New owner with some concerns

[tenmillionwatervoles]

Hi there! I am new both to owning bearded dragons and to posting in forums, so do please let me know if I have put this in the wrong place or anything. I got my beautiful boy Apollo last saturday, and he seemed alert and active. He discovered his hide and seemed interested in it, and slept both in and outside it for the first few nights. We had some issues with the thermostat keeping his basking spot too cold for the first few days, but we've managed to sort it out now - that was one of the worries of mine, but since it is sticking between 95-105 degrees F all the time now, this should be alright (I think?!). Every morning I have been giving him a salad of 'greens' and an addition like blueberries, red pepper, rocket (arugula), etc, all dusted with appropriate supplements, and I've been changing his water bowl daily. However, I haven't seen him access either of these things. He has taken a waxworm and a few mealworms (handfed) but ignored completely the locusts I have offered, despite trying both handfeeding and just releasing them into the enclosure. My concern is, it having been a week, that he is not eating or drinking enough, especially as he has spent the last three days not coming out of his hide at all. Could the slightly wonky temperatures at the beginning of the week have caused him to go into brumation? If so, is it best to just leave him alone? He also has not pooped since I have got him - do I need to bathe him to rectify this? Will he be alright not eating greens?
Sorry for the block of text, and thank you for reading this!
- an anxious beardie owner

 

[KarrieRee]

If your temps are the 95-105 that is good how old is the dragon? And what are you using for a UVB? No coils please--- where is the UVB top of screen or inside the tank? your basking temps are being taken w/ a digital probe thermometer ? He will go thru relocation stress that is normal and he is eating something but we need to make sure you have good UVB -
Karrie

 

[tenmillionwatervoles]

If your temps are the 95-105 that is good how old is the dragon? And what are you using for a UVB? No coils please--- where is the UVB top of screen or inside the tank? your basking temps are being taken w/ a digital probe thermometer ? He will go thru relocation stress that is normal and he is eating something but we need to make sure you have good UVB -
Karrie

He is a little older than two years old, and we are using an arcadia 14% T5 tube UVB that is inside the tank. we are using a digital probe thermometer and a thermostat on the basking temps. We were expecting some settling-in time but is it normal for him to be spending three days solid in the hide after initially being quite lively?

 

[KarrieRee]

How far is the distance from the UVB--- the 14% bulbs require a tank height of 24" and distance should be 17-18" from basking decor- the 14% bulbs are strong bulbs and if it runs the entire length of the tank this could be why hes in the cave--- he needs to be able to get out of the UVB rays but also if the distance is not the distance I mentioned its too strong
Karrie

 

[tenmillionwatervoles]

How far is the distance from the UVB--- the 14% bulbs require a tank height of 24" and distance should be 17-18" from basking decor- the 14% bulbs are strong bulbs and if it runs the entire length of the tank this could be why hes in the cave--- he needs to be able to get out of the UVB rays but also if the distance is not the distance I mentioned its too strong
Karrie

The tank is 24” tall and the bulb is at the very top of it. It is positioned as close as possible to the basking bulb and the hide is on the opposite side to it.

 

[KarrieRee]

Ok so what is the distance to the basking decor? I had mine around 17-18"
Karrie

 

[tenmillionwatervoles]

Ok so what is the distance to the basking decor? I had mine around 17-18"
Karrie

The basking decor is 18 inches away. Do you think any of this has anything to do with his sleepy ness? I woke him up to give him a bath because I was worried about him being dehydrated, and since then he has not gone back into his hide or slept during the day, but he has also not eaten any salad at all since I got him and only a few insects. Is this normal? Should I be trying to get him to eat salad? If so, how?

 

[KarrieRee]

Sounds like he maybe trying to brumate-- it is that time of year- eating slows down they are more sleepy- get a weight on him and keep track of it--- he may lose a little but he may sustain it as well-- if he's in his hide leave him be-- if he comes out offer food weigh him and make sure he's hydrated- if he doesn't you can always pull him out every 10 days to 2 weeks-- if he's losing weight then there is a issue-- max for brumation is 3 months
Karrie