Baby beardie not eating?

[Claire1997]

I got my guy 4 days ago, he is 3 months old. On the second day I had him, he had eaten a few pieces of the veges I'd given him, and a cricket (it was a bit bigger than the space between his eyes, but he ate it after chasing it around). Since then, he hasn't eaten anything. I thought maybe it was because the cricket was too big, so I got rid of the ones I had, and got smaller ones. But he isn't eating those either. All he does is turn his head and close his eyes when one is near him. I've tried giving him a warm bath, but I don't want to freak him out with too much handling, so I just placed him in the bath and he sat in there for a couple of minutes, opening and closing his mouth. He has done a couple of poos, so I know everything is passing through fine.

I have a 10.0 UVB light set up, a ceramic heater for the basking end that gets up to 38-40 degrees Celsius during the day and the cool end is between 26-30 degrees, depending on time of day. His enclosure is 3 feet, and I'm using fake grass for the substrate. He's got a little hideaway, a log that gets close enough, but doesn't touch the heater, fake plants and one of those hammock things. He was one of the smaller ones down at the pet shop, poor guy had too much competition for food in the one tank.

Could this just be him still settling in? I was handling him and bit much to start with, until I read that maybe I should leave him for a bit. Any ideas?

 

[rpaine]

Has he pooed daily since eating the larger cricket? Also I didn't see where you listed a basking bulb (just the ceramic). My understanding is that the ceramic is used as a backup heat source especially at night or in cool times of year but the actual basking light was crucial to their digestion.

 

[Claire1997]

Has he pooed daily since eating the larger cricket? Also I didn't see where you listed a basking bulb (just the ceramic). My understanding is that the ceramic is used as a backup heat source especially at night or in cool times of year but the actual basking light was crucial to their digestion.

I was going to buy a basking light, but was told by a lady who owns bearded dragons that ceramic lights were good as they stay on all the time and won't disturb a beardie's sleep. Should I swap it out for another one?
And yes he has pooed since eating the cricket.

 

[rpaine]

My thought process is a basking light is more natural. They will be attracted to both the light and the heat. As I said the CHE is great for night time warmth etc. as it doesn't give off light to keep them awake. How are you monitoring your temps as well? I try to keep my basking site about 100-105F with gradients all the way down to mid/high 70'sF on my cool side. I have 2 digital thermometers in my viv and use a temp gun to check my basking spot. The other problem with the CHE is it needs to be used with a temp sensor or it might even be making things too hot.

 

[Claire1997]

My thought process is a basking light is more natural. They will be attracted to both the light and the heat. As I said the CHE is great for night time warmth etc. as it doesn't give off light to keep them awake. How are you monitoring your temps as well? I try to keep my basking site about 100-105F with gradients all the way down to mid/high 70'sF on my cool side. I have 2 digital thermometers in my viv and use a temp gun to check my basking spot. The other problem with the CHE is it needs to be used with a temp sensor or it might even be making things too hot.

I have to digital thermometers in the tank, one down the cool end and one in the warm end. The one in the warm end is hooked up to a thermostat. I think my cool end might be too warm because of the ceramic heater now that I think about it. I might buy a basking light tomorrow and see if that changes anything.

 

[rpaine]

I would setup the CHE next to the basking light unless you have a large enclosure. I'll check the boards again tomorrow and help if I can. Good luck and have a nice evening.

 

[Claire1997]

Okay so I got the basking light today. Its an 100W intense basking spot. My basking spot is around 38-40 degrees celcius. I've had it set up for about an hour now. He still hasn't accepted any crickets I've given him, and hasn't touched any of the veges in the food bowl. I really don't know what to do anymore.

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. What kind of uvb do you have? Tube or coil/ compact? Also make sure you put the basking light and uvb light next to each other. So when he basks he get uvb too.

 

[Claire1997]

I have a coil one. I've done some more research, and realised these are bad for them too. I've just purchased a tube kinda one, but cannot find a fixture for it that will stick to the inside of my enclosure.