Curling hands backwards

[Paul652]

My bearded dragon curls his hands/wrists backwards to where he sits on the backs of his hands occasionlly, but only when sitting, he can walk on his bare feet just fine. I have only had him for two weeks so if anything is wrong it was petco's fault. Secondly, he only eats about 2 crickets each day, about around 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM he will go hunting, he isnt very good so i ussally help him out, but once he has eaten one cricket he immediatlly goes back to his log and basks. Lastly, I would like to buy a new basking bulb to raise the tempature of his cage, any recommendations as to what to buy, and what wattage? Here is a list of my stuff:

How old is your dragon?
Possibly 5-6 months

How long have you had your dragon?
Two weeks

How long is your dragon?
About 4 inches not including the tail, with the tail about 7 inches.

What is the sex of your dragon?
Possibly Male

What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
10 gallon (i plan to upgrade to a 40 gallon in the future)

What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Repti Carpet

Do you use UVB lights?
Yes

If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
No

What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
Reptisun 10.0 15w

How old is your UVB bulb?
1 week

How close can your dragon get to the UVB, and where is the UVB bulb located?
About 7 inches, the Reptisun is mounted to a fixture within the cage with no plastic covering on the light fixture.

Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb?
Yes, emits a yellow light, came with the desert starter kit from petco, I do not know its wattage, planning on buying a new one but I don't know what to buy.

Do you have any type of night time heat source (ceramic heat emitter, colored bulb, etc)?
No

How long are lights on each day?
About 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM

What are the basking temps?
I have a crappy thermometer that says its 92 degrees

What is the cool side temp?
I don't know, but he never goes to the cool side in the first place

What is the night time temp?
Room tempature, 78

Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Stick on

Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Stick on

Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
No

What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
Crickets less than an inch length, inch at max, he seems to go for the biggest one, superworms that he never eats

How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Around 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM, but many times he will only eat once a day

How many live feeders do you offer at time?
3-5, but lately only 1 because that is all he will eat

Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Yes, with potatoes

Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)?
Yes, Zoo Med's Reptivite

How many days a week do you use each of them?
Each day before offering him crickets

Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Yes, 1-2 a day

Do you bathe your dragon? How often?
Yes every other day in warm distilled water

Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
No mist, but water is offered in a bowl

Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
No

Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
No

 

[nathb1]

My bearded dragon curls his hands/wrists backwards to where he sits on the backs of his hands occasionlly, but only when sitting, he can walk on his bare feet just fine. I have only had him for two weeks so if anything is wrong it was petco's fault. Secondly, he only eats about 2 crickets each day, about around 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM he will go hunting, he isnt very good so i ussally help him out, but once he has eaten one cricket he immediatlly goes back to his log and basks. Lastly, I would like to buy a new basking bulb to raise the tempature of his cage, any recommendations as to what to buy, and what wattage? Here is a list of my stuff:

How old is your dragon?
Possibly 5-6 months

How long have you had your dragon?
Two weeks

How long is your dragon?
About 4 inches not including the tail, with the tail about 7 inches.

What is the sex of your dragon?
Possibly Male

What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
10 gallon (i plan to upgrade to a 40 gallon in the future)



What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Repti Carpet

Do you use UVB lights?
Yes

If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
No

What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
Reptisun 10.0 15w

How old is your UVB bulb?
1 week

How close can your dragon get to the UVB, and where is the UVB bulb located?
About 7 inches, the Reptisun is mounted to a fixture within the cage with no plastic covering on the light fixture.

Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb?
Yes, emits a yellow light, came with the desert starter kit from petco, I do not know its wattage, planning on buying a new one but I don't know what to buy.

Do you have any type of night time heat source (ceramic heat emitter, colored bulb, etc)?
No

How long are lights on each day?
About 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM

What are the basking temps?
I have a crappy thermometer that says its 92 degrees

What is the cool side temp?
I don't know, but he never goes to the cool side in the first place

What is the night time temp?
Room tempature, 78

Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Stick on

Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Stick on

Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
No

What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
Crickets less than an inch length, inch at max, he seems to go for the biggest one, superworms that he never eats

How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Around 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM, but many times he will only eat once a day

How many live feeders do you offer at time?
3-5, but lately only 1 because that is all he will eat

Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Yes, with potatoes

Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)?
Yes, Zoo Med's Reptivite

How many days a week do you use each of them?
Each day before offering him crickets

Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Yes, 1-2 a day

Do you bathe your dragon? How often?
Yes every other day in warm distilled water

Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
No mist, but water is offered in a bowl

Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
No

Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
No

Hi,
You have any pics?
You need a bigger tank to start with its hard getting the right temp with a 10 gallon.That might be the issue.
You needs a probe or temp gun to get accurate reading it might be way hotter than you think in there or vice versa.
I have snakes and was recommended not to use distilled water due to lack of minerals.. but not sure for beardies. My BD doesnt drink at all in bath or bowl..

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Is your UVB light a tube bulb, correct & it is mounted underneath of the screen top?
A 10 gallon isn't really large enough for a dragon that age, though. It's very difficult
to maintain a proper temperature for him. It can get way too hot for him.
You will need to get a digital probe thermometer for measuring the temperatures
more efficiently.
Does he have a pretty good appetite most of the time, or has he just been a little
picky? Are the insects smaller than the space between his eyes?

Tracie

 

[Ancline]

I really like megaray bulbs, but if you want to use that you'll need a bigger tank, 10 gallon is barely the right size for a baby. Megaray bulbs produce both heat and UVB, though if you want to really make sure your beardie doesn't get MBD use the florescent tube you have on the cool end as supplemental.
On the issue of the toes being held up, I've seen many dragons do this when basking and sitting. My own dragon does this occasionally but more often when he was a baby and juvenile. From what other people have told me and some vet experts online have told me is that holding their fingers up and sitting on the back of their palms is a normal behavior in bearded dragons, especially as they bask or stand in one spot for a long time. One of the best guesses I heard was that if a beardie doesn't feel safe enough to lay down and spread out their legs (look up "bearded dragon sexy leg") they will raise their claws like this to stimulate blood flow. kind of like if you had to stand up for a long time and your feet were getting tired so you would shift your weight to one foot then the other.
However if this behavior is couple with "star gazing" (your beardie looking straight up for long periods of time sometimes coupled with swaying) then I would see a vet, this could be indicative of Atadenovirus which is an incurable disease that can cause your beardie to suffer a long and painful death. (not to scare you or anything)

If you haven't seen a vet and don't have the money to spring for one I would still highly recommend a yearly fecal exam, (http://beardeddragonobsession.org/health/fecal-testing/) it's only $12 + envelop postage and very much worth it.

I would definitely look into getting a bigger viv for your dragon in the near future, 40 gallon is minimum and barely adequate, 70+ gallon is recommended but a bit hard to find in stores. The bigger floor area the better as bearded dragons tend to be more terrestrial than arboreal.