bergmite
Member
Hey all,
As the subject suggests, I’m having difficulty getting my dragon to eat. I wasn’t very worried at first because I suspected he was about to shed (It’s been a little over 2 weeks since his last shed) but it’s been 3 days and no change. This is my first dragon and I’m unsure of whether refusing food for that long prior to shedding is normal or not.
There were actually a few things I wanted to ask about, so I apologize in advance if this post gets long and if there’s a lot to keep track of.
TL;DR:
He is just a hatchling. He has been eating 2-4 crickets a day and pooping regularly until 3 days ago. He should be shedding any day now but he hasn’t started yet. He won’t eat greens or crickets. He’s pooped 2 times since he stopped eating and only passed a urate yesterday. There have been no changes in his temperatures or setup.
Tank setup:
-20 gallon, 30x12in
-Reptisun 5.0 compact fluorescent in a 12in hood
-100 watt basking lamp (repti basking)
(It’s worth noting that this lamp has an orange tint— since joining this forum this morning I read that it should be white. Need clarification there, please!)
-Textured ceramic tiles
Temperatures & humidity:
95-111 degrees on the hot side depending on where I point the temp gun. There are shady spots. 79-82 on the cool side.
The humidity fluctuates between the 40s, but is generally at 45%. I’ve taken measures to lower it, including removing the water bowl from the tank and putting a dehumidifier inside, but it doesn’t seem to be working. It might be that the humidity reader isn’t very good(it’s a flimsy plastic analog velcro’d to the wall on the cool side). I’m hoping for suggestions on this as well.
Context:
My husband and I adopted him a little over 2 weeks ago. The store owner told us he had just finished shedding and there was a little left over on his tail. She couldn’t tell us his exact age but we are pretty sure he’s only about a month old now. 5 inches long.
We picked up one of those all-in-one starter tanks and brought him home with it (I know! I’m sorry! It’s come to my attention in the time I’ve been caring for him that that was a poor call and I’m in the process of figuring out exactly what needs to be replaced. The sand has since been replaced with ceramic tiles.)
He refused food for the first 3 days and finally ate a collared green leaf. After that he would eat 2-4 crickets a day, powdered with Repti Calcium. My husband and I have been concerned that 2-4 just isn’t enough after reading about how babies can scarf down 20+, but he just won’t take any more than that. They are generally about half an inch long, perhaps a bit less. I’ve suspected they are just a bit larger than the ones baby dragons eat 20+ of. We’ve given him a warm bath 4 times since adopting him. He’s never pooped in the bath or drank water from it. We also mist him regularly and he’s drank water from his bowl / after pouring some from a bottle in front of him and dotting his nose. I don’t think he’s dehydrated. As mentioned in the shortened story at the top of the post, yesterday he passed only a urate. It was yellowish.
I’ve also been worried about his stress spots. I understand they’re normal for a newly adopted dragon, but what confuses me is that they tend to be more prominent when he’s in his tank unbothered than when he’s being handled. I notice they fade almost entirely when he’s out of the tank with me or exploring. In general, he’s a very relaxed lizard. He’s perky and has jumped around while exploring, but he’s never run from me or spazzed out. The woman I adopted him from said the “batch” he was from was a very “laid-back” one. I just don’t understand why his ovals / beard are so dark when he’s chilling in his tank.
One last thing— ever since adopting him he’s tended to stay on the warm side of the tank all day, usually basking. I’ve only caught him on the cool side maybe once after getting home. I was concerned that basking for most of the day was an indicator of some issue— please let me know if this is something I should worry about.
Thank you so much for reading this far. If you have any questions or need anything clarified please ask, I tried to be thorough but I’m sure I could have missed something. Thank you so much in advance for your help!
As the subject suggests, I’m having difficulty getting my dragon to eat. I wasn’t very worried at first because I suspected he was about to shed (It’s been a little over 2 weeks since his last shed) but it’s been 3 days and no change. This is my first dragon and I’m unsure of whether refusing food for that long prior to shedding is normal or not.
There were actually a few things I wanted to ask about, so I apologize in advance if this post gets long and if there’s a lot to keep track of.
TL;DR:
He is just a hatchling. He has been eating 2-4 crickets a day and pooping regularly until 3 days ago. He should be shedding any day now but he hasn’t started yet. He won’t eat greens or crickets. He’s pooped 2 times since he stopped eating and only passed a urate yesterday. There have been no changes in his temperatures or setup.
Tank setup:
-20 gallon, 30x12in
-Reptisun 5.0 compact fluorescent in a 12in hood
-100 watt basking lamp (repti basking)
(It’s worth noting that this lamp has an orange tint— since joining this forum this morning I read that it should be white. Need clarification there, please!)
-Textured ceramic tiles
Temperatures & humidity:
95-111 degrees on the hot side depending on where I point the temp gun. There are shady spots. 79-82 on the cool side.
The humidity fluctuates between the 40s, but is generally at 45%. I’ve taken measures to lower it, including removing the water bowl from the tank and putting a dehumidifier inside, but it doesn’t seem to be working. It might be that the humidity reader isn’t very good(it’s a flimsy plastic analog velcro’d to the wall on the cool side). I’m hoping for suggestions on this as well.
Context:
My husband and I adopted him a little over 2 weeks ago. The store owner told us he had just finished shedding and there was a little left over on his tail. She couldn’t tell us his exact age but we are pretty sure he’s only about a month old now. 5 inches long.
We picked up one of those all-in-one starter tanks and brought him home with it (I know! I’m sorry! It’s come to my attention in the time I’ve been caring for him that that was a poor call and I’m in the process of figuring out exactly what needs to be replaced. The sand has since been replaced with ceramic tiles.)
He refused food for the first 3 days and finally ate a collared green leaf. After that he would eat 2-4 crickets a day, powdered with Repti Calcium. My husband and I have been concerned that 2-4 just isn’t enough after reading about how babies can scarf down 20+, but he just won’t take any more than that. They are generally about half an inch long, perhaps a bit less. I’ve suspected they are just a bit larger than the ones baby dragons eat 20+ of. We’ve given him a warm bath 4 times since adopting him. He’s never pooped in the bath or drank water from it. We also mist him regularly and he’s drank water from his bowl / after pouring some from a bottle in front of him and dotting his nose. I don’t think he’s dehydrated. As mentioned in the shortened story at the top of the post, yesterday he passed only a urate. It was yellowish.
I’ve also been worried about his stress spots. I understand they’re normal for a newly adopted dragon, but what confuses me is that they tend to be more prominent when he’s in his tank unbothered than when he’s being handled. I notice they fade almost entirely when he’s out of the tank with me or exploring. In general, he’s a very relaxed lizard. He’s perky and has jumped around while exploring, but he’s never run from me or spazzed out. The woman I adopted him from said the “batch” he was from was a very “laid-back” one. I just don’t understand why his ovals / beard are so dark when he’s chilling in his tank.
One last thing— ever since adopting him he’s tended to stay on the warm side of the tank all day, usually basking. I’ve only caught him on the cool side maybe once after getting home. I was concerned that basking for most of the day was an indicator of some issue— please let me know if this is something I should worry about.
Thank you so much for reading this far. If you have any questions or need anything clarified please ask, I tried to be thorough but I’m sure I could have missed something. Thank you so much in advance for your help!
