My beardie is barely eating

[Sporeprints]

Hello! On June 2nd I got a beardie for my daughter. It was very small, and it didn’t eat at all. For a total of 5 days. When it didn’t eat for three days I went back to the pet store for some tips, and I tried crickets, and wax worms. It wouldn’t eat anything. Day 5 I took it back to the pet store as I was really concerned. Ended up having to switch for another one, while the first one was taken to the vet. I brought the new one home, considerably larger. This one is eating, but such a small amount of food. And only veggies. He is not interested in any insects whatsoever. He was shedding, and I gave him a warm bath. He is sort of active, basking a lot, and every once in a while he is pecking at his basking structure, when he is climbing up and down, as if he wants to eat. I have been trying to tease him with the insects, and nothing. He has a uvb light, and a basking light, and tonight I set him up with a purple heat lamp. The temperature in his basking area is about 100F and on the other side about 70F or so. The first experience with the sick beardie has got me maybe overworried about this new one. I just want to make sure I am doing everything right. I would love any suggestions. I have been reading all kinds of posts on Reddit, and scouring the internet for any info I can find, then I found y’all! Thanks for your help.

 

[hdochow]

did you get a pet store kit by any chance? if so, most of it will need to be replaced. that purple light needs to be turned off NOW and never turned on again. same for any red lights. they need it cool and dark at night to sleep. we need to sort out the rest of what you have and what you need to do with it as far as can use/replace. this is totally not on you, pet stores are good at selling kits. absolutely no judgement there, too many of us were once in the same boat. we will just want to help fix things.

lights and temps are the #1 thing for eating. and then since you only just got them, you are also dealing with relocation stress, which can stop eating too. at some point @KarrieRee will be on and see this. she's the one you want to work with for light and temps.

my best advice to you right now from someone that has been there.... get off reddit, don't listen to the pet store guys, and read every post you can get your hands on in this forum. it is truly a lifesaver and everyone just wants to help to get the best life for your beardie, and you.

 

[Sporeprints]

did you get a pet store kit by any chance? if so, most of it will need to be replaced. that purple light needs to be turned off NOW and never turned on again. same for any red lights. they need it cool and dark at night to sleep. we need to sort out the rest of what you have and what you need to do with it as far as can use/replace. this is totally not on you, pet stores are good at selling kits. absolutely no judgement there, too many of us were once in the same boat. we will just want to help fix things.

lights and temps are the #1 thing for eating. and then since you only just got them, you are also dealing with relocation stress, which can stop eating too. at some point @KarrieRee will be on and see this. she's the one you want to work with for light and temps.

my best advice to you right now from someone that has been there.... get off reddit, don't listen to the pet store guys, and read every post you can get your hands on in this forum. it is truly a lifesaver and everyone just wants to help to get the best life for your beardie, and you.

Thank you so much. Yes I did get the tank at the pet store. It came with lights, uvb and daylight basking light, the felt carpet, and also an artificial rock for basking with a hiding place underneath it. I just turned of his purple light. I really appreciate your quick response and I am really excited to learn a lot here.

 

[hdochow]

no problem! i'm taking a mental break from my finals, graduating with a bachelors on the 17th, so i welcome the distraction.

you're going to want to get 2 digital probe thermometers. the stick on ones you probably got are garbage. the probes are the most accurate. these will work. you want one on your cool side, and one on your hot side.

you want a hygrometer to monitor humidity something like this

your uvb, you want a long tube bulb. the coils that usually come with the kits are bad and create health problems. this is the one i have. Arcadia ProT5 12% UVB Bulb With Hood for your tank size you want the 24" 24watt kit.

 

[Sporeprints]

That’s awesome. Congrats on finishing school. That’s huge. I will purchase these temperature gauges tomorrow. You’re the best. I already feel my anxiety dissipating.

 

[hdochow]

the picture you provided actually has some good enclosure decor so keep those. like the branch etc.

i see pellets and dried food. those aren't the best and can help cause dehydration. you're going to want a fresh salad every day, misted for hydration, and then good bugs. i'm assuming your guy is a baby still so every day for those. salads may not be eaten right away but it is important to offer them.

you need to be giving calcium and vitamins every week. i can't remember off the top of my head what the schedule for that for babies is, but karrieree should be able to help you with that too.

here's a good site for salad ingredients. ignore what it says about kale, it has been studied further and found to be a good staple. the site is just out of date. salad options personally, we rotate through various greens, dandelion, watercress, kale, collards, mustard, and then veggie toppers of various peppers, sweet potato, yellow squash

the reptile carpet will be ok short term, but in the long run it is hard to keep clean and harbors bacteria/parasites. i, and a lot of others, use non-adhesive shelf liner or tiles. the tiles are harder to deal with to cut to the right size.

i'm sure i'll think of more, and i know plenty of others that will chime in too

 

[hdochow]

That’s awesome. Congrats on finishing school.

thank you so much!!! it is both myself and my daughter. to say the last 4 years have been super long is an understatement!!!

 

[xp29]

Hdochow was spot on.
Your kit almost certainly came with a compact/coil uvb. Those are garbage and will cause irreparable harm to your beardie. You need to get a long tube uvb, personally i recommend the Arcadia pro t5 12% desert. The sun blaster and the zoomed are also recommended alot.
Your temps are a little low for basking also. 105 to 110 for babies. Once they reach adult you'll scale it back to 95 to 100 degrees.
Beardies often times experience relocation stress as hdochow mentioned. It usually don't last to long though. But if you ended up with a timid beardie it could last longer.
If your night time temp in your home drops below the low 70's at night you will want to get a ceramic heat emitter for night time heat. It doesn't produce light, just heat.
Welcome to the forum btw, you have come to the right place for info on your new pet, feel free to ask about anything at all, and if you get a chance read through the care guides, they can answer a lot of questions you might have also.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I agree, the UVB lighting is very crucial for overall health, & activity. As suggested, the petstore kit
probably came with a compact/coil light which never really provide adequate UVB lighting.
We all recommend either the Reptisun 10% tube T5 or the Arcadia D3 12% T5, both are tube bulbs.
They last for a good amount of time, before needing to be replaced.
The youngsters tend to go through a relocation stress lasting from a few days to sometimes a couple
of weeks, it just depends on the individual dragon. So, continue to work with him & I'm sure that once
the lighting & temperatures are all optimal he should settle right in.

Tracie

 

[Sporeprints]

the picture you provided actually has some good enclosure decor so keep those. like the branch etc.

i see pellets and dried food. those aren't the best and can help cause dehydration. you're going to want a fresh salad every day, misted for hydration, and then good bugs. i'm assuming your guy is a baby still so every day for those. salads may not be eaten right away but it is important to offer them.

you need to be giving calcium and vitamins every week. i can't remember off the top of my head what the schedule for that for babies is, but karrieree should be able to help you with that too.

here's a good site for salad ingredients. ignore what it says about kale, it has been studied further and found to be a good staple. the site is just out of date. salad options personally, we rotate through various greens, dandelion, watercress, kale, collards, mustard, and then veggie toppers of various peppers, sweet potato, yellow squash

the reptile carpet will be ok short term, but in the long run it is hard to keep clean and harbors bacteria/parasites. i, and a lot of others, use non-adhesive shelf liner or tiles. the tiles are harder to deal with to cut to the right size.

i'm sure i'll think of more, and i know plenty of others that will chime in too

Thank you so much for all this valuable info. I am on it. You all are the best honestly.

 

[Sporeprints]

Hdochow was spot on.
Your kit almost certainly came with a compact/coil uvb. Those are garbage and will cause irreparable harm to your beardie. You need to get a long tube uvb, personally i recommend the Arcadia pro t5 12% desert. The sun blaster and the zoomed are also recommended alot.
Your temps are a little low for basking also. 105 to 110 for babies. Once they reach adult you'll scale it back to 95 to 100 degrees.
Beardies often times experience relocation stress as hdochow mentioned. It usually don't last to long though. But if you ended up with a timid beardie it could last longer.
If your night time temp in your home drops below the low 70's at night you will want to get a ceramic heat emitter for night time heat. It doesn't produce light, just heat.
Welcome to the forum btw, you have come to the right place for info on your new pet, feel free to ask about anything at all, and if you get a chance read through the care guides, they can answer a lot of questions you might have also.

I am so glad I found this forum. Thank you very much for this. I have already read a lot of the posts, and will keep reading to get it right.

 

[Sporeprints]

Hello,

I agree, the UVB lighting is very crucial for overall health, & activity. As suggested, the petstore kit
probably came with a compact/coil light which never really provide adequate UVB lighting.
We all recommend either the Reptisun 10% tube T5 or the Arcadia D3 12% T5, both are tube bulbs.
They last for a good amount of time, before needing to be replaced.
The youngsters tend to go through a relocation stress lasting from a few days to sometimes a couple
of weeks, it just depends on the individual dragon. So, continue to work with him & I'm sure that once
the lighting & temperatures are all optimal he should settle right in.

Tracie

Hey Tracie! I looked up the reptisun tube. Do I buy the 45 watt or higher?

 

[Sporeprints]

Hey Tracie! I looked up the reptisun tube. Do I buy the 45 watt or higher?

I meant 24 watts sorry!

 

[Sporeprints]

Thank you so much for all this valuable info. I am on it. You all are the best honestly.

I have moved the lights closer together this morning, so they overlap. I just ordered a new UVB tube light. It is coming today, and I will install it inside the enclosure as suggested in one of the posts. I just made him a wet salad, put a few wax worms in there, and dusted it all. I hope he will be interested in it. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Sporeprints]

no problem! i'm taking a mental break from my finals, graduating with a bachelors on the 17th, so i welcome the distraction.

you're going to want to get 2 digital probe thermometers. the stick on ones you probably got are garbage. the probes are the most accurate. these will work. you want one on your cool side, and one on your hot side.

you want a hygrometer to monitor humidity something like this

your uvb, you want a long tube bulb. the coils that usually come with the kits are bad and create health problems. this is the one i have. Arcadia ProT5 12% UVB Bulb With Hood for your tank size you want the 24" 24watt kit.

I have ordered the thermometers and hygrometer along with the UVB light. It is all coming today. I just moved his lights closer together so they overlap, made him a salad with some wax worms, and dusted it all. He is still shedding a bit, I will give him a warm bath shortly, so he can absorb some moisture as well.