Sleeping and not eating

[nsalabes]

My beardie is 3 1/2 years old. Her head seems to be turning orange today. Her beard has been black most of the day but it could be due to the kids running around making lots of noise.

She has been sleeping off and on for a week. Not eating. I gave her a bath for 10 minutes 2 days ago.

I have a CHI bulb and a Repti-sun 24" long lamp.

Poops are normal.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Do you have any pictures of your dragon & of the tank setup?
Is she shedding? When did her head turn orange, is that her normal coloring?
Are you using a bright white light for basking also, or just the ceramic heat emitter?
How long has her beard been black? It sounds like she could be stressed from too much
noise or activity in the room possibly.
If you could run over your tank setup with us, just to be sure everything is correct for her.

Tracie

 

[nsalabes]

Thanks for asking. Beard isn't black. Head turned back to to yellow- normal color (I think). But she is sleeping and not eating. I am a new beardie Owner. I rescued her from a friend about a month ago. I dont have a recent pic of the tank. Here is the setup:

60 gallon enclosure. Fine grain walnut sand. CHI emitter 100 watt on the left side with a log up to it. 24" long UVA/UVB bulb along the top. I am going to get a new log up to the UVA/UVB bulb because I read she is not close enough to the light. I have a half circle log for hiding with she never uses. She is a big girl and the log is a bit small for her (her tail would stick out). Small water dish.

 

[EllenD]

First thing she needs is to get rid of the CHE and use the same wattage (or the correct wattage to put the tank temperatures within the correct ranges) bright-white colored Basking Bulb immediately! Dragons are desert reptiles that need you to try to replicate natural sunlight over the HOT SIDE of the tank, and you do this by putting a Bright-White Colored Basking Bulb right alongside the long UVB tube, both over the HOT SIDE of the tank, so that both lights are sharing the top of the Hot Side of the tank. Then you need to position her basking spot/platform within the Hot Side of the tank, directly under both lights, so that she gets both at the same time. But Dragons need no CHE at all, actually "basking" is a function of light, and obviously they need 13-14 hours of bright-white light alongside the UVB/UVA light coming from the tube every day. So please get rid of the CHE and get either a Reptile Basking Bulb that is ONLY BRIGHT-WHITE IN COLOR (no red, blue, etc.), or just a Halogen Indoor Flood Bulb, the par38 kind you can buy at Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, etc.

The next thing you absolutely must do immediately is dump out ALL of the crushed walnut shell substrate, as it kills more Bearded Dragons than any other substrate, along with the calcium sands. Dragons lick everything, it's a sense of touch for them, and the crushed walnut shell substrate ends up #1) Causing horrible Bowel Impactions and actually Obstructions, and #2) Causes internal bleeding and death. You can Google Image Search "Crushed Walnut Shells Bearded Dragon" and see all of the necropsy photos of dead Dragons who have their intestinal tracts full of crushed walnut shells.

Dragons come from the Australian Desert, which is a hard, rocky terrain with little loose substrate, almost no sand. To prevent impactions, obstructions, and the constant infections the microbes that live inside of loose substrates cause all the time, please dump it all out immediately, completely disinfect the tank and everything in it, and just put down paper towels and replace them as they get dirty. Then you can choose a permanent solid substrate, like stick-on slate tiles or non-adhesive shelf liner later. But get that crushed walnut shell stuff out of there immediately, it's a horrible substrate that should not be sold at all.

Exactly what UVB tube do you have, meaning what Brand, what Wattage, and what Strength (T8 or T5) is it? All of this will be printed right on the tube itself. This information will determine how close the tube should be to your dragon's basking spot/platform, how often it needs to be replaced, and whether or not it can sit on top of a mesh lid to the tank or if it needs to be mounted inside the tank, strapped to the underside of the mesh lid.

 

[nsalabes]

When I got her, she had plain sand. Had it for her entire life (3 1/2 years) with no issues. I read about the issues and got a reptile carpet. I changed to walnuts about 3 weeks ago at the advice of a pet store here. The store is not a chain store. The specialize in reptiles and saltwater aquariums.

When I got her she had no basking bulb at all. It was a small 20 gallon tank with only the UVA UVB bulb. I got a larger enclosure and a red day/ night basking bulb. She has had this for 3 weeks and been fine until about 5 days ago. I subsequently did research on this website and asked questions on a forum here a few days ago. I was told to use a CHE and bought it specifically. I replaced the red bulb with a CHE yesterday.

I can go home today and put the carpet back and use a halogen during the day. But, at night, what do i do as far as heat? The guy on the forum a few days ago said CHE for night and halogen during day. I dont actually have enough holes in my tank for that.

The UVA/ UVB is a T8. It is currently 15 inches from the nearest horizontal surface.

I am getting conflicting messages from the store and from within the forum. I am incredibly confused. And also worried about my beautiful sweetie.

 

[EllenD]

I would not lie to you, nor would anyone else here, and I promise you that every senior member here, including the moderators, will back me up on both the need for a bright-white colored basking bulb during the day, no CHE and absolutely never any colored bulbs (this should make sense since desert reptiles are under the bright sun all day long), and absolutely on the deaths related to crushed walnut shells. Pet shop employees, whether a chain store or a private reptile shop do not necessarily own Bearded Dragons themselves, nor do all reptile stores keep their reptiles in good husbandry at all, hence all the young dragons sold from private reptile shops and breeders with Adenovirus, Yellow Fungus (due to loose substrates), MBD due to using compact and coil UVB bulbs, etc. Just because someone opens up a reptile shop doesn't mean they should. Anyone can. Again, I would urge you to do both a Google Image Search and a search on this forum for "Crushed Walnut Shells" and then brace yourself for the photos you are going to see and what you're going to read. It's needless, senseless, and just a shame that it's sold at all.

Again, you obviously want to replicate their natural environment as closely as possible, that should make sense to you. That being said, they only come from the Australian Deserts, which are not at all like the deserts in the US or Africa, with endless miles and miles of sand. It's a hard, rocky terrain with vegetation scattered throughout, but little standing water, little actual sand, and they bask all day long, alone, on rocks under the bright, direct sun. The reason your dragon is acting lethargic is due to having no light above him to bask in.

The sun is not red, blue, green, purple, black, etc., and Bearded Dragons see in full color just like us. A colored bulb totally confuses their day/night cycle, plus it's not at all similar to natural sunlight. Your main goal with a Bearded Dragon's lighting is to replicate natural sunlight over the Hot Side of the tank as closely as possible. You can accomplish this by putting a bright-white colored Basking Bulb right alongside a long, fluorescent UVB tube (that is mounted correctly according to what tube you have), with his basking spot/platform positioned directly underneath both lights, so that he gets the bright white light from the Basking Bulb at the same time that he gets the UVB/UVA light from the tube. So both lights should be sharing the top of the Hot Side of the tank. And both lights need to be on every single day for at least 13-14 hours.

As far as a nighttime heat source, most people don't need one at all, and in fact they end up totally disrupting their sleep by adding one. Again, think about their natural environment: The Australian Desert, which is #1) Pitch-Black at night, and then #2) Extremely Cool and even Cold at times. They are built to live in this environment, and as such their body absolutely needs the nighttime temperatures to be very cool in order for them to sleep soundly and for their body to be able to rest. So, AS LONG AS HIS TANK TEMPERATURE DOES NOT FALL BELOW 65 DEGREES, THEN HE NEEDS ABSOLUTELY NO NIGHTTIME HEAT SOURCE AT ALL. PERIOD. Your house, or the room his tank is located in, would have to be around 60 degrees or lower at night for his tank to fall cold enough for him to need a nighttime heat source. This is why I said that most all Bearded Dragon owners are fine without ANY nighttime heat source, as most people keep their homes at least at 60 degrees during the night.

If for whatever reason you like to freeze yourself at night and you keep your home below 60 degrees at night, then you the option for heat is a CHE, HOWEVER, remember that you're only trying to get his tank to between 65-70 degrees or so for him to sleep soundly and for his body to rest and recover properly. So if you keep your house at 55 degrees at night (not likely, lol), then you're only trying to bump his tank up about 5-10 degrees at most, so we're talking a 10-20 watt CHE at the very, very most. If his tank hits 80 degrees at night it's too hot, unless he's suffering from something like an Upper Respiratory Infection where 80 degrees at night is perfect to dry up the mucous. But anywhere from 65-75 degrees is absolutely perfect and requires no nighttime heat source at all.

 

[EllenD]

And as far as the T8 UVB tube, it must be mounted inside the tank and underneath the mesh lid, as the T8 tubes are only 15-17 watts maximum, and are not strong enough to deliver adequate UVB light to your dragon on the other side, as the mesh blocks between 30-40% of the UVB light emitted by any UVB tube. The T5 UVB tubes that are 24-26 watts or more can sit on top of the mesh.

Also, very important, all T8 strength UVB tubes absolutely must be within about 6-7" of your dragon's basking spot, while the much stronger T5 UVB tubes must be within about 11" of the basking spot/platform. So you have your T8 tube way too far away, even if it was a much stronger T5 UVB tube it's about 5" too far away. And if you have it resting on top of the mesh tank lid, then he's not getting much UVB light at all anyway, and this is another reason he's having the issues he is. I promise you, this is a very, very common problem, as most people do not understand proper reptile lighting, especially for desert reptiles.

Also, all T8 tubes need to be replaced once every 6 months, as they have a very fast UVB decay-rate, and at 6 months old they emit little to no adequate UVB light anymore. The much stronger T5 tubes only need to be replaced once every 12 months.

So if you need to relocate your T8 UVB tube under the mesh lid, simply use long, plastic zip ties, wire, twine, etc. and put it through the holes in the mesh, and just strap the entire tube fixture to the underside of the mesh lid OVER THE HOT SIDE OF THE TANK, making room right alongside it for the bright-white colored basking bulb to share the top of the Hot Side of the Tank. Then ensure that his basking spot/platform is not only positioned directly underneath both lights within the Hot Side of the tank, but that it is high enough that it puts him within at least 6" or so of the now unobstructed UVB tube.

Also, make sure that your UVB tube fixture has no clear, plastic safety cover on it's bottom that is covering the UVB tube inside it, as no UVB light at all can penetrate any glass or plastic, they block 100% of all UVB light. Some tube fixtures come with a cover, some don't, just in case check it and remove it immediately if it has one.

I promise you that his issues will start to remedy themselves within 24 hours of you making these changes. If not you can let me have it, lol, but I promise you...

 

[nsalabes]

Okay I will try it. I am worried. I really care for her. Thank you. I will let you know in a couple of days.

What type of substrate should I use if choose not to use paper towels. Are ceramic tiles ok?

Currently I have a log propped up on the warm side at a 45 degree angle and she sleeps hanging on. Should I get a little shelf instead?

 

[EllenD]

I just wanted to say that I understand your confusion, totally, I really do. I typed out my replies above very quickly and strictly in an "informative" way because I'm concerned about your dragon as well, and I want to make sure that you are armed with all of the proper and correct husbandry information you need to have first, so if my posts seem a little "technical", that's why. Just the facts in those posts as I got out all of the serious husbandry issues you've got going on, now I can be a little more emotional here, as every active and senior member of this forum has much passion for Bearded Dragons, and most of us have owned them as pets, or parts of our families, for many, many years, decades in a lot of cases. I myself have owned Dragons for over 15 years, I currently have 4, 2 of my own that I originally got as month old babies, and then 1 rescue I got at 8 months old with severe MBD and a mealworm shell and bark substrate impaction that was causing partial paralysis in his back legs, as a result from a lot of the mistakes you have going on, and then I just adopted another male 2 weeks ago yesterday, who was found dumped outside in the Pennsylvania snow at the end of January and brought to a local pet shop who contacted me about taking him. Prior to owning Dragons I had a Green Iguana that I got as a baby when I was 10 years old and raised him and had him until I was 21 years old, when my mom said she would no longer care for him in my bedroom at home while I was in college, so I had to rehome him.

I have also worked at a Reptile and Bird Rescue for many years (volunteered rather), and I can honestly and truly tell you that 90% or more of the Bearded Dragons that are surrendered to the Rescue come in with a severe calcium deficiency that is not usually due to no UVB light, but either an inadequate UVB light like a compact or coil light, or having a T8 UVB tube mounted incorrectly, obstructed, and too far away, and then also not ever replaced often enough. Also, most all lizards in general that come in have digestion and bowel problems that are due to #1) Loose Substrates in pretty much every single Bearded Dragon that comes in, along with mealworm shells, and then #2) Improper temperature zones that make digestion impossible for them...

I can honestly tell you that nothing makes me more angry than seeing a sick Dragon due to Crushed Walnut Shells or Calcium Sand, because it's so unnecessary and just so pointless. We've actually had people come here for help because their dragon's are very, very sick, not eating, lethargic, bloated, or they have a horrible Upper Respiratory Infection or Skin/Scale Infection, and they are desperate for help, but when we tell them that it's due to the Crushed Walnut Shells or the Calcium Sand and they need to dump it all out immediately and disinfect the tank , then put down paper towels and use only a solid substrate, a lot of these people absolutely refuse to remove the loose substrates. Why? Because they say "I happen to like the way it looks in the tank" or they say "They come from the desert, of course they can live on sand", and they have no idea what the Australian Desert is like at all. They totally ignore our advise, and then their dragon dies. Crushed Walnut Shells are a huge problem because every little piece of that garbage has razor-sharp edges and corners, and if you looked inside your dragon's GI Tract right now you would see pieces of the stuff all through it. So obviously that stuff often causes internal bleeding in the intestinal tract and the stomach, and when these dragons are opened up during a necropsy they are absolutely FULL of the stuff. And the calcium sand literally turns into hard, cement-like rocks as soon as it gets wet, which don't cause internal bleeding, but rather bowel obstructions that they can't pass, and sometimes actually prolapse themselves while trying to pass it. Then there is the Bearded Dragon's propensity for acquiring Upper Respiratory Infections, Skin/Scale Infections, and Eye Infections and Irritations, and ALL loose substrates are breeding grounds that harbor all types of bacteria, fungi, parasites, you name it. Yellow Fungus is usually spread through a loose substrate. It's just an unnecessary risk that shouldn't be taken. And for no other reason than you're forcing them to live on something that is totally unnatural to them.

As far as the bright-white basking light goes, that should make sense to you, natural sunlight over a desert reptile requires just a few specific things: Bright-White colored light, heat, UVB light, and UVA light, that's about it. That's why "basking" is a function of light, not heat. You "Bask in or under light"...Without any light at all and simply using a CHE to emit heat, you are literally taking away their ability to bask. And colored bulbs over a reptile that needs natural sunlight to support all it's bodily functions and literally just to live just doesn't make sense. They see in full-color...imagine living all day long, every day with red or blue or green light around you constantly, masking the natural color of everything around you, so you have no idea if it's night or day, you have no idea what insects crawling around are, or what greens and veggies are, because all you can see is that everything is red or blue. And to-boot you're a desert reptile that is literally built to live under bright-white, natural sunlight all day long.

I'm not trying to "bash" your local Reptile Store, but I also will not endorse them at all based on the horrible information that they have given you so far about Bearded Dragon care. Maybe they are extremely knowledgeable about Tropical Reptiles, that isn't uncommon at all, as Bearded Dragons do require very specific light, temperature, and environmental husbandry that is totally opposite that of any Tropical Reptiles, and a lot of other desert reptiles. That being said, no desert reptile should be under a CHE instead of a Basking Bulb during the day, nor should they be under a red basking bulb, that's common sense. I just don't want you to think that an independently owned Reptile Shop must know what they are talking about, because they don't, no more than independent Bearded Dragon Breeders all know what they're doing. They only know how to put 2 adult Dragons together to mate (not necessarily healthy adults either), and they sell the babies at around a month old, so they really don't need to know much. We have many, many people come on this forum who have purchased baby dragons from very well-known, online Breeders that you would probably recognize by name, some of them spending hundreds or even over a thousand dollars for some exotic morph or color of baby. And when their very expensive baby arrives it has tail nips and is missing toenails or complete toes because the breeder kept the siblings together too long (and different sized babies together to save space and money on lighting), the baby arrives sickly because it has never had proper UVB light, it's impacted due to living in improper temperatures or on sand or crushed walnut shells, and then the really awful cases arrive with Yellow Fungus or Adenovirus because these well-known, reputably breeders do not practice basic disinfecting/cleaning and do not know anything about basic Dragon husbandry or diets. It's awful.

Quick story, that local pet shop that I told you called me when someone dropped-off the male dragon that was found laying in a cemetery in central PA in the middle of a winter snow storm, well this pet shop is in my hometown and has been there since 1992, it's owned and run by a husband/wife, the husband is a genius when it comes to aquarium fish, both saltwater and freshwater set-ups, and his wife has been breeding and hand-raising parrots since she was a little girl. Those were always their things from the time they first opened when I was 13, he did aquariums and she did birds. Well I guess around 10 years she decided to stop breeding birds, so he decided to add reptiles to what he breeds, along with the fish, so the store has turned into an aquarium and reptile specialty store. Just an FYI here so you know I'm not against this couple, the wife is actually my second cousin, my dad's first cousin, and they are both awesome people. However, as far as his background in reptiles, it's pretty much all in snakes. So if you go into their shop at any given time, he's got probably between 25-30 snakes, most very young, that he breeds himself at home, and he really knows his stuff when it comes to snakes, and also with turtles and tortoise...However, he has tried to add lizards to the mix, and he started with breeding leopard geckos because he thought they'd be easy, he did this for a while, then decided to stick to snakes. So any lizards they have come from vendors he orders them from. Well, when I went in there 2 Sundays ago after he called me, and saw 2 adult Bearded Dragons, one was surrendered/sold to them by someone who could no longer care for her, and the other was the guy found in a cemetery that I rescued, he had them both on reptile bark, with Reptisun Coil UVB bulbs sitting on top of mesh lids and at least 10-12" away from the dragons. They were horrible set-ups and the poor things were getting absolutely no UVB light, no thermometers at all, just a compact basking bulb over the opposite side of the tank from the coil UVB bulb, etc. So I went over the husbandry issues with him and he got the dragon that I didn't bring home with me on one of the racks he has with T5 UVB tubes installed on the bottoms of the shelves above the tanks, and got him on paper towels, got the basking spots within the correct distance, got a Digital Probe Thermometer set-up and I got the lighting set-up properly over the Hot Side of the tank, and then gave him the daily diet and calcium and multivitamin dusting schedules...And when we were talking about the whole thing, about how he has owned a pet shop known for selling reptiles since 1992 but he has no idea of how to care for Bearded Dragons, his exact words to me were "Snakes are my thing, you know that. I don't know much at all about the different lizards...".

 

[nsalabes]

OK that makes sense.

What is the problem with mealworm shells?

Should I get a shelf rather than a log?

Are ceramic tiles better than paper towels?

 

[EllenD]

Okay I will try it. I am worried. I really care for her. Thank you. I will let you know in a couple of days.

What type of substrate should I use if choose not to use paper towels. Are ceramic tiles ok?

Currently I have a log propped up on the warm side at a 45 degree angle and she sleeps hanging on. Should I get a little shelf instead?

I only mentioned the paper towels as a "temporary" solid substrate for now, so you could get him off of that junk and get the tank disinfected immediately, then worry about a permanent solid substrate. But yes, the stick-on, textured, slate tiles that you can buy cheaply at Lowes or Home Depot are awesome, they are really easy to spot-clean with a white-vinegar and water mix (or whatever disinfectant you use), they hold heat in enough that the floor is never cold for them to lay on, and the textured ones keep their toenails naturally trimmed, just like rocks do in the wild. That's what I and most experienced owners use, the tiles, however you can also use the non-adhesive shelf liner, any of the reptile carpeting or sand mats (they are just so hard to clean, that's the only reason I don't recommend them, especially the sand mats), newspapers, paper towels, etc. Some people even use pieces of fleece, which is fine but constantly washing them could get tiring. If you like the tiles they are the best option for you and for him. And they have a ton of different options that look pretty awesome. I have been building custom enclosures and tank decor for quite a while, and the slate tiles are the number one request for the flooring.

As far as the tank decor or her basking platform, or where she sleeps, they are all different, and they often do sleep in weird places and in wacky positions, lol. As far as the basking spot/platform goes, again, you want it positioned within the Hot Side of the tank, and directly underneath both the bright-white basking bulb and the UVB tube, and within at least 6" of the T8 strength UVB tube, which should by now be strapped to the underside of the mesh lid (I hope). Btw, you can easily verify what I'm telling you about absolutely having to have a T8 strength UVB tube UNDERNEATH the mesh lid and within at least 6" of his basking spot/platform, just search for it on the forum here, actually if you look into any of the current posts in the Beardie ER or Health sections where a dragon is lethargic, not eating, sleeping all the time, etc., most of them are actually due to having a T8 UVB tube sitting on top of a mesh lid and too far away from the basking spot. I promise you, as soon as you get that T8 tube strapped to the underside of the mesh lid and you get the basking spot/platform within 6" of the now unobstructed tube, he'll probably willingly, on his own, go right to the basking spot under the tube. That's how important the unobstructed, strong UVB light is to them...Also, make sure that whatever you're using as his basking spot/platform is solid, not something like a hammock or anything, it needs to be a solid surface like wood or stone'/rock/ceramic.

It sounds like you have a hide for him, that's good, and as far as the tank decor and positioning goes, the only thing that is an absolute must is getting the solid basking platform positioned correctly and within 6" of the T8 tube, which we've covered. They should also have a hide, which you can put in either the Hot Side or the Cool Side of the tank. I would get the tank, the lights, and the Basking Spot/Platform set-up correctly, in full, meaning get the UVB tube inside the tank, get a bright-white basking bulb right beside it, both lights sharing the top of the Hot Side of the tank, get the solid basking spot/platform directly underneath it, and then go from there as far as getting the rest of the tank set-up around these crucial requirements. He's going to pretty directly realize where the best basking spot now is, under the now strong UVB and UVA light coming out of the tube that he can now feel, along with wanting to go directly towards the bright white basking light. As far as where he'll now sleep, it depends on where he's most comfortable. He hasn't been feeling great lately, remember, so his energy levels and behavior are going to perk-up considerably once he's getting adequate UVB/UVA light and is able to bask in a bright white light that is also providing his heat.

The only other tips I can give you on decor is that if you have a water bowl for him that you keep in the tank, keep it in the Cool Side of the tank, not that humidity level is a factor really at all with dragons, they can live from 10% humidity to 70% humidity and be totally fine, they aren't like Tropical Reptiles in that respect, that's their main issue. But keeping the water bowl in the Cool Side that should be at an Ambient/Air Temperature between 75-80 degrees all the time will keep the water cool too. I have my dragon's hides in the Hot Side of the tank, as that way they have a Cool Side that is considerably cooler than the rest of the tank, then they have a hide in the Hot Side of the tank that is warmer than the Cool Side, but is shaded from the basking light if that's what they want. Some people also put a hide in the Cool Side too. Some people actually have beds in their dragons tanks for them to sleep in/on, I'm one of them, my first Dragon was a male who lived to be almost 13 years old, and he was a little arthritic, lol, so I got him a little cat bed and put it in the Cool Side of the tank, and he loved it. So i just recently did the same for my female who is now 1 year and 2 months, I got her a very small "kitten bed" at Walmart for $9 that fits perfectly in the Cool Side of her enclosure, and she loves it, she sleeps in it every night all on her own. They also love the hammocks, they really do, but you have to be careful with what hammock you get them, because all of those really common "Green Mesh" hammocks always seem to be causing dislocated elbows, knees, shoulders, and broken bones, because they are always getting their toenails stuck in the mesh, and then they violently yank their legs to free themselves. So if you want to give him a hammock, make sure it's covered with a towel or something if it has fine mesh. And never make a hammock or anything that isn't solid his basking platform, some people do this because they can get the hammocks closer to the UVB tube more easily, but if the basking platform is not solid, like a rock, or a piece of wood, or something ceramic, it cannot absorb the heat/light and get up to the proper surface temperature of between 100-105 degrees.

Please ask any questions you might have, feel free to PM me or any of us any time for help or with questions any time, that's why we're here.

 

[EllenD]

Mealworms are not at all a healthy staple feeder insect for Bearded Dragons for numerous reasons, they are a healthy daily staple for some reptiles, like geckos, but not at all for Dragons. First of all, they are very low in protein and extremely high in fat, and Dragons who are fed them on a regular basis always seem to end up with Fatty Liver Disease early in life. They also contain little to no water, and most Dragons do not drink much, if any standing water, as they have no concept of it, as naturally in the Australian Desert there isn't much standing water. So Dragons get most all of their hydration from the live insects and the fresh greens/veggies they eat, and mealworms contain pretty much no fluid at all...But the main issue with feeding Dragons mealworms is that they pretty much ALWAYS end up causing bowel impactions, and sometimes even obstructions, as their make-up is mostly very hard, chitlin shell that Bearded Dragons bodies just cannot digest. If you feed him mealworms on a regular basis you will see whole, undigested shells inside his fecal matter. That just cannot digest them, and since they aren't healthy for them anyway there is no point to feeding them to them at all anyway.

The widely accepted, healthy feeder insects that are recommended as daily staple feeders for Bearded Dragons are (all must be ALIVE, never feed ANY freeze-dried insects to a Bearded Dragon, for the same reasons as not feeding the mealworms, except worse): #1.) Crickets, #2.) Several species of Roaches, including Dubias, #3.) Silkworms, and #4.) Phoenix Worms/BSFL/NutriGrubs/ReptiWorms/CalciWorms (all the same thing, just different brand names). I have been feeding size Large BSFL/Phoenix Worms as my main daily, staple feeder for years and years, they are in my opinion the healthiest feeder insect for Bearded Dragons due to their low fat content, their high content of non-purinnsee based protein, their extremely high water content, and they also have the highest natural Calcium content of any feeder insect. I don't like crickets or roaches, and Silkworms are also amazingly healthy for them, and actually I would probably feed Silkworms, but they are impossible to find, even online you can't really buy them, even in bulk, you have to buy their eggs in bulk and then hatch them and grow them. So I just order size Large BSFL in bulk every month. They are cheap, I order 1,000 size large every month online from www.dubiaroaches.com or from www.symtonbsf.com for about $25 shipped.

Treat insects for Bearded Dragons include wax worms, hornworms, and butterworms, but only a few a week due to their very high fat content and the Dragon's propensity to develop Fatty Liver Disease.

You can also feed Superworms as a Semi-Staple feeder insect, meaning that Superworms have too high a fat content to be the main staple feeder insect, and most dragons that are fed nothing but Superworms (after they are large enough, they must be at least 12" or so in order to be able to eat any size of Superworms safely) end up dying very young of Fatty Liver Disease. However, you can supplement 1-2 Superworms a day, or every other day, along with their regular staple insect. That's what I do, I feed them the large BSFL and will give them 1-2 Superworms a day with one of their live insect feedings, this way I save on so many BSFL. But no more than 1-2 large Superworms a day, any more than that will result is FLD.

Mealworms just shouldn't be fed to them.

Be sure that you are also giving him calcium 5 days a week, and a multivitamin 3 days a week, this is for the rest of his life.

 

[nsalabes]

OMG that's ALL she has eaten besides crickets for YEARS!

I have been feeding veggies and fruit per your list as well but only since I got her. Poor thing

I have drawn some options for tank setup in my CAD program. Let me know which one is better please. I have drawn a front and side view of each.

 

[EllenD]

Well, either of the last 2 set-ups where you've got the par38 Basking Bulb and the T5 Tube right next to each other, with the basking spot directly underneath both. The shelf as opposed to just a branch is subjective.

Another tip to remember is that you do not want the UVB tube mounted against the back of the tank, as you'll automatically lose half of the UVB light right off the back of the tank. Rather, the way I have always done it, is to put both the lights right alongside each other so that they are both off-center in the Hot Side. So neither lights is against the front of the tank, and neither is against the back of the tank, but they are both centered, where one is closer to the back and one is closer to the front, but neither is against.

As far as the UVB tube goes, you do not really want to center it to the tank/enclosure, however this depends on how long a tube you have and how long your tank/enclosure is. If the tube is long enough that you can center it to the tank and have the entire Hot Side of the tank covered by the tube, then that's fine, but often you see people center the UVB tube to the tank, and only a quarter, at most, of the UVB tube is over the Hot Side of the tank and beside the Basking Bulb.

But if you want to center it to the tank, as long as enough of the tube is overtop of the Hot Side and right alongside the Basking Bulb, then you're okay, but again, do not mount the UVB tube to the front or back of the tank, but rather off-center in one direction, with the Basking Bulb off-center to the other direction, so that you don't lose any of the UVB light off of the tank glass.

And also, you want to position the basking spot/platform, whatever it is, so that directly above where your dragon is going to be laying to bask are both lights.