2 month old beardie stress marks

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Hello
I have a 3 month old bearded dragon (Kiwi) that me and my girlfriend bought from petsmart in February.
For the first month having her, kiwi was always very skittish but never turned black or any defensive signs. She had an entire diet of crickets and mealworms because she never ate fruits or vegetables. She only started eating vegetables and fruits in the past week. She poops usually once or twice a day and eats well but not as much as I’d expect. 1 month into having her, (past 2 weeks) we started trying to handle her by scooping her up and holding her and petting her until she was calm then putting her back in her tank after feeding her some food.
For the first week, whenever we tried to scoop her she would run away or lunge at a finger and bite it. She wouldn’t turn black but just puffs her beard and opens her mouth wide.
Recently due to the coronavirus lockdown in Maryland, we had to relocate Kiwi.
Kiwi has been at her new location for 7 days now.
I feed her as many medium mealworms, sprinkled with calcium powder, as she can eat (less than 10) 2 times a day 5 days a week, and a mixture of veggies 2 days a week.
When I feed her, I scoop her out of her tank (20 gal.) using my pointer finger to get under her chin, and I feed her out of my hand and let her run around on my desk for anywhere from 15min-1hour depending on how energetic she seems.
When I first slowly reach into her tank to scoop her up, she usually backs away and sometimes opens her mouth and hisses. She still likes to bite my finger sometimes, but I don’t flinch so she usually relaxes after.
I feed her out of my hand usually and pet her with my thumb. Sometimes she will just lie in my hand until I slowly slide her off so that she can run around. Other times she gets very squirmy and she jumps out of my hand but lands safely on my desk.
Recently for the past 3 days she has looked very dark (with stress marks?? ) almost all day. Also the end of her tail turns black. Sometimes the stress marks go away when I hold her and feed her, but usually they stay the same.
This is unusual to me because last week she would bite without even turning black. Now she seems more calm but looks very dark. When she puffs out her beard, it’s like a patchy black beard. She also hisses louder now.
She doesn’t seem to bask much on the hammock I got her which gives her a perfect spot under the heat lamp. She usually just lays on the floor or on her rock or hiding below inside the rock. She doesn’t seem cold but she also doesn’t take advantage of the best basking spot.
I’m not sure what to think of it because she doesn’t look stressed out. She is calm in her tank but sometimes glass surfs. Her temperature is around 105-115 on the hot side and 85-95 on the cold side. I turn the lights off (50w heat lamp and UVB light) at night but it stays around 75 all night (10pm-9am).
Any advice would be great. I will add pictures and respond to any more questions.
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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
How big is the tank? the basking temps are being taken w/ a digital probe ? No stick ons they are inaccurate --- and another important thing is the UVB ? What brand and bulb are you using is it a coil or tube and where in the tank is it ? top of screen or inside the tank? Please no more meal worms for a baby they are too hard on their stomachs -- she needs dubia roaches or crickets --- you can order dubias on line if you need help w/ that please ask -- she needs salads every day -- here is a website for nutrition ignore the kale thing it is good to feed as a staple --- she will slow down on eating w/ the relocation --- why did you relocate her ? Normal behavior for her to be running and hissing -- you are alot bigger than her just approach from the side not above keep hand feeding her - you can get some small super worms or butter worms to feed her and add to her salad along w/ BSFL -- I have some websites if you need them -- it will take a while for her to get accustomed to the surroundings just be patient -- you can put a soft piece of clothing or fleece blanket in the tank for her to get used to your smell ---
Karrie
 

Tealebeardie

Member
Original Poster
20 gal tank
I don't have a digital probe but the stick on thermometer seemed to work accurately. it was right around 70 out of the box and my house is set to 71.
The UVB came with the tank from petsmart. I don't know the brand but the light is very white.
Both the UVB and heat lamps are on top of the screen lid which slides off.
Could you recommend a place to order UVB light and the food online?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Go to menu on left side and scroll down find user image uploader go from there-- stick ons are inaccurate for basking temps they only give ambient temps you want the temp where she sits it should be 105-110--- the coil UVB is bad--- for the 20 gallon it's ok but not really - your gonna haft to upgrade that tank really soon- like I would start now-- the UVB your going to need is from here www.pangeareptiles.com I would recommend a 24" fixture w/ reflector and a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 if you are going to wait for the tank upgrade get the T 8- it is not as strong but since you have a little tank it will work good-- I had my 20 gallon set up w/ the fixture sitting width wise-- w/ NO screen on top -- the dubias you can order from here www.dubiaroaches.com
www.symtonbsf.com. BSFL are small order large-- don't dust feed as many as you want- dubia roaches has them they are called nutri grubs or calci worms-- they are out of butterworms- but this place has them
www.mulberryfarms.com
Shop around let me know what you decide
Karrie
 

Tealebeardie

Member
Original Poster
I ended up ordering 500 NutriGrub from dubiaroaches.com. Is this a good amount for 1 month or will I need more once?
I wasn't too comfortable ordering bulk roaches to my house, will the Nutrigrub be fine by itself? (obviously still with the daily greens)
Also, my UVB is a bulb, not a coil.
Also, this morning Kiwi woke up with very light stress marks on her belly (much better) and shes been on the hammock basking all morning.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I am not sure about the 500 how long that is going to last --- I have never fed as a staple feeder only as a lure to get my dragon to the salad bowl --- I feed roaches -- they are so easy to keep in a 10 gallon aquarium and fed dubia food along w/ carrots and squash for hydration -- I know you will need to feed alot of them one person was feeding 60 and I dont think that is enough for the main staple -- I recommended she also feed another staple to go along w / the BSFL ---
Karrie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Yes please get rid of the red bulb --- its probably contributing to causing the stress marks-- colored bulbs can cause long term eye damage -- and it disrupts their sleep
Karrie
 
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