New Beardie Owner!

[TheGroundTruth]

I just wanted to say hello to everyone out there. I am the proud owner of a lovely bearded dragon! We've been having some issues with it eating unfortunately. He is about 8-9 inches long but is not eating well. I'm going to be some searches for advice on here and see what helps.

 

[Zaxtor99]

Hey there, welcome to the forums! Also a big CONGRATS on getting your new bearded dragon!

At 8 to 9 inches long, your beardie should be eating pretty good, but I noticed that even with my new beardie two weeks ago, it took him four or five days to "get comfortable" in his new home and all before his appetite increased.

First things first, though. I want to make sure that his living conditions are acceptable, and such that he will be comfortable and want to eat. So, please tell us what size tank or cage you have him in now, what are all the brand names and watts of each light, heat source etc. Everything, the more details, the better. Including what you are using for substrate. If you can a photo or two of his tank, even better, and after all, we always want to see photos of new beardies introduced here! ( Posting photos right into your posts on these forums is very easy, just have a read here on how to do that easily: http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=167225 )

Also, please tell us what you are trying to feed him. Are you making sure that any live insect is not longer in length then the distance between your beardies eyes? Again, the more information the better. It's impossible to help you out if we don't have the details of his living conditions as I asked for above, and the details of what you are trying to feed him. (For all we know, you have him in a big glass jar and trying to feed him Raisin Bran, lol... I think you get my point even though it is sarcastic)

Regardless, congrats again on your new beardie! Please get us the info I asked you for and photos if you can ASAP!

 

[TheGroundTruth]

Hey there, welcome to the forums! Also a big CONGRATS on getting your new bearded dragon!

At 8 to 9 inches long, your beardie should be eating pretty good, but I noticed that even with my new beardie two weeks ago, it took him four or five days to "get comfortable" in his new home and all before his appetite increased.

First things first, though. I want to make sure that his living conditions are acceptable, and such that he will be comfortable and want to eat. So, please tell us what size tank or cage you have him in now, what are all the brand names and watts of each light, heat source etc. Everything, the more details, the better. Including what you are using for substrate. If you can a photo or two of his tank, even better, and after all, we always want to see photos of new beardies introduced here! ( Posting photos right into your posts on these forums is very easy, just have a read here on how to do that easily: http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=167225 )

Also, please tell us what you are trying to feed him. Are you making sure that any live insect is not longer in length then the distance between your beardies eyes? Again, the more information the better. It's impossible to help you out if we don't have the details of his living conditions as I asked for above, and the details of what you are trying to feed him. (For all we know, you have him in a big glass jar and trying to feed him Raisin Bran, lol... I think you get my point even though it is sarcastic)

Regardless, congrats again on your new beardie! Please get us the info I asked you for and photos if you can ASAP!

Thanks for the reply! I have him in a 40 gallon Exo-terra breeder tank (36x18x18). Lighting is a 100w zoo-med basking light and a 10.0 UVB reptisun. The temp on the highest basking branch is about 105 degrees give or take a little bit. I've been feeding him medium sized crickets .25-.5 inch with calcium powder on them. I've had the beardie for 3 days but he has only eaten 5-6 crickets since his arrival and a couple of shredded pieces of collard greens. He seems like he is in good spirits overall despite not eating much. I know the tank is rather large in comparison to his overall size which is why I cut a cardboard section to make the feeding area smaller and keep the crickets from getting away. I just know beardies this age/size should be gulping down crickets at a high rate and he is nowhere near that.

My main concern came as a result of the vendor (very reputable) I purchased him from. Instead of shipping him overnight he was shipped ground taking 4 days to get to me in 20 degree weather locally. I literally thought he was dead on arrival but he was able to bounce back. I was/am very concerned that there will be permanent damage to his system. Like I said, he is in good spirits and seems ok. Here is a picture:

 

[TheGroundTruth]

Here is another picture of the tank.

 

[writejenn]

Hi,
It took my girl a good 3 weeks to finally be acclimated enough to become a great cricket eater. Poor boy getting shipped in the cold like that! But I think as long as he survived the cold, there should be no permanent damage to his system.

 

[TheGroundTruth]

Hi,
It took my girl a good 3 weeks to finally be acclimated enough to become a great cricket eater. Poor boy getting shipped in the cold like that! But I think as long as he survived the cold, there should be no permanent damage to his system.

good to know, thank you

 

[destiny1998]

He's a cutie pie. It looks like your uvb is a coil/compact? Turn it off. They cause eye problems, lack of appetite and stress. You need to get a reptisun 10.0 Tube and mount it in the tank. I got a under the cabinet light fixture from Walmart and I also bought command hooks. There should be nothing between your beardie and the uvb. That should help with his appetite.

 

[TheGroundTruth]

He's a cutie pie. It looks like your uvb is a coil/compact? Turn it off. They cause eye problems, lack of appetite and stress. You need to get a reptisun 10.0 Tube and mount it in the tank. I got a under the cabinet light fixture from Walmart and I also bought command hooks. There should be nothing between your beardie and the uvb. That should help with his appetite.

I was told that the reptisun 10.0 compacts were ok and didn't have the problems that other brands had. Anyone know if there is truth to that?

 

[destiny1998]

That's what I was told to but its wrong and unfortunately my beardie had eye problems for a while even after I found out what to use. Basically it burns their eyes and can lead to major eye problems even blindness. There is a article to the right under top content you should read and at the end there is another that I would also recommend you read.