New beardie owner with a question ... or two :)

[Levia]

So I've had Max about a month now. ... having a new baby dragon is exhausting!!! Even with the amount of prep, research and care I put into everything before I got him ..... I was still a worry wort!!!

I have a question about stress marks. I wasn't sure what they were until I looked it up and found out that they are () looking marks on the belly of a dragon.

Well my baby has had them since day 1. And they are dark ... I've not noticed them go away at all. He seems to be warming up to me and doesn't freak out anymore. He doesn't mind my hand (thou he still hates to be picked up still). I can put his crickets into his tank with him and he'll run right over to my hand like "YAY NOM NOM!!! The mysterious thing from above is feeeeeding me again!!!" He'll crawl onto my hand if it's in the tank and I can slowly scratch his chin without him darting off. He still won't let me pick him up he'll dart off like speedy but it's ok as he's still little and I'm going slow. I'm in no hurry and do not want to stress him out any further.

Should I worry about the stress lines? Will they fade or are they permanent? I thought it was just part of his pattern at first as he's extremely adorable. Thanks!! I'll see what I can do about posting a few pics as well.

 

[Levia]

See if I can get this to work ...

This is his favorite branch and he seems to love throwing his back legs out while on it lol

This is where he sleeps .... not sure why but it's the highest spot and he grabs hold and falls asleep.

And that's his bush he loves climbing through ... plus this is a good shot of those marks on his belly.

 

[kjinxx2]

Yep, those are stress marks They're not too dark but I may be able to help you to get rid of them completely.

First, what are your temps in the basking spot and the cool side?
How do you measure them?
Also, do you use a UVB light? What kind?
Finally, is the tank in a high traffic area? Near a mirror where he can see himself? Can he see another bearded dragon or animal?

Just copy and paste those questions and you can answer right next to them to make it easier.

With these answers I'm sure we'll find an answer!

 

[Levia]

First, what are your temps in the basking spot and the cool side?
Hot side runs 107-118, the cool end is 78-84
How do you measure them?
I have a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer that measures humidity as well (39-45). I also have a temp gun I can check the different spots on the hot side as well.
Also, do you use a UVB light? What kind?
I have a Reptisun 10.0 and a Basking lamp with the UVA light as well. (100 watt but his tank is a 55 gallon so thought the higher watt would be better for heat)
Finally, is the tank in a high traffic area? Near a mirror where he can see himself? Can he see another bearded dragon or animal?
It is, my kids are gone from 8-4pm daily for school but it's situated right in the living room. There is a background on the back (the one that came with it from my sister)the sides are open thou. There are no mirrors near him, but I do see him looking in the glass quite a bit I think he can see his reflection. I have 2 snakes but they are on the other side of the room and the tank is not in his view. I also have 2 cats, I don't see them get near the tank(they know not to) but they do sit on the floor and watch him move around from time to time.

 

[kjinxx2]

Alright, does your reptisun happen to be one of those compact coil ones? Also, I noticed your temp probe is lower than his basking spot (maybe just angle) Generally when you approach 115 and above it begins to be too warm for bearded dragons, I'm wondering if his basking spot is much higher than this?

 

[Levia]

The "basking" spot is right over the probe. There are branches and and other rocks around that I have layered.. the branches up higher get to be around 114-118 but the rock area is usually 104-108 steady. Where he is in the branch is directly under the uvb lamp, the basking lamp is right behind that. When I got him he was starting to suffer from MBD (seizure looking fits, toes were having tremors and he was having odd spasms because the pet store only had a uva basking light with no uvb the other babies he was housed with are all dead ) so instead of the reptiglo 8.0 I switched to the reptisun 10.0 and was taking him outside for an hour or so each day (Back when it was high 70's here). I was reading that the mesh from the lid filters out a good amount of the UVB. I have a flip up mesh lid (runs length ways down the middle) so I flip the front part up and I have the UVB light (the long tube) right on the top of the open tank so he gets the full light. (it's secured so won't fall or move)

I'll put some more pics of the tank up. His cool side is just about empty but that's where he eats his crickets. I let them go on that side so he can see them and they usually avoid the hot side and stay on the cool and he eats most of them before they even know what's happening. He was waiting this morning about an hour after his lights went on. It was funny, he was over on the cool side looking out through the glass at me with his head tilting from side to side like "Come on where's my food lady!!!" I put about 15 in and he ate all but 3 and then he just wandered over to the rock and basked. I removed the 3 and he's been sitting on his rock for the last hour.

Here we go, got the pics uploaded:
His warm side setup.. you can see his tail sticking out from the rock ... where he usually sits.

These are the lights and how I have them setup, the lid is latched so it won't swing forward or back and the long light (reptisun 10.0) is "locked" in to the top of the tank. My uncle made me little latches that hook on so it won't fall in.

And this is the entire tank. Some of the white powdery stuff is because max got a little impatient waiting for the crickets so he ran right into the small plastic container and made a mess lol

 

[Loganator]

Very nice setup!

They do need to be able to get within 6-8 inches of the Reptisun tube, but when he gets up that close on his basking spot, 114-118 degrees is a bit too hot. Maybe decrease the wattage of the basking bulb. An ordinary household bulb (not cfl's) can be used. Try experimenting with different wattages of normal incandescent household lightbulbs to lower the basking spot temps while maintaining acceptable temps on the warm & cool side. If, by lowering the temp on the basking spot, it lowers your cool side temp too much, you may need a low wattage bulb on that side.