Baby Beardie not eating?

[zebrasmiles]

First off I'm a first time owner and have only had our bd for 3 days. I might just be overreacting but I'm just nervous because he's a baby.
I got this small bd from the pet store Sunday evening, they said he had already ate that day. I didn't buy any crickets because atm I was being misinformed and was being told they only eat crickets every so many days (but now I know he's still young and needs to eat at least 2 times a day). So Monday morning came around and I just left some of the pellets I got from the kit I bought and some fruit. Then Monday evening I brought home crickets and this little guy ate 30! So cute. Tuesday morning he wouln't eat any crickets, then in the evening he still wouldn't eat anything. I gave him a bath and he drank lots of water. This morning (Wednesday) he still wouldn't eat any crickets nor the salad I put in there this morning.

His general behavior: He's not moving a whole lot and he's shutting his eyes a lot it seems. This morning after 1.5 hours of light he seemed to be moving a lot more like he was trying to get out of the tank. He did do the eye bulging this morning, but Idk if he's shed before I got him, because he doesn't have any peely looking skin, his tails a shade lighter though. Outside of the tank he seems alert and moves a lot.

I was thinking it might be my lighting or the fact that he's still getting use to the tank, but its just weird that he ate all those crickets monday evening (at least 2 hours before lights out) and he just wont do anything now.

Right now our tank is 20 gal, our UVB light is the Reptisun compact 5.0 (I plan on getting the UVB Reptisun 10.0 fluorescent, and putting the fixture inside like I've seen recommended), and the basking light is the zoo med basking light 100w (from the kit i bought) I also purchased a generic 65w flood light because once I took out the red heat lamp light (which I read from here wasn't any good to have) the temperatures weren't reaching over 86 so I have both running and before I left it was at 96, hopefully it warmed up too 100 and so by now.

If anyone has any opinions on this I would greatly appreciate them! I really wanna make sure everythings alright and I'm doing everything I'm suppose to do, I'll attach a picture of "Charmander" (lol boyfriend decided on his name, but I think it's cute) and the tank set up I have right now.

Thanks!

 

[Taterbug]

He may be settling in. Has he pooped yet? Your setup looks good, just needs a little tweaking.

#1 is to get the temperatures up where they need to be. Easiest way is to adjust his perch so it's closer to the light. This should help with digestion and activity levels.

It looks like you are using a sand product, what kind is it? Is it possible he ate some of the substrate when he was chasing his crickets on Monday?

Since you are already planning to upgrade the UVB - I reccomend the T5 UVB bulbs - they have better output and can be positioned further away. You don't want lightbulbs any closer than needed if you can help it and you don't want them on the wall when possible.

 

[zebrasmiles]

He may be settling in. Has he pooped yet? Your setup looks good, just needs a little tweaking.

#1 is to get the temperatures up where they need to be. Easiest way is to adjust his perch so it's closer to the light. This should help with digestion and activity levels.

It looks like you are using a sand product, what kind is it? Is it possible he ate some of the substrate when he was chasing his crickets on Monday?

Since you are already planning to upgrade the UVB - I reccomend the T5 UVB bulbs - they have better output and can be positioned further away. You don't want lightbulbs any closer than needed if you can help it and you don't want them on the wall when possible.

Yes he has pooped, from everything that I've read I think it looks normal. Its like black and white, when its on the log it sorta looks like bird poop, but I saw some solid ones in the sand.

So yes it is sand, once I got home and read that sand wasn't the best thing to use I was like *uuggghh* I shouldn't have bought a stupid kit lol. I have some reptile carpet on the one side, but I think once the tank needs cleaned for the first time I will be taking out all the sand and just getting all carpet. It might be possible because I put the crickets right into the tank, but idk if it would have been a lot because he was snapping those crickets up but it didn't look like he was getting to close to the sand and I wouldnt think the sand would stick too much on the crickets.
Oh but I just noticed what type of sand it was, it's from the kit and its vita-sand (I read that thats like the worst sand to get right??) Maybe I should switch out the sand this weekend...

So are you saying I shouldn't do the whole tube fixture inside the tank?? I have the UVB on top now and I heard it doesn't reach well into the tank because of the screen.
Thanks so much for helping.

 

[Taterbug]

If he is pooping and things are moving through him that a good sign. I would swap out the vita-sand when you can, I don't trust that stuff personally. Tile, paper or carpet will be easier for you to clean and less worry while you are still new, it will give you time to research if or what loose substrate you might want to use when he is older.

A few more thoughts, sheds happen more quickly in babies so it sounds like he might be getting ready for one. Also, how are you giving him water?

For UVB.
There are two types of florescent tubes, T5 and T8. Both a quite good but have different strengths so they are used differently. You are correct that the one you have, through the screen will not be giving enough UVB.

-T8 lights are bigger and weaker - these are the ones that should not have any screen in the way so they usually get mounted inside the enclosure. Many people don't use a reflector but it is a good idea to use one. The reflector can double the output so your lizards doesn't need to live quite so close to the bulb. The fixtures for these tend to be cheaper.
-T5 lights are skinnier and stronger (go figure, right?) - these are 2-3x more powerful than the T8 so if you use a fixture with a reflector you can put it outside your enclosure, even through the screen and still get very good UVB levels.

I like the T5 personally because who wants to live so close to any light bulb, and they are also visibly brighter. Just some thoughts. Like I said, either will work for you as long as you set it up right.

I hope this helps, if its confusing just let me know I'll try and clarify.

 

[zebrasmiles]

If he is pooping and things are moving through him that a good sign. I would swap out the vita-sand when you can, I don't trust that stuff personally. Tile, paper or carpet will be easier for you to clean and less worry while you are still new, it will give you time to research if or what loose substrate you might want to use when he is older.

A few more thoughts, sheds happen more quickly in babies so it sounds like he might be getting ready for one. Also, how are you giving him water?

For UVB.
There are two types of florescent tubes, T5 and T8. Both a quite good but have different strengths so they are used differently. You are correct that the one you have, through the screen will not be giving enough UVB.

-T8 lights are bigger and weaker - these are the ones that should not have any screen in the way so they usually get mounted inside the enclosure. Many people don't use a reflector but it is a good idea to use one. The reflector can double the output so your lizards doesn't need to live quite so close to the bulb. The fixtures for these tend to be cheaper.
-T5 lights are skinnier and stronger (go figure, right?) - these are 2-3x more powerful than the T8 so if you use a fixture with a reflector you can put it outside your enclosure, even through the screen and still get very good UVB levels.

I like the T5 personally because who wants to live so close to any light bulb, and they are also visibly brighter. Just some thoughts. Like I said, either will work for you as long as you set it up right.

I hope this helps, if its confusing just let me know I'll try and clarify.

Thanks I will probably re do his tank this weekend then when I have the time and go with the carpet. I did have a shallow water dish in the tank, but then read about the humidity and took it out. I let him soak in a bath last night and was going to do that every other day. Plus I am sprinkling the salads i give him with water too. I was thinking about putting the dish back in there maybe when he got bigger, but I wasn't sure if he needed it or not since most of what I read were people saying to not have water in the tank.

I will definately get the new light and fixture this weekend (can you buy those fixtures at like walmart/homedepot?) And this light will just lay on top of the cage too? I actually have a basking light question now too. My boyfriend got home and texted me and said that the temp was still only at 96F. The temps were over 100 with the red heat lamp i had on (but like i said i removed it) So do I have the wrong basking lights? I'm not sure why its not bumping up those extra degrees. Maybe I just need one big light?

 

[Taterbug]

Well, There are always more than just one way to do things

Basking lights have always been hit or miss for me, I've got a cupboard full of them now (also, I just use halogen bulbs from lowes not special reptile ones). What I do is setup the basking area so that it is the correct distance from the UVB. Then I'll get a heat bulb that hits the right temperatures at the basking site. The warm spot should be big enough for the dragon's whole body to fit (easy to do at his size) and than further away from the light you'll have cooler areas he can choose from as well. I have my lights on dimmers so I can adjust them on the fly. As to the one or two bulbs... it will depend on how you want to do it, really. Either way could work. Since you have a double dome it would be easy enough to pop a second bulb in there. It might help add some extra brightness as well.

There are T5 fixtures that will sit on top of the tank (repti-sun makes one) and there are ones that you would need to devise a hanger for (I use sunblasters and like them a lot). Something like an aquarium hood should sit on top of the cage and those come in T8 and T5 I think. It depends on how you want to set it up. Lowes or Homedepot might have them, I've not looked. You'd just want to make sure the wattage matches the bulb.

This might help you decide how/where to put your UVB light. You can either go for a "patch of sun" and have a short, strong UVB (3-5 UVI at the highest part of the basking site) or a "shaded" setup and go for around 1-3 UVI through-out the cage. You have hides on both sides, so that's good and either method would work. I like the patch of sun myself - these little guys are from the outback after all.

 

[zebrasmiles]

Well, There are always more than just one way to do things

Basking lights have always been hit or miss for me, I've got a cupboard full of them now (also, I just use halogen bulbs from lowes not special reptile ones). What I do is setup the basking area so that it is the correct distance from the UVB. Then I'll get a heat bulb that hits the right temperatures at the basking site. The warm spot should be big enough for the dragon's whole body to fit (easy to do at his size) and than further away from the light you'll have cooler areas he can choose from as well. I have my lights on dimmers so I can adjust them on the fly. As to the one or two bulbs... it will depend on how you want to do it, really. Either way could work. Since you have a double dome it would be easy enough to pop a second bulb in there. It might help add some extra brightness as well.

There are T5 fixtures that will sit on top of the tank (repti-sun makes one) and there are ones that you would need to devise a hanger for (I use sunblasters and like them a lot). Something like an aquarium hood should sit on top of the cage and those come in T8 and T5 I think. It depends on how you want to set it up. Lowes or Homedepot might have them, I've not looked. You'd just want to make sure the wattage matches the bulb.

This might help you decide how/where to put your UVB light. You can either go for a "patch of sun" and have a short, strong UVB (3-5 UVI at the highest part of the basking site) or a "shaded" setup and go for around 1-3 UVI through-out the cage. You have hides on both sides, so that's good and either method would work. I like the patch of sun myself - these little guys are from the outback after all.

Ok so if I'm reading this right, lol I should probably get the t5 repitsun 5.0 w/ reflector?
I would love to have the lights hanging and not on the screen but unfortunately I still live in a apartment atm and I'm not going to do anything crazy because hopefully I'll be getting out of here before next year.

But again with the basking bulbs, I have 2 lights in now and its only 96F. So maybe the generic one I bought isn't giving off enough heat. Are the halogen bulbs better than the flood lights? For heating at least.

 

[Taterbug]

A 5.0 or a 10.0 would work for your situation, the 10.0 are still usually recommended because they can be further away, the 5.0 would need to be much closer. I'm not sure why the 5.0 is so much weaker than the Arcadia counter part... but that's all the data I have. With the screen you could position the 10.0 at about 12" away from the dragon and get a good UVB level.

For a hanger, its not the sexiest solution but shouldn't cost much more than 10$ if that. I made one for seedlings one year - it works great.

How are you taking the temps? That should be enough to get it warm enough... but situations vary. I use 65W halogen floods and they work pretty well for me.

 

[zebrasmiles]

A 5.0 or a 10.0 would work for your situation, the 10.0 are still usually recommended because they can be further away, the 5.0 would need to be much closer. I'm not sure why the 5.0 is so much weaker than the Arcadia counter part... but that's all the data I have. With the screen you could position the 10.0 at about 12" away from the dragon and get a good UVB level.

For a hanger, its not the sexiest solution but shouldn't cost much more than 10$ if that. I made one for seedlings one year - it works great.

How are you taking the temps? That should be enough to get it warm enough... but situations vary. I use 65W halogen floods and they work pretty well for me.

Aw man I could totally try and do something like that. I just would have to figure out how to keep it standing up since the tank is up the entire dresser it's on.

In the picture of the tank you can see the thermometer. It's one of those digital probe ones (at least im pretty sure thats what it is lol) I have the end of it sitting on the log where his basking spot is.

 

[Taterbug]

You could give the stand longer legs, or design it to rest on the top of the tank. Fish keepers have a lot of clever light hanging hacks out there.

hm. It does sound like you might need to adjust the lights, or maybe the height of the basking perch closer to the bulbs.

 

[zebrasmiles]

You could give the stand longer legs, or design it to rest on the top of the tank. Fish keepers have a lot of clever light hanging hacks out there.

hm. It does sound like you might need to adjust the lights, or maybe the height of the basking perch closer to the bulbs.

Yea well I'm going to have to try and get all this lighting done and see if it helps, hopefully he'll eat something soon. Thank you so much for all the information, I'll post later this week after I get everything together to just update on the situation. *fingers crossed*

 

[Taterbug]

You could give the stand longer legs, or design it to rest on the top of the tank. Fish keepers have a lot of clever light hanging hacks out there.

hm. It does sound like you might need to adjust the lights, or maybe the height of the basking perch closer to the bulbs.

Yea well I'm going to have to try and get all this lighting done and see if it helps, hopefully he'll eat something soon. Thank you so much for all the information, I'll post later this week after I get everything together to just update on the situation. *fingers crossed*

Good luck! Hopefully the appetite is just him settling in and he'll turn right around.

 

[zebrasmiles]

Well just an update...
I have not got the UVB light yet, the pet store is out of stock right now, I'm waiting for them to get a shipment in, but Charmander has been running around a lot.
I got another basking bulb and adjusted the log inside the tank and I now have temps at 108, I also took out all the sand (omg such a pain) and put down the carpet which looks way better all together.
He shed his tail and has been going running around the whole tank. He started eating too. He doesn't eat as much as I think he needs to be but he's eating more and more increasingly. He usually has 5-6 crickets in the morning and 4-6 at night, but this morning he actually ate over 10 so that's awesome. He seems to be sorta touching his salad at least I think he is, Ill come home and there's small pieces of the salad in different areas.

All together everything seems good. I think he was just getting use to the new environment and schedule.