New beardie owner, got a few problems. (w/ pics)

[Kloster]

The following is a post I made in another forum: (the problems start occuring through out the thread) http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129226

I was directed here by a PM to get some more opinions (thanks rosebud!)


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This is pretty much her whole set up:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6/DSC02987.jpg - Top view
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6/DSC02988.jpg - Front view
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6/DSC02989.jpg - Thermometer probe on her rock.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6/DSC02991.jpg - Water dish and glass dancing
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6/DSC02992.jpg - The only thing UVB bulb says
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6/DSC02993.jpg - Id say UVB covers 3/4s of her enclosure.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6/DSC02994.jpg - Bulb is around 10'' above her rock

As you can see its pretty meh, I just got her and she drained a whole lot of money from me, I live in NYC so its not like I can go outside and pick up some logs for her(not gonna pay $16 for petco wood...) with time ill make sure it looks nice, also to stop her from dancing I got some bamboo blinds to put on the glass, looks pretty neat! but i havent set them up yet.

The aluminium you see there is because the enclosure has some plastic at the top and Im very paranoid with fires and all that so its there JUST in case.

As for the crickets... no she wasnt eating a lot of them. She had probably around 4 yesterday. Same thing though, theyll be running around her enclosure (i taped everywhere so they wouldnt hide hahaha) and jumping everywhere and she would just bask she wouldnt chase them around or show any interest its like she pretended theyre not there.

Some shots of my little one:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6/DSC02995.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6/DSC02996.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6/DSC02997.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6/DSC02998.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6/DSC02999.jpg
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j1...6/DSC03000.jpg
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Alright so the aluminum you see on top of her enclosure was removed to make lighting better, heres a new pic:
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j19/funker666/DSC03001.jpg (still some foil on the sides where the lamp dome touches the plastic).
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j19/funker666/DSC03002.jpg
The cardboard box there is another hide for her (her rock is hollow, she sleeps there at night).

The main problem now that I have temps alright (basking rock goes from 103-105, cool side ~78-82) seems to be her lack of appetite.
She just DOESNT want to eat! Her salad there is some pieces of tomato, mostly collard greens and a little bit of romaine lettuce.

As mentioned in my topic in the other website, I HATE crickets so I ordered silk worms and phoenix worms. She didnt want to know anything about them either.

I bought baby food (Gerber) Papaya to see if that spiked her interest, for a little bit it did (she ate a dab off my finger) and after that she didnt want anything to do with that either. I tried putting the papaya on her salad and no go, some papaya on the worms and no go, worms on salad and no go.

Shes around 6'' head to tail.
Since I got her shes probably eaten around 10 crickets, 3 silkworms and some salad. Very worrying.

Thanks for reading/input.

 

[Kloster]

I forgot to mention, Ill be getting a Reptisun 10 from PetCo tomorrow.

 

[Rosebud]

Hi Hun! :wave:
What is your name? I don't think I ever caught it.

Anyway, I have discussed Kloster's setup for a few days, and we determined that the viv was too dark and the uvb bulb was an ESU 7% so I had him toss it. He is getting the reptisun 10 and is increasing the ambient light. Temps are good now, measured with a digi w/probe, but the baby still isn't eating. I was hoping that someone might be able to think of something I haven't.
had baby for 5 days, right kloster?
Pooping fine
Taking baths and drinking in the bath
Ate crix, but not well.
Kloster ordered and got silks and phoenix worms, and she has eaten a few silks, but not many.

Kloster, I hate to suggest this, but you might have to go back to the crix at least temporarily. They might be what she is used to. Lets see what others have to say. :wink:

 

[Kloster]

Name is Carlos, whats yours?

Ughhh crickets! Ill give it a shot im gonna pick up 10 tomorrow and put them in a rubbermade bin and put my little one there and see if she eats some.

 

[SuperMom30]

I have 2 little ones Vivid 8in and McLuvin 7in...Vivid went through the same thing when I got her. I used baby food (apple banna strawberry, sweet potato, and green beans and just put some on her nose/mouth she would have to lick it off...a few days of that and now she eats like a horse! Today she went trough 20 crickets and ate almost her whole bowl of saled! BIG change from when I got her...she went over a week without eating more than 6 crickets and no veggies! I think they need the time to destress and get to know there safe. As long as your lighting is good and she seems active I would just give her some time to come around. Try the baby food and make sure she sokes and is misted. Hope that helps a little...I'm new to the whole baby thing myself only ever had adult dragons

 

[Kloster]

I have 2 little ones Vivid 8in and McLuvin 7in...Vivid went through the same thing when I got her. I used baby food (apple banna strawberry, sweet potato, and green beans and just put some on her nose/mouth she would have to lick it off...a few days of that and now she eats like a horse! Today she went trough 20 crickets and ate almost her whole bowl of saled! BIG change from when I got her...she went over a week without eating more than 6 crickets and no veggies! I think they need the time to destress and get to know there safe. As long as your lighting is good and she seems active I would just give her some time to come around. Try the baby food and make sure she sokes and is misted. Hope that helps a little...I'm new to the whole baby thing myself only ever had adult dragons

That makes me feel a little relived.

I got another question, her basking rock is hollow and she knows about this so she hides there all the time! I have to move her to her rock where she will stay until theres a sudden movement (i.e. I get killed on CS, my brother comes in my room) and then she hides and doesnt come out. Should I block her rock entrance? She will still have the hide I made for her which she hasnt used once, maybe she doesnt know what it is but theres a hole and its all dark inside.

Anyways, im off to go get that Reptisun 10.

Ill keep the topic updated.

 

[Freeie]

Yep babys shouldnt have hides at all so block that entrance. it keeps them from getting the heat and UVB light that they really need. Sounds like relocation stress to me too. I had one that took a little while to get going and now shes happy as a clam.

 

[SuperMom30]

I agree, mine have a hide but I only put it in at night when lights are going out and it's bed time. They need to get used to the happenings around your house and not be able to run away from every little thing...soon you being killed on CS or your brother coming in will become normal to her/him and she/he will calm down more.

 

[Kloster]

Alright so I just got back and put the reptisun in.
I was pretty happy to find my baby on her rock and not hiding, although she didn run in as soon as she saw me

Im not sure if petco screwed me over though... The new tube I put in works and all and its deffinetly brighter than the last one but it looks like this: http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j19/funker666/DSC03008.jpg

This is the box and under it is the old one: http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j19/funker666/DSC03009.jpg

They look almost the same no? Is ESU a brand? Sorry, I have no idea about UVB lights since this is my first (hopefully not last) reptile.

PetCo better not have screwed me over...

 

[Kloster]

Well it seems like today she discovered the other end of her enclosure.

She just stayed ther the whole time, I had to remove the other hide box thingy that i made from cardboard so she wouldnt stay there all day.

I fed her 2 Phoenix Worms today with my tweezers and thats the only thing she ate despite offering a silkworm, crickets, salad and papaya baby food.

She didnt even want to bask today, just stay in the cool side.
Man I hope that shell eat tomorrow or later on tonight.

 

[Freeie]

Reptisun 10 is the bulb you want The reptisun bulb will say reptisun 10 right on the bulb. If it dosnt say Reptisun 10.0 its not the right bulb. http://www.petmountain.com/product/...bs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html this is a picture of what it should look like.

 

[Kloster]

Deffinetly NOT cool.

I payed $54 for that bulb.

Im gonna go back tomorrow and they better give it to me.
Im calling right now, man theyre gonna get an earful.

 

[Rosebud]

Carlos, are you sure you didn't accidentally get the two bulbs mixed up? That is the same brand and rating of the one you removed. Is it just a coincidence?

 

[Kloster]

NOT a coincidence, I posted about it because I had the same exact reacion as you did rosebud.

I opened it, noticed it was ESU, 7% and im thinking hmmm did I just do something stupid and buy the same bulb? But no the box says Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 UVB. It even says 10% UVB on the bottom of the box and the tube says 7%, theres no mistaking it, one of their employees switched the bulb and I was the unlucky one to get it.

I triple checked and its the same bulb. I just called PetCo and theyre gonna sort it out tomorrow, hopefully I can get a few crickets for free for their mistake haha.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

You are kidding me, that is the light that was in the Reptisun 10? How much did they charge you for that?
I would take that back, because the ESU is a terrible light & emits absolutely no UVB at all. So yes, you got ripped off. They had better exchange it with no problems for you tomorrow!
I hope you get some free crickets out of the deal!

Overall, I think she will do much better with the new UVB light. How bright is your tank? Do you have your basking light directly beside the UVB light for maximal brightness? I think everything else sounds like it is setup properly.

I do think you should try small crickets again. There is something about the quick movement of crickets & or roaches that entices their feeding instincts.


Tracie