I could use some help, I recently baught two baby beardies they are in seperate tanks. At first they were eating but since have stopped eating their meal worms and never touched their greens at all. I think the temps are ok but they might not be quite as hot as needed not sure, they have basking lights but no uv lighting waiting till payday to buy those.
mealworms - very bad staple feeder for hatchlings , only really good as a very rare treat/bribe and best not more than a few at time , they are very poor nutritionally (high fat, low Ca/P and unless you only give the fresh shed (white / soft) ones --> can cause GIT impaction in beardies under 12 months old because they have some bottlenecks / hairpin turns in their GIT when young.
Better off giving
>> Housefly gents / pupae and even the flies (little hatchlings love these and will leap to catch them)
>> Blowfly gents / pupae and the flies ( ditto )
>> Black soldier fly lavae / pupae and the flies (quite slow moving and ditto) … try to get the white very wrigglely lavae ...these will be more "interesting" to a hatchling and they must be separated from the bedding they come in (I simply fish them out by hand).
>> small silkworms (if the hatchling is under 50g I'd offer silkworms 1" - 1.5" long)
>> suitable sized crickets *, roaches* or locusts *
* not longer than the distance between the hatchlings' eyes, and gutloaded with high calcium greens , carrot and dry lizard pellets (crickets love them) , and dusted every feed.
Under 6 months old , 3 meals of live insects (as many as the hatching wants in a sitting) per day, offer salad but is not important if the hatchling shows no interest in the green stuff and grated vegs.
Need more than 95% live insects while very young and rapidly growing and developing as a hatchling.
See this for indications of sizes feeders
silkworm size that's OK for a 2 month old hatchling
Housefly and blowfly gents
Crickets (I'd be looking for 20 day old crickets or 1/4 size)
It's OK to hand feed a hatchling who is refusing to feed - this shows how some people do this : viewtopic.php?f=18&t=235583, I recommend you get into a routine of giving each a few live insects by hand each day as a bonding ritual , it's a fabulous way to bond with lizard and earn their trust. I've done this will all my pet and rescued wild lizards, and also do It with my resident local wild lizards too
…. yes even wild lizards can learn to trust (and like you) and take food treats from my hands and between my finger tips , and even let me pet them.
Other likely issues :
Essentially following this : viewtopic.php?f=6&t=236150&p=1815390#p1815390
1) can they see each other ?
2) temperatures
>> basking spot ? (NO HOTTER THAN 40 degC (100 degF))
>> warm zone ? (aim for about 35 degC) >> cool zone ? (aim for about 30 degC)
>> overnight ? (no colder than 24 degC overnight for a hatchling)
>> how are you measuring these (which what ? show us )?
3) UV source = very important
show us
> exactly what is it ( type = compact (curly) , t8 tube, t5ho tube , or MVB ) ?
> UVB rating ? …. should be rated 10% or higher
> wattage ?
> brand ?
> in reflector dome or a reflector hood ?
> ontop or under a mesh / or solid lid ?
> how far from the basking spot? …. aiming for 200 microW UVB / sq.cm at the basking spot , 100 microW UVB elsewhere.
4) photoperiod , how long are the basking and UV lights on each day ? …. I run my lights on a timer on 6am off 10pm EVERY DAY. 5) feeding schedule , when are they fed and how do you feed them ?
6) substrate - what are you using ?
7) are they pooing ? how often (each) and when was the last poo ?
8 ) are you weighing each of them ? …. recommend using a glass flat topped kitchen scale to weigh each ONCE A WEEK and that you chart / graph their growth
9) other animals in house ?
I could use some help, I recently baught two baby beardies they are in seperate tanks. At first they were eating but since have stopped eating their meal worms and never touched their greens at all. I think the temps are ok but they might not be quite as hot as needed not sure, they have basking lights but no uv lighting waiting till payday to buy those.
Until you buy the UV source (needs to be at least 24W and rated 10% UVB) if you can take the hatchlings into the natural sunlight (in an open topped plastic tub (too tall for them the climb or jump out if it's warmer than 80 degF to give them about 1 hour each per day of NATURAL SUNLIGHT WHILE GUARDING THEM (to protect them from cats, dogs, wild animals, and predatory birds) this will help them.
If they are small, it will be too dangerous to let them explore in the garden or on the deck or the driveway or grass - they are very easily spooked and move much faster than you can and can very easily run away and never be seen again.
The other option is buy a 6" diam cardboard mailer tube and cut a 4" diam hole in one of the pull off end caps , and use cloth tape to join the two caps together .