Accidentally Put Beardie to Bed Late..

[Quelaag]

I have never ever done this before, but last night I didn't get to put Haru to bed until 11. He usually goes to bed around 7-8PM and we usually turn his light on around 7AM. Of course the one time I turn his light off late is the one time Haru doesn't go to bed on his own-- he usually crawls under his rock before we turn his light off around the same time every night but he didn't do that last night. Instead he kept basking. I forgot to tell my fiance to not turn his light on this morning to give him some extra time to sleep so Haru was awake for a little bit this morning, acted lethargic, and is now napping under his rock. I know why he's doing it since he didn't sleep as long as he usually does, but should I do anything about it or be worried about anything?

I'm also posting this because I haven't tried feeding him yet and want to make sure whether or not I should offer him some crickets now or wait until he wakes back up. Like I said, he's napping. I'm also worried about whether or not this could negatively affect digestion for him so that's why I have yet to feed him. Also I've kept his light on since I figured if I turn it off prematurely that might make things worse? Should I put him to bed earlier than usual tonight?

Sorry for once again posting here. I'm an overly worried Beardie mom, haha.

Stuff like this is why I really need to invest in a timer. Ugh.

 

[CooperDragon]

A day off the routine won't hurt anything. Just offer some food when he wakes up. Since they do seem to like routine, I do suggest configuring a timer and adjust it slightly as the seasons change but set a routine that is convenient for you as well. Cheap timers can be found on amazon or at places like Target or Lowes.

 

[Quelaag]

A day off the routine won't hurt anything. Just offer some food when he wakes up. Since they do seem to like routine, I do suggest configuring a timer and adjust it slightly as the seasons change but set a routine that is convenient for you as well. Cheap timers can be found on amazon or at places like Target or Lowes.

Yeah, I plan on getting a timer soon hopefully. And I put some greens in his enclosure and offered him some crickets. He ate some crickets and some greens when I offered them, but is still under his rock. I hope he doesn't stay like this all day since I'm concerned it will completely ruin his sleep schedule.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Poor thing, he is tired, that's all. I am sure he will get back to normal soon though.
You can let him sleep a little extra too if he needs. If he was not very hungry, that is ok too. They do love routine so he should get back into the swing of things soon.

Tracie

 

[Quelaag]

Hello,

Poor thing, he is tired, that's all. I am sure he will get back to normal soon though.
You can let him sleep a little extra too if he needs. If he was not very hungry, that is ok too. They do love routine so he should get back into the swing of things soon.

Tracie

That makes me feel much better. And yeah, poor guy. I went to turn his light off around 7 and he was finally basking. I still put him to bed of course after taking him out a bit for lizard cuddles, but I feel bad since he hadn't basked most of the day. He still showed interest in food, but he's always like that. He LOVES food. Even when he's shedding his appetite never falters-- which is when I'll know something serious is going on if he ever loses interest in food, haha. I'm thinking he should hopefully be back to normal by tomorrow or the next day.

 

[Quelaag]

Oh also, quick question unrelated to my current issue: When is the right time to upgrade enclosure sizes? Haru is growing faster than expected so I feel I need to think about upgrading soon, but I was hoping to go ahead and just get him a 75 Gallon tank. Though I might have to settle for something in between to prevent overwhelming him since he's still just a baby I assume? My guesstimate is he can't be any older than 4 months since he was pretty tiny when we got him on January 31st. He's in a 20 gallon and is quickly nearing 11 1/2 inches. Should I go up to a 40 gallon or would going ahead and getting the 75 gallon be alright? Or is he alright in a 20 gallon for a while longer? Sorry if this is a dumb question. I can't seem to find any good information on when is the right time to upgrade enclosure size.

 

[CooperDragon]

No dumb questions, feel free to ask anything. Cooper was in a 20gal tank from July 23 until Dec 10 when we bought him an exo-terra large/wide which was perfect even when he was grown. If you want something in between try to grab a 40gal breeder during the Petco dollar gallon sale. That will serve nicely as a travel tank after a while.

 

[Quelaag]

No dumb questions, feel free to ask anything. Cooper was in a 20gal tank from July 23 until Dec 10 when we bought him an exo-terra large/wide which was perfect even when he was grown. If you want something in between try to grab a 40gal breeder during the Petco dollar gallon sale. That will serve nicely as a travel tank after a while.

I really hope I can catch one of those Petco deals, they sound awesome! And thank you for your response. Haru doesn't look like he's cramped or anything, but if he keeps growing at the rate he is, I need to make sure I'm prepared so I figured I'd go ahead and ask, haha. He also has this bridge in the cool side of his enclosure that he enjoys sleeping under, but he's getting too big for that. I'm hoping I can find something similar/bigger for when I do end up buying a bigger tank. I sadly can't upgrade said bridge right now, though, since he probably wouldn't have much room if I did that.

Also yay, his schedule is back to normal today. He's awake and basking and doing his usual stuff. So glad that didn't take too long to sort out.

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm glad the routine is back to normal. Rumor has it that a lot of Petcos are having a tank sale right now. They appear a couple of times a year. I replaced Cooper's little rock with a fake log but when he became too big for that I picked up some driftwood pieces. One was flat and made a great basking log and the other was pyramid shaped and made a great mount for the end of the log. Turned it into a ramp up to his hammock and also a place he could hide under. Tons of options for that sort of thing so be creative.

 

[Quelaag]

I'm glad the routine is back to normal. Rumor has it that a lot of Petcos are having a tank sale right now. They appear a couple of times a year. I replaced Cooper's little rock with a fake log but when he became too big for that I picked up some driftwood pieces. One was flat and made a great basking log and the other was pyramid shaped and made a great mount for the end of the log. Turned it into a ramp up to his hammock and also a place he could hide under. Tons of options for that sort of thing so be creative.

I may have to look into that... Hm... Though if they have it several times a year, I may have to hold off for a bit. Not sure yet though. But yeah, he has a rock that he basks on/can go under to sleep, a stick that leans against his rock for support and he enjoys climbing all over it. It's mostly so he can get closer to the light if he needs to, but I'm convinced he just uses it to get a better view of things. Then he has the bridge and his veggie dish. Which is another reason I can't wait for him to be an adult so I can safely put him in a 75 gallon tank; it gives me more room to be creative with. But sadly it will have to wait. I'm so excited though. I have so many ideas on what I want to do for his future tank.

 

[kbro]

$1 a gallon SALE GOING ON NOW at petco!!! At least at mine it is, give yours a call.
Just realized someone said they thought it was oops, but mine is until the 12th I think (2 weeks only, maybe the 14th but I can't remember)

 

[Quelaag]

Awh man, I'm ssssooooo tempted to get one to be prepared for when he grows bigger. But I don't know if it would be wise to buy a 40 Gallon or go ahead and buy the 75 like I want. I suppose, financially, it would be wisest to get the 75 one since they're usually super expensive. Uuugghhh, I can't decide!

Also maybe Haru isn't fully recovered like I once thought. He put himself to bed earlier tonight so I don't think he's fully caught up on his sleep yet. Poor guy.

 

[kbro]

The 75 isn't included though, it's up to 55 and a 40 breeder is better floor space wise, I don't believe there was a wider tank other than the 40g breeder (36x18) I don't know though, just what I saw. I had quite the adventure at petco today, helped an adult male that got dropped of there find a good place to go, might be temporary, but she might keep him (I found a lady on here that does rescues). There is a thread about it in the beardie rescues now. I would think he is big enough to be fine in what you want to get as a permanent home for him you can always section off a portion if needed, better than getting tank after tank. A lot of people use the 40g breeder for their adults though.

 

[Quelaag]

I know 40G can be used for adults, but I like spoiling my baby, haha. That and I'm trying to make sure he will have exercise room even when he's not outside of his enclosure.

Though I'm currently concerned, so he's back under his rock again after basking for a little while this morning. He's not sleeping, it's almost like he's hiding? He poked part of his body out of his rock to eat crickets this morning, then when I reached my hand in to scratch his back like I usually do he quickly backed into his rock. That's not like him at all, he's usually very social and LOVES it when I scratch/rub his back. Do they sometimes do this when they're about to shed? His back and legs are dull so he's due for a shed any day now. Though usually his attitude and mood don't change while he's shedding, but he's only shed his back once or twice while with me so far so who knows. He hasn't had any traumatizing experiences to make him suddenly want to hide in his rock aside from maybe me having to quickly grab him to prevent him from jumping off the bed when I have him out.

The only other thing I could think it is, is he hasn't fully recovered his sleep schedule yet and may be cranky from that. Which cranky is strong word, he's not being mean or anything, he's just not being social like he usually is. He's also not acting sick as even though he's under his rock, he's still super alert and his head is perked up and he's still interested in his food. I'm also working on adjusting his light to see if maybe it's too cold or hot for him, but right now they're at pretty good settings. His basking is at 101 and the warm side near the basking spot is around 90 to 95 so it's where it usually is. Should I be worried? ;n;

He has, however, gotten pretty lazy these past few weeks after figuring out that if he stands still long enough, crickets will eventually come near enough to him to strike at. I'm not sure if that's normal and not sure if I should try breaking him of that. He chases down crickets every so often, but for the most part he's content with waiting and striking. I think I may be to blame as I'll sometimes point out crickets to him if I think he doesn't see them.

Edit: Though the past few weeks of laziness could also be from shedding. It seems like every week or every other week for the past few weeks he's been shedding a part of his body. He just got done shedding his tail a few days ago and before that his head had shed. 2 or 3 weeks before that he had shed his body and legs and even before that he had been shedding his head and tail.

 

[kbro]

They can get a little crabby when shedding, they get all itchy and tight, I would be crabby too and wouldn't want to be touched lol. Sometimes they might not bask as much, has it only been for the last couple days?
How old is your guy by the way? And what uvb light are you using? The lights can effect them too.