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Ok, so I’ve had my beardie for roughly 2 months now. He started off pretty bad and then it got good and it’s getting worse again. His hatch day is Jan 17, 2019 so roughly 10 months old. He’s about a foot or so long from his tail to his nose.

My beardie, currently, will not eat anything with calcium, eat anything but dried greens, or drink water at all. He doesn’t go into his hide at all, and sleeps a lot.

He doesn’t have any signs of anything, just the fact that he won’t eat it.

With the roaches that I try to dust, he won’t eat. I put some water on them and wash the dust off, and he eats them. I’ve tried the liquid calcium and he won’t take it. He’ll see the dropper and flip out. I’ve tried all of the things I’ve given him. Mealworms, Dubias, superworms, and crickets. I’ve even tried putting it on his salad and he won’t touch it.

That brings me to the second problem, the salad. I give him mustard/collard/dandelion greens, and kale. I will put raspberry dust on it and carrots and blueberries and he won’t touch it. I used to change it every day but I left it for a few days and he likes the kale dehydrated. That’s the only part of it that he’ll eat. I’ve even tried putting superworms in the greens but he wont do it. I’m kinda at a loss with that too.

I bathe him once a week, scrubbing the belly and all. I put some water droplets on his nose and he won’t lick it/drink it. He won’t eat his greens if they’re wet, and I’ve tried spraying his nose, but to no avail.He physically doesn’t wanna drink water.

He sits on his hammock under his heat/UVB light all day, and then sleeps there when it’s off. He hasn’t stayed in his hide for more than 5 seconds before.

I think it has something to do with the temperature in his tank. He has a 75 gal tank that’s hot side temp ranges 70-90. I can’t get it up and the humidity down for the life of me. Humidity is settled at roughly 45%. He has a large hide, a hammock, a water dish, a mealworm dish, and a greens dish. He stays in one spot to bask and one to sleep.

I’m worried he’s killing himself. Like, I feel like he’s a suicidal lizard. He will jump off his hammock (that is a foot from the bottom of his tank) and will hang off The hammock from his back feet.

I genuinely don’t know what to do. I feel terrible because I feel like I’m not giving him the best life ever and I’m a bad dragon mom. Help?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
You did not say anything about a UVB----- these lights are the most crucial thing in that tank ---- you need to increase you basking temp -- how are you taking that temp? infrared heat gun digital probe or stick ons? You need an actual basking temp taken w/ the heat gun or digital probe ---- if that is the case and you are getting a actual temp then you need to increase the wattage of the bulb your using or raise the decor so you are getting a basking temp of 95-105--- and the UVB what is it brand and bulb coil or long tube?
Karrie
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hi there,

I agree we need to hear more about your husbandry. If you dont have a proper uvb bulb lots of issues can arise.
Additionally, you need to fix your temps. Without proper temps he wont be digesting. If he cant digest he wont eat..

He is severely undersized for his age. Which is a sign he hasn't been eating enough or kept under the right conditions. You've only had him for 2 months so he likely has been housed improperly or not fed properly his whole life so we gotta change that :)
1 of my dragons is a January hatch date too and hes over 19 inches and near 400g. My 3 month olds are basically at or past 12 inches.

So hopefully once you get your temperatures fixed, and verify that your uvb bulb is proper, he will start eating for you.
He definitely isnt suicidal. They have immense wills to live, he just needs to be kept under the proper conditions.

-Brandon
 

babybeardieparth

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":2eu76v59 said:
You did not say anything about a UVB----- these lights are the most crucial thing in that tank ---- you need to increase you basking temp -- how are you taking that temp? infrared heat gun digital probe or stick ons? You need an actual basking temp taken w/ the heat gun or digital probe ---- if that is the case and you are getting a actual temp then you need to increase the wattage of the bulb your using or raise the decor so you are getting a basking temp of 95-105--- and the UVB what is it brand and bulb coil or long tube?
Karrie

I do have a UVB bulb, and I said it when I mentioned his hammock. I have a thermometer that is in the cage (my mother will not let me get anything else because she is cheep. I've heard that the ones that are not digital are not accurate but that's what I have to work with due to my mother. I have the highest output/wattage of bulbs I can physically have in my room and still be able to live there. The UVA/UVB lamp is the All Living things UVA/UVB High Output Bulb. It is 2 tubes that connect at the bottom of the bulb. I'm almost 100% certain that UVA/UVB is not the problem.
 

babybeardieparth

Member
Original Poster
claudiusx":g395pxlu said:
Hi there,

I agree we need to hear more about your husbandry. If you dont have a proper uvb bulb lots of issues can arise.
Additionally, you need to fix your temps. Without proper temps he wont be digesting. If he cant digest he wont eat..

He is severely undersized for his age. Which is a sign he hasn't been eating enough or kept under the right conditions. You've only had him for 2 months so he likely has been housed improperly or not fed properly his whole life so we gotta change that :)
1 of my dragons is a January hatch date too and hes over 19 inches and near 400g. My 3 month olds are basically at or past 12 inches.

So hopefully once you get your temperatures fixed, and verify that your uvb bulb is proper, he will start eating for you.
He definitely isnt suicidal. They have immense wills to live, he just needs to be kept under the proper conditions.

-Brandon

He does eat. A lot. He's grown probably 4 inches and gotten way fatter since I've got him (a VERY good thing, he looked extremely malnourished when I bought him). He goes through 100 dubias and crickets a week + 50 meal worms and like 50 super worms a week. He definitely eats a lot. He is pooping okay too. They are very healthy. He just refuses to eat calcium.

People keep telling me I'm a killer because they think that because hes not eating dusted food he's not eating at all, which is 100% not the case. I don't think he likes the taste or something.

He's getting much bigger very quickly but I feel as if I made a mistake in my original measurements. (This is weird) I have hair extensions that are exactly 24 inches and i held him up to that and he was about 2/3 of the extensions, so he definitely isn't just small. He's quite long, and I've noticed that his tail is freakishly long, wayyyy long than other beardies I've seen, but that's just an observation.

Like I said, he's eating. Just not calcium or greens.

I feel like I should add that after I purchased him from a reptile expo I looked up the breeder and read about what he fed my baby, and it was quite literally only baby mice. Like frozen-thawed pinkies. He was getting 4 a day for roughly 7 months because I got him at 8 mo old. He used to eat the calcium like he was getting paid to do it but now he doesn't. I would have him on my bed sometimes while I would be making his food and he would walk over to the calcium powder and take a few licks until I told him to stop.

He is hyper actively responsive. He will look at me when I call his name, he does silly things when I record him that he doesn't do any other time, etc.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
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It's good that he is eating so much. As far as calcium goes, some of them just don't like the look or taste of the powder. Sometimes offering a different brand can help. You could also try liquid calcium supplement. I think a better bet might be to order some black soldier fly larvae and see how he likes those. They are higher in calcium on their own and don't need supplementation. They are a good option to add to the diet even if to add some variety. https://symtonbsf.com/products/large-feeding-grade-grubs

As far as thermometers go, you don't need to spend a ton on them. You can get some decent aquarium digital thermometers for not much money. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017N8W90/ One of those with the probe mounted on the basking area will give you a really good idea about what the basking temps are. You can get a second one for the cool side too but I'd focus first on getting the basking site to 100-105 or so.
 

babybeardieparth

Member
Original Poster
CooperDragon":t6jw8sdu said:
It's good that he is eating so much. As far as calcium goes, some of them just don't like the look or taste of the powder. Sometimes offering a different brand can help. You could also try liquid calcium supplement. I think a better bet might be to order some black soldier fly larvae and see how he likes those. They are higher in calcium on their own and don't need supplementation. They are a good option to add to the diet even if to add some variety. https://symtonbsf.com/products/large-feeding-grade-grubs

As far as thermometers go, you don't need to spend a ton on them. You can get some decent aquarium digital thermometers for not much money. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017N8W90/ One of those with the probe mounted on the basking area will give you a really good idea about what the basking temps are. You can get a second one for the cool side too but I'd focus first on getting the basking site to 100-105 or so.

I really, genuinely don't know how to get his heat up. His tank is in my bedroom where I sleep and the lamp he already has makes my room get into the upper 80s. I'm not allowed to have his tank outside of my room so this is so hard to deal with.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Here is some info on UVB bulbs---------
Which UVB light should I use?
The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube HO (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia). UVB lights should be replaced every 6 months. The T5’s are a strong bulb and only need to be replaced once a year – the T 8 every 6 months--- where as the T 8 are not as strong—they need to be placed inside the tank the T 5 10.0 bulb approx 10-11 inches from basking spot – the T 8 approx 8-10 inches from basking spot—the cover needs to be off the bulb for full effect of the UVB rays--
Brands to DEFINITELY ADVOID buying are as follows :
Nomoy Pet,
Zilla,
All Living Things,
Reptile-One,
URS,
MegaRay Brand,
CrawlMiracle,
Nat Geo ,
Sparkzoo reptispar,
Repti-Zoo ,
These are cheap bulbs are not any good-- you can use the fixture but I would change the bulb out to the Reptisun
You can get a digital thermometer from Pet Smart for $5-- you need to get an actual basking temp and this digital will do that
Karrie
 

babybeardieparth

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":kj3lewwr said:
Here is some info on UVB bulbs---------
Which UVB light should I use?
The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube HO (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia). UVB lights should be replaced every 6 months. The T5’s are a strong bulb and only need to be replaced once a year – the T 8 every 6 months--- where as the T 8 are not as strong—they need to be placed inside the tank the T 5 10.0 bulb approx 10-11 inches from basking spot – the T 8 approx 8-10 inches from basking spot—the cover needs to be off the bulb for full effect of the UVB rays--
Brands to DEFINITELY ADVOID buying are as follows :
Nomoy Pet,
Zilla,
All Living Things,
Reptile-One,
URS,
MegaRay Brand,
CrawlMiracle,
Nat Geo ,
Sparkzoo reptispar,
Repti-Zoo ,
These are cheap bulbs are not any good-- you can use the fixture but I would change the bulb out to the Reptisun
You can get a digital thermometer from Pet Smart for $5-- you need to get an actual basking temp and this digital will do that
Karrie

I had a reptisun and it died/burn out/went out within a week. Do you have any tips for that?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Were you using the All Living Things fixture? If so that could be the reason for the bulb burning out so quickly - if not you should of taken the bulb back to the store and they should of replaced it - it could of been a defective bulb -- I would try again --- either w/ the Reptisun or the Arcadia --- both are good bulbs --- what length is the fixture?
Karrie
 
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What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
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
Taking my beardie for a walk

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