My new baby beardie hasn’t been eating very well so I called the place I got him from and they said that his enclosure is too big. I had read that an enclosure couldn’t be too big, was this wrong? I can’t attach a picture for some reason but his enclosure is 42x20x30. He said the number one reason bearded dragons die is because people place them in a 40 gallon right away and that that is too much for a baby. Do I need to downgrade him for now or will he eventually get used to it?
Well yes and no --- first off please dont listen to the pet store people ---- and yes for a 100 gallon tank I would say to take you tank and divide it in half - or even a third for now - get your UVB and your basking bulb on one end of the tank along w/ his decor --- its going to be easier to get him hand tamed in a smaller tank and just all the way around care for him now - if you have a smaller tank like a 20 gallon or a 40 gallon would be fine - I dont know what you have on hand even a plastic tote would be good a 20 gallon - hes going to go thru relocation stress that is a given and his eating will be off but you want him eating something so w/ that being said we need to go over your lighting and basking temps--- please NO coils for UVB and you need a digital probe thermometer --
please post a pic of the tank https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on the XIMG at the top of the message box then click on the pic it should post
Hi there, can you post pics of the baby and also of the entire enclosure ? Show pics of the lights as well. Did the baby come from a store and the enclosure is one that you ordered ? Here's how to poost pics :
Well yes and no --- first off please dont listen to the pet store people ---- and yes for a 100 gallon tank I would say to take you tank and divide it in half - or even a third for now - get your UVB and your basking bulb on one end of the tank along w/ his decor --- its going to be easier to get him hand tamed in a smaller tank and just all the way around care for him now - if you have a smaller tank like a 20 gallon or a 40 gallon would be fine - I dont know what you have on hand even a plastic tote would be good a 20 gallon - hes going to go thru relocation stress that is a given and his eating will be off but you want him eating something so w/ that being said we need to go over your lighting and basking temps--- please NO coils for UVB and you need a digital probe thermometer --
please post a pic of the tank https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on the XIMG at the top of the message box then click on the pic it should post
It's not like a big chain pet store but yeah I definitely take what they say with a grain of salt. I don't think I can really divide it unfortunately because of the way I have it set up. I don't have any tanks on hand either but I could potentially use plastic tote, but if I do I'll still have to buy new lights and stuff because the ones I have now are gonna be too big. He's been eating a bit, just not as much as I read they would, but luckily his appetite does seem to be increasing each day and today he ate a decent amount of BSFL. I have a few digital probe thermometers and a gun one. Cool side is 70-75 depending on time of day, middle is around 80 and hot side is around 90 with 110 surface temp. I'm also getting him a new basking bulb tomorrow so hopefully that helps his energy levels and appetite increase a bit.
Hi there, can you post pics of the baby and also of the entire enclosure ? Show pics of the lights as well. Did the baby come from a store and the enclosure is one that you ordered ? Here's how to poost pics :
I posted a pic of the enclosure above. Pics of my beardie:
I got him from a store but I talked to the owners and they get their babies from local breeders. The enclosure is a DIY. Lights are a 10.0 Reptisun UVB and a halogen basking bulb, but I'm getting a different basking bulb tomorrow.
Please get a bright white basking bulb-- off colored and yellowish are not recommended- you will find him more energetic- his appetite should increase as well-
It's good that his appetite has increased, he is just settling in then and should be O.K. He looks very alert/healthy and is not real tiny so he will most likely be fine. He looks to be around 8-9" long ? The enclosure is beautiful, very well done.
Please get a bright white basking bulb-- off colored and yellowish are not recommended- you will find him more energetic- his appetite should increase as well-
It's good that his appetite has increased, he is just settling in then and should be O.K. He looks very alert/healthy and is not real tiny so he will most likely be fine. He looks to be around 8-9" long ? The enclosure is beautiful, very well done.
Okay that’s good. I’m using mainly black soldier fly larvae and some crickets to give him some variety. I give him greens too of course but he usually just eats a bite or two and then won’t touch it depending on the day. My mom said no dubias because she hates roaches lol.
O.K, eating crickets and bsfl is good, keep offering greens at least a fe times a week. You can even try waving a leaf of kale, collard, turnip, mustard greens in front of him to see if that will get him interested.
O.K, eating crickets and bsfl is good, keep offering greens at least a fe times a week. You can even try waving a leaf of kale, collard, turnip, mustard greens in front of him to see if that will get him interested.
Alright. I give him greens every day and yeah I always wave them by his face haha, some days he takes it others he just stares at me like I’m a weirdo. I’m not too worried since he’s still little, I’m guessing he’ll start eating more greens as he gets older.