sleeping after eating-how to stop it? and other behavior q's

[Jsw]

I had been having issues with Scaley eating his dinner and then immediately putting himself to bed in his cave. After reading suggestions here for that and other things, I decided to only give him roaches 5 days a week and offer him veggies every morning. He still doesn't like eating his staple veggies, though he will eat butternut squash puree from a spoon if offered directly in front of his mouth and occasionally eats orange pepper, strawberry, or blueberry. But at least he wasn't eating roaches and then going to bed without basking.

Today was a no roach day, and yesterday I gave him fewer than usual. He has stayed in one spot - the spot he was in when lights went out last night - outside his cave but on the "cool side" (80-84 degrees) all day (lights on at 5:30, currently 4 p.m.). Just now, he walked over to his dish, voluntarily ate half a spoonful of butternut squash puree and immediately went to bed. Ugh!

So, yay for choosing to eat veggies. But why isn't he basking?!

And as long as I'm discussing behavior. . . he does not seem like the dragons on this forum. He is very lazy; definitely not curious and definitely not a lizard who makes his needs known (slave master, as you call them) or seems to ask to get out or anything. Basically, he and his terrarium are a stressful decoration. He doesn't really ever *do* anything, even when given free roam of the house. He's in a 36x18x18 terrarium, and we're making him a 48x24x24 one, but I don't know if he needs that much space for as much as he moves around. :/

Is he normal?

ETA: Oh, I just thought of something. He did shed from his front two feet recently (the orange stain from his sand is gone on those feet!). But he doesn't seem to be shedding anywhere else. Does shedding make them lazy? I have read here, I think, that it stresses them?

 

[kingofnobbys]

I had been having issues with Scaley eating his dinner and then immediately putting himself to bed in his cave. After reading suggestions here for that and other things, I decided to only give him roaches 5 days a week and offer him veggies every morning. He still doesn't like eating his staple veggies, though he will eat butternut squash puree from a spoon if offered directly in front of his mouth and occasionally eats orange pepper, strawberry, or blueberry. But at least he wasn't eating roaches and then going to bed without basking.

Today was a no roach day, and yesterday I gave him fewer than usual. He has stayed in one spot - the spot he was in when lights went out last night - outside his cave but on the "cool side" (80-84 degrees) all day (lights on at 5:30, currently 4 p.m.). Just now, he walked over to his dish, voluntarily ate half a spoonful of butternut squash puree and immediately went to bed. Ugh!

So, yay for choosing to eat veggies. But why isn't he basking?!

And as long as I'm discussing behavior. . . he does not seem like the dragons on this forum. He is very lazy; definitely not curious and definitely not a lizard who makes his needs known (slave master, as you call them) or seems to ask to get out or anything. Basically, he and his terrarium are a stressful decoration. He doesn't really ever *do* anything, even when given free roam of the house. He's in a 36x18x18 terrarium, and we're making him a 48x24x24 one, but I don't know if he needs that much space for as much as he moves around. :/

Is he normal?

ETA: Oh, I just thought of something. He did shed from his front two feet recently (the orange stain from his sand is gone on those feet!). But he doesn't seem to be shedding anywhere else. Does shedding make them lazy? I have read here, I think, that it stresses them?

If he's still on sand .... BAD !!!! get rid of the sand , it's a very poor and a dangerous bedding for hatchlings in particular (impaction is big risk if they accidentially eat sand sticking to the bugs or greens or salad).

 

[Jsw]

He's not on sand. That's why the shed is eliminating the stain. If he were still on sand, he'd still be getting stained. He's not a hatchling. He's 2 years old, and I have had him about 2 months.

Do you (or anyone) have thoughts on my question?


P.S. Just curious. Why do you usually quote an entire post even when you're only responding to a small portion of it?

 

[Rankins]

Sand is controversial, but I see no problem with using it for subadults and adults. However if it was staining the dragon it might be dye, so I wouldn't use that kind. But since your not using it anymore....problem solved.

All bearded dragons are different, so behaviors are also different. It's possible you just have a mellow dragon, or its trying to brumate. What are the temps on the warm side? How many hrs are the lights on a day? Eating and falling asleep afterwards isnt too big of a deal. Just make sure temps are correct and leave the lights on for at least a couple hrs after eating before you turn the lights off..

 

[Jsw]

Thanks, Rankins. This brumating thing is so confusing for a newbie owner! Especially when some don't go down fully, just get snoozy. Today, he was actually pretty alert when I took him out. He got to roam about the family room for an hour, wasn't super active but he skittered from spot to spot and just chilled in that spot for 10 minutes or so before moving on. Often he just goes for the nearest corner and buries his head.

Here's his set up: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=229575


Lights go on at 5:30 am. On weekdays, I put new food in at 6am. On weekends, he gets new food at 8am but lights still go on at 5:30 am. Almost every time, he's still in his sleeping spot when he gets food. Always still in it at 6am.

Lights go off at 9pm. It used to be 11, but since he goes to bed so early himself, I was saving a bit of electricity.

I like the tile, sand controversy or no. He was on sand at his old home, and it sure was a PITA to clean up and it got everywhere.