Finally new bearded dragon owners

[F2M2]

We were supposed to get our dragon almost 4 weeks ago, but they came in small and we had to wait.

I stopped in at the pet store today to check in on them, and they said they were ready to go home. So, a stressful (and too fast) drive home with the heat cranked in the car, my son's (and let's be honest dad's) new bearded dragon is sitting inside his cardboard delivery box in our tank. He has almost come out a few times, but every time once his nose sticks out he scuttles back inside and climbs the wall of the box.

His arrival (they are guessing it is a male at the pet shop, but make no guarantees as he is so young) has also allowed me to have my first reptiworm fiasco.... I put ten reptiworms in a bowl to see if that would draw him out.

There are now zero reptiworms in the bowl (ah....they can climb glass can they) and he has eaten none of them, so they are lose in the tank.

So here is my first official bearded dragon question: I don't want to stress him out, and I know he is supposed to hang out with out handling for 2-3 days in his new home. So is there any issue with just letting those ten reptiworms live in the tank for the next few days?

I don't think there is from what I have read, but thought I would double check. I would rather not panic the dragon anymore by starting to lift paper towel, branches, and rocks to find the escapees.

Thanks!

My son doesn't know he is here yet, so no name yet. I can't wait to surprise him!

 

[F2M2]

Well "No Name" (my son says he needs the dragon to be around for awhile before he can pick the final name) has been with us for last night and all day today.

Last night he was quite active (I didn't realize Beardies can jump) moving from rock to branch to hammock and back. We managed to get him to eat 6 reptiworms, and a bit of endive, but that is it.

He slept on his hammock on the colder side of the tank, which actually fell to about 62 degrees last night, while the warmer side was around 70. If they get cold do they move? Or once asleep will they stay asleep even if they do get to cold? I wasn't sure what to do so I moved the CHE a bit closer to him and let him sleep.

Today he has barely moved. He just lies on his rock, and changes the way his head points every now and again. He won't eat anything so far.

I know that the first few days can be tough, but it is a bit worrisome watching him not eat, drink, or even move really. Here's hoping to a better day 2!

 

[F2M2]

Day 2 proved just as interesting as day 1 but in an entirely different way.

We were worried about hydration this morning, so I took a piece of endive with water in it and touched it to his nose, transferring a drop of water to his nose. This worked, and each time he shook his head, but also drank some of the water. We did this about five times, and it really seemed to perk him up.

Then he crawled under his rock and hid. He would come back out, but any time I came near, he would run back under the rock, making us think that he wasn't so keen on the water transfer method I used. This lasted from early morning until feeding time when he finally stayed out when I approached.

We managed to get him to eat some arugula tonight which was exciting. He still won't touch the reptiworms.

He also won't go anywhere near his basking spot, which is set to 110, taken with a digital probe. He gets about have way up his branch maximum, and it sits around 90-95 degrees. If I increase light to raise the temp on his branch, he just drops down to the rock. So at the moment he doesn't seem to like temps above 95 degrees. Not sure what to do about this, if anything at this point. The other concern is that because he won't go to his basking spot he is not getting super close to his UVB light.

Another day tomorrow.