New baby beardie glass surfs at night & not eating enough:(

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MLuisa

Member
Hi everyone!
(sorry in advance for such the long post!)

6 days ago I brought home my very first baby bearded dragon (his name is Waldo) and I am already so in love! However, this means I worry about almost everything with him. His behaviors that have me the most worried are:
1. Every night when I turn his lights off for bed, he glass surfs for a good 10 min, he then calms down and goes to sleep but I am still worried about what maybe could be stressing him
2. He has not been eating as much as I have been told he should be eating (he is around 2.5 months old). For the first 4 days I was giving him small crickets 2-3 times a day but would eat about 5-7 crickets during one feeding and not any during the rest. I recently tried small dubia roaches and he really enjoyed those and ate around 12-15, but when I tried feeding him again that day he barely ate any. As for vegetables I have been able to get him to eat turnip greens by hand-feeding but not nearly enough as I think he should be eating at his age. (I do also make sure use Calcium powder with his food)
3. I have not really tried picking him up since he still seems to be showing some signs of stress (he does let me pet him and hand feed though) but this has me very worried about dehydration since I can't give him a bath yet and he doesn't eat much.

I know that relocation stress could play a role in all of this but as a new beardie owner, I am just very worried and thinking the worse. I would love to hear any tips or recommendations on how to make this transition for him much less stressful and healthy. Thanks so much! :)
 

MLuisa

Member
Original Poster
Also here is some info on his enclosure set up!

-Enclosure size: 40-gallon breeder
-Heating: 150 watts Exo Terra Basking Bulb
-UVB light: up until a couple of days ago I was using the Reptisun 10.0 coil light but now I have switched to the Zoomed T5 HO tube light (36 in)
-Repti carpet substrate
-Temperatures: Basking temp (105-107F), Warm side (90-95F), Cool Side (84-86F) *I use two digital thermometers on each end of his tank*
-Humidity: 40%
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
So your UVB is the whole length of the tank ? Recommended the UVB should only be 2/3 of the tank - is he hiding from the UVB? He is going to go thru relocation stress - so his eating will slow down but not quit--- you need to feed him salads first thing in the morning wash or rinse the greens- this will give him moisture - use a glass or ceramic bowl and add some of these to the top of his salads to entice him to the bowl -- and make sure you do this in front of him -- 1-3 small super worms or butter worms and some BSFL use as many as you want of these as they are a good staple feeder - order large they are small -- let him eat from that bowl for an hr or so then add your staple feeder dubias work the best --- here are some websites for insects/ worms
www.dubiaroaches.com they are fast and good they are out of Kansas - they have BSFL also known as calci worms nutri grubs or phoenix worms-
www.mulberryfarms.com good silk worms - they have small as of now so order food as well if you order them you will haft to grow them out a little -- they are also a staple feeder
https://symtonbsf.com/ they too have the BSFL
https://reptilianarts.com/ these people have silkworms as well but they are bigger and you can get them in cups of food
I would start dusting his insects w/ the calcium 5 x per week and vitamins 2 x per week - that way you know hes getting the supplements--- as far as glass surfing give him some time he will eventually calm down -- w/ you washing or rinsing his salad keep an eye on his poop it will tell you if hes dehydrated --- you want it moist dark and formed and the urate moist white and formed if there is extra water that is good
Karrie
 

MLuisa

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":708na6z6 said:
So your UVB is the whole length of the tank ? Recommended the UVB should only be 2/3 of the tank - is he hiding from the UVB? He is going to go thru relocation stress - so his eating will slow down but not quit--- you need to feed him salads first thing in the morning wash or rinse the greens- this will give him moisture - use a glass or ceramic bowl and add some of these to the top of his salads to entice him to the bowl -- and make sure you do this in front of him -- 1-3 small super worms or butter worms and some BSFL use as many as you want of these as they are a good staple feeder - order large they are small -- let him eat from that bowl for an hr or so then add your staple feeder dubias work the best --- here are some websites for insects/ worms
http://www.dubiaroaches.com they are fast and good they are out of Kansas - they have BSFL also known as calci worms nutri grubs or phoenix worms-
http://www.mulberryfarms.com good silk worms - they have small as of now so order food as well if you order them you will haft to grow them out a little -- they are also a staple feeder
https://symtonbsf.com/ they too have the BSFL
https://reptilianarts.com/ these people have silkworms as well but they are bigger and you can get them in cups of food
I would start dusting his insects w/ the calcium 5 x per week and vitamins 2 x per week - that way you know hes getting the supplements--- as far as glass surfing give him some time he will eventually calm down -- w/ you washing or rinsing his salad keep an eye on his poop it will tell you if hes dehydrated --- you want it moist dark and formed and the urate moist white and formed if there is extra water that is good
Karrie

Thank so much for such a quick response!
About the UVB light, yes it does cover the entire tank but I wasn't aware it was only supposed to cover 2/3. I will definitely adjust it so it doesn't do so. As of right now, he does not seem to be hiding from the UVB but I will still make that adjustment.

Yesterday I think I really saw him show signs of dehydration as he looked weaker and more tired, so of course, I gave him water with a syringe little by little throughout the day. He ate almost nothing but I thought that was a result of his dehydration. As an update for today, he seems much more like his "normal" self, but the normal I have seen of him so far is basically just basking all day with a little bit of movement. He is always alert while doing this though, he just does not run around too much.

However today he has continued to not eat. After letting him basking for a couple of hours from the time he woke up this morning, I tried to hand feed him a fresh salad but he wouldn't take a bite. I then tried putting BSFL in the bowl and still nothing, even when I gave him just the larvae.

He did use the bathroom this morning and all looked healthy (thankfully), but I am still concerned.

Additionally, the first 2-3 days I had him he had VERY dark stress marks which I attributed to stress and that his original basking bulb wattage was not strong enough. I immediately changed his bulb so his basking temp is higher and with this change I saw his stress marks fade drastically. Even yesterday when he seemed so weak he still had little to no stress marks. BUT today, he has pretty dark stress marks and has a bit more of a grumpy attitude than usual.

Could this sudden change in attitude and appetite (going from little eating to almost none) be signs of something besides stress? I just want to know at what point should I think about seeing the vet (especially with the appetite problem) because I would not want any of this to affect his future growth and health.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Not eating at all is not a good sign we need to figure what is going on --- they UVB is where ? Inside the tank or on top of screen? Distance plays a huge roll in the eating and UVB itself -- you have a good UVB -- the basking temps what are they are and how are you taking them? NO stick ons!! They need to be taken w/a digital probe or infrared heat gun---- basking temps should be 105-110--- those two lights are the most important thing in your tank --
Karrie
 

MLuisa

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":3q3e6qg2 said:
Not eating at all is not a good sign we need to figure what is going on --- they UVB is where ? Inside the tank or on top of screen? Distance plays a huge roll in the eating and UVB itself -- you have a good UVB -- the basking temps what are they are and how are you taking them? NO stick ons!! They need to be taken w/a digital probe or infrared heat gun---- basking temps should be 105-110--- those two lights are the most important thing in your tank --
Karrie

The UVB is on top of the screen. I am using two digital temp probes (one in his basking spot and one in the cool side) and they are telling me that his basking spot in the morning is around 100-103F and after burning for a couple of hours it is at 104-105F. But I am having problems with his cool side as it gets a bit warm. My basking spot has gotten to around 107-108 which is really good but when it gets that high the cool side gets too warm and I have to turn on the AC in the room to cool it down. With AC, the cool side is 84-85 and without AC it can get up to the high 80s.
I am right now using the double dome fixture I received originally for the heat bulb but I thought maybe this could be contributing to the temp problem so I have a single dome fixture on the way for just the heat.
 

MLuisa

Member
Original Poster
BTW the UVB is 39 watts and the first basking temperatures I read can sometimes even be at 99F but the cool side will still be at 85F and that's where I am a bit lost on how to fix that.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok so the UVB is a T 5 and on top of screen which is fine ---- just make sure its 8-10 inches from basking decor for a wide holed screen and 6-8 inches from decor for a fine mesh screen like a screen door -- the cool side of the tank is good at 85- or so during the day --- at nite down to 65 or higher is ok ----just the heat??? Are you talking about basking temps??? The basking temps sound good 105-110 is what you want --- check the UVB adjust accordingly --
Karrie
 

Wickedpogana

Juvie Member
MLuisa":2yocm7or said:
Hi everyone!
(sorry in advance for such the long post!)

6 days ago I brought home my very first baby bearded dragon (his name is Waldo) and I am already so in love! However, this means I worry about almost everything with him. His behaviors that have me the most worried are:
1. Every night when I turn his lights off for bed, he glass surfs for a good 10 min, he then calms down and goes to sleep but I am still worried about what maybe could be stressing him
2. He has not been eating as much as I have been told he should be eating (he is around 2.5 months old). For the first 4 days I was giving him small crickets 2-3 times a day but would eat about 5-7 crickets during one feeding and not any during the rest. I recently tried small dubia roaches and he really enjoyed those and ate around 12-15, but when I tried feeding him again that day he barely ate any. As for vegetables I have been able to get him to eat turnip greens by hand-feeding but not nearly enough as I think he should be eating at his age. (I do also make sure use Calcium powder with his food)
3. I have not really tried picking him up since he still seems to be showing some signs of stress (he does let me pet him and hand feed though) but this has me very worried about dehydration since I can't give him a bath yet and he doesn't eat much.

I know that relocation stress could play a role in all of this but as a new beardie owner, I am just very worried and thinking the worse. I would love to hear any tips or recommendations on how to make this transition for him much less stressful and healthy. Thanks so much! :)
If you have uvb across the whole enclosure make sure it gets lower on the coolside plexiglass can cut 50% out if placed under I have a t5 22 inch next to my bask and behind across the back I have t8 across the whole tank very little to none on the other side and Intense in bask where half is time is spent . If your going to offer a uvb over all enclosure offer tons if hides and places he can get shade in .everything I have is over screen
 

MLuisa

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":3043ff09 said:
Ok so the UVB is a T 5 and on top of screen which is fine ---- just make sure its 8-10 inches from basking decor for a wide holed screen and 6-8 inches from decor for a fine mesh screen like a screen door -- the cool side of the tank is good at 85- or so during the day --- at nite down to 65 or higher is ok ----just the heat??? Are you talking about basking temps??? The basking temps sound good 105-110 is what you want --- check the UVB adjust accordingly --
Karrie

Yes! I am talking about the basking temperatures because my temp probe is right at his basking point. My concern with his basking temps is that when they are perfect at 105-107F, the cool side starts to creep up and get too high as in 88-89F and sometimes even 90F. This is too high, right? But when I try to fix it with AC, the basking temp goes back down and BARElY hits 104-105 range (sometimes even as low as 101). Would the new lamp fixture dome help with this issue? I thought maybe the dual fixture i have right now (where i use only one socket for the basking bulb) could be spreading the heat to the cool side since it is so large. So with the single dome, the light could be more specifically directed to the basking spot?
 

MLuisa

Member
Original Poster
Wickedpogana":1tdwan1q said:
MLuisa":1tdwan1q said:
Hi everyone!
(sorry in advance for such the long post!)

6 days ago I brought home my very first baby bearded dragon (his name is Waldo) and I am already so in love! However, this means I worry about almost everything with him. His behaviors that have me the most worried are:
1. Every night when I turn his lights off for bed, he glass surfs for a good 10 min, he then calms down and goes to sleep but I am still worried about what maybe could be stressing him
2. He has not been eating as much as I have been told he should be eating (he is around 2.5 months old). For the first 4 days I was giving him small crickets 2-3 times a day but would eat about 5-7 crickets during one feeding and not any during the rest. I recently tried small dubia roaches and he really enjoyed those and ate around 12-15, but when I tried feeding him again that day he barely ate any. As for vegetables I have been able to get him to eat turnip greens by hand-feeding but not nearly enough as I think he should be eating at his age. (I do also make sure use Calcium powder with his food)
3. I have not really tried picking him up since he still seems to be showing some signs of stress (he does let me pet him and hand feed though) but this has me very worried about dehydration since I can't give him a bath yet and he doesn't eat much.

I know that relocation stress could play a role in all of this but as a new beardie owner, I am just very worried and thinking the worse. I would love to hear any tips or recommendations on how to make this transition for him much less stressful and healthy. Thanks so much! :)
If you have uvb across the whole enclosure make sure it gets lower on the coolside plexiglass can cut 50% out if placed under I have a t5 22 inch next to my bask and behind across the back I have t8 across the whole tank very little to none on the other side and Intense in bask where half is time is spent . If your going to offer a uvb over all enclosure offer tons if hides and places he can get shade in .everything I have is over screen

I did not think about adding hides but I will definitely be adding some ASAP! thank you! With the behavior, he is showing right now though (stress, grumpy, lack of appetite) could adding more hides immediately, cause him more stress? or should I wait until his stress calms down a bit?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The double dome has just the basking or are you running a heat emitter in there too?
Karrie
 

MLuisa

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":5vg0a3wi said:
The double dome has just the basking or are you running a heat emitter in there too?
Karrie
It is just the basking bulb. I don't have a CHE just because it does not get cold where I live, night temps are usually around 70F
 

Wickedpogana

Juvie Member
MLuisa":2et9pf5c said:
Wickedpogana":2et9pf5c said:
MLuisa":2et9pf5c said:
Hi everyone!
(sorry in advance for such the long post!)

6 days ago I brought home my very first baby bearded dragon (his name is Waldo) and I am already so in love! However, this means I worry about almost everything with him. His behaviors that have me the most worried are:
1. Every night when I turn his lights off for bed, he glass surfs for a good 10 min, he then calms down and goes to sleep but I am still worried about what maybe could be stressing him
2. He has not been eating as much as I have been told he should be eating (he is around 2.5 months old). For the first 4 days I was giving him small crickets 2-3 times a day but would eat about 5-7 crickets during one feeding and not any during the rest. I recently tried small dubia roaches and he really enjoyed those and ate around 12-15, but when I tried feeding him again that day he barely ate any. As for vegetables I have been able to get him to eat turnip greens by hand-feeding but not nearly enough as I think he should be eating at his age. (I do also make sure use Calcium powder with his food)
3. I have not really tried picking him up since he still seems to be showing some signs of stress (he does let me pet him and hand feed though) but this has me very worried about dehydration since I can't give him a bath yet and he doesn't eat much.

I know that relocation stress could play a role in all of this but as a new beardie owner, I am just very worried and thinking the worse. I would love to hear any tips or recommendations on how to make this transition for him much less stressful and healthy. Thanks so much! :)
If you have uvb across the whole enclosure make sure it gets lower on the coolside plexiglass can cut 50% out if placed under I have a t5 22 inch next to my bask and behind across the back I have t8 across the whole tank very little to none on the other side and Intense in bask where half is time is spent . If your going to offer a uvb over all enclosure offer tons if hides and places he can get shade in .everything I have is over screen

I did not think about adding hides but I will definitely be adding some ASAP! thank you! With the behavior, he is showing right now though (stress, grumpy, lack of appetite) could adding more hides immediately, cause him more stress? or should I wait until his stress calms down a bit?
It wouldnt stress him in my opinion they usually get more stressed when removing the decor as they might have an liking for it they enjoy being able to hide i have one on the hot and cool side with tons of areas of shade and going over and under things
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Try the hides but it is definitely too hot on that cool side- that is odd that it's getting so hot-- the room you have him in is it a warm room and is there sun shining in on that tank
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.
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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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