beardie is basking, but not interested in food

[sheri85]

so i've had Archer 2 weeks, and had some issues with him not eating at the beginning. he ate very well the last few days, including yesterday when he ate five crickets and some meal worms. this is the most he's ever eaten (i've been counting every day).

anyway, i tried offering him crickets today about 3 hours after his lights clicked on, but he wasn't interested. tried tempting him with the meal worms too (i've been trying to offer him greens every day, but he's not interested in those yet). he was black bearding earlier, and has been basking under his lamps on top of his log all day. i gave him a quick bath--less than 5 minutes--and put him back in the tank. he's been basking since.

is this normal, for him to not eat an entire day? maybe because he ate so much yesterday he's not hungry?

i have ordered reptiworms and am currently waiting for them to be delivered, so maybe that will help his appetite.

i'd appreciate any advice or insight. i have him in a 40 gallon long tank with three lamps on top: day warming light, uv light, and red light. The log is on the side with the day light / uv light so he can bask.

 

[dylanravenj]

Do you have a UVB light? If so, what kind?
What are the temps in his tank?

 

[sheri85]

Do you have a UVB light? If so, what kind?
What are the temps in his tank?

yes, i have a Zilla 50 UVB 20 Watt Desert coil. i have it in a dome fixture between the day light and red light.

 

[dylanravenj]

That may be the problem. Get rid of the coil bulb right away and get a Reptisun 10.0 UVB tube. Coil bulbs do not give off proper amounts of UVB and can cause eye problems.

 

[sheri85]

i wish i had known this before i spent the money on the coil bulb and dome. i bought all the lights at the advisement of the reptile salesperson at the pet store, so i just assumed that all uvb lights would do the same thing.

thanks for your help. i'll get him the proper light right away.

 

[sheri85]

i should add that he's been very alert all day, just not interested in his bugs.

also, do you know what type of fixture the reptisun tubes fit in? do they fit in domes or do i need an aquarium fixture?
would it be better to turn off the coil in the meantime, or is he okay under it until i get get to the store tomorrow?

thanks again.

 

[jreed]

look on www.PetMountain.com for your lights much cheaper than the stores and just a little advice never trust the pet stores i always just post my questions here or research this site the folks here can answer just about anything you need

 

[sheri85]

look on http://www.PetMountain.com for your lights much cheaper than the stores and just a little advice never trust the pet stores i always just post my questions here or research this site the folks here can answer just about anything you need

yeah, i'm quickly learning that pet stores don't know what they're talking about. i visit the forums here every day now. thanks for the link. i've got Archer a tube uvb bulb set up now and he's basking underneath it. definitely going to bookmark that link for future reference though.