Handling a new beardie

[Kacuram]

We just brought out baby home about and hour ago, the lady at the store told us not to handle him/her for about a week to have him get used to his new environment. Is the correct? I don't want to not be handling him if we could be. Also, I am scared that it is isn't warm enough for him. The thermometer is in the back for the tank on the side that I have the basking light and the uv light. It only reads 90 degrees. We have had the lights on for an entire day to warm the tank up so it would be ready for him to come home, but that doesn't seem to have mattered. He is currently sitting under the basking light, but not as high as he could be. He hasn't really moved since we put him in there. I feel like I have a newborn child all over again.

 

[ofcourseilikepasta]

Your beardie is probably pretty scared in it's new home. They are correct when they say you shouldn't really handle them for about a week. You don't want to add to it's stress. I'm assuming you have the stick on thermometers, those aren't very accurate. You'll want a digital one with a probe. Just keep an eye on your beardie, offer it food 2 to 3 times a day even though it might not eat for a bit due to it getting used to it's new surroundings. It's always intimidating getting a new pet and having to care for it like a child!

 

[diamc]

How exciting for you and your family. Any idea how old the beardie is or what the length is from tip of nose to end of tail?

Handling a new beardie depends on how the beardie acts. If it acts very nervous, just feed it & give it a bath in a few days. You can try misting the nose with a spray bottle to see if it wants to drink. Also keep an eye on the coloring, if has stres marks on its belly, you certainly wouldn't want to make it more nervous. But, if after having it for a few days and it has a pure white belly and the rest of the coloring is nice & bright, you can try picking it up and letting it sit in your hand to see how it reacts.

I agree that you need a better way to check the temps as the stick-ons can be off 20 degrees or more. The only 2 ways to get accurate readings are with a temp gun or digital probe.

What brand & type of UVB did you get and what is the distance to your beardie when in the basking spot? What size is the tank & what is the wattage of the basking bulb and is it a white one?

 

[Kacuram]

How exciting for you and your family. Any idea how old the beardie is or what the length is from tip of nose to end of tail?

Handling a new beardie depends on how the beardie acts. If it acts very nervous, just feed it & give it a bath in a few days. You can try misting the nose with a spray bottle to see if it wants to drink. Also keep an eye on the coloring, if has stres marks on its belly, you certainly wouldn't want to make it more nervous. But, if after having it for a few days and it has a pure white belly and the rest of the coloring is nice & bright, you can try picking it up and letting it sit in your hand to see how it reacts.

I agree that you need a better way to check the temps as the stick-ons can be off 20 degrees or more. The only 2 ways to get accurate readings are with a temp gun or digital probe.

What brand & type of UVB did you get and what is the distance to your beardie when in the basking spot? What size is the tank & what is the wattage of the basking bulb and is it a white one?

She/he is 8 weeks old, I got her at a small local pet store. We have zoo med lights, reptisun 5.0 uvb, and a repti basking spot light. The basking is white and 100 watts, there is a spot that is six inches away from the closest spot in the tank. But she sits at a lower spot. We have a 40 gallon tank, which seems HUGE right now. She ate 5 crickets this afternoon. She does have the stress marks and some blackness in the beard area. But she is very alert and watches us as we move around. We also have a night heat lamp, it is black.

 

[diamc]

The small local pet shops usually take better care of their beardies than the large pet stores so it's good you got it from there.

I imagine the 40 gallon tank does seem huge with that small beardie in there. If it seems uneasy with the size, you could put a petition down 1/2 of it and then as your beardie adjusts, you can slowly increase the size of the area it is in. You could use cardboard, plyscore or something similar.

Since she/he isn't basking right under the lights, it could be too hot or it could be stress related. If you have a Walmart near you, they have the Acurite digital probe thermometers which will give you the basking & cool side temp at the same time as well as the humidity level. Here's some info about them: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BO8CUE?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00 Lowe's or Home Depot should have them or perhaps another brand. If the side of the glass is reading 90, the basking surface temp is definitely higher and that's why it's important to get a good way to check the temps. You may not need a 100 watt bulb in that sized tank, I use a Zoo Med 75 watt basking bulb in a tank that size and an 80 watt mercury vapor bulb in the other 40 gallon.

Is the Repti-Sun UVB bulb a strip fluorescent tube or a compact bulb like this one?

You may not need to use the black lamp as nighttime heating is only necessary if the tank temp drops to 65 or so. If it does, we recommend using a ceramic heat emitter that gives off heat but no light so it doesn't disturb their sleep.

That's good that she ate 5 crickets already, sometimes new beardies don't want to eat at all for many days. It can actually take them up to 2 wks to settle in. Great that she is alert and likes watching you.

 

[kbkels]

It may be that the entire tank isn't up to temp, but her basking spot is more than likely the right temperature. I can't tell you how many times I have burned my hand on those things just by keeping it under the heat too long when feeding her @_@ My tanks temp is reading about 93F right now but I am well aware that right under her basking spot is more than warm enough. My light is about 6-8 inches away from her platform, and I have 2 sticks acting as ramps going up to her basking area. Right now she is laying on the middle of one of the branches probably because its the sweet spot between the hot side of the tank and the cool side