I adopted Norbert almost two weeks ago - and I absolutely love him. He's my first beardie. But he keeps getting completely stressed out in his cage. At first it was just glass surfing but now he is turning black all over (back and beard), puff around in his terrarium and give me the stink eye. (Sometimes he glass surfs without stress marks and sometimes he does have them)
I'm really confused as to what happened, the first 4 days he was here we got along fine, but now he is more anxious. I've stopped attempting to handle him too much. I will feed him by hand and pet him but I try to only take him out of his terrarium for a short amount of time and I put him back at any sign of stress. Today he did explore my bedroom for a little bit and he seemed to have fun.
But now, he's been half puffed/ready to pounce for about 45 minutes in his cage. His beard is semi black. Ive been leaving him alone just doing work at my desk. Sometimes hell turn his attention to me, but mostly he's looking out at the glass. What am I doing wrong!! Is this just relocation stress? Or is he never going to bond with me as his owner?
General Questions:
How old is your dragon? 3 and a half years
How long have you had your dragon? 2 weeks
How long is your dragon? 21-22 inches
What is the sex of your dragon? Male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 36 inches long, 18 inches deep, 18 inches tall.
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Reptile carpet
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Fluorescent tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? ReptiSun T5 10.0
How old is your UVB bulb? 2 weeks
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? Closest 6-8 inches?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Yes ZooMed 75W. But I am figuring it out because sometimes it gets too hot but I check frequently.
What are the basking temps? 97-104. If it gets too hot I will turn it off for a little.
What is the cool side temp? 78-81
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Digital Thermometer with wire and probe
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? directly above the basking spot directly under the light
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. He gets veggies everyday. A mix of collard greens or dandelion greens. Butternut squash, snap peas, carrots, and a few pieces from a pellet mix. About 3 times a week I will feed him superworms but I am looking into somewhere that I could get him Dubia Roaches instead.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? I feed in the morning, giving all of his veggies and pellets. I place it all in his tank but then I try to hand feed him to bond. I then will feed him his insects sometime around early afternoon time. He will eat his pellets and greens that are in his dish as late as night time.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? No
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Repta-Calcium - about 4 or 5 days a week.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? He has gone to the bathroom about everyday this week but it has been pretty wet. It was starting to get better two days ago, but it was pretty moist again today
Do you bath your dragon? How often? I have done it three times so far.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? He has a water bowl in his tank and I do try to mist a couple times a day - but I don't think he likes it.
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? The earliest visit I can get scheduled was for March 8th.
I'm really confused as to what happened, the first 4 days he was here we got along fine, but now he is more anxious. I've stopped attempting to handle him too much. I will feed him by hand and pet him but I try to only take him out of his terrarium for a short amount of time and I put him back at any sign of stress. Today he did explore my bedroom for a little bit and he seemed to have fun.
But now, he's been half puffed/ready to pounce for about 45 minutes in his cage. His beard is semi black. Ive been leaving him alone just doing work at my desk. Sometimes hell turn his attention to me, but mostly he's looking out at the glass. What am I doing wrong!! Is this just relocation stress? Or is he never going to bond with me as his owner?
General Questions:
How old is your dragon? 3 and a half years
How long have you had your dragon? 2 weeks
How long is your dragon? 21-22 inches
What is the sex of your dragon? Male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 36 inches long, 18 inches deep, 18 inches tall.
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Reptile carpet
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Fluorescent tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? ReptiSun T5 10.0
How old is your UVB bulb? 2 weeks
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? Closest 6-8 inches?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Yes ZooMed 75W. But I am figuring it out because sometimes it gets too hot but I check frequently.
What are the basking temps? 97-104. If it gets too hot I will turn it off for a little.
What is the cool side temp? 78-81
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Digital Thermometer with wire and probe
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? directly above the basking spot directly under the light
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. He gets veggies everyday. A mix of collard greens or dandelion greens. Butternut squash, snap peas, carrots, and a few pieces from a pellet mix. About 3 times a week I will feed him superworms but I am looking into somewhere that I could get him Dubia Roaches instead.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? I feed in the morning, giving all of his veggies and pellets. I place it all in his tank but then I try to hand feed him to bond. I then will feed him his insects sometime around early afternoon time. He will eat his pellets and greens that are in his dish as late as night time.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? No
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Repta-Calcium - about 4 or 5 days a week.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? He has gone to the bathroom about everyday this week but it has been pretty wet. It was starting to get better two days ago, but it was pretty moist again today
Do you bath your dragon? How often? I have done it three times so far.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? He has a water bowl in his tank and I do try to mist a couple times a day - but I don't think he likes it.
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? The earliest visit I can get scheduled was for March 8th.