First-time Beardie Owner

[EmpNortonII]

Hey! I'm a first-time beardie owner, 15-year iguana veteran (she passed away recently, but lived a good, long iguana life). Anyways, I brought my little bundle of joy home today. I've got a fairly simple set-up, paper towels, a 105 degree basking spot, and about 77 at the cold side of the enclosure. So far, I like Croaker for a name. He's orange and yellow, and he's a wee over six inches.

How long until these guys usually start eating? I put some crickets in his cage 5 hours after I brought him home, but he wasn't interested and I re-captured them after a half hour or so. He has some mustard greens I chopped up, but similarly ignores them. He doesn't seem afraid of me at all- he ignores his hide and goes from trying to escape to basking to trying to escape.

He also closes his eyes a lot. I'm not sure if that is a good sign or not.

I'll put up pics once I have some.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Hello and welcome. He probably is just stressed from relocation. Just give him a few days to adjust but still keep feeding him. Also can you run over your setup with us as in what type of UVB do you have, what are your temps and how are you measuring them? Also we love pictures here!

 

[Kacymyree]

Welcome! I agree with relocationstress. And yes, we do LOVE pictures here

 

[EmpNortonII]

Alrighty- first off, some pictures.

Here's Croaker, perched on what will one day be a feeding bowl. Right now, it's mostly something he likes to climb on every now and then.

Here's a top-down pic for size comparison with my thumb.

I had two Exo-Terra UV lights, but when I looked around on the site. I returned them and got a Power Sun light, which does seem to have stimulated his appetite! I got the light home and started at 11:00 Am yesterday, and three hours later, tried the crickets, and he gobbled down about a dozen for lunch and another ten or so for dinner. Today, he had a healthy breakfast of crickets. He's not seemed too keen on mustard greens, but I'll keep trying them.

The temps vary a wee bit depending on the time of day, etc. I have a Temp Gun (the PE-1) from Pro-exotics, which is one very neat toy.

His color can vary a LOT compared to an iguana- igs get a little brighter in dirct sunlight, but it is nowhere near the same color range. I suppose I get nervous about not understanding his behavior. Specky had a very expressive face (for an iguana), and between that and the very blatant behavior (escapism being I want out, tail-whipping being I don't like strangers, cocking her head to look at strange things, especially up high where she can knock them down and break them), I always knew what was up with her. I've looked at stuff about stress marks and color change, and it seems they do it for way too many reasons for me to interpret well just yet.

He's always bright while hunting, which makes me worried that he may be bored or craving attention. I'm not sure how much I should handle him in the first few days.

 

[Kacymyree]

wow he's tiny! I don't know where you read about the Power sun... but you should return that! The best choice for UVB is ReptiSUN 10.0 the cheapest place to buy one is www.petmountain.com
Hope that helps!

 

[EmpNortonII]

Kacymyree, I'll return the power sun and look at Repti Sun. Are there any other products you recommend/condemn for BDs? I'm using Reptical and the Herp vitamin supplement by the same company for dusting the crickets.

Speaking of crickets, I did have an incident with them. The box I bought (250 in cardboard) had a hole in it somewhere, and about fifty or so of the things escaped all over my room! I caught most of them over the course of a few hours, but it was a headache and a half.

 

[Kacymyree]

The dust i use is made by Rep-cal. both the herp and the calcium. Only products i would be seriousl careful with is lighting and substrate. Once you get the Reptisun you'll be fine. And i would absolutely stay away from sand, but i see you're using paper towles so you're fine!

 

[EmpNortonII]

New behavioral traits today. First, in the aftermath of dinner, he ran over to my hand and climbed onto my finger. I'm PRETTY sure he hasn't bonded with me that fast. Plus, he was very adventurous when out of his cage. Climbing up/down my back and hands or leaping onto nearby furniture rather than sitting still, THAT reminds me of Specky. It also makes me think he hates his enclosure or is bored. I may also be anthropomorphising too much. He has started sleeping on a shirt I put in his enclosure, which I guess is a good sign.

I also think he may be on a different time schedule. The coloring always gets worse later in the day ( he looked gorgeous after an hour of basking, and faded over the day), and he's awake before me. It makes me feel awful that he's up and looking at me when I wake up at 7 AM. One of us'll adjust, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose this one. At any rate, I'll call the breeder tomorrow and ask about his fomer sleeping schedule.

I have an ex from long ago who had a beardie who used sand once He (the beardie) grew to sub-adult or so. She (the owner) claimed he died of bowel impaction. I think her new guy killed him (the beardie), but can't prove it, past his (the new guy) fear of crickets. At any rate, sand scares me. I'll look for a repti-carpet one of these days, but no sand.

 

[Kacymyree]

I'll look for a repti-carpet one of these days, but no sand.

You should check out Ceramic tile for your future enclosure. Its easy to clean, doesn't harbor bacteria like sand will, and it helps to sharpen your beardies nails.It also looks nice and doesn't have to be taken out and washed/soaked like Repticarpet.

 

[EmpNortonII]

I've got a while til I have to look into it, but I definately will. THANK YOU.

He's started shedding today- first bit of old skin I've noticed fell off of his chin while I was handling him. Baths daily should make sure he does so well, as I read. He still gets stress marks, and still darkens his colors a lot, but he does brighten up, especially in the mornings. Boredom theory has some explanation power. He still sleeps on my shirt, which makes me think he's definately not bothered by me.

I REALLY wish I knew what was going on in his cute little head. He's absolutely adorable, but I feel like a fool.