SO PLEASE ANY QUESTIONS COMMENTS SUGGESTIONS CRITICISM LET ME HAVE IT ^.^
Alright, I take a stab at it. :wink: There are a few things in your post that stand out, and I will address those, and then, perhaps we can troubleshoot. Sorry about losing your job. There is way too much of that going around these days. *sigh* Hope something comes up for you soon.
Well i got my 1st beardie last august from a local pet store there was about 20 of them all 2 weeks old
I was a little alarmed to learn here that pet stores often sell beardies way too young. This was our scenario as well. If our beardie was 3 weeks, I'd be surprised. She was tiny at just 4 inches, nose to tail tip. As it turns out, as a reputable breeder will tell you, beardies really shouldn't be sold before they are 6 inches or so. *sigh* Not that it has anything to do with her growth/health issues per se, but selling them off young, could be a contributing factor.
everything went great for the first few months i guess i can say mid december i noticed a a lack of apatite around this time i also changed from papertowel bedding to childs play sand (fine). about a month after i was told from numerous sources that sand can turn to clay in a beardies belly and cause impaction so changed the bedding to aspen wood shavings used for hamsters cus it breaks down easier.
Good that you got rid of the sand, but generally, loose substrates of ANY kind, including shavings, are not recommended for beardies, especially juveniles. All carry impaction risk if ingested, and also, loose substrates have a much higher chance of harboring bacteria. The most recommended substrates here are: tile, slate, repti-carpet, or *you guessed it* paper towel.
What is the BRAND of your UVB, and what type of bulb; tube, coil, compact? How old it the light/when was it last replaced?
and a "outdoor 90 watt flood light halogen bulb" for the basking area ( air temp 1 inch from ground under light is about 105* room temp is 85*)
I'm not sure if I'm understanding your temps properly. Temps in the basking spot/area should be 105-110, ambient temps 85-90, and cool side, about 80. What type of thermometer are you using to take temps?
i have a waterfall with a misting machine for fresh water and humidity
Ok, this stuck WAY out for me. First,
sounds lovely, BUT, it would seem to me that this sort of tank feature would cause serious issues for beardie. They are a desert lizard, and need a dry environment. Are you using a hygrometer (testing humidity levels)? If so, what are they? Tank humidity should be between 30-50%. Being desert animals, high humidity levels can cause medical issues such as skin fungus, mouth rot, and most seriously, respiratory infections. And high humidity for a beardie, is well, pretty low (see above numbers), relatively speaking.
the tank its self is 5 ft long by 2ft deep by 2ft high now from wat i know this should be a flawless set up but my beardie has not shed in almost 4 months and maybe eats 1 cricket a day ( yes i use rep-cal and rep-cals herptivite with every feeding since she eats so little)
It is tough when they aren't doing well. I've recently come through a similar time with our beardie.
i thought maybe it was lonely so i got a male beardie to toss in wih her all that did was produce eggs and make her more weak so now he lives in a different room/tank
Whew, I'm glad you removed the male. In most cases, beardies should never be housed together. Particularly males, with either sex. Even if they appear to "get along" there are usually dominance issues going on that cause stress to both, but in particular, the subordinate dragon. Dragons are solitary animals, and do not long for other dragon company... only ours. :wink:
she is now just over a ft. long and should be at least 16-18 inches does anyone know y shes like this?
By my calculations, she's about 7 months old? 12 inches is smallish, yes, but not overly so. Of course, I'm getting to be an expert these days with the small beardie... ours, due to using a compact
UVB light in the beginning, got off to a
very slow start. She's 5+ months and 6 1/2 inches. We've since changed her environment, and she's eating a ton, and thriving however, so hopefully there is something you can do for your enclosure that will help your beardie get back on the right track.
any ideas on how to boost her apatite
Not as of yet, but when you answer the questions I've asked, perhaps we can find something that's causing her issues. Very possibly, it's a combination of things.
i have tried numerous greens worms crickets (dead and alive) and live pinkys
I may be wrong on this, but I imagine a pinky might be too much for a 12 inch beardie. That said, I've never seen one up close... rule is, no live feeders bigger than the space between beardies eyes.
also her tale never fully grew! a quarter way down the tale goes really small and its hard but she can still wiggle it so i know its alive....the very tip of it did die and breakoff though but it was no more than 1cm also a few scales seem have died thay turned a dark yellowish color and caved in
Interesting. Our beardie, before we got her, had received a tail nip from a clutch mate, and it actually healed quite well. However, I know that some whom this has happened to, have more problems with the healing process. Tail nips are rather common, if beardies are housed together in a small enclosure such as ours was, in the pet store. The way you describe the tail, and the pics, I have to wonder about "yellow fungus." I'm not nearly an expert on that however, so I'll have to defer to someone with more knowledge on the subject.
and remember she has not shed or had any signs of shedding for 4 months!!!!!
Indeed, somewhere she stopped growing. This happened with our beardie as well. Hopefully, we'll be able to find out what's going on for your 'little' dragon. Please take some time to answer the questions I've asked, and we'll do our best to help.
The best,
Em
