I'm a new bearded dragon owner.

[Andrea10858]

Hi, I'm new to the whole owning a bearded dragon thing and some of the things mine is doing worries me. Ever since we got her from the pet store she's been in what i think is brumation. she just lays on her cactus and sleeps all day but when i wake her up she will eat the food in her bowl. i'm not sure if theres any way i can make her come out of brumation and be more active. will someone please help me? :?

 

[Katie007]

How old is she?

 

[Andrea10858]

How old is she?[/quote
um we bought her in december and when we bought her she was like 4 weeks so i think shes about 5 months or so

 

[Katie007]

Im not positive, but I think thats too young for it to be brumation.

 

[Andrea10858]

then im not sure whats wrong with her im very worried. her cage is 90 degrees and she doesnt avoid the basking lamp she just sleeps alot im not sure if thats normal for babies to do.

 

[Katie007]

I would up her basking temp some. But for now could you list your set up?

Lights and brands?
substrate?
temps- hot side and cool side?
type of thermometer you're measuring with?
types of greens and feeders you're feeding?
size of tank?

 

[Andrea10858]

Lights and brands: im using a lighting lamp and an 80 watt heating lamp and an 80 watt night lamp all made by repto
substrate: she has repto carpet
temps- hot side and cool side: hot side is about 95 cool side is 75
type of thermometer you're measuring with: the one that came with the cage
types of greens and feeders you're feeding: she is eating dusted crickets and mealworms and she is getting a variety if greens like cucumber and spinach sometimes and broccili and bell peppers and strawberries and other things that i got from a list off of this forum.
size of tank: 20 gallon we have a 40 gallon for when she gets bigger.

 

[Katie007]

Lights and brands: im using a lighting lamp and an 80 watt heating lamp and an 80 watt night lamp all made by repto
substrate: she has repto carpet
temps- hot side and cool side: hot side is about 95 cool side is 75
type of thermometer you're measuring with: the one that came with the cage
types of greens and feeders you're feeding: she is eating dusted crickets and mealworms and she is getting a variety if greens like cucumber and spinach sometimes and broccili and bell peppers and strawberries and other things that i got from a list off of this forum.
size of tank: 20 gallon we have a 40 gallon for when she gets bigger.

Ok, I think you beardie might just be stressed, so bear with me, Im gonna tell you some things you need to change. First, you need to get a ReptiSUN UVB tube light, and you need to turn off your night lamp. Dragons can see any kind of light and it disrupts their sleep, which might be why she's sleeping during the day. Your basking spot temp should be between 105-110 at the surface and the cool side around 80-85. If you need more heat you might need to get a 100 watt basking bulb or double up with a clear household bulb (no "soft light" bulbs). You need to get a digital thermometer with a probe or a heat gun, dial thermometers can be up to 20 degrees off. NO MEALWORMS! They have too hard of a shell and can cause impaction which can be fatal. Also no spinach. This is a good site to use to decide what to feed: http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html If you make these changes I think you will see a lot of improvement with your little one.

 

[bdalton]

do you have a bulb that produces uvb or just the heat bulb? Is it a regular light bulb or does it look like the coil bulbs or a long tube?

Also, you need to get a digital thermometer. Lighting and temps are the MOST important factor in a beardies life, so you have to know the exact temp for the basking surface and cool side. The digital thermometer has a long wire probe that you put directly on the basking spot to get a temp, and you can't do this with the thermometers that stick to the glass. I don't know where your located, but Walmart has a good digital thermometer around 10$ that will give you the basking and cool side temp and humidity level, its accurite brand, and if you don't have walmart you can get one from amazon.com. This is really important.

How long has he been like this? He's definitely not brumating. He's too young and its not even the season. Also, mealworms aren't good, they can't digest their shell and can impact them. When was the last time he pooped?

www.beautifuldragons.com/nutrition <---- this site has a color coded list of what to feed and how often. Fruit is more of just a treat where vegetables have more nutrition. Collard, turnip, dandelion and mustard greens are all good staple greens.

Don't use ANY lights at night. They need complete darkness to sleep. If it doesn't go below 65 in your house at night no heat is necessary, but if it is below 65 you want to use a ceramic heat emitter because it only puts out heat and no light.

The more info you can give the more we can help. Do you know the brand of your light?

 

[Andrea10858]

the light i have is made by repto and its a night light it says it emits heat but no light. and she poops every day she hasnt had any problems with the mealworms.

 

[Andrea10858]

ok thank you so much you have been a very big help

 

[bdalton]

You NEED, i repeat NEEEED, a light that produces UVB, along with a bright white basking bulb. For the basking bulb it can be a regular old household bulb, but for uvb you need to get a special reptile bulb. You want either reptiSUN (available at www.petmountain.com) or arcadia 12%. These are long tube bulbs, so you will need a undercounted light fixture (walmart 8$) to put it in, and mount it inside the tank with velcro or command hooks. Your beardie cannot survive without uvb. Even just a month without uvb is harmful. You absolutely have to get one of these ASAP!! They need uvb to absorb calcium and without will develope calcium deficiency, leading to metabolic bone disease, leading to death.

So, you have no actual lights in his cage? just one that puts off heat, but no light?

 

[Andrea10858]

i have the long tube light that sits across the topo of the cage but i was saying that at night the light i use doesnt give off light just heat. i got her cage and the lights plus the long tube light in a reptile beginner package made by repto