New Beardie. Relocation Stress??

[monimay01]

Hi everyone. I have a new bearded dragon about 2 months old. I've only had him a few days now. The first day he ate just fine, maybe 9-15 crickets. But I haven't seen him eat any since. He was on a cricket only diet at the shop I got him from, so I've introduced greens to him with some small mealworms and dusted and sprayed them. I left the room for a while yesterday since sometimes they can be skiddish and won't eat with an audience. I ended up having to remove the crickets because he didn't eat them.
Do you think this could be relocation stress? He is not lethargic and is lapping up all the water I spray on him.
I also have a question about his lighting. I have an 18in UVB bulb and a 60watt basking bulb. He is in a 20 gallon terrarium and I've read that this is the ideal wattage for this size tank. However, the thermometer on the glass is only reading at 85 degrees F. It is not directly under the basking bulb, but is this too cool for his "warm" area?? Any advice will help. Thank you. Monica

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Do you have a digital with a probe? Thats what you need to take the temps on a basking spot. Also give him baths instead of misting beardies take in moisture through their vent. If you do mist at all make sure it outside the tank so it doesn't raise the humidity.

 

[monimay01]

I have one thermometer stuck to the inside of the tank right behind the basking spot, and another with a cord and little "probe" I guess you would call it. I put that part right on his basking spot yesterday and it read around 96 degrees. I also gave him a bath yesterday at 95 degrees and he seemed to like it. Went right for his greens, a few meal-worms and some crickets when he got back in this house.
And do you mean, to only mist him when "he" is out of the tank? I was told to mist him while he's inside so he could lap up the water on his stick or rocks. Is this not good for him?

 

[destiny1998]

If you mist him in the tank it will raise the humidity and he can get a respiratory infection. 95 is to low for a basking temp. The little ones like it 105 to 110. Can you raise his basking spot closer to the bulb? How long did you leave the probe on his basking spot?

 

[monimay01]

He is already pretty close to the top. Maybe 4-5 inches. I think maybe I should get a higher wattage basking bulb, like go up to a 75 watt instead of the 60 I'm using. And thank you for the information about the misting. I was given some bad information or might have just misunderstood.

 

[Taterbug]

A little misting on the dragon or enclosure, if he will lap the water is fine. Since he does drink it you can totally keep doing so, it's a good way for him to drink. It won't be enough to raise humidity at all.
The type of misting to avoid is spraying the whole tank down(like you were going to wash the windows wet) as it doesn't do the lizard any good and this could raise your humidity.

A hotter bulb is the way to go, rather than too close. Just keep an eye out that it doesn't get too hot.

Of you offer crickets one or a few at a time, you can keep better track of how many get eaten. If he isn't interested, take them back out and try next time. He will learn not to be shy about feeders. Alternatively take things out that they may hide under, and leave him in peace for 10-15 minutes, and then remove the extra bugs. Greens can just be left to his convenience.

 

[Tonja]

I agree to cut the misting out inside the tank, but to mist outside of it. It can raise the humidity as the water dries up. You don't want a URI in your baby. I would also cut out the mealworms as they have a hard chitin shell that is hard for a beardie to digest. and can actually impact your baby. I would go with hornworms, butterworm, phoenix worms, or silkworms which are all soft bodied worms and easier to digest. Waxworms are fine as a once in a while treat, as they are very fatty and to many can lead to fatty liver disease. I know you didn't mention waxworms but just letting you know in case. Superworms can be fed when the dragon reaches 16 inches as they have a kink in their intestines that make it hard for them to pass the worms. If you are using <I know you said a thermometer with a probe also> a round stick on thermometer, they can be as much as 20 degrees off in either direction. Also if you are using a compact or coil UVB those can cause health and eye problems in your beardie. You need a reptisun 10.0 or an arcadia D3 10% mounted inside the tank, 6-8 inches from him with a bright white basking bulb next to the UVB. You can mount the UVB inside the tank with 3M command hooks or heavy duty velcro. The coils and compacts are to short a wavelength and can cause them to not synthesize D3 which helps them utilize the calcium and the result for that can be metabolic bone disease.