JLynn87":eklruc05 said:I just cleaned out my beauties 40 gallon tank and put new carpet in there. I left for 1-2 hours and noticed a clear liquid on his Hamic and a strong smell of urine. I looked around for what could be causing the smell and found that it was his tank, I took out the Hamic and it reeked of urine. He has been pooping even though he is not eating, I have also noticed his urate has been white up until an hour or two ago. I'm not sure what this could mean, I've only had him for two weeks and he has not had any kind of a bad smell what so ever. I am also worried that he has not really eaten this week from what I could see.I keep collards and juvenile fortified food
Exactly what is it ?
for him at all times and I have offered him crickets and mealworms, he had eaten probably three crickets and maybe a half a dozen meal worms this entire week.
<<< at 7g he has to be no older than 8 weeks old (likely only 4 weeks old),
He is not eating nearly enough at all .
guidance for you :
FEEDING SCHEDULE (I recommend at least 2 hrs lights/heat on before first live feed and after last feed of the day)
>>> when are you offering live feeder insects ? what are they ? how big are they ?
>>> when are you offering greens and other veg ? what are you offering ?
good guide is here : http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html
Suppliments used ?
>>> is the calcium powder vitD3 fortified ? == use with caution.
Potential risks are hypervitaminosis D3 (from excessive ingestion of vitamin D3) and inability to metabolise dietary calcium leading to a buildup of calcium in your beardies blood (hypercalcemia).
basic Feeding schedules :
hatchlings
three feeds of live appropriate sized insects per day as many as they want per session offered a few at time if it's hoppy or fast moving
+ offer fresh high calcium greens daily (might not eat it).
Juveniles (6 months to 12 months)
two feeds of insects per day
+ offer fresh high calcium greens daily (might not eat it)
Good staple insects
>> BSF maggots
>> blowfly gents
and the pupae and flies , great for hatchlings and juveniles , naturally rich in calcium
>> silkworms
small (1-1.5 inch for sub 3 month olds)
medium (1.5 - 2 inch for larger hatchlings and juveniles)
large ( > 2 inch for beardies older than 12 months.
>> crickets / roaches / locusts , must be gutloaded with calcium rich foods and greens & dusted LIGHTLY with calcium powder.
Repashi GRUBPIE is acceptable as a backup food.
Hard and soft pellets are dubious , ok mixed in as softened croutons through their greens/salad (maybe).
Bites = rubbish food.
His eyes are a bit sunken in and he seems extra scared of me, I thought he was just beginning to shed, that was until the smell. Being that it is a Saturday night I am worried that he needs a vet and I won't be able to take him in until Monday, is there anything I can do or should I be worried at all?
I do not know his age but he is very small, he weighed 7 grams 7 days ago when I took him to the vet to be sure I was feeding him properly. I use a T8 rep the sun tube for his UVB,
How and where it is installed ?
ie
reflector hood ?
ontop a mesh lid or under the lid ?
how far from the basking spot ?
and 100 W basking lamp, his humidity levels are around 20 to 30 and he's temps have varied a lot as I have been trying to get them between 95 and 110 for basking. I also give him calcium powder, but since he is not eating he hasn't had any.
<<< in his case it's perfectly acceptable to take charge and assist feed him his appropriate size bugs each meal , at least some of the bugs . see this for a good approach : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYVe79z5wEM
or even to use a syringe to feed a stubborn non-feeder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYol3D3TEk4
- but its very unusual for very young hatchlings to refuse to eat UNLESS they are VERY SICK.
I don't know if this makes any difference but I did move his terrarium to a new location so he would not be on the floor. I give him baths every 2 to 3 days and he drinks water, but today he did not drink half as much as he normally does.
JLynn87":4iyumfgc said:Again, I don't believe he's actually eaten any of the fortified foods.
Use fortified packaged food and pellets to feed the roaches / crickets / locusts , as they are not good for your dragon (as staples or even IMO as treats).
They are actually great food for the insects , I use Rep-Cal adult beardie pellets straight from the bottle to feed my crickets + some carrot .
The branch is new, I just leave the probe right in this position. He moves all around the new branch, he seems to really like it as he has not spent much time away from it.
I have two basking bulb is up top, the 100W is too much during the day as it can get into the high 90s still outside. I use the 75 W bulb during the day.
>> I can't make out if there is a shaped reflector in the tube's hood , if there is you need it orientated facing DOWN so the UV is all directed DOWN rather than OUT.
<<< how long has he had that dramatic kink in his tail ?
<<< can you put up a closer from side and from above image of it ?
(likely not an issue - if a healed tailed injury).
I forgot to mention that when he drinks water or opens his mouth I inspected as thoroughly as I can, there have been no changes since I have had him. The tip of his tongue is very light almost white, the further back in his mouth I look, the pinker it gets. I am not sure how long bearded dragon's tongues are, he doesn't put his out too far at all.
I tried to get an up close picture, I do not know what shutting will look like as I have red bearded dragons can you shed in sections. His scales seem to be dryer even with baths and spraying and they seem to be more pronounced this is why I thought he may be beginning to shed.
Within about 10 minutes of his lights coming on he moves to his basking spot.
I do love this little guy very much and hope there's nothing seriously wrong.
JLynn87":1m98dymo said:
These pictures are from the set up I had prior to yesterday late afternoon, I was told the UVB light was not at a good angle at the back of the tank so I got a new screen cover in order to hang it from the top of the screen. There is nothing between the UVB bulb and him, it is on the interior of his tank. For at least the first week I had him I was using the coil bulb that came with the set up, I change that once I found out the problems oil UVB bulbs can cause. I do not have any sort of a reflector hood, I was going to try putting tinfoil to help with the reflection.
<<< better than no reflector in the hood , as is he needs to be able get about 4 inches for the T8 10% tube to get sufficient UVA (influence apetite and activity) and sufficient UVB (necessary to enable him to metabolise his dietary calcium and form natural VitD3 in his skin. A reflector will double the UV at the basking spot , so it will the be fine about 8 inches from the tube.
Id visit Ebay and look for a T8 slip on reflector or better still a T8 reflector hood for the viv.
With his new set up he's able to get much closer to the heat lamp and UVB bulb, I am pretty sure I had it too far away for him. Once I got him something to perch on closer to the lighting is temperatures are around low 100s, again, the entire time I've had him the temperatures have varied due to difficulties maintaining proper levels. I have three thermostats, one digital probe on the cool side (low 80's) one digital probe resting on the top branch of his perch (101-109) and one that sticks on the warm side of the tank (not digital, 90-95). I also have humidity gauge on the back interior of his tank. I am looking to purchase the gun since I read it is most accurate.
Now as far is feeding and supplements goes I have tried him on zoo meds natural juvenile bearded dragon food with Adam vitamins and minerals (pellets and I spray w/ water to make them soft). I keep National Geographic juvenile bearded dragon entrée fortified daily diet (moistened pellets) that look similar to peas; the pet store told me they contain everything a dragon needs if they are not eating life food. I am not sure that he's actually eaten either of those things as I try to keep count of what I put in to see if he is while I am not around, the count is the same number each time. For the calcium powder I use Fluker's Repta Calcium with vitamin D3 and phosphorus free.
<<< careful with VitD3 fortified calcium.
For fresh vegetables I have offered shredded carrots, very small amount of red cabbage, a little bit of kale and collard greens, it is difficult to tell if he is eating this, I have not witnessed but I have found vegetables outside of the shallow dish I put them in.
<<< you'll find better greens and veg here http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
My gang's fav greens are buk choi, kale, dandelion (leaves and flowers), nasturtion (leaves and flowers)
<<< at his age not so important to eat greens and veg , he needs lots of dietary calcium, intense UVB (160 - 190 microW UVB / sq.cm) and lots of high quality live insects every day.
For live critters I started him out with baby crickets, he initially was eating three crickets morning and evening; however, he slowly started eating less and less. Sometimes I think the crickets are a bit large for him but it is difficult to tell if they are within the distance between his eyes. I tried him on the meal worms when he started eating a bit less of the crickets, I thought it was a good switch in the beginning as he was eating about three in the morning and Afghan at night. I was told that he only needs to eat twice a day and have fresh vegetables readily available for him at all times. I have his lights on timers, they are scheduled to turn on about 530 every morning and turn off around 830 each night. I feed him around seven in the morning since I have work at 8 AM. I feed him again around 5:30 PM sometimes later if I do not get off work in time. When I took him to the vet she guessed his age to be around two months or so, she said my feeding schedule was suitable and he seemed healthy, I do believe this was before I gave him meal worms but I cannot be sure. I knew he was a little bit I did not realize that he was considered a hatchling and that he needed to be fed three times a day with live food, I have tried to hand feed him and it does not work he will not eat from me. I was putting him in a feeder place so that he would have an easier time catching his food, this was working out well in the beginning, once he started eating less I was told to try feeding him in his home, this did not help in putting him in the separate feeder was no longer working. I ordered quarter inch Dubia roaches, they should be here Monday or Tuesday; is he too young for dubias? As I mentioned before, he is pooping almost every day, between Friday and Saturday I believe he actually went four times, they all seemed normal as they were dark informed.
Since he is very stressed I assumed this was the issue, he has stress marks on his chest and back. It is my intention to not handle them unless it is bath time or his weekly deep cleaning. Also I just thought about it, when I was deep cleaning his tank yesterday are used Windex for the fingerprints I left inside. I was cautious in the amount I used and I let the tank sit for at least an hour before returning him to his home, was this not OK for me to use?
I am going to buy him a gram scale today, I want to be sure he's not losing weight; the only scale I have now measures in ounces.
<<< a glass top flat scale is good , if you can find one that can weight 0.1g that's great , http://www.dshop.com.au/buy/0.01g-digital-precision-kitchen-platform-scale-sta/3395?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzJzZjomb1gIVEx9oCh2YVgs1EAQYASABEgJbQPD_BwE
I used a digital pocket assayer's scale that can weigh 0.01g and it was fine until my gang got too big about 300g and long , then I switched over to the kitchen scales that can weigh 1g.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Kitchen-Digital-Scale-3kg-0-1g-Multi-function-LCD-Home-Food-Weighting-Tool/352109254116?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150313114020%26meid%3D56ac33cbf054449bbcc66a05b6c5b2e3%26pid%3D100338%26rk%3D12%26rkt%3D30%26sd%3D142395869197&_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726
His light should be turning on any minute and I will take pictures of his new set up and of the fortified foods I am using. I greatly appreciate the responses, it is very stressful being a first time beardie parent. I thought I had all the right answers from the pet store, but after coming home and researching, I have found there's a whole world of things I did not know.
I live in a sort of small town and there are very few pet stores, for the life that I should be feeding him is there a good website to order from? I ordered his Dubia's from Dubia roaches.com.
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