New to Beardies and this site

[taaddison]

Hello,

I purchased a Beardie for my son for Christmas. My son, Donovan, is not unfamiliar with reptiles as he keeps some at his father's house. However, we are both new to Beardies. Since he is with me 50% of the time, care of our new Beardie falls to me much of the time. We got him on Christmas eve and he was eating just fine up until a couple days ago. He got stress marks and the end of his tail turned dark and he stopped eating. He also suddenly didn't want me to pick him up. I was offering superworms, romaine lettuce, carrots, and greens. I also have some Bearded Dragon pellets that I mix in with the salad and wet down. I bathed him yesterday and his tail is no longer dark and his stress marks are gone but he still isn't eating. Is it normal for him to go through this?

This site has been very helpful with setting up his housing and what to feed. Thanks so much for being here.

 

[fresnowitte]

:wave: Hello & Welcome to BD.org!
And..........
Congratulations on the New Beardie!
How big is your son Donovan's beardie? Actually if you could post a pic or 2 for us that would be great.

Beardies go thru relocation stress an it doesn't always happen or start to happen on the first day. Sometimes it is a day or 2 before they begin to stress. During this time they may not eat that well for you.
Also could your beardie be getting ready to shed? They don't like being held much at that time they get a bit grumpy. An at this time they also may not eat well.

Sounds like he/she enjoyed the bath that's great. As baths are the best way to hydrate them an also helps with shedding.

Have you seen this link yet on nutritional values of some beardie food? I found it helpful.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
Look forward to seeing some pic's of your son's new beardie. :wink:

Again Welcome Aboard!

 

[taaddison]

Thanks so much for the quick reply. I will upload a picture in a few days, gotta find the connection. The Beardie, Ladon, is about 10 inches long. He did eat a bit of his salad this afternoon but he still won't eat live food. So I will continue to offer him food each day and see how it goes. According to the breeder, Ladon just finished a shed, but I have seen some evidence of shed in his house.

A new question has arisen. How often do beardies poop? Yesterday there was a HUGE poop as large as my chicken's (kinda looked like a chicken poop too)

I have exactly ZERO experience with reptiles and hope that I don't do anything to mess him up. I was told Beardies are one of the easiest to begin with. I hope this is true.

Thanks again!

 

[citrusdragon]

Congratulations, Welcome, and Happy New Year all in one post

Jeff

 

[fresnowitte]

A new question has arisen. How often do beardies poop? Yesterday there was a HUGE poop as large as my chicken's (kinda looked like a chicken poop too)

:laughing6: Yep beardie poop looks like bird poop. :lol:
Babies poop several times a day(2 to 3), Juvies I'd say 1 to 2 times a day, an adults well....they are all different at least the ones in my house. I have adults that poop every day and ones that poop once a week. :roll:

 

[taaddison]

Thank you, Jeff and Happy New Year to you as well.

Barbara,
Thanks for answering so quickly again. I'm glad to know that Beardies are as different from each other as we humans are. Ladon has been so interesting and I hope to enjoy him for quite some time. I love this site and have had a great time perusing the posts. Many have made me laugh out loud. My hubby thinks I'm crazy but I don't care, I guess I'm hooked.

 

[gregorydragon]

Hi! Welcome to the site! I know it'll be a few days, but I look forward to seeing your pics.

 

[taaddison]

I did it!!! I figured out how to post pictures! So introducing LADON!

Here is Ladon helping me log on my computer.

Here is the eye that seems to be affected by the Zilla UVB bulb. He just started closing his left eye.

Ladon looking us all over

Hope you all enjoyed the pictures. Any advice on the eye other than getting a ReptiSun 10.0? Will it get better? He can open it when he wants to.

Theresa

 

[Hoxy]

hi, i am also very new to bd's. I haven't even got mine yet (next week or two). so i doubt i will be of much help, at all, but i heard lettuse itsn't very good for bd's. But very nice looking dragon he looks pretty comfortable around you. I hope mine is comfortable with me! Good luck with Landon eating again, i'm sure it will work out

 

[gregorydragon]

If the light is affecting Ladon's eye and you keep using the same light, it will not get better. It may get worse. I don't know where you buy your pet supplies, but ordering a reptisun 10.0 online costs half as much as it would in a pet store. At least this is the case for pet stores around me. Another thing to be careful of is Ladon's appetite. If the UVB light is affecting the eye this way, it could also affect the appetite. I have never used the Zilla bulbs so I don't know much about them, but if you suspect the light is the culprit, you should get a different one.

 

[taaddison]

If the light is affecting Ladon's eye and you keep using the same light, it will not get better. It may get worse. I don't know where you buy your pet supplies, but ordering a reptisun 10.0 online costs half as much as it would in a pet store. At least this is the case for pet stores around me. Another thing to be careful of is Ladon's appetite. If the UVB light is affecting the eye this way, it could also affect the appetite. I have never used the Zilla bulbs so I don't know much about them, but if you suspect the light is the culprit, you should get a different one.

I live quite a distance from the city and I got my setup from a woman who has successfully raised Beardies but she was new to the Zilla line. I have informed her of the problem and she is replacing my light with ReptiSun so I am pleased with that. She was devistated to find that Ladon wasn't eating well and his eye was slightly swollen. She has called the Zilla rep to complain as well. Thanks for your comments!

Theresa

 

[Drache613]

Hello Theresa,

Great you are getting a Reptisun 10 flourescent tube light. The Zilla T50 desert series is the worst light possible. It has caused so many problems that I cannot even believe that they have the nerve to even have them out on the shelves anymore. There have been numbers of complaints, but it just doesn't seem to matter to them. That light has caused deaths. Here is a link to read about the condition of photokerato conjunctivitis:
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm

I hope he is doing better today. I would turn the light off & just leave the basking light on right now. Let his eye begin healing up.

Tracie

 

[taaddison]

Hello Theresa,

Great you are getting a Reptisun 10 flourescent tube light. The Zilla T50 desert series is the worst light possible. It has caused so many problems that I cannot even believe that they have the nerve to even have them out on the shelves anymore. There have been numbers of complaints, but it just doesn't seem to matter to them. That light has caused deaths. Here is a link to read about the condition of photokerato conjunctivitis:
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm

I hope he is doing better today. I would turn the light off & just leave the basking light on right now. Let his eye begin healing up.

Tracie

My son has been devastated over this whole issue. He is so afraid for his Dragon but we have turned the light off and I am awaiting the new light. Ladon actually ate a superworm yesterday so I am happy to see that his appetite may be returning. Yay! Poor little guy. I changed his basking light from the Zilla "blue" day 150 watt to a regular 75 watt light bulb I had laying around and he is basking more now as well.

Thank you for the link and the well wishes!

Theresa

 

[gregorydragon]

I don't know where you live, but direct sunlight might be an option in the meantime if it isn't too cold (probably greater than 70 degrees) and not in a glass aquarium.

 

[taaddison]

I don't know where you live, but direct sunlight might be an option in the meantime if it isn't too cold (probably greater than 70 degrees) and not in a glass aquarium.

Unfortunately the high was only 47 today and the low is 17. Yuck! We live in rural Colorado so right now it is COLD!! It will be over 100 in the summer and he will love the outdoors then! We will persevere and get through this!