Slender":91pvg6l3 said:2 Days ago i bought a two and a half months old bearded dragon.I bought it thursday night,and it only ate on the night we got it,and yesterday.Today it didnt eat at all and im concerned.Its 22:00 and it hasnt eaten still.The breeder i got it from said that it may not eat a lot for 3 days or so,because it is stressed.But i still want to know if it is sick or anything.It pooped yesterday morning,and this morning.its belly isnt full but seems to have something in it.Also the dubia roach i fed it was a little on the big side,so i thought it had a little trouble digesting,so i gave it a warm bad but it didnt poop.Can you tell me if theres something wrong with it?The cool side of the terrarium has about 85 F,and the basking spot about 95 F
<<< Mostly a combination of
relocation stress
too cool ==> slow metabolism
inadequate UVA ? ==> results in a lack of appetite
still full (big roach)
Things you should do :
1) check the UV source is rated at least 10%UVB
>> if it's a coil (it needs to be a 26W and mounted horizontally in a Nanohood UNDER the mesh lid (I assume you have one of those converter fish tanks with a mesh screen lid) and about 6-8 inches from the basking spot
>> if it's a T8 , it needs to have a reflector behind the tube and again it needs to be rated at least 10%UVB and mounted under the mesh screen lid and about 6-8 inches from the basking spot
>> if it's a T5 , it needs to be rated at least 10%UVB and have a reflector behind the tube and mounted under the mesh screen lid and not more than 12 inches from the basking spot
2) check the temperatures using a digital thermometer (with probe at end of a long cable) , give it time to settle (15 - 30mins) before noting the temperature , if the basking spot is only 95 F, it's too cool so you need to make some tweeks
>> lower the basking bulb closer to the basking spot to get a basking spot temp 40 - 42 degC
or
>> raise the basking spot so it's closer to the basking globe
or
>> invest in a higher wattage basking globe
will be trial and error to get this right.
probably a good idea to review your setup and schedules to make sure you have things set up well .
.Pls help me,he is my first reptile and im very scared.
Slender":2c1tsub3 said:Hey,im very new to this website(i only made an account yesterday but ive been checking it for a few months now)so i dont know how to reply to your comments in particular.Ive read them,and the heating lightbulb i have for him is a regular 70w light bulb for now,because i had an infrared one but it blew up for some reason,but im going to buy an exo terra PT-2134 R30 / 150W bulb,as that one is recomended by everybody around here.He has a 10.0 uvb light,
<<<< is the 10.0 uvb a long tube (a T5 or T8) or like a curly house light ? and what's it's wattage ?
so thats is okay.Someone asked if he has lumps in his stomach.No,though hes stomach is round.He stays in a home made wooden 75 gallon long,dimenisons are about 47Inches long,15.7 inches deep and 15.7 <<< that'll be fine for his rearing viv , maybe until he's about 12 - 18 months old, so you've plenty of time save or build or commission the building of his 4ft x 2ft x 2ft forever home .
inches tall.He has no substrate as i know it can cause blockages,he has a hide some roots and 2 stones.For the weight,i dont own a scale so i dont know how much he weighs.I have dubia roaches to feed him,and calcium.I dont know how active he is for a beardie,but he walks around his sticks a lot.Every 10 minutes he is on another one,and he changes position on them pretty often.In fact,i put him a lid with water in it so he can baith,and now he is on the edge of the lid.Ill attach some photos of the enclosure and of the beardie.Okay,i fed him just now and he ate,but, he flicnhed when i put my hand in.Although as lon as i droped the roach in his enclosure he hunted for it and ran after the roach.I think he is still scared of me.I really hope that is the problem.The breeder i got him from said my beardie in particular doesnt eat that much,only about two every day.
<<<< what ? only 2 roaches per day , at his age ....?
Sorry but that's very inadeguate , see my previous post.
He needs to be eating live insects AT LEAST twice per day , three live meals per day will be better , best insects for him are :
>> BSF maggots (Phoenix Worms) --> excellent naturally rich in calcium
>> Silkworms (small = 1- 1.5in long or medium (1.5-2in long) --> excellent feeders
>> blowfly gents --> naturally rich in calcium
>> crickets (I'd recommend 1/4 - 1/3 size for him, they need to be gut loaded with calcium rich greens + carrot (also source of water) and I find repcal Adult beardie pellets (straight from the bottle are great for feeding the crickets and fortifying them with minerals and vitamins) and they need to be dusted lightly daily with calcium powder and on the weekend with a mix of calcium powder and reptile vitamin powder)
or
>> roaches or locusts (see above).
Is perfectly OK to give a mix of these.
If his temperatures are good , and he's getting sufficient UVA and UVB , he will likely polish off up to 16 x 1/4 size crickets per day + some greens.
For me,he has only eaten one everyday,he doesnt want to eat more.
<<< what size are the roaches he is eating ? ie how long are they in millimeters ?
Slender":2cqlbu82 said:Another update:i now have a proper light,somebody asked me about the uvb its a t8 exo terra 13w,10.0.I
<<<< you mean Exo Terra PT2169 Repti Glo 10.0/T8 15” 38cm 14W ?
.... should be OK , I think you need to let him get within maybe 8in of the tube to let him get sufficient UVA and UVB. Even better if there is a reflector mounted above to tube , effectively doubles the UVA and UVB at the basking spot as the reflector will focus the UV.
was also asked what size the roaches are in mm,the biggest ones about 18mm and the smallest ones about 14mm,but i can tell they are pretty big.Somebody told me to feed him greens,but isnt he too small for that?He is two and a half months old.
<<<< he can have greens , it's a bonus if he likes them at 2.5 months old, but much more important he gets more than 90% insect protein at his age , two feeds , three feeds are better , per day.
Some hatchlings fill up on the greens and salad because they are mistakenly given to them too early in the day, come bug meal time
.... sorry mom/dad .... not hungry , hatchling just sits there and crickets think he's a statue , ==> this goes on for a few weeks and the carer wonders why the hatchling doesn't want the bugs then they hear of other hatchlings eating loads of bugs per day ??? and they wonder why their hatchling is failing to thrive despite eating heaps (of vegan stuff)...???
simple to avoid , see my earlier post. (hold back the vegs / greens til later in the day , forces hatchling to eat his bugs) .
Appropriate size bugs - very important , my Peppa and Toothless were taking 25day old (10-12mm) and 1/3 size (12-15mm) crickets , and small (1 - 1.5 inch) and medium (1.5 - 2 inch) silkworms at his age + some grated sweet potato and carrot + torn up / shredded buk choi / puck choi / dandelion leaves and flowers / nasturtion flowers and leaves / kale (at the end of the day)m, see bug size chart attached
http://frogs.org.au/live-foods/product-category/insects/
I took the water boul out.For hydration, i spray his nose with some water and he licks his snout when he stops doing this,i stop spraying.Though he seems pretty active he moves from stick to stick every 3 mins and his patterns are turning really red(he is a high red morph) so i guess thats a good sign.Also he does this thing all the time when i stare at him after like 10 seconds he will close one of his eyes,he doesnt close one in particular he just closes one randomly.Is that like the wave thing where he is just trying to indicate submission?
<<< he is talking to the other beardie / ghost beardie / his reflection .... maybe to you too.
<<< the beardie wink , and the eye one open thing is a very beardie quirk , they all do it.
Please let me know.Also he has started to spend a lot more time under the basking spot so considering he is so young and a beardie thats a good sign
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