Hi, I’m a new owner so I don’t know if I’m freaking out for nothing or if this is something serious. I’ve had my baby beardie for a week and she’s been eating like crazy the whole week. Just yesterday though she only ate four crickets (she usually eats a lot more) and none of her greens. This morning I tried to feed her two crickets and she wouldn’t eat that. She seems active, she’s basking and she watches me when I move around the room. I gave her some water on her nose yesterday and she drank that. I don’t know what to do and need help.
Shop told me she’s a month old
Her temp for basking is 100 degrees, rest of tank is 85
I use a digital thermometer with probe
Her lamp is repti basking 50 watt and uvb lamp is reptisun 5.0
I feed her small crickets and turnip greens. Every other day I dust the crickets with calcium.
Tank is 20 gallons and I use that felt pad bedding thing.
The lamp is a coil and 13w so I’ll definitely be getting her a new one as soon as I leave work. What would you suggest? The lid is metal and have two light domes on top of it. Should I be suspending these? I was just going off instructions from the pet shop but if its not right I’ll fix it.
I looked at the chart and everything checks out alright so maybe I’m worrying for nothing? I just got a call from my roommates and she ate two crickets and drank some water a little bit ago.
The lamp is a coil and 13w so I’ll definitely be getting her a new one as soon as I leave work. What would you suggest? The lid is metal and have two light domes on top of it. Should I be suspending these? I was just going off instructions from the pet shop but if its not right I’ll fix it.
<<<< I wouldn't be trusting anything the petshop's staff are telling you , nearly always very bad advise in their case.
I looked at the chart and everything checks out alright so maybe I’m worrying for nothing? I just got a call from my roommates and she ate two crickets and drank some water a little bit ago.
I would be investing an Exo Terra 25W UVB200 and a matching Exo Terra Nano Hood, mount under the mesh lid about 8 inches from the basking spot for now . I've had a lot of success rearing bearded dragons using 25W UVB200 compacts.
If you have the money , a great investment will be a T5ho reptile specific reflector hood about 2/3 the length of the tank and an Arcadia T5ho 12%UVB tube. In this case you can get good levels of UVA & UVB if the basking spot is about 12 inches from the tube.
See this for more information : viewtopic.php?f=34&t=235611
I agree the lighting should be upgraded before it becomes a serious problem. The 13w bulbs are not strong enough for a bearded dragon even in a small tank like your 20g. The 26W UVB200 compact that was mentioned is a good fit for a small tank like that at about 6'' above the main basking area. You could also get a ZooMed T5 fixture as mentioned. They come with a 5.0 bulb that is about right for a 20g tank. You can use the same fixture and upgrade the bulb to a ReptiSun 10.0 or Arcadia 12% when you get a bigger tank which saves some money in the long run. https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26053-Reptisun-Terrarium/dp/B00AQU8F2O