Beardie doesn't like to come out in the morning

[Novia]

Lately my beardie hasn't been coming out in the morning. For a while he didn't have a cave since he had grown out of his but I just finished making a new one for him last night and this morning it was almost 11 and he still hasn't come out. His lights come on at 7. When he does come out he's too lazy to jump up onto his hammock so he just sits under it. The past few days I've been giving him a bath every day because he hasn't been popping either and when he does they're very small poops. He's hardly interested in eating. Usually he'll eat 7 super worms each morning but he hasn't done that in about 2 weeks he'll eat one or 2 here and there and eat his kale (I just got some mustard greens to try today) I hope he's not sick or something. I don't know what his deal is. Pretty much the only thing he'll eat is calcium coated roaches. He won't eat them unless they're coated until they are white. Maybe he has trouble seeing them?

 

[SukiLove]

You may get more views on this if you post it in the health section, can you give a rundown of his setup? Lights and temps, and how you take the temps. How old is your beardie?

 

[Novia]

I got my beardie in March and he was tiny so I think he may have been 2-3 weeks old. So that would make him about 5 months old now. He's in a 1ft by 2 ft tank He has a 75 W basking lamp, and a 5.0 UVB strip light directily above his hammock but I set him on the window sill in the bright sun for at least 15-20 mins every day for some extra UVB. He was on a kale and superworm diet, now it's switched to mustard greens and dubia roaches when he eats them. He hasn't been very into the live food lately. He refuses to chase it, which I think is because he got lazy when I was hand feeding him superworms. Usually he eats at least half of his mustard greens every day. I can't get him to try anything new. I've tried red bell peppers, banana, baby food squash, cucumber. He wouldn't even try any of them. He hasn't been pooping normally either. They are usually either very small with lots of chitin or very watery. I've been bathing him almost every day for about a week now.

 

[SukiLove]

So he's in a 10 gallon tank? Is that right? If he's in that small of a tank with a 75 watt bulb it could be too warm. Do you take the temps with a digital probe or a temp gun? I would advise upgrading to at least a 40 gallon tank, since you've had him for a while it would be better to upgrade to the size they need for an adult. A 10 gallon tank is really too small, even for a baby because they quickly outgrow it. There really isn't enough room for him to escape if it gets too warm. Is the UVB light a coil? If so, when you move him to a larger tank I would suggest getting a tube light and using the Reptisun 10.0 or Arcadia. The coil lights can irritate their eyes, which is another reason he may not be coming out as much. Bearded dragons run all their internal systems based off of their lighting, so the correct temperatures and UV is essential for a healthy dragon.

It's good that you switched him off the superworm diet, they are really meant for dragons that are 16" in length because they are very hard to digest-which is why you see so much chitin in his poop. The daily baths are good, is he drinking?

 

[Novia]

So he's in a 10 gallon tank? Is that right? If he's in that small of a tank with a 75 watt bulb it could be too warm. Do you take the temps with a digital probe or a temp gun? I would advise upgrading to at least a 40 gallon tank, since you've had him for a while it would be better to upgrade to the size they need for an adult. A 10 gallon tank is really too small, even for a baby because they quickly outgrow it. There really isn't enough room for him to escape if it gets too warm. Is the UVB light a coil? If so, when you move him to a larger tank I would suggest getting a tube light and using the Reptisun 10.0 or Arcadia. The coil lights can irritate their eyes, which is another reason he may not be coming out as much. Bearded dragons run all their internal systems based off of their lighting, so the correct temperatures and UV is essential for a healthy dragon.

It's good that you switched him off the superworm diet, they are really meant for dragons that are 16" in length because they are very hard to digest-which is why you see so much chitin in his poop. The daily baths are good, is he drinking?

I already upgraded. It'a a 20 gallon tank. The UVB is a tube light not a coil. I think I'm going to get a 10.0 tomorrow though and see if that helps. His temperature gauge was reading about 100-110 but it's in the new baby's tank now, I have to but another one.

 

[Novia]

And he is 16.5 inches. He gets all his water from his baths although I've only actually seen him drink from the bath once. He does have a water bowl all the time but I've never seen him use it.