Newbie from NY (Dexter Passed due to parasite)

[JayNormus]

Hiya folks!

New to the site and new to beardies in general. I purchased Dexter yesterday and set up his terrarium and so far so good as one could expect.

Got a nice 105 degree basking spot, 95 degree ambient temp around that side and 80's on the cooler side.

He has some "Stress" marks on the belly, hoping they will go away in time. He also doesnt seem to like to spend much time basking. He ate about 5 crickets today even though i offered more at 2 feedings. I made up a nice dandilion greens salad, threw in a few juvi flukers pellets, moistened it but no go on veggies yet. I bathed him today to make sure he was well hydrated and he seemed to enjoy it for the most part, he drank from the water immediately. I ordered some Phoenix worms hoping he will like them better than crix. He does not run away when i put my hands in the cage for any reason. He also seems pretty active when we are not looking haha.

I guess what I am getting at is, is there anything i can do to make him more comfortable as to not prolong the relocation stress he may be feeling?

Any newbie suggestions are welcomed as well I will attach pics so you can see the set up. I removed the water dish however i didnt wanna make it too humid and i added a half log for a cave and more clings to close off all 3 sides of tank.

thanks,

Jay

 

[tazznzeppelin]

Having the correct temps and uvb are the only things you can do to make his relocation stress go by, and time of course. Sounds like you are doing all you can. What kind of uvb bulb do you have? Also, I would remove the water dish from his tank as water dishes tend to raise humidity levels and Beardies need a pretty low humidity. Do you have a temp. and humidity gauge in his enclosure?
Amy
Just read that you removed the water dish already. Sorry!

 

[JayNormus]

I believe it was a reptisun 5.0. I bought a Zoo Med kit, and added a digital thermometer with probe, changed out the sand for carpet etc. Basking is getting 105-110 depending on the houses temp, 95 down below and if i had to guess 80 on the cool side, which is where he is sleeping at the moment. ill have to get a humidity gauge to keep an eye on that.

 

[LeiPete2013]

Whereabouts I'm NY are you? I can give you the name of an excellent herp vet in Albany area... We learned the hard way that not all herp vets know what they are doing!

 

[destiny1998]

Hi ,your set up is good except you need a reptisun 10.0 tube and it needs to be mounted in the tank. He's a cutie pie!

 

[JayNormus]

im in ulster county, so only about an hours drive from albany, so a good vet would be great!

I will look into that uvb light and put it in the cage with him, its a pain having the small one on top anyways.

Thanks for all the advice/support so far I'll keep updating on his stress level decreasing hopefully

 

[MauDragon]

Hello!

Congrats on your new Beardie!

Anyways, it seems that you're using a compact type of UVB. You should buy the fluorescent type of Reptisun 10.0 as the compacts have issues (I forgot what those are, sorry! ) with bearded dragons. You can use an under-cabinet fixture for the UVB and it should have 3/4 of the length of your terrarium. Put the UVB inside the enclosure and hang it on 3M hooks and you're good to go!

Sacho~

 

[JayNormus]

That is waht i was considering doing, was looking around for an under the cabinet 24" fixture, I may just have to go to lowes or home depot for it. Ordered the reptisun 10.0 just now. Still waiting on my first cup of phoenix worms, ordered tuesday hoping i get them tomorrow and he likes them so i can order a few hundred. He chases about 5 crix a day, 2-3 in the morning and 2-3 at night an hour before bed time. doesnt seem to eat much more and wont take greens or fruit even hand fed to him yet.

Anyone have thoughts on how to get him his vitamins? i got some flukers liquid ones and he will lick the dropper a few times but that is all. I dusted his crix with calcium so he's getting that, just not the multi.