Aceyourface
Hatchling Member
Hi I'm new here to the forum and I was reading through the care sheets and some older posts and some of it answered a few questions I had. But I still want peoples opinions on my specific situation. I got my beardie Thor back in November when he was very small. probably only about a month or two. I am not too sure because I got him from Petco. I am guessing he is about 9 months maybe even 9.5 by now. I measured him tonight hes about 16" from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. He's in a 40 Gallon tank with reptile carpet as substrate. For basking on the hot side of his tank I have a 100 Watt ZooMed Repti basking spot lamp, and for UVB he has a Zilla Desert 50 Long tube florescent bulb. the cool side of his tank is usually around 80 degrees and the hot is 100. He does have a cave to hide in when he feels like it and two fauxpani logs as well as some fake plants. I feed him collard, mustard, and turnip greens as well as escarole. He also gets chopped snap peas and cactus leaf. As for staple insects he gets crickets and phoenix worms. I don't have a specific count because I usually just let him eat until he is full so that can be different amounts every time. I give him a bath about once a week and mist him lightly in his tank and drip water on his nose to keep him hydrated. He was doing really well for a long time. Thor had a huge appetite and would eat a ton of crickets as well as a nice salad. And would bask and relax. In June there was a period where he always slept in his hide and ate a little less but still ate alright and pooped less often. I didn't know about brumation at the time so I was worried something was wrong. He came out of that and was good for a while but I kept checking his heat lamp and it didnt feel like it was really warm enough so when that one burnt out I switched to a 150 Watt. He absolutely hated it. At least I think thats what it was. He stopped eating the crickets I put in his tank and eventually stopped eating his greens and veggies. I tried feeding him the commercial food he used to love but he stopped eating that too. All he does is glass dance literally all day unless I let him out but then he goes up to my window and scratches and climbs my screens like he is still trying to get out. I was getting worried because he wouldn't bask, his coloration was lighter and kind of pale when he's in the tank but goes back to normal when he's out, he stopped eating, and stopped pooping which I assumed was because he wasn't eating. For a while it was just urates then nothing. I decided to switch him back to a 100 Watt because I thought maybe the 150 was too hot. I got him to eat a few crickets and the only thing he really goes nuts for is the phoenix worms. But even then he doesn't eat many. I just recently started feeding those to him again it was mostly crickets, greens, and commercial food for a while. He actually started pooping again and it looks healthy although today I noticed part of an undigested worm. But he is still just glass dancing all day long and spilling his other food everywhere. Later tonight I did notice him finally basking a little but I am still concerned. I have not had him seen by a vet yet because it is expensive and if this is something I don't need to be worried about I would like to save the money. Don't get me wrong I love my animals and will take him to the vet if he needs to go. But i'm just wondering what everyone else thinks. Is there anything I should change about my set up? Is his behavior normal. I read it's possible it could be like puberty or even because it's summer possibly mating season? Some people have told me it could be brumation but he isn't lethargic his is overly active. What should I do? Looking at the pictures I provided do you think he needs a bigger tank maybe? Sorry this was so long by the way I just wanted to give as much information as I could. Oh and before I forget he also hasn't shed in months. 
