Darker than usual, would realy like some input/help

[GiseleC]

Hi All,
this is a long one, sorry theres a cute moment in here though

My husband and I just got our first bearded dragons a couple of weeks ago they are about 7ish weeks old from what we can tell (7'' and 8'' long) we believe mine is female and his might be a male (the store was unsure but guessed he/she was female, but we suspect from watching some behavior that it may be a male. only time will tell!) Anyway, his was just finishing a shed and for a couple days was not quite as active as mine and wasnt eating quite as much. It just seemed a bit annoyed/ tired/cranky. He also seemed to get darker somedays with some stress marks on the belly. We were still able to hold him no problem and he still ate, we just noticed he was a bit slower going that mine for a bit. that seems to have mellowed out back to normal and his stress marks are faded and hes a sweet, active, cutiepie. Well I came home yesterday from work and took a look at them like i always do, say hi and whatnot, they looked fine. mine (Luna) was a bit darker but she was under the heat so i figured she was just absorbing some heat. I went for a run and about 45mins later came home and she was dark. her tail is still normal but her body is darker than usual and she has some stress marks on her belly. not sure if she is starting a shed or not. she seemed a bit more sketchy and alert. we fed them crix for supper and they both ate about 20 each (roughly). we put them back in their basking spot to help digest. a couple hours later we picked them up to play like we always do. we clear out the hallway and block off the exits so if they can explore but if they get wild we can catch them (they are still young haha) although they are pretty easygoing, just currious. i was worried that Luna wouldnt let me hold her as she looked a bit stressed but i picked her right up and brought her over to the halway. i set her on my knee as usual. she was looking around attentively but still not freaking out. then she walked over to my stomach and "bumped it with her nose" lol i asked "do you want up?" i leaned back and she crawled right up my front and layed down on my shoulder to sleep lol. i love that this is her new favorite spot <3 anyway, im just wondering if it is normal that her body get darker but her tail stay the same if she is going to start a shed. she is still a hardy eater and gets right to it when we put her in the feeding bin.

enclosure details:

we have a repticarpet for flooring, they are housed together in a 40gallon but we will be separating them when they get a bit bigger, at the moment they seem comfortable with each other and they have a big log for basking that also provides cover for when they want to be alone and not see each other lol. there is also a hide that they never go in, they just bask on it lol. mine prefers that spot. there is also a hammock in the cool side. the basking area is around 105-110 and the cool side is around 75-80. we use a temperature gun/sensor that you hold 2" away and scan (i dont recal the name of it). they usually have dandilion greens and collard greens, sometimes asparagus in their dish durring the day, a water dish aswell. they are still getting used to eating veggies but will pick at them and eat some. there is no left over poop or uneaten food in their terrarium to stress them out and we have a separate tote bin we use for feeding their live food. (we keep their space very clean) we also dust their crix in calcium with D3 for morning feedings everyday and vitamin dust 2x a week. they also love silk worms which we give them 1-2x a week. they have a uvb bulb. I believe its the Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 mini compact fluorescent bulb (it came with our terrarium in a set). i know that coil bulbs are bad but is this one ok? its not coiled like those home energy saver bulbs you would have in your house. i plan on buying the Reptisun 10.0 tube bulb (the long one that everyone recomends) when i can afford it. but if the one i have is one of the bad ones that causes eye problems than please let me know! i want whats best for them and ill switch it if its necessary. we bathe them about every 3 days which mine seems to love! as soon as she gets in the water her body goes limp and she practically sleeps! she pancakes right out! haha its cute.I thought she was dead or suicidal for a min lol. i put a facecloth in the bath so they have something soft with traction so they can walk and not freak out lol. we use a CHE for night time (despite the store saying the red bulb would be fine, HA!) their BM's look fine. Solid-ish brown with urate and some liquid (they like to drink the bath water haha so they stay hydrated.we also spritz them with water once a day. no visible sores, burns, etc. from what i can tell she seems healthy, but they are really good at hiding things haha. anyway sorry for the long post, if anywone has any input on this id appreciate it. it would easy my mind haha. THANKS!

 

[GiseleC]

Hi All,
this is a long one, sorry theres a cute moment in here though

My husband and I just got our first bearded dragons a couple of weeks ago they are about 7ish weeks old from what we can tell (7'' and 8'' long) we believe mine is female and his might be a male (the store was unsure but guessed he/she was female, but we suspect from watching some behavior that it may be a male. only time will tell!) Anyway, his was just finishing a shed and for a couple days was not quite as active as mine and wasnt eating quite as much. It just seemed a bit annoyed/ tired/cranky. He also seemed to get darker somedays with some stress marks on the belly. We were still able to hold him no problem and he still ate, we just noticed he was a bit slower going that mine for a bit. that seems to have mellowed out back to normal and his stress marks are faded and hes a sweet, active, cutiepie. Well I came home yesterday from work and took a look at them like i always do, say hi and whatnot, they looked fine. mine (Luna) was a bit darker but she was under the heat so i figured she was just absorbing some heat. I went for a run and about 45mins later came home and she was dark. her tail is still normal but her body is darker than usual and she has some stress marks on her belly. not sure if she is starting a shed or not. she seemed a bit more sketchy and alert. we fed them crix for supper and they both ate about 20 each (roughly). we put them back in their basking spot to help digest. a couple hours later we picked them up to play like we always do. we clear out the hallway and block off the exits so if they can explore but if they get wild we can catch them (they are still young haha) although they are pretty easygoing, just currious. i was worried that Luna wouldnt let me hold her as she looked a bit stressed but i picked her right up and brought her over to the halway. i set her on my knee as usual. she was looking around attentively but still not freaking out. then she walked over to my stomach and "bumped it with her nose" lol i asked "do you want up?" i leaned back and she crawled right up my front and layed down on my shoulder to sleep lol. i love that this is her new favorite spot <3 anyway, im just wondering if it is normal that her body get darker but her tail stay the same if she is going to start a shed. she is still a hardy eater and gets right to it when we put her in the feeding bin.

enclosure details:

we have a repticarpet for flooring, they are housed together in a 40gallon but we will be separating them when they get a bit bigger, at the moment they seem comfortable with each other and they have a big log for basking that also provides cover for when they want to be alone and not see each other lol. there is also a hide that they never go in, they just bask on it lol. mine prefers that spot. there is also a hammock in the cool side. the basking area is around 105-110 and the cool side is around 75-80. we use a temperature gun/sensor that you hold 2" away and scan (i dont recal the name of it). they usually have dandilion greens and collard greens, sometimes asparagus in their dish durring the day, a water dish aswell. they are still getting used to eating veggies but will pick at them and eat some. there is no left over poop or uneaten food in their terrarium to stress them out and we have a separate tote bin we use for feeding their live food. (we keep their space very clean) we also dust their crix in calcium with D3 for morning feedings everyday and vitamin dust 2x a week. they also love silk worms which we give them 1-2x a week. they have a uvb bulb. I believe its the Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 mini compact fluorescent bulb (it came with our terrarium in a set). i know that coil bulbs are bad but is this one ok? its not coiled like those home energy saver bulbs you would have in your house. i plan on buying the Reptisun 10.0 tube bulb (the long one that everyone recomends) when i can afford it. but if the one i have is one of the bad ones that causes eye problems than please let me know! i want whats best for them and ill switch it if its necessary. we bathe them about every 3 days which mine seems to love! as soon as she gets in the water her body goes limp and she practically sleeps! she pancakes right out! haha its cute.I thought she was dead or suicidal for a min lol. i put a facecloth in the bath so they have something soft with traction so they can walk and not freak out lol. we use a CHE for night time (despite the store saying the red bulb would be fine, HA!) their BM's look fine. Solid-ish brown with urate and some liquid (they like to drink the bath water haha so they stay hydrated.we also spritz them with water once a day. no visible sores, burns, etc. from what i can tell she seems healthy, but they are really good at hiding things haha. anyway sorry for the long post, if anywone has any input on this id appreciate it. it would easy my mind haha. sorry i didnt get any pics of her last night. THANKS! this is Luna soaking up some heat on her water dish (this is from last week - her normal look)

this is my husbands beardie - Tigrex lol

and this is them snugling up at bedtime (the living room light was on so i could take the picture, we shut it off after so they could sleep )

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....sounds like everything is good. A bit darker is fine, but it could also be mood. Babies can actually be stressed by the presence of another even if you can't detect it. And neither the compact or coil are really good UVB, the Reptisun 10.0 or Arcadia 12% tube gives the best coverage.

 

[GiseleC]

thanks for your reply! my husband is home now and said that her colour is more normal but her tail has changed so im thinking she is about to shed. I am planning on getting the reptisun 10.0 (the tube one) on my next pay as i put all my extra money into paying off my student loan (hope to be done with it this weekend!! ) i will have to wait a bit on getting another terrarium as we dont have the space or money just yet. Unfortunately the pet store assured us that keeping 2 beardies in one 40gallon was fine... of course i reaserched before i bought them but they assured us it was ok.. and i only found this forum after we had bought them. otherwise i would have posed the question on here before hand... for the time being, they seem fine so we will take things as they come. we will keep a close eye on them and when we can we will get them separate enclosures with the best lighting we make sure to take them out everyday and give them excersise and time apart so i think that helps.

this was them at bed time the other day

 

[AHBD]

That is a very cute pic, photo contest worthy And yes, beardie may be heading for a shed. As long as 2 are in the tank, be sure to provide plenty of food to minimize the risk of a tail or toe nip. Sounds like you're taking great care of them !

 

[GiseleC]

thanks! this is one of my favorite pics of them they always have fresh veggies durring the day and we feed them crix in the morning usually 20 each and they are done and want out of the tub (storage bin). then we feed them about 20 more for supper. sometimes we feed them 3 silk worms (smaller ones) and throw in about 20 crix so they eat about 10 each and they are done and want to come out. feeding them in a separate bin makes a huge difference i find. we can monitor how much they are actually eating, its easier for them to catch, and we dont have to worry about any leftover crix hiding in their terrarium bothering them at night and pooping in their food dish. they also accociate the bin with food so as soon as the lamp above it turns on, they know its time to eat and as soon as we put them in there they get to work! haha. when we tried feeding them in the tank, they would sometimes take their time, keep basking, or give up because the crix would hide under stuff. now its as soon as the light for the bucket is on, time to eat! cleanup is a breeze! we try to take the best care possible with them we have never had beardies (i had a snake when i was younger but this is completely different lol) and no matter how much you may know about them, as soon as something is slightly off, you cant help but worry! glad this forum is around! i go on it daily and read the ER and health sections often so i know what to do if my beardy comes accros any of those issues (hopefully not though!)

 

[CooperDragon]

They're cute little ones and it sounds like they're off to a great start. The skin darkening is usually either them trying to absorb more light/heat, or it's like a mood ring. In this case it sounds like just normal basking behavior. You'll see them turn lighter - sometimes almost one solid color - when they have had enough and want to deflect heat/light. Dark colors and dark beard can also mean they are upset about something. That doesn't sound like the case here. After a while you'll be able to pick up on their visual cues and determine their moods. It just takes some time together. Keep in mind that their language is primarily visual =). As far as the UVB bulb goes, keep an eye on them and if they start to act lethargic, lose appetite, or start closing their eyes a lot it may be good to replace it. Otherwise I'd save up to get nice T5 tube UVB lights for their individual enclosures a bit down the road. The coil bulbs release a very narrow and intense area of UVB right under the bulb and the exposure drops dramatically as you move to the sides or too far away from the bulb. The tube lights provide a much more even and wide distribution across the basking area which is better in my opinion.

 

[GiseleC]

thanks for the reply! i have noticed them change colour based on absorbing heat etc. but this was a bit different from what i could tell. the tail was normal. my husband was home today and said that she is more normal now but her tail is darker so i suspect a shed is on the way. his just finished shedding. i will definitely be keeping an eye on them to make sure they are comfortable and happy.

 

[Drache613]

Merged by Moderator to have both threads together.

 

[GiseleC]

Looks like it was because of shedding. Her colors are back to normal. In fact she seems more yellow to me now and my husbands shed like crazy last night! Haha we gave them a bath and that really helped with the itching. After that they both went to sleep

 

[GiseleC]

Hi,

so saturday we went to petsmart and they had the Reptisun 10.0 on clearance so we bought 2 now we are trying to find the best way to light the tank. we have one of those double dome fixtures that came with our terrarium and a separate dome for our CHE. now we have the Reptisun tube light. we have a 40 gallon. so right now we are having some trouble as we dont know what the best way to set everything up is. the top of the tank splits in two so the front portion slides out so you can clean the tank, take the beardies out etc. so the lights are all on the back portion. im thinking of going to to canadian tire and getting a hallogen flood bulb (i believe is what they are called) to replace my red basking bulb as i hear that they prefer bright white light. i i am thinking of having the Reptisun 10.0 along the left side and having the flood bulb in the left side of the double dome fixture and putting the CHE in the right side of the double dome fixture. i know this may be hard to understand without pictures (sorry, i take lots of pics of the beardies but they never really show how the tank is set up). Im hoping someone can help with this as my husband and i are a little saddened/frustrated with geting it all set up and comfortable for the critters. and at the moment, its hard to tell if they like it because they are both going through a shed so they are stressed and annoyed anyway lol. any help would be appreciated!!! we just want them to be happy.