shedding and stress marks

[Hobama]

I just got a baby bearded dragon about a week ago. he is around 5 inches long and we think around 7 weeks. I was just curious on how often I should be expecting him to shed? I just noticed today he's been eating just a little less than usual and even though it's probably nothing I realized I have no idea the last time he shed or how often he would. Also on his stomach he still has stress marks but nothing else to make me think he's stressed. He mainly stays in his basking spot but I sometimes walk in on him somewhere else. He has a healthy appetite and doesnt freak out when I move him from his cage to his feeding tub. I can make his enclosure a bit smaller if you guys think it's stress(the enclosure is 4 feet long).

 

[Hobama]

Those are stress marks

is there anything else I can be doing or do i just need to wait it out?

 

[KarrieRee]

is there anything else I can be doing or do i just need to wait it out?

Good surface basking temps--and good uvb- that's going to help - and yes as he adjusts to his tank the stress marks will lessen

 

[Hobama]

Good surface basking temps--and good uvb- that's going to help - and yes as he adjusts to his tank the stress marks will lessen

his basking stays around 103-108 and i have the t8 inside the tank about 8 inches from his basking spot.

 

[Hobama]

Good surface basking temps--and good uvb- that's going to help - and yes as he adjusts to his tank the stress marks will lessen

I have a quick question. I got him from a pet store where he was housed with many other baby dragons and used to people walking by and looking all the time. Ive been keeping handling to a low because I didnt want to cause him stress but Im wondering if he could need more socialization? like if i just hang out with my hand in the tank or something? Im not sure if that would help him or make it worse tho.

 

[KarrieRee]

I have a quick question. I got him from a pet store where he was housed with many other baby dragons and used to people walking by and looking all the time. Ive been keeping handling to a low because I didnt want to cause him stress but Im wondering if he could need more socialization? like if i just hang out with my hand in the tank or something? Im not sure if that would help him or make it worse tho.

Yes start holding him in the tank - you want him hand tamed- feed him some treat worms like super or small hirm worms bsfl

 

[Hobama]

Yes start holding him in the tank - you want him hand tamed- feed him some treat worms like super or small hirm worms bsfl

I just tried it and he very willingly got on my hand when i put a bsfl on it. i repeated the process til he was completely on my hand where he kinda flattened down like he would on his basking spot. he seemed pretty relaxed so im definetly gonna keep doing this at least once a day. Is there an amount of bsfl you recommend daily or since they are a staple can i just feed til he decides he doesnt want them?

 

[KarrieRee]

I just tried it and he very willingly got on my hand when i put a bsfl on it. i repeated the process til he was completely on my hand where he kinda flattened down like he would on his basking spot. he seemed pretty relaxed so im definetly gonna keep doing this at least once a day. Is there an amount of bsfl you recommend daily or since they are a staple can i just feed til he decides he doesnt want them?

Yes

 

[Hobama]

update

tonight we cuddled for between 30 to like 45 minutes or smth like that. he was sleeping for most of that time. i noticed when i put him back in his cage that his stress marks were lighter. im not sure if they have been like this all day or not. I assume they lighten up when they sleep but even after being put back in the cage they seemed to stay light. ill update again sometime tmrw on if they get dark again or not. either way he seems to enjoy the cuddles so im def gonna make it a nightly thing.