pretty sure i'm mad right now.

[Sammy28]

I was working so hard on making Juju's new cage amazing. I've done everything from getting a 55g tank, slate tiles, to switching to sand, to switchting BACK to slate tiles, to buying a T-REX MVB bulb, and a deep dome to match.

so all the substrate I've used does not work as good as the crushed english walnut shells at all. the sand was too smelly and messy, the poo just runs off and makes a terrible mess on the slate tiles, and the light stoped working! I just spent money i shouldn't have to order this light and fixture, and then it suddenly just turns off.

on top of it all, Juju won't eat the healthy stuff I started feeding him. I used to feed him just lettuce, then i switched it to boy choy, and he won't eat it. then i gave him dandelion flower tops, and he ate them for 2 days, and now won't touch them! I now mixed up the dandelion greens, bok choy, and some lettuce, with even carrots and dandelion flower tops on top, and HE PICKS AROUND. i've watched him and if he can't reach something he likes, he won't eat anymore.

I don't know what to do. I lost the reciept for the light, and I just want Juju to have more energy and appetite...

-sam

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

I use tile & non adhesive shelf liner i get at the doller store.The bulb might be shuting dow after it over heats it may come back on on its own.
If you bath your beardie dailey around the time you know it goes to the bathroom youcould potty train for less
mess.
Keep an eye on the bulb plug it in turn it on leave it on see what happens maybe the clerk remembers you where you got it.If you got it online the store may have a record of it.
Good Luck.

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

I use collard, turnip, and mustard greens as my staple vegitation. Crushed walnut shells can kill your dragon if the ingest them. They are not a good subsrate at all. Tile or nonadhesive shelf liner works great. just wipe it clean when they poop.

 

[bigrons1971]

I feed collard, Cale and mustard greens with chopped up carrot shreds. as for the tank I us one of those green tank liners, I shake it off daily and run it threw the washer once a week. I have a piece of slate and a piece of stone that I wipe off daily along with a piece of drift wood and some other small climbing things. He really seems to love it.

 

[Embee]

and the light stoped working! I just spent money i shouldn't have to order this light and fixture, and then it suddenly just turns off.

As to the light:

Sammy, what kind of fixture are you using? Is it the deep dome? The requirement for this bulb is a 10 inch ceramic fixture because of the amount of heat tend to throw out. What can happen is that with some fixtures, the light can "cut out" when it becomes to hot. What are your room temps? I know that can sometimes play a part in how hot the bulb becomes. Also, are you placing the bulb straight up and down? Having them at an angle can cause the bulbs to prematurely blow out.

I use the TRex with a deep dome: http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-light-fixtures/513264/zoo-med-repti-deep-dome-lamp-fixture.html in a room that is between 68-72 degrees and have never had a problem. The only thing I have to remember is that when the bulb is turned off (say if I'm cleaning the tank), I can't turn it back on again for a full 10 minutes (as per the instructions).

Other than that I'm not sure what I can offer as to solutions. Could be that the filament was damaged in shipping. :dontknow:

As to the food:

Is Juju a young dragon then? If so, try not to concern yourself too much with the anti-veggie thing. Dragons vary widely in when they start accepting veggies regularly. And if you were feeding lettuce and then switching to something new, it may take Juju sometime to accept the new food, as dragons tend to get very set in their ways. It takes persistence on your part (just keep offering), and time on her part. Our dragon is 8 months old and just starting to accept veggies regularly. Over the months, I simply continued to offer a little each day, have instituted the "moving salad" once a day (greens over worms), and of course, I feed the greens she won't eat to the crickets... she'll get those veggies one way or another! :wink:

Here is a list to a wonderful resource list, do's and don'ts (if you don't have it already that is): http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

The best,
Em

 

[Sammy28]

i bought the dome that the hyperlink above shown. My room temps are..70 degrees F.
And i'm sorry for ranting about all this in a thread, it's just... so frustrating when I try and everything flops.

I got it off petmountain and i unburied some warranty thing I found in the recyling, but on the return policy it says it requires a reciept. I'm going to call..somebody online tomorrow and see if they will show me mercy.

As as for this 'nonadhesive shelf liner', what is that? I've probably seen it, but the name brings up no images.

-sam

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

shelf liner is kind of a soft foam mesh that comes in a roll.cost $1.00.Malibu doesn't poop in her viv so i only change hers about once a month.But i believe they are washable.

 

[diamc]

Here's a picture of the Duck brand non-adhesive shelf liner. It comes in lots of different colors and prints. It also says here that it is machine washable. http://www.housewaresandbeyond.com/p13621-Duck-26397-Non-Adhesive-Grip-Shelf-Liner-Geometric-Smooth--6-x-20.html

That's very strange about the T-Rex. Did you get 100 or 160 watt? Are you laying it flat on the screen or is it at an angle?

You might want to try escarole, mustard greens, collards or turnip greens. He should find something he likes with a mixture too. They do tend to get bored with the same one so it's a good idea to change them around. Another thing you could do is put some pieces of musk, honeydew or watermelon on top of the greens. If he likes fruit, that may just attract him to it. I think Juju is an adult if I remember right, so hopefully he'll find some greens he really likes very soon. Didn't you just move him to the larger tank a few days ago? If so, it may take up to 2 wks before he gets used to it. Some beardies are more prone to relocation stress than others. Just try to relax, he should adjust soon.

 

[Embee]

And i'm sorry for ranting about all this in a thread, it's just... so frustrating when I try and everything flops.

No apology necessary. You are understandably frustrated. We definitely had some "trial and error" with our set up as well. You want to do right by your dragon, and things aren't going as planned. If you can't rant here, where can ya? We've all been there... totally understandable.

I got it off petmountain and i unburied some warranty thing I found in the recyling, but on the return policy it says it requires a reciept. I'm going to call..somebody online tomorrow and see if they will show me mercy.

This sounds like a good course of action. Let us know how it goes.

The best, and good luck!

Em

 

[Sammy28]

thanks guys, I need people to sympathize with me when I get this frustrated.

It was funny because the light (which is 100w) turned off as I was watching TV (where it was laying flat), so I try different things (turning the switch on and off, changing the outlet, turning the powerstrip switch on and off) and when it didn't work, i calmly put his old lights back on, and then cleaned like hell. i'm talking vacuuming, carpet cleaning, dusting, everything. :lol:

and yeah Juju is an adult, 2 years old. it wasn't almost 2 weeks ago when I've moved him into his larger tank, but with the replacing substrates a bunch maybe that still is funking him out.

He does like veggies, it's what he eats mostly, but until i got on this forum, all i fed him was lettuce and carrots. now he just picks them out of his mixture. i think i've spoiled him with junk food haha.

-sam

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The ceramic based dome fixture, what wattage is it rated at? Since you have a 100 watt MVB, it does get hot, so your ceramic dome fixture needs to be rated at least 200-250watts to ensure that it will support that much wattage safely without it shutting off & on all of the time due to it getting too hot.

Tracie