New mom to a baby beardie...isnt eating and looks lighter!

[cmm2104]

We purchased a baby from petsmart a week ago and at first he seemed ok and was eating 4-5 crickets a day. For the past 2 days now he hasnt eaten anything. The people at petsmart didnt know any info about him but im guessing hes about 6-7 weeks old. When we got him he was more aof a green and now hes a lighter tan. I thought the dark colors where from stress and thats why he was gradually getting lighter. But with him not eating im getting very worried. i put in some pics from when we first got him to now. Thanks in advance for any info on what could be going on. I do beleive my setup is good...reptiglo 10.0 uvb light...basking spotlight 150 watts...basking rock 115 cool side 86...55 gallon breeder sectioned off in the middle...bathed almost daily. if theres anything i left out that is needed to be known im sorry.

The day we got him

Today

 

[dna14]

Hello and welcome,

how is your beardie doing? He's very cute btw... I hate to say it but the repti-glo is not a good light. Though I'm not sure if it causes problems that quickly? Though we didn't have it over a baby, it took a couple months to see symptoms. We changed it out for a Repti-Sun 10.0 after perusing this site and asking for advice, and we have seen a remarkable difference. How are you taking your temps? I think 115 may be a bit warm... 110 is the max I've heard advised. It's good that you're bathing. Are you offering veggies? Not that mine ate salad when they were babies but some do. I honestly think his color looks better in the picture today than the pic when you got him but he's so very little. His darker color when you got him may have been from stress.
*edit* thought of more questions.

It's good that you have a big tank for when he grows and sectioned it off for now! What kind of substrate are you using? How close can he get to the UVB? You're feeding teeny-tiny crickets right? When he was eating them anyway. Do you gut-load the crix? Dust with calcium / vitamins?

 

[cmm2104]

we are using paper towels as the substrate. the uvb is about 12 inches above the bottom of the viv. I was using a coil uvb and was told to change it out for the tube but only found the reptiglo. We have been giving him small crickets but mixed n sum r to big...now we r gonna order em online...and he did eat one that was way to big but has since eaten. How do i tell if this is an impaction? And if so what should i do? I am very worried now. thank you so much for the help!

 

[dna14]

Part of the not eating may be relocation stress, many babies that I've read about eat like a champ for a few days then go :shock: where am I and shut down for a couple days. I really hope this is the case so don't stress too much yet.

Paper towels is good. Yes we had a hard time finding the repti-sun at first too and bought the repti-glo. Recommended by the pet store. I don't know if the repti-glo is good for other herps but def bad for beardies. You can order the repti-sun 10.0 at http://petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html or check other pet stores. After we bought online we did find it at the local PetCo but it was the same price as we paid online after shipping.

When my baby was impacted I was advised to put her in a warm bath and massage her right side of her belly in a circular motion from her right armpit down to her vent. It was weird at first but she liked it and it worked. If you feel lumps try to massage them down to the vent gently.


I recently learned that the UVB should ideally be 6-8" from the beardie, of course don't change that til you get rid of the repti-glo (I know it's like throwing money away but it will be worth it) and what we did since our baby (ok she's my 20" long baby lol) is about 8" away is cut a hole in the screen to let the light be more direct instead of being filtered, since we couldn't figure out how to suspend the light inside the tank.

Sorry to be repetitive, but What type of thermometer are you using?

The guideline for feeders is don't feed any bigger than the space than the beardies' eyes but sounds like you may know that. We have fed a couple borderline - bigger crix to our little guy and he has chomped them well and showed no bad side-effects. But for the most part we try to be safe...

 

[bcozzy]

Did you get the repti-glo from petsmart? If so most petsmarts have a very lax return policy and once you get the new reptisun bulb you can return the light bulb for store credit and by something new for you new baby.

Also someone a little more experienced correct me if i am wrong but i believe (based on what ive heard/read) that beardies do not have a very good sense of heat on their bellies. Meaning that if the beardie were to lay on the heat rock for a long time he could actually burn himself and not even know it . So that may be another thing u might want try and replace. I agree though i think the beardie looks better in the second photo color wise than the first. keep us updated

 

[dna14]

darn wish I knew that return policy oh well

Oh I thought it was a basking rock, I agree if you have a heat rock, unplug it! It will heat fine from the lights and they are not safe if plugged in

 

[jmain]

The place I volunteer actually got 2 bearded dragons that someone had with a heat rock and burnt the poor babies legs then tried to pawn them off back to petsmart. One of thems whole leg had to be amputated and another just a hand but these babies are doing fine now.


Also where someone else said I'm feeding some crickets that I'm not 100% comfortable with but he isn't givening them a second thought and its all I have right now so he seems to be ok but as soon as I get more the bigger ones are going away. Problem is shipping is a B**** so I bought 1000 and they are growing to fast.

 

[dna14]

The place I volunteer actually got 2 bearded dragons that someone had with a heat rock and burnt the poor babies legs then tried to pawn them off back to petsmart. One of thems whole leg had to be amputated and another just a hand but these babies are doing fine now.

oh that's so sad. glad they're doing fine now


Also where someone else said I'm feeding some crickets that I'm not 100% comfortable with but he isn't givening them a second thought and its all I have right now so he seems to be ok but as soon as I get more the bigger ones are going away. Problem is shipping is a B**** so I bought 1000 and they are growing to fast.

wow you're brave to buy 1000 for one!!! :shock: 'course we are brave in our own way to go to the store every other day for 60-75 depending on how the masters feel on any given day

 

[jmain]

See and my pet store is about 30 minutes away so thats a good bit of gas and all that my first batch of crickets I had problems keeping them alive but this batch they are living with ease like I said some of them are getting a little to big but if I can't catch them before I put them in he doesn't seem to mind I took one out today though just because I didn't feel safe.

Also I only spent like 20-30$ on 1000 so that helped my little beardie eats around 45 each day give or take.

 

[cmm2104]

i am not using a heat rock...i did reasearch the beardies for 2 weeks before we bought(didnt want to just jump right in without a clue) So i did read that they can burn themselves. It is indeed a basking rock i was talking about. I didnt feel any lumps but i mesaged his belly anyway. Then last night he ate a cricket! I had to half way kill the thing and put it right in front of Tank while the thing was wiggling its little legs! he ate it! So hopefully that sparked something up for today! I will be able to return this bulb to petsmart...we have been there 11 times returning and buying, trial and error. Just need to be sure we have the best! I ordered the correct size crickets online and the correct bulb! So hopefully with all of this my baby will be eating those amounts of crickets in no time Like i said the most he ever ate in 1 day was 6. And i was talking to someone else on here and by the sizre and where i got him i now believe he is only 5 weeks old! Petsmart sells them to early and he is only about 5 inches long! That is quite sad beings that they dont even sell the correct supplies for them ! Other than the not eating he seems to be ok. He still seems to have some energy and runs up my arm. He likes to sleep in the crease when my arms bent from my elbow! So hopefully this is just a fluke and he will be fine Since its only been a week and im already in love! Thank you all again for the generous help! I greatly appreciate it!

 

[zebraflavencs]

Sounds like you have everything in order. Yes some "superstores" do indeed bring in way too young dragons for sale.
I think that it is great you did your homework before bringing home this baby.
Just wait a few days more, you will see that he will begin to eat you out of house and crix
Each time you change something in the enclosure, it continues the relocation stress.
Also, I didn't see anyone sharing about bathing a dragon with you... If I missed that, I apologize !

Bath water to the shoulders, so the lil butt in under water. Your hand or a soft cloth under feet for traction. Always supervise totally all baths! Temp of water baby warm ( or 90-100*F) for around 10 minutes daily. This will help in hydrating the baby, training him to become a "tub pooer", and helping with sheds. At this young an age, once he gets eating, he will be shedding frequently.

Hope this helps out !
Janie.