Odd hiding behaviour?

[luvalot]

We have a beardie, Naito, that is we think still a juvenile. We got him (her?) from a rescue back in middle of March. He is 10 inches plus whatever part of his tail is missing. He was kept in a very small tank, so I am not sure if his growth has been stunted. The rescue got him in February and said the owner had him since October.

We have a 48x48x24 enclosure. We use a T5 10.0 reptisun and a 150W basking light. The other light in the picture is no longer used. It was for our cold winter nights here in Canada .

His basking perch is on top of a makseshift "crash pad" as he is missing one front limb and it appears as though one of his back limbs is deformed or had been broken before we got him. So he had a tendency to fall off his basking log. It is a piece of foam wrapped in a loopless fleece.

The problem is over the last week and a half or so he hangs out in his little cave on the right. He very rarely comes out at all. He almost never basks. You can see him hiding in there. When I come in the room to talk to him he will poke his head out to "listen" to me.

He is eating normal...about 10-20 small crickets a day, salad and about 20 Rep-Cal pellets mixed with his salad (helps him want it more). His crickets are dusted.

The humidity runs between 30-45. Can be very humid here or very dry...and anywhere in between.

We have an Infrared thermometer we use. The basking log itself (surface) is 102. The blanket underneath is 97. The middle of the enclosure is 86. Inside his cave is 78 and outside cave but on that side is 80.

Any suggestions? Is it something with the temperature of the cage, or could this be more health related?

Thanks!

 

[kingofnobbys]

Tank size will not influence the growth of a beardie.

Food intake and opportunities to get warm enough to metabolise food will, genetics also plays a role.

If the room gets cold overnight I suggest either installing a thermostat regulated CHE and / or a heat pad (under the hide , I use 7W basic film type heatpads on a thermostat that I sandwich between two layers of ceramic tiles - see my thread in DIYS for setup, and I run my beardies' heatlabs 24/7 set to stay at about 36-37oC --- my beardies all love their nice cozy hides and heatslabs.

He could be coming up to his next shed , this can put them off their basking or he might given himself a fright by falling off his purch, I suggest that perhaps since he's disabled and quite handicapped he might benefit from a supersized hubbahut under his basking light or a wider flatter basking platform with easy access via a ramp .

I suggest perhaps you will find he will appreciate a "heatslab" under his hide. This will help keep him warm when napping .