Grumpy baby or something else?

wanderingmoonmen

Member
Original Poster
Hi all! I have an 11 month old (est) male beardie and I'm a little concerned with his current behavior. Now I did move out from my parents (finally!) to an apartment a little over two weeks ago. During the move I gave him superworms since he loves them and he will gladly eat them. He's back to crickets (and I'm trying some dubia roaches and he's not impressed so far) and he's eating very sporadically. I've chalked this up to him being a butt and just wanting his wormies, but there has been other changes now.
Overall he's been pretty content and doesn't seem stressed (he does get upset when I'm at work all day, he's used to my parents visiting him during the day). I always make sure to give him cuddles and attention and running around time when I get back and he's happy with that. I had to get him a new tank fixture because his old one broke in the move, but he's been using it ok and doesn't seem to mind (it is bigger and he can fit on it better)
This past weekend, however, he's seemed to almost withdraw a little bit? He has a dig box and he'll get himself settled in there (sometimes before dinner, sometimes early in the afternoon) and won't leave it. I've gotten him out for feeding (with mixed success) and he'll resume normal activities (basking, maybe eating greens, running around, etc) for the most part. He hasn't pooped in a little bit, but with him not eating a lot I'm not sure how much he has to poop (I did give him a warm bath and gave him a little stomach massage with no luck).

Tldr; there's been a lot of changes recently for my beardie, and he seemed pretty lax about most of them and has been acting normal up until this past weekend where he has seemed to withdraw and want to stay in his dig box, but when taken out he's content to resume normal activities. Is he just being a grumpy baby now with the move? Is he trying to brumate? Is there something else going on?

I attached a pic from a few months ago from when I first assembled his big boy terrarium (48x24x18) for a general idea of setup (there has been a few adjustments since then) and a pic of him in his dig box. I am a first time beardie parent so I'm just trying to calm some of my worries.
 

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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Hi all! I have an 11 month old (est) male beardie and I'm a little concerned with his current behavior. Now I did move out from my parents (finally!) to an apartment a little over two weeks ago. During the move I gave him superworms since he loves them and he will gladly eat them. He's back to crickets (and I'm trying some dubia roaches and he's not impressed so far) and he's eating very sporadically. I've chalked this up to him being a butt and just wanting his wormies, but there has been other changes now.
Overall he's been pretty content and doesn't seem stressed (he does get upset when I'm at work all day, he's used to my parents visiting him during the day). I always make sure to give him cuddles and attention and running around time when I get back and he's happy with that. I had to get him a new tank fixture because his old one broke in the move, but he's been using it ok and doesn't seem to mind (it is bigger and he can fit on it better)
This past weekend, however, he's seemed to almost withdraw a little bit? He has a dig box and he'll get himself settled in there (sometimes before dinner, sometimes early in the afternoon) and won't leave it. I've gotten him out for feeding (with mixed success) and he'll resume normal activities (basking, maybe eating greens, running around, etc) for the most part. He hasn't pooped in a little bit, but with him not eating a lot I'm not sure how much he has to poop (I did give him a warm bath and gave him a little stomach massage with no luck).

Tldr; there's been a lot of changes recently for my beardie, and he seemed pretty lax about most of them and has been acting normal up until this past weekend where he has seemed to withdraw and want to stay in his dig box, but when taken out he's content to resume normal activities. Is he just being a grumpy baby now with the move? Is he trying to brumate? Is there something else going on?

I attached a pic from a few months ago from when I first assembled his big boy terrarium (48x24x18) for a general idea of setup (there has been a few adjustments since then) and a pic of him in his dig box. I am a first time beardie parent so I'm just trying to calm some of my worries.
Hes going thru relocation stress so his eating is going to be off - the one thing I noticed is the UVB -- what type of screen is on your tank ? Fine like a screen door or a wide hole type - from what I can see it looks like a fine mesh- if this is the case I recommend you move it into the tank - what brand and bulb are you using T 5 or a T 8- this is going to make a difference for distance and how old is the bulb?
 

wanderingmoonmen

Member
Original Poster
Hes going thru relocation stress so his eating is going to be off - the one thing I noticed is the UVB -- what type of screen is on your tank ? Fine like a screen door or a wide hole type - from what I can see it looks like a fine mesh- if this is the case I recommend you move it into the tank - what brand and bulb are you using T 5 or a T 8- this is going to make a difference for distance and how old is the bulb?
the light is an "Arcadia ProT5 12% UVB Bulb With Hood × 1." It's a fine mesh and my concern with putting it in the tank was I thought it could hurt him since it's only 18" tall. I put the bulb in the beginning of May this year (basking bulb I changed out... 3-4 weeks ago? Temps have been ok I checked after moving)
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
the light is an "Arcadia ProT5 12% UVB Bulb With Hood × 1." It's a fine mesh and my concern with putting it in the tank was I thought it could hurt him since it's only 18" tall. I put the bulb in the beginning of May this year (basking bulb I changed out... 3-4 weeks ago? Temps have been ok I checked after moving)
Please unobstruct it- the mesh is blocking 30% of the rays- your tank is tall enough - distance needs to be 12-15 inches directly over the basking decor -I also recommend getting 2 digital probe thermometers for surface basking temps- IR guns are good but can be off w/ certain materials being used for decor - they cannot read off of hammocks - make those adjustments and watch the behavior of him - please change the bulb out in approx one year I recommend a month prior to
 

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