New, I have some questions.

[BenjiBoy]

Hey, I’m new on this website and a new bearded dragon momma! He’s acting pretty funky, I’m not sure if it’s because he’s not used to me yet, or what’s going on. I’ll give you a few details about him, list everything that’s happened in the days that I’ve had him , and my questions.
His name is Benji, I adopted him from these people who could no longer take care of him. He’s an 18 month old male
Saturday: I got him, and was so excited that I definitely handled him way too much. I’ve been waiting to get a bearded dragon for years now! He seemed pretty happy, but I don’t think he really realized what was going on yet.
Sunday: he seemed pretty aggressive towards me, so I decided to just leave him be pretty much all day. His beard turned a tiny bit black though, but went back to normal shortly. I made him a little play area, and he kept bobbing his head at me, which I looked up and found out what it meant.
Monday: he acted pretty nice towards me again, he let me cuddle up against him a bit.
Tuesday: I tried hand feeding him, and he finally did it! But seemed pretty mad the rest of the day.
Wednesday: I wasn’t home so I wasn’t able to do much with him.
Today: he was really nice to me this morning, he cuddled up with me and I gave him a bath, and he seemed really happy. Ever since.. he’s just been. Like. Weird? He’s hiding from me as I’m typing this, and his beard is black.
Onto my questions:
How can I get him to eat his greens, the people I got him from told me to starve him until he would eat them... let me know your guys advice on that please. It seemed a bit harsh.
Does anyone know why he could be hiding from me? I’m not sure why his beard is black right now either, I haven’t interacted with him for a few hours. Could that mean he’s sick?
I know it’ll take a long time for him to get used to me, but I know that it’ll take a bit longer because of how much I played with him on the first day ??‍?. Does anyone have any idea how long it might take?
What activities can I do with him that don’t include baths that won’t cause him to run. I’ve mainly just been keeping him in his terrarium because most of the time when I try holding him he tries to run.
Can I feed him super worms? I looked it up because I know that mealworms have way to much fat for them, so I’ve been feeding him crickets. But I wanted something else as well to act as a treat, are those to fatty too(a bunch of websites said a bunch of different things). Sorry this was so long, I’ll attach some photos of my sweet Benji boy . Including the one if him hiding from me right now.

MG]108547 1882507531[/XIMG]

img]

 

[BenjiBoy]

Quite obviously didn’t do that right, I’m so sorry. ???‍ Let me try again on the pictures. (The picture of him hiding is on this one.)

 

[KarrieRee]

Welcome --- what size tank is Benji in? What are you using for lighting? UVB brand and bulb? coil or tube? Where is it ? on top of screen or inside the tank? Basking temps? what are they are how are you taking them? NO stick ons they are inaccurate - he looks very small for a 18 month old male and NO I would not starve him -- he looks like his growth has been stunted --- we can try and start getting him to eat his greens first get a glass or ceramic bowl one that insects and worms cannot get out of - next order some dubia roaches and some super worms horn worms and butter worms from here www.dubiaroaches.com order small amount of horn worms they grow fast - they are a good hydrating worm - feed him his salads first thing in the morning -- here is a website for nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder -- feed him his salad first thing in the morning -- add 1-2 super worms 1-2 butter worms and 1 horn worm on top of his salad - this will lure him to the salad bowl - make sure he sees you doing this it will get his attention - you can also try some nutri grubs also known as BSFL or phoenix worms and calci worms - they are a great staple feeder for babies adults will eat them too but the are small so order large do not dust them - only dust your staple feeder crickets or dubias - by rights he should only be eating insect 2-3 times per week now but he looks like he could use some protein -- so I would feed him every day insects AFTER hes had his salad -- you can wait an hr or so then take those dubia roaches or crickets you will haft to disable the crickets by pulling a leg or two off put them in the salad bowl - take a little salad out but leave some in we want him eating that salad too - you can also order some silk worms for him they are another great staple feeder too - you can get them from here www.reptilianarts.com if you order like 50 you will need to order food to feed them and their containers will need to be cleaned out daily as well -- a good balanced diet will get him growing again --- I would get a weight on him w/ a kitchen food scale weigh in grams and a length as well and keep track of him -- this is good to have this info before brumation starts in the fall -- you can order silk worms from this site as well www.coastilsilkworms.com
Please post his husbandry so we can look to see if any suggestions can be made for him to keep him healthy
Karrie

 

[BenjiBoy]

Thank you, also honestly I’m not sure about the questions about the lights. The people we got him from gave it to us. The lights are on top of his cage, he’s in a 50 gallon. During the day his temp is at 90 in his basking area, at night I keep it at 70. I will get the other types of worms, I’ve been trying but I haven’t gotten a chance to get to the pet store the past few days. Also my mom constantly tells me she doesn’t want roaches in her house- so unfortunately I can’t do that. What I’ve usually been doing to feed him is 2 crickets in the morning, give him his salad, then after he eats it I give him two more. Along with his calcium every three days.

 

[KarrieRee]

Post pics of his lighting - it is extremely important and your basking temps are taken w/ a stick on or a digital probe thermometer? The overall health of your dragon depends on basking temps and correct UVB
Go to top of the page in the banner click on user image uploader then click on the XIMG at top.of message box click on the pic it should post
Karrie

 

[BenjiBoy]

I posted a pic on the other post, I use a stick on for seeing what temperature it’s at. At night I turn on my space heater to 70 so that it’s not to hot or cold for him on cold nights, and every morning it shows exactly at 70 so I’m pretty sure it’s correct.

 

[WinFam01]

Thank you, also honestly I’m not sure about the questions about the lights. The people we got him from gave it to us. The lights are on top of his cage, he’s in a 50 gallon. During the day his temp is at 90 in his basking area, at night I keep it at 70. I will get the other types of worms, I’ve been trying but I haven’t gotten a chance to get to the pet store the past few days. Also my mom constantly tells me she doesn’t want roaches in her house- so unfortunately I can’t do that. What I’ve usually been doing to feed him is 2 crickets in the morning, give him his salad, then after he eats it I give him two more. Along with his calcium every three days.

As a mom, what if you tell her that crickets can carry parasites and also let her smell how much they stink? I am so glad to be on dubias now. They are not the same as cockroaches...they won't survive outside of the bin you keep them in, if one were to escape, but there's no reason any should get out - they can't climb slippery surfaces like glass tanks or plastic rubs, and they are one of the best feeders for your new little love.

 

[BenjiBoy]

I could try- but she barely let me get the crickets. The only reason we got them was because that was the easiest to get on our way home from picking him up.

Also a question , how often am I supposed to be giving him fruit?

 

[KarrieRee]

Occasionally- go to the feeding board look for topic nutrition website- ignore the kale thing it's a good staple feeder---
Karrie

 

[WinFam01]

All you can do is try.

Also, I read back and it looks like he's getting a total of 4 crickets a day?
You can feed him superworms, I see it advised to use them as a kite to the salad bowl so that could help with the veggie eating.

For bonding it may take several weeks or more. Depends on how and how much he was handled by his previous owner. But just moving slowly and talking to him in a soothing way, and possibly hand feeding him (just watch the mouth, if they get excited they might get your finger).

 

[BenjiBoy]

Thank you so much And yeah, I tried reading to him - I saw it online to help bonding- and he just puffed his beard at me. He’s doing okay now though, his beard is all back to normal and he’s sleeping he goes to sleep so darn early and I wake up everyday and he’s just starring at me haha. Thank you for the help

 

[Claudiusx]

Moved by Moderator from Website Comments to Health