Merlin says hello!

[vanessaDRUZ]

Hey everybody!

My name's Vanessa and I just got my baby bearded dragon named Merlin last week!
I'm a first time reptile owner so all of this is very exciting yet also nerve wracking for me, but I hope I get a hang of it in the coming months and years with my beardie

I had to transport him from my mom's house to where I live in Montreal (Canada), a 5 hour drive, and since then he's been a little different, sleeping a lot and not eating his crickets as much, but I'm assuming that's just him dealing with the trauma of moving

Also, as I said I've had him for a week and he still gets scared and runs away every time I try to put my hand in near him,
so how long do you think it will take him to warm up to me and want to be held, and is there anything I can do to make that happen easier?

Also any advice you can give would be great!

here's a picture of the cutie pie:

and sleeping like a cat:

 

[sweetiepie9]

Hi Vanessa and welcome to this site

There is something called relocation stress that affects all beardies, sometimes just making changes in their tanks can cause it. The move, plus being winter, could be why he's a bit off, but I'm sure, giving him a few more days will help.

The set up being correct is also very important. So the UVB light (what type do you have?) and the basking temps (should be about 105F) are the most important thing, also dusting 1 feeding a day 5x/wk with good calcium without phospherous & with Vit D3 is essential for growing strong bones, dusting 1 feeding 2x/wk with a good vit/min powder is also very important. Keeing him hydrated with a daily soak, about 10-15 min in a small container with warm water to his armpit, will do the trick.

He's a cute little guy, how old is he? I just love babies, I have 5 adult males, so no babies here, but they are just so cute.

He'll get used to you in time, one trick I've been told by several owners is to put a t-shirt you haven't washed into the corner of his tank, he'll sleep on the soft cotten and breathe in your scent. The combination seems to de-stress them, too, so try that.

Any other questions, please feel free to ask, anything that helps a new owner & her new baby!
Deb

 

[jezwolf175]

Welcome. Your new beardie baby is adorable.

 

[vanessaDRUZ]

thank you! yes he is very adorable, I'm actually not sure how old he is tho

the lamps I'm using are the ones that came with the Zilla bearded dragon kit
so that's the Desert 50 UVB bulb by Zilla (its the spiraly one) and day blue light for heat,
how do I make the temperature hotter?

I do have the calcium and mineral supplements to dust on his crickets which I do a couple times a week
and I wasn't aware that he should be bathed every day, but I will do that now, thank you!

and thank you for the t-shirt trick, that sounds interesting!

 

[daner923]

Hi there! Sadly, the bulbs that came with the kit are just not good for a beardie. It's really ashame how many people waste money on these things. You might be able to exchange the lights for different ones with a receipt. Coil/compact UVB bulbs are bad for a couple reasons: not enough/not the right kind of UVB, and they can cause serious eye damage. You need to get the ReptiSUN 10.0 TUBE UVB, or Arcadia 12%. You can get a cheap fluorescent under cabinet fixture at Walmart or Home Depot, and then mount it inside the cage with 3M command hooks. Your baby should be able to get 6-8 inches from the Reptisun tube, with no screen in between. The blue bulb also isn't great - it isn't bright enough to get the heat up, and doesn't protect his eyes from the UVB as much. You need a bright WHITE basking light - either one sold at a pet store, or a regular household incandescent bulb, either clear or white. Also, what are you using to measure temperatures? The dials/strips that come with kits are really insufficient, as they can be up to 20 F off! You should get either a digital thermometer with a probe (about 10 bucks) or a temp gun. You should be dusting with the calcium 5 days a week at one feeding a day, and with a multivitamin the other two days, one feeding each day. You can bathe him every day to every other day at his age. Glad to see you are using carpet and not sand. What are you feeding him? How often and how much are you feeding him? Are you using anything for night heat (if the temps are falling below 65 F)?

 

[sweetiepie9]

Daner 923, you just wrote down everything I was going to, so thanks for that. Merlin's mom, you need to follow what Daner 923 said. I hate those kits and it's never the right stuff besides the tank. But it's usually after you buy it that you find out the lights aren't enough for dragons! So sorry about that, wish we'd caught you before you bought it. let us know how Merlin is after you change everything.
Deb

 

[vanessaDRUZ]

thank you so so much for all of your info, yeah I really wish I knew all that before I bought the kit
I will be making a trip to the store very soon to buy new stuff and will let you know how it goes!

I feed him once or twice a day the small crickets, like somewhere over a dozen in total generally
I've tried to feed him greens like collard or dandelion ones but he never touches it so it ends up just going to waste

and yes i have a night heat lamp for him!

 

[JoshCD]

Very cute beardie! I'm new to keeping these amazing animals myself or I'd try to offer you advice. I imagine a 5 hour drive would be kind of stressful for a beardie. I bet he'll perk right up and probably warm up to you once he realizes you are the source of his food.

 

[daner923]

Make sure you feed him twice a day, as much as he will eat in 10-15 minutes. Don't limit it to only 12. If the night heat you are using is a colored bulb, you should stop using it. As long as it stays above 65F you are fine. If it is colder than that, you can get a ceramic heat emitter, which has no light. Also, keep offering the greens. Maybe try hand feeding them to get his attention.

 

[noelerhard]

He's adorable! I love the pic of him sleeping all curled up. Since everybodies already told you about set up and feeding I guess I won't repeat it. If he's still running away from you try putting one of your shirts in his tank as a blanket. It will help him get used to your scent. That's what I did and it seemed to work pretty well. Oh and welcome to the beardie family!

 

[jacody]

With mine, I was always talking to them when I would be around or going to the enclosure. I'd be slow and let him get used to everything, you could always start by going into the enclosure and placing your hands near where he is and eventually a small touch and build up from there. He'll learn real quick where his food source is coming from and you'll be adapted before you know it..