lilly might need your help...

[Lovethelife07]

ok...so rickki *my 5 yr old dragon* just died about a year ago and i figured it was time to get another one...

lilly is a 7 week old sunburst...very pretty...and i brought her home two days ago. she still hasnt pooped or ate anything...ive tried greens/crickets/phoenix worms...nothing i wont give her mealworms just because i dont like them for babies. but i dont know why she isnt eating...she is on paper towel...she has a r-zilla two in one lamp *uva/uvb/heat*...and the temps are perfect *ambient/heat/cool*-nothing in my eyes seems wrong with the viv at all but she still isnt eating. at first i thought it was relocation stress but after two days i thought that it should go away...i left her alone the first day *minus the feeding* and the today i tried feeding and she got a bath.

does anyone have any idea why? or has this happened to anyone else?

 

[keschete]

The first little baby I got from a pet store never really ate well. But the more worried I got the more I messed with him and tried to force him to eat and I think that stressed him more and after 2 1/2 weeks he died.

I am not an expert, but my advice...don't mess with him too much. Get some phoenix worms, you can order online and put them in a dish that you can leave in your viv. Leave him some greens mixed with a little water and just wait. Someone else also told me to use turkey or chicken baby food mixed with squash baby food and put a little on his snout over his mouth. But remember the more you mess with him, the more stress there is. The more stress he has the less like to eat.

The bathing, misting, no water debate is also confusing. Some people say soak them, some say mist them and some say leave them be and just put some water with the veggies. I would say do what ever is the least stress on your dragon. If he isn't freaked out by soaking, then soak him, other wise mist him.

Also with the lights, do some reading here. Compact fluorescent bulbs can be bad. I went through two hoods and 4 or 5 different lights because I listened to the pet stores and read the books. The info on this forum seems to be more accurate. But you still might get different opinnions. I have just a 18 inch fluorescent reptisun 10 and a 75 watt basking bulb for 36x12x16 aquarium.

I hope I helped some....there are many very knowledgeable people here.

 

[Lovethelife07]

my best friend recommended this breader because said friend sells him leopard geckos...he uses the ones i use so i dont really think that the light in general is a problem...the wattage might be but from what ive read on here no one seems to oppose it.

i have 600 phoenix worms here that i tried to feed him...but i never tried putting them in a dish cuz all of mine always crawled out of it lol then died around the cage in odd places. but ill try that with some greens and water...i noticed that the stress marks are still there and it seems like they havnt changed too much since i brought him home. i assumed that he would have them i just didnt know how long it would take for him to be ok in the enclosure ya know...

ill definately try what you said thanks and as soon as my camera is up and running ill be sure to post pictures of my lovely lady
thanks
~amy

 

[blondie098]

Hi Amy, the relocation stress can vary in timeframes, some have experienced it for 2 days, others for 2 or more weeks... patience!

Give her everything she needs (live food, etc.), but just watch her... depending on how much the breeder handled the beardies will also make a difference in how long it takes her to warm up to you. Once you do start handling her, some people have used a worn t-shirt with their scent on it in the viv, which helps them to adjust to "mama's smell"...

Just remember if you release live feeders into the viv (to avoid handling her for the first days), remember to round 'em up or they can pester your baby at bedtime (sometimes crix will chew on dragon, too).

We rescued our Xena just before xmas '08 -- she was 3-1/2 years old, and had never been properly cared for... it took us over 6 weeks to get her to settle down and trust us, and she still has days where she is stressed (especially now when we're starting to take her outside for sunshine)... But just sitting near Xena's viv watching her seemed to let her observe US and realize we wouldn't touch her just because we were near, seemed to help. Now, 5 months later, she's a snugglebug, and a spoiled little baby.

 

[UTreptiles]

It is almost common for this to occur when I dragon is relocated or thier environment changes. This can last a couple of weeks sometimes. Just keep making the greens available. You could try putting some pheonix worms in with the salad. That sometimes works. Maybe it only eats when you are not around. That sometimes happens too. Have you tried to put some in the cage and leave the room for a little bit? Come back in and count to see if any are gone.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The Zilla lighting series are the worst lights that you can get. Which Zilla light do you have, is it a flourescent tube bulb, or a compact or coil light? What type of basking light are you using? Is it a bright white light or a colored light?
Here is a report for you to read, explaining about the Zilla lights, in full. They are extremely hazardous lights, in general, so I urge you to take the light combo back for a full refund & get the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb & use a bright white halogen light as the basking light. These lights have dangerous photo therapy phosphors that were used & were allowing UVC wavelengths as emissions. They have numerous cases where the reptiles did die from the use of these lights.
You can get the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb here for a great price:
http://www.petmountain.com/category/286/1/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs.html


Here is the website with a report on the Zilla lights for you to read:
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm

In the meantime, you will need to begin rehydrating him daily, since he has been exposed to these hazardous lights. Please turn off the lights, & just put in a household lightbulb for basking or a halogen light until you get the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube light.


Tracie

 

[Lovethelife07]

well i got the light from the breader...he uses it which doesnt make sense if they are harmful because yeah i have heard that about some coil lights...its got a blueish heat light that makes the cage bright white *cuz of the papertowel lol* and a small circle-like light for the uvb...its the two in one lamp. ill read that report and see what comes out of it today...ill also see if he will take it back...i dont know why he would use it on all of his for so long if its bad though

and she ate TWO crickets this morning!!!! a step in the right direction lol...maybe she just needs to get acclimated to her new home?

and i have been just sitting by her cage *its in my room so i just go chill on my bed and watch her sometimes*

one more question...i noticed its not getting as hot as it needs to be at night...i left the heat lamp on but not the light last night but i dont know if anyone has any suggestions about a heat pad and where to place it or anything. she slept on her hammock last night all sprawled out lol it was so cute.

oh and i do have a little blanket i made in her cage in the corner. its got my scent on it lol i did hear something about that a while ago so i tried it. we will see how it goes. im going to get a camera today so ill get some pictures up of everything once i get back
thanks everyone

 

[Lovethelife07]

and i read that article...it says that the reptisun along with 3 or 4 others including the one i have HAVE done that but a small number...if the reptisun is included then why should i buy that one?
and how out of how many animals was this study done? cuz to be honest...i could make a survey bashing a reptisun if i took the right samples...im not trying to be mean or anything but my breeder has been using these since they came out and he has never had problems so im not too sure its the light...i might need a stronger watt but ugh so frustrating...she has only eaten two crickets today

 

[citrusdragon]

I was reading the posts and I agree relocation stress can take a week or even more sometimes. The thought I had that has helped others in the past is to paper the sides of the tank, sometimes all 4 for a couple of weeks to let the baby calm down. Sometimes the over stimulation of a new environment (i.e. glass cage) can be stressful. I know my babies start out in Sterilite bins and sometimes the adjustment to a normal cage can be too much.

Assuming temps are good (my babies thrive with a daytime ambient temp in the mid 90s), you must be careful to make sure the dragon is well hydrated. Even if the dragon doesn't eat, hydration is important for when it does to prevent impaction.

Hydration, and proper temps will create appetite, you just have to be patient.

Jeff

 

[Neromom39]

If you do a search on the forum regarding the Zilla brand lighting (or coil, etc) you will see numerous posts about beardies who are unable to open their eyes due to the damage being done by these products. If breeders are using these products, they are not holding on to the babies long enough to see the lasting effects. Most people will change the husbandry once they get their beardies. And pet stores only sell them to make money. You did post asking for help and advise.... the lighting you are using could be a factor. Once you make this small change you will undoubtedly see a BIG difference.

Good luck

 

[Lovethelife07]

ill change his light and see if there is a difference
and i do have backing on three sides of my tank...cuz i know about the stress that can be had due to that...well thanks guys
im gonna wait it out and see if anything happens...he ate another cricket for me a few min ago

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[Lovethelife07]

ok so i got a heat light/night light *cuz my cage doesnt get as warm as it should at night and i need to get a uvb light...anyone know where to buy the best uvb light?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

If you want to get the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb, you can get it here:

http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html

This is the BEST light you can get, the Megaray:

http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-sb-100-watt-self-ballasted-flood-uvb-lamp.php

If you want to get a mercury vapor bulb, you can get either a T-rex active UV heat or a Solar Glo here:

http://www.reptilesupply.com/index.php?cPath=26_33

Let us know if you have any questions.

Tracie

 

[Lovethelife07]

yeah ill be getting the reptisun
i have a 20L tank right now will a reptisun 10 be big/good enough?
thanks for the help