Is he just a dud?

[dmglakewood]

I love my bearded dragon but looking at these forums makes me realize that he doesn't do any of the cool stuff on here lol. He doesn't play with stuffed animals or push balls around. I'm lucky if I catch him moving at all. He just lays around all day and sometimes he lays with his back half down and stands up with his front arms. He wont chase crickets or anything like that. If the cricket isn't right next to him he will no go after it. He's never used any of the caves that have been in his tank. He never even really goes to the cool part of his cage. He sits in the light all day long and when it shuts off he sleeps there. Then he starts over the next day. His temps are 102 in the basking area and 75ish in the shaded area. At night it drops to around 65-70 depending on the temp outside. I use a reptisun10 uvb bulb. We feed him crickets and a mixture of greens and squash daily. He gets misted with water about twice a week and we bathe him once every other week.

He doesn't seem to have any health issues or anything like that. He has a 2 layer viv and if I take him off the top basking spot and put him on the bottom he jumps on the stick (it's a good 6" jump it's quite impressive) and runs to the light.

Is there anything I'm doing wrong or is he just lazy? I want what's best for him and he seems to sad just laying around all day. =/

 

[TASTIGER]

how old is he lol? hes not a dud most beardies just sit around basking

 

[dmglakewood]

He is like 8 months old. He's in a 4x2x2 enclosure and he just sits in a 1ft by 6" platform all day lol.

 

[TASTIGER]

2 layer meby its to cold on the bottom so he stays at the top where the heat is.

 

[dmglakewood]

2 layer meby its to cold on the bottom so he stays at the top where the heat is.

That's good thinking. I've only ever checked cold side temps on the cold side of the 2nd layer. I've never checked the cold side on the bottom. Since heat rises I assume it would be colder. Not to mention that the tile is probably cold too. Hmm this changes a lof of things now. What if I used one of those flat tank heater things under the tile to keep them warm but not burning. I will also check the temps and see if I can't get some more heat down there.

 

[Jess]

I wouldnt worry about it- My 10 month old is pretty much the same way LOL! He has never been as active as others, but he is still healthy and happy, and thats what matters! Some times he will have hyper active bursts though... He is kinda weird.

Have you tried taking the basking platform out? When I had a basking platform in Winks viv, he was even less active than usual. He just didnt want to move off of it, unless he wanted to go sleep at the cool end... It was like his little island, LOL! He has a whole viv to move around in, but he just stayed in his little 12" x 12" space! When I took it out, he was a little more interested in his surroundings.

 

[keschete]

I love my bearded dragon but looking at these forums makes me realize that he doesn't do any of the cool stuff on here lol. He doesn't play with stuffed animals or push balls around. I'm lucky if I catch him moving at all. He just lays around all day and sometimes he lays with his back half down and stands up with his front arms. He wont chase crickets or anything like that. If the cricket isn't right next to him he will no go after it. He's never used any of the caves that have been in his tank. He never even really goes to the cool part of his cage. He sits in the light all day long and when it shuts off he sleeps there. Then he starts over the next day. His temps are 102 in the basking area and 75ish in the shaded area. At night it drops to around 65-70 depending on the temp outside. I use a reptisun10 uvb bulb. We feed him crickets and a mixture of greens and squash daily. He gets misted with water about twice a week and we bathe him once every other week.

He doesn't seem to have any health issues or anything like that. He has a 2 layer viv and if I take him off the top basking spot and put him on the bottom he jumps on the stick (it's a good 6" jump it's quite impressive) and runs to the light.

Is there anything I'm doing wrong or is he just lazy? I want what's best for him and he seems to sad just laying around all day. =/

Do you play with him? Do you take him out and let him move about your sofa, or bathroom or living room?

My dragons just hang out in their cages, well Ash does, Diablo tries to make a mess.

But if I get them out and let them roam, give them a bath, interact with them, then they interact with me. They both go sun with me outside, go to the pet store, and I push them to engage.

 

[dmglakewood]

I love my bearded dragon but looking at these forums makes me realize that he doesn't do any of the cool stuff on here lol. He doesn't play with stuffed animals or push balls around. I'm lucky if I catch him moving at all. He just lays around all day and sometimes he lays with his back half down and stands up with his front arms. He wont chase crickets or anything like that. If the cricket isn't right next to him he will no go after it. He's never used any of the caves that have been in his tank. He never even really goes to the cool part of his cage. He sits in the light all day long and when it shuts off he sleeps there. Then he starts over the next day. His temps are 102 in the basking area and 75ish in the shaded area. At night it drops to around 65-70 depending on the temp outside. I use a reptisun10 uvb bulb. We feed him crickets and a mixture of greens and squash daily. He gets misted with water about twice a week and we bathe him once every other week.

He doesn't seem to have any health issues or anything like that. He has a 2 layer viv and if I take him off the top basking spot and put him on the bottom he jumps on the stick (it's a good 6" jump it's quite impressive) and runs to the light.

Is there anything I'm doing wrong or is he just lazy? I want what's best for him and he seems to sad just laying around all day. =/

Do you play with him? Do you take him out and let him move about your sofa, or bathroom or living room?

My dragons just hang out in their cages, well Ash does, Diablo tries to make a mess.

But if I get them out and let them roam, give them a bath, interact with them, then they interact with me. They both go sun with me outside, go to the pet store, and I push them to engage.

Yes I hold him and pet him a lot. I don't let him roam free around the house because I have a very friendly dog that thinks it has to bite everything in order to play with it. I do interact with him though.

 

[TASTIGER]

you could always close off a safe room and let him roam

 

[keschete]

Yes I hold him and pet him a lot. I don't let him roam free around the house because I have a very friendly dog that thinks it has to bite everything in order to play with it. I do interact with him though.

Go in your bathroom and shut the door. Let him take a bath in warm water and then dry him really well. Then let him wander around on the floor. Or go in a small room and close the door. If you want an active beardie, he needs to have some type of enrichment. Just holding and petting isn't the same as interaction with the environment.

People think beardies aren't smart because they are reptiles, that was my take on them also. Once I got a beardie, I realized that they are very intelligent and they get bored just being confined in small areas.

My beardies like riding on my dash board in the car, they like going out and about with me. I know they like it because they aren't stressed and because they look around, they lick things and show a curious side. They watch things, they want to get off me and explore....

I think that beardies really need to be able to explore in a safe environment for their mental happiness. Put the dog in a crate or room for 1/2 an hour. Your beardie may start becoming more animated. He may just be bored.

 

[YATES]

Great info above. My beardie is also super lazy and stuck on his platform (yes temps are great). I take him out and let him roam almost every day and he does perk up and occasionally run for a short period. I think I will try more roaming time but is it a problem that I only have time to let him roam before his lights are out?

 

[RoninSTi]

How long has it been since you changed your UV bulb? I know alot of times if the animal is showing signs of lethargy, it might be lacking the proper UVB exposure. Try a new bulb, also exploring time can't hurt either. Whenever we're in the office/zoo, I take Uncle Beardie out and let him roam around. He's very curious and loves to check everything out.

We have one of those repti-hamock things and when he's not hunting, he's always lounging on his hammock.

 

[diamc]

I'm curious too as to how old your UVB bulb is. Are you using a fluorescent or coil/compact bulb? What is the distance of the bulb to your beardie? What type of thermometer are you using?

When you mist him, make sure you don't do it inside the tank as it will raise the humidity too high which could cause an upper respiratory infection. Getting misted twice a wk and a bath every other week really isn't enough for proper hydration. You might want to increase the baths to about 3 times a wk and see if you notice a difference in him.

Perhaps he is tired of crickets, have you ever thought about offering different feeders? I know I wouldn't want to eat the same thing day after day. :wink:

How often are you dusting his feeders with calcium and vitamins?

I totally agree with keschete, they are very smart creatures if you know what signs to look for, they have a body language that tells us a LOT. Sounds like he needs more interaction with you.

Moved here from General Discussion forum

 

[dmglakewood]

Okay just an update....

I went out and purchased a 75 gallon tank with stand for his new house. I kept everything on 1 level instead of 2 levels. I set everything up and then placed him in the tank. At first he seemed a little stressed out and his colors were really dark. I laid there for a while just taking in the new place I guess. I wanted to see if he was hungry so I put in a few crickets. He jumped up really fast and ran over and ate the crickets. I haven't seem him do that in months. He usually doesn't even seem interested in the food. Sometimes I had to catch the crickets and wiggle them in front of him to get him to eat. Not only is he eating much better he seems a lot more alert. When I move around, his head will follow me around. Before he wouldn't even bother moving.

All in all I think the tank is working out much better for him. His temps seem to be spot on so he's really happy with that.

My UVB is a tube bulb and it's about 3 months old now. I'm going to replace it anyways as I'm getting him a 48" bulb now.