Excessive Tank Dancing and Not Eating!

[raidiowires]

Hiccup hasn't been eating, and I know because the crickets are piling up and he isnt pooping. Its been two days now and I haven't noticed a bowel movement or him eat even meal worms I offer.
Instead, he acts like he is trying to get out of his tank the whole time. He doesnt actually try, if he really wanted to he could. But he pushes up against the glass and scratches and freaks out with surprising enthusiasm. He's just been squirming around for two days, and when I owned rats I knew that was a sign they were about to die.
I KNOW I'M PROBABLY JUST FREAKING OUT.
But someone console me.

 

[raidiowires]

I'm getting really concerned and it's getting really annoying. Does anyone know why? Is his tank too small? I don't think it is, neither does anyone who has seen it but they could be wrong. He can fully turn around everywhere and hide under several stones, it should be ideal.
Could he be getting too hot?

 

[Mediabandit]

How old is your Beardie? How long and how much does he weight? What type of light are you using for the basking spot? What type/brand light are you using for his UVB? You should not be feeding him mealworms, are you feeding crickets in his main enclosure and then just leaving them in there? What is the basking spot, warm side, cool side temps? How often does he poop? How often do you bathe him? What greens do you give him?
Try answering these questions and we can at least get an idea of what is going on and go from there. You can also post pics of the Beardie and the setup too, that would be helpful.

 

[raidiowires]

I have a 100Watt bulb, I bathe him twice a week, he is about six inches in length without his tail and he's too young to eat any greens I give him. He loves carrots, and I do leave the crickets in his cage with him. This sort of happened by accident, I gave him crickets and thought he ate them but they were hiding and so I gave him more. But they came out of hiding. They crawl all over him and he just doesn't eat them.

 

[mikewithsfi]

Not to keep asking questions, But... It would not hurt to get a bigger tank. Unless you have a temp gauge in the tank and tell us what the temperature is we can not answer that. If you have your beardie in a 10 gal tank with a 100 watt bulb then it is possible it is too hot. Especially if you dont have a cool spot. My beardie does the tank thing as well, but the temp is spot on for both heating and cooling sections. My beardie eats well and poops well. I see alot of people try to guess why a beardie is doing certain actions, truth be known unless you are missing a vital key to your beardies health no one can say for sure. Are they wrong for the guess or suggestion? not at all. So when every one throws these questions at you they are only trying to trouble shoot your problem.

When crickets are left in a tank over night they can do 2 main things critical to your beardies health. The first is they nibble on your beardie, causing sores and or infections.. The second thing they can keep your beardie up, distract his sleep and throw his sleep eat wake pattern off.

Clean his tank make sure there are no crickets in there. Second monitor the temp in his cage. And because your beardie is not eating crickets try feeding another protien source. To see if it is just the crickets or he just is not eating.

I do hope you figure out your problem. If you do have other info you can give that will be great.

 

[raidiowires]

I had no idea! I'll get a bigger tank as soon as possible, and get the crickets out of there tonight before he goes to sleep. Thank you very much, in the mean time I'll dial down to a 75 watt bulb.

 

[Maxwellsmomma1989]

ya hes probly too hot..or maybe he dont want to poop in his cage because its soo small? maxwell use to window dance just to get out of his cage to poop so i learned when he window danced to get a bath ready and he would do in there instead..potty training made simple!. deffinatly get something to measure the temp i use a probe thermometer those ar echeap and last forever!! i have had mine for two years without changing the battery. just stick the probe on his basking spot wait 45 minutes and go check the temp for how small he is anywhere between 90-110 is good then move it to the cool side and measure there the same way..anywhere between 70-80 is good there as well..having the temps off can really hurt teir appetite just learned that. and yes try different things beardies are like children and get tired of the same food at times lol

 

[traceyb73]

I just came across this post and was wondering how Hiccup is doing today. I hope alot better! Hopefully the crickets being out of there helped.

 

[raidiowires]

I just came across this post and was wondering how Hiccup is doing today. I hope alot better! Hopefully the crickets being out of there helped.

I took her advice and got a 29gallon tank and changed the bedding to fake grass carpet stuff and he's been doing so well I was able to introduce another dragon into the family without him getting possessive of space! I'm no longer so worried about his health. I'm sure the tank size was the only problem. Before it was maybe a 15, but he's grown up now.
He's still not eating his crickets so I'm not introducing any more into the tank. he has been eating premade bearded dragon food pellets, which is surprising.

 

[kcarello]

Did I read that right??? You got things right for this one and then you went and bought another one and put it in the same tank???????????

 

[mikewithsfi]

Wow I just read your last post as well.. I am not going to ask you the same question as kcarello did since her multiple ????? emphasizes our concern. To start a new topic, he may not be possessive now, but having 2 beardies in the same tank may cause problems. They may get along for many years to come or they may fight until one gets extremely hurt or even worse. My advice is to get a separate tank and keep them separate.

 

[traceyb73]

I just came across this post and was wondering how Hiccup is doing today. I hope alot better! Hopefully the crickets being out of there helped.

I took her advice and got a 29gallon tank and changed the bedding to fake grass carpet stuff and he's been doing so well I was able to introduce another dragon into the family without him getting possessive of space! I'm no longer so worried about his health. I'm sure the tank size was the only problem. Before it was maybe a 15, but he's grown up now.
He's still not eating his crickets so I'm not introducing any more into the tank. he has been eating premade bearded dragon food pellets, which is surprising.

I strongly recommend checking out these threads. Beardies are NOT supposed to be housed together. (Even if they were, each of them would still only have less than 15 gallons each. )I know it felt like a good idea and I KNOW you had the best of intentions, but after learning everything I have on this site and (the worst part) seeing pics of what happens with more than one beardie to a cage is frightening. The second thread is for one called "petsmart" but the pics made me cry and that's not easy to do. Also, I am no expert, but it makes me wonder if it might not make Hiccup sicker than before due to stress issues. Beardies are creatures of habit and very sensitive animals...any change will cause stress also surprisingly (to me anyway) they are not social animals and putting more than one together is asking for trouble, doesn't matter if they are babies or adults. Please don't misunderstand, I am NOT trying to be pushy or bossy, I just think it might be a good idea to read these threads. I read of two beardies that were together for something like 5 years, always did great, the one day there was a real problem and we all know vet visits aren't cheap for a check up, much less emergency visits/surgeries. Most people with more than one beardie can't even let them see each other in different cages. I know personally I never would have known this...you walk into any petstore and rarely you will see one beardie to a cage, but you will also see missing toes, limbs, tails, scars, stacking (one beardie on top of the other. This is NOT for heat, it's dominance), the list goes on and on. Might want to check out Craig's List for another cage . I hope this helps!!! But on a good note, congratulations on your new little one.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=154908

Petsmart thread, about half way down the second page...
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=174281&start=15

 

[raidiowires]

I HAVE REMOVED THE BABY DRAGON.
I moved him to a 20 gallon tank, thankfully I have a backup light. I'm terribly sorry, I thought only males had this problem and both mine are girls. I love them both and am keeping her, but I will not let them get close until she is older. I know when I introduced the two in the bathtub with no water they did not fight and I have been paying very close attention to them and they havent been, but I do not want to risk it. Thank you very much. I feel like an *****.
I don't know what I would do without this site!

 

[traceyb73]

I HAVE REMOVED THE BABY DRAGON.
I moved him to a 20 gallon tank, thankfully I have a backup light. I'm terribly sorry, I thought only males had this problem and both mine are girls. I love them both and am keeping her, but I will not let them get close until she is older. I know when I introduced the two in the bathtub with no water they did not fight and I have been paying very close attention to them and they havent been, but I do not want to risk it. Thank you very much. I feel like an *****.
I don't know what I would do without this site!

Oh thank god! I've been worried about you and the kids all morning!

Like I said, you had the best of intentions and we all know that. Please don't feel that way!! I am here because I made some major mistakes and my first one died! I was really hoping you didn't take that message the wrong way.

That being taken care of, how are the kids? Hiccup still feeling better? How old is the new kiddo?

 

[Derobmi]

I didn't see you mention a UVB light, just the 100/75 watt basking bulbs. I might have missed the mention, but I just want to make sure you have UVB lights for both of your babies

This thread is helpful for setting up proper lighting.