he's not eating or doing much at all

[H3RB]

i bought a dragon on wednesday, and since having him he has only eaten and pooed once, the first day we got him we gave him about 4 meal worms, now i know that was the wrong thing to do so we bought some small crikets.
he ate the meal worms straight away.
but now he wont eat anyhting, i have tried crickets every day so far but he's not interested, he just sits in his water bowl with his eyes closed and every now and then tries to climb the glass.
my temps are 98° at the basking end (75wbulb but thinking about changing to a 100w)
83° at the cooler end where his water is.
he goes to bask every now and then untill he opens his mouth then runs back to sit in his water.
ive tried feeding him salad but he wont have any same with crickets they just crawl over him and he just sits there.
i bath him every day in luke warm water for about 15mins and now his tail and claws have started to turn a dull orange. could of this be due to shedding? or something more serious.
he is about 9 inches maybe 8 and weighs 36g, im using a reptisun 10.0 for uv and switch it on about 8am and off about 11pm but i always leave the heat bulb on is this right?
any help is great i dont want my little fella to die

 

[beardie parents]

First, what are you using to check the temps, a stick on or a digital with probe? Second, do you leave the heat bulb on all night?

If you are using a stick on to measure the temps, they could be way to hot.
If you leave the heat bulb on all night, it's probably keeping him awake and he's not getting enough sleep, it's suggested on here that you only leave the day lighting (this is both the heat bulb and the uvb) on for 12 to 14 hours a day in the summer, you can lower it to 10 hours on in the winter when the days are shorter. All my beardies seem to be ready to go to sleep about 4pm every day. I guess in the wild (from what another told me and an experience we had 4 years ago) from about 3:30 to 4:30 pm they look for a place to sleep. This makes sense as in the wild they have to protect themselves while asleep so they need to find a place where they can't be seen by preditors. I just noticed he only basks for a little while, it's probably because it's to hot, which at 98 degrees in the basking spot means that you probably have a stick on, in which case it could be as much as 20 dregees warmer at the basking spot. If I'm wrong, correct me.

That's the only thing I can think of right now.

 

[H3RB]

yeah i have 3 stick on temp gauges. one reads 95-100 depending how hot the room is another reads 90 and the last reads 80.
the pet shop told me to leave the heat bulb (infa red) on all the time.
he seems to liven up every few hours having a little run about and climbing his log. im still yet to see him eat tho, tryed hand feeding him salad and opening the tub of crickets in his face so he can take his pick. just doesnt seem interested.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

You will need to get a digital probe or a temp gun to accurately measure the basking temps. He may be getting too hot since the stick on type of thermometers are off by up to 20 degrees at times as suggested.
The times for the UVB & the heat lamp should be 12 hours of daylight & 12 hours of nighttime. He needs darkness during the night & it is not necessary to heat the tank unless the temps in the tank fall below 55 or 60, no problem. They sleep better when they can cool down a bit.
How close is the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb?
Are you using calcium supplementation?
The infrared is not bright enough of a basking light & it is not bright enough to protect his eyes against the UVB light either. You will need to get a bright white basking light such as a halogen flood light, those work very well & are a nice white to yellowish spectrum.
The crickets will stress him if they are kept in the tank for long periods of time. Try getting a plastic bin to feed him in instead of his own tank. Put just a few in with him at a time, so he doesn't feel overwhelmed. If he eats those, then, you can put a few more in for him.
I hope he starts feeling better for you soon.

Tracie

 

[diamc]

Is the Repti-Sun a fluorescent strip, coil or compact bulb? And how far away is this bulb when he is in his basking spot?

 

[H3RB]

thanks for the replies
the reptisun is a strip light 24" long. its also about 13inches from the bottom of the tank and about 6inches from the highest part of his log but he rarely sits that high.
im using cricket dust made by kamodoe so not sure whats in it.

 

[H3RB]

well he's pooped today, and seems 10x more lively but still yet to see him eat. but hopefully he will be even better tomrrow

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great that he seems to be doing better today. How well did he eat? Keep us posted on him.
I am happy that you have the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb. How often does he sit at the 6 inches distance from the UVB light? If he doesn't sit there very often, then you should consider moving the UVB light closer to where it can be 6-8 inches from him more consistently.
Where in relation to the UVB light is the basking bulb?
The dragon dust is ok, but, I feel that it does not have enough straight calcium to fill the calcium requirements needed. I would suggest getting Repcal calcium with D3, or you can use Jurassical calcium as well, either products are fine.


Tracie

 

[H3RB]

he still hasnt eaten anything that we saw but today we put 3 crickets in the tank and 15mins later there were only 2, so maybe he ate it or maybe it escaped lol.
he sit at the top of his log today for a while which is the closest to the uv bulb.
the reptisun runs the across 90% of the tank and the heat bulb in the far right side of the tank at the end of the reptisun tube.
i turned his lights off about 11pm tonight and just checked him while he was asleep and he was DAMN cold, but the temps are still in the 70's is that normal? lol

 

[H3RB]

hes finally ate today yay
we went shopping and bought some salad, we ave his some brocoli, baby spinage and butter nut squash. i the the brocoli and spinage arent the best of salads for him but at least he ate tried to take the bowl out to chop the squash more finely and he wouldnt let go, had to carry him to the kitchen in his bowl whilst he much away. hoping now he will get his appetite back and start on the crickets.
can i sprinkle some calcium powder on the salad? atleast he will be getting some calcium etc that way

 

[Drache613]

Hello,
That is great that he finally ate for you. That is fine, you can sprinkle calcium on his greens & veggies daily for him. Was he actually IN his salad bowl? That is so funny he did not want to let you have it back.
I hope that he starts eating crickets for you soon. Make sure to round them up so they don't stay in his tank with him for too long as they can bite him.
Yes, that is quite normal for them to be cold while they are sleeping, that is fine. They sleep better when they cool off like that for overnight.
I am happy he seems to be perking up for you. Your lighting is fine, too. Hopefully he will start spending more time on top of his log closest to the UVB light now.


Tracie