, basking spots are within the 40-50cm range from UVB. Heat bulb is currently using the Exo Terra intense basking spot 100w from his previous owner.
Temperate on basking spot is 38 - hottest 42 Celsius and the cool side is area 22 - 24 celsius. Inside his hiding spot is around 19-20 celsius. I don't use heat at night as I live in Victoria, Australia, we use home heater during this winter and the indoor temperature won't drop below 19 celsius.
Here is a photo of his enclosure.
https://imgur.com/fJVM2ZE
My Questions:
1. Is my temperature and light source distant optimal for a 9months old dragon?
2. He is with me for nearly a week now, on some days he eats well (4-5 woodies and 10+ medium crickets), but most days he barely eats 3-5 crickets and sleeps alot. What can I do to help him adjust better and boost his appetite? What is an ideal amount of food for beardie his age?
3. So far I only see him eats his greens once or twice, how do i get him to eat more?
4. He is pretty used to handling but I can tell he is still trying to get use to my touch, how do I make him less stress with he's hanging out with my husband and I.
5. One of the days he slept all day and the next morning he opened his eyes when I checked on him so I took him to his basking spot. Is he brumating even though I did not let the temperature drop under 19(currently is winter in Australia). If yes, should I make him bask after feeding to help with digest? I have read horror stories about brumation with undigested food and parasites.
6. He doesn't drink much water from his water bowl, I am thinking of removing it in fear of rising humidity. How do i get him to drink water and make sure he's hydrated?
Any help is appreciated, we just want the best for our little buddy.