New dragon, new owner

[gzinga]

All,

I am a totally new beardy owner. My setup is a 40 gallon, 95-100 on the high spot and about 75 on the low. 40% humidity.

Got the new beardy a day ago, he was really shy so I took all the hiding spot away and just left a few branches so that he can bask. Which he is doing. He doesn't eat anything, I tried crickets, small warms, veggies, strawberry, peas, dry food nothing.

At some point there was a cricket on him and later a small mealworm and he didn't eat them

he is awake and alert

any idea?

thanks,

Gabe

 

[Drache613]

Hello Gabe,

Welcome to our forum.
Usually when you initially bring a new dragon home, they may go through a 1-2 week relocation type of adjustment due to rehoming stress.
So a lot of times, their appetites will not be completely normal.
How are his colors looking are they bright or is he dark right now?
What are you measuring the temperatures with, a digital probe or a temp gun?
What type & brand of UVB light are you using, a fluorescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light? What sort of basking light do you use, a bright white light such as a halogen bulb, or a regular household bulb?
What are you using as substrate, carpet, tiles, non adhesive shelf liner?
You can post a few pictures of your set up also, if you would like, along with your new dragon. We all love pictures.

Tracie

 

[gzinga]

hi thanks so much for your help. Colors are bright.
here some more info:

How are his colors looking are they bright or is he dark right now?cBright
What are you measuring the temperatures with, a digital probe or a temp gun? Digital Probe
What type & brand of UVB light are you using, a fluorescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light? fluorescent from zilla
What sort of basking light do you use, a bright white light such as a halogen bulb, or a regular household bulb?it's a basking light I found on petsmart, it is made by "all living things"
What are you using as substrate, carpet, tiles, non adhesive shelf liner? "I have some carpet I bought at petsmart and put some patches of calcium sand"

I'll post pics tomorrow since now he is at sleep

 

[keschete]

What type & brand of UVB light are you using, a fluorescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light? fluorescent from zilla
What sort of basking light do you use, a bright white light such as a halogen bulb, or a regular household bulb?it's a basking light I found on petsmart, it is made by "all living things"
What are you using as substrate, carpet, tiles, non adhesive shelf liner? "I have some carpet I bought at petsmart and put some patches of calcium sand"

I'll post pics tomorrow since now he is at sleep

It is not an emergency, but you need to get rid of the Zilla light. You also need to get rid of the calcium sand. Don't feel bad, the people at the stores have their own agenda and sell you crap you don't need.

You need a tank/enclosure, a top for the enclosure, a heat/basking bulb, a ceramic heat emitter lamp/bulb if the temps in your house get below 65 degrees F, you need a regular flourescent strip lamp with a reptisun 10 (NOT REPTIGLO OR ZILLA), you need white newspaper print or papertowel for the botom of that cage and some slate or tile under the basking bulb for heat. You need a few hiding/climbing branches.

That is it, the Zilla is a compact flourescent, and it has issues.

I don't leave live food or water in my cages, I soak in the tub every other day, leave veggies in cage and either hand feed live food or put them in a feeding tote.

Here are pics of my cages and I have an 800 gram plus male who is 2 years old, he actually just got put on a diet,

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

You can get the Reptisun 10 tube bulb at www.petmountain.com or www.lightyourreptiles.com

There is also another tube bulb now called the Arcadia D3 12% tube bulb, from the UK market. It is very good as well. You can only get this light from www.lightyourreptiles.com

Go ahead & turn off the Zilla light though, it is going to cause some issues. It will cause marked loss of appetite, change in behavior, along with eye issues, too. It emits low wavelength UVB frequency which is harmful.

Let us know how your new dragon is doing.
Tracie

 

[gzinga]

all thanks so much for all the info:

here is the light I got:

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753220

is this one the bad one?

I also have a ceramic heater for the night.

Can I just open up the case and replace the light strip?

it looks like this morning is more active I will remove as much sand as I can today. I will try to feed him some crickets today since he seems very active active

Also how powerSun rates?

 

[gzinga]

here is a pic of the little man....

 

[gzinga]

bought reptisun 10, that was $$$$.

the little man finally ate today about 5 mealworms small size. It looks like things are getting better.....

thanks again,

gabe

 

[Drache613]

Hello Gabe,

Great that you went ahead & purchased the Reptisun 10. He will love that. When do you expect that in the mail?
He sure is a tiny little thing, too. I hope he is doing well today.
How is his appetite?
Yes, the light you have, the Zilla slimline, is a hazardous light & does tend to cause poor health. It is very hard on the eyes too.


Tracie

 

[gzinga]

Hi,

I just went to the store and got one, payed the extra $$$ but fixed the problem wight away. He ate few small mealworms yesterday and he didn't want anything to do with crickets. I will try more crickets today and buy some softer worms today if I can find them

Gabe

 

[gzinga]

quick update, he still doesn't eat. He only ate those mealworms, but nothing for two days. He is pooping everyday though which I think is good. I also realized his cage was a bit too hot so I lowered the temperature down and now we have a solid 103 on the basking spot and 75 on the cool side of the tank.

Should I just keep offering crickets and worms?

 

[Gymgirlx]

meal worms aren't the best for beardie babies. I would keep trying crickets or get dubia roaches. I rescued a baby about 10 days ago and she has been chowing on those like crazy!! I also would try squash or turkey baby food ( put it in a syringe, mix with a little calcium) and put it on his snout. He will probably lick it off.

 

[gzinga]

right now he is not interested in those either, he was active in the AMs now he is hiding in a corner. I have some veggies baby food I can try later.

 

[dragonlover3]

Hi, and Welcome to the wonderful world of Bearded Dragons! Get ready for the ride of your life! :lol: These little guys burrow into your heart and own you! They make you laugh, make you cry, and make you crazy! We should be the ones with stress marks! You'll see! :lol:
As members come on and start to read your thread many will pop in to offer help. This is a wonderful community here. When I joined this forum I knew nothing about Bearded Dragons except that they were beautiful and I wanted one! So many wonderful people offered great advice and tips, and by just reading thru the threads you can learn so much.
Here is some info I found to be invaluable when I was learning how to care for my Bearded Dragons. I now have 4.
1}. Don't listen to pet shops regarding any care of your bearded dragon, most don't know how to properly care for one! They are out to make a sale and will sell you the wrong things out of ignorance and sell you stuff you don't need.
2}. Use this forum.
3}. Here is a link on why NOT to use sand or any loose substrate. It can cause impactions or perforate the intestines and kill your dragon viewtopic.php?f=34&t=132151
4}. Here is a link to lighting. The UVB bulb is most important and I see you just a Reptisun 10.0, that's great! viewtopic.php?f=34&t=148006
45. Here is a link for a nutrition site with a color coded list that is easy to follow. Most here recommend it. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
The recommended ratio is 80% live feeders to 20% veggies for babies to sub adults and it switches to 80% veggies to 20% live feeders as adults.
It isn't recommended to feed mealworms to dragons, especially to babies. They have a lot of crunchy exoskeleton, called chitin, it doesn't digest and can cause an impaction or perforate the intestines.
Your little guy is just adorable! We all love pics, the more the better.
Enjoy your little one!....and Happy New Year!
Amanda

 

[pyffersnpaws]

Ok... going back to your bulbs... it looks like from your pics that they are situated on top of the screen? if so, you will need to place them inside of the closure.. some will zip tie them to the top, use the command hooks something to get it inside the viv. Also, make sure there is nothing between the bulb and the beardie... no cover, screen etc...

Mealworms are very hard for babies to digest, if you want to give worms... give the phoenix worms.. they come in different sizes.. make sure what ever feeders you do give are no bigger than the space between your babies eyes.