beardie is shedding, wont eat crickets, but eats veggies

[elijahcajigal]

i got a beautiful little girl a few days ago (I'm new with reptiles, grew up with a bunch of dogs) and she just started shedding yesterday. she started shedding one of her back legs and now she's shedding her tummy and back. I've given her a bath; yesterday and today. she's not eating any crickets, but she's good with veggies. I've read online that this is a normal behavior, but i just want to make sure with more knowledgeable people vivarium is between 90-100 degrees on the hot side and around 80-85 in the cool side with a 100 watt bulb and humidity around 25-30%. when i use a 150 watt bulb then the temp goes up to 105-110 degrees and humidity goes down to under 10%.. i don't know if thats okay for her. and at night the humidity goes up close to 50% and the temperature drops to around 70 degrees. should i get a night lamp for her for some heat and lower humidity? all help, tips etc. would be wonderful! thanks everyone!!

 

[CooperDragon]

Welcome to the forum =). Losing appetite and change in mood is common during a shed. Just keep offering food and she'll likely come back to it when the shed is done. The important part with the temperatures is to have a nice gradient across the tank so she can self regulate and you have that. For a young dragon (under a year old) I would try for the 105-110 in the basking spot but I would also put the basking light on an adjustable lamp stand so you can raise and lower it to tweak the temperature as needed. I've found that when the temperatures outside fluctuate (especially in Spring and Fall) the house temperatures and tank temperatures fluctuate. It's very important to keep an eye on the temperatures (and get accurate readings) and to keep up a gradient across the tank to allow for self regulation. If your temperatures are at 70 overnight, you won't need any additional heating. A dip in temperatures overnight is natural and you don't need to add a ceramic heat emitter unless the temperatures drop below about 65 or so. What do you have in place for UVB lighting?

 

[elijahcajigal]

i have a exo terra reptile uvb 150.. and it says "former reptile 10.0 compact. now i just started reading reviews about this bulb and I'm getting nothing but bad reviews. people saying that my little girl can get sever eyesight problems and what not and that its not healthy for the beardie so if you could clarify that for me and help me out with something thats more acceptable then that would be great! also, some people say that beardies don't like to be handled when they are shedding, but mine literally crawls up my arm when i reach in there to pick up poop or to clean it so I've taken her out and let her on my bed and she does not seem to mind at all. is that okay or should i just ignore it and let her stay in the viv? sorry she's my first reptile and I already love her a lot! i just want the best for my little girl!

 

[CooperDragon]

I've done some testing with that bulb and found that it's output is narrow and intense as I mentioned. I suggest getting a T5 bulb with a reflective fixture. How big is your tank? I'd get a fixture and bulb that is about 1/2 the length of the tank. If you're still using a small tank (20g for example) I'd get a T8 bulb and fixture and mount it just inside the top. They're a bit less intense but probably more appropriate for a small enclosure. I'd then upgrade to the T5 when you upgrade the tank size.

All of their personalities are a bit different. If she clings to you and seems to want to be handled then go for it. Just try to read her behavior the best you can. It will get easier to tell her mood as time goes on and you get to learn her body language.

 

[elijahcajigal]

thank you! and where can i find these bulbs? pet stores, online? and yeah I'm using a 20 gallon tank right now she's only about close to a foot long. i didnt know if i should go bigger because i heard that if the tank is really big then they'll just get scared. she pooped twice today, once in her home and then the second time on my bed lol is it normal for them to poop more than one time in one day?

I've been reading A LOT of reviews and what not online. tips and all that stuff, but then again those are all just websites that says a lot of bs sometimes so sorry for all of the questions. i feel more comfortable taking advice from someone in this forum.

 

[CooperDragon]

The forum is here to provide advice and discuss dragons. Feel free to ask as much as you'd like. At 12'' you're probably due to get a bigger tank soon anyway. As long as they have enough hides to feel secure and places to climb, the bigger the tank the better to an extent. If she acts stressed after a few days you can partition the tank off but that's uncommon from what I've seen. For the long term you'll want a tank that is at least 36''x18''x18''. Exo Terra makes nice glass tanks this size with front opening doors (I have one of these). You can also build your own tank which is more economical. There are plans available for a crossfire enclosure - that's a popular style to build. I would get a 24'' T5 fixture and either an Arcadia 12% or ReptiSun 10.0 T5 bulb for it. You can get a combination fixture and arcadia bulb at lightyourreptiles.com or you can pick up a sunblaster fixture and a bulb separately online via Amazon.

It's common for the young ones to poop more than once per day. As they get older it tends to be once a day or once every couple of days. If you provide a warm bath at around the same time every day you can help regulate it and start to train her. After a while she'll get used to going at around the same time every day so you can put her in a spot thats easy to clean until she goes at that same time every day. They do tend to learn through routine. It takes time and patience but it's worth it not to have to constantly clean up messes in the tank or randomly around the house.

 

[elijahcajigal]

ahhh thank you so much! if i have any more questions ill be sure to ask you! thanks again for all of the help! much appreciated.

 

[Goonie]

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