Some help with new beardie please.

[TheSilverKnight]

Reported from sticky.

Hey. Tad bit o help plz. Just got a juvenile beardie 2 days ago and she has only eaten one cricket. She is about 6" maybe shorter. She is sleeping quite a bit. I am hoping she is just .getting used to her home. A 40 gallon vs the 5 gallon she shared with 2 others at the pet store.

She can move walk and climb fine but she for the most part sits still accept to move to a new place to sleep. Tank sits at about 80 all the time even with just the night light.

Even trying to hand feed her she just closes her eyes and turns her head. And a few times even running from the crickets.

I have started spraying her because her tail is very light almost white, so likely to peel soon. When sprayed she perks up and drinks off her face or my hand. And this morning she drank a little water off her veggies and pellets. But will not drink from her dish.

Edit: She is 8" nose to tip of tail. Just got home from work she hasn't touched her greens and was more or less in the same spot I left her 9 hours ago. Got her to drink some water by misting and put her back sleeping on her basking spot. Night lights are on day are off. Will move her to other side so she doesn't get cold.

New updates: She has eaten 2 more crickets and a bite of cucumber. She also is still drinking from a spray bottle but not from bowl. She has gone to the bathroom once. Tonight will mark 2nd day 3rd night from pet store. According to store associates she was the greedy one i- the tank stealing all the crickets from the other juvi's

 

[Beardednoob]

Temperatures should come up 80 degrees is the cool side temperature, her basking should be ~105-110 degrees. During the first week they exhibit relocation stress which can leave them with decreased appetite. Is her under side showing stress marks? Generally the relocation stress period will last for about a week sometimes shorter, sometimes longer. Not drinking from a water dish is not an uncommon issue, a lot of dragons do not, they will drink drops of water from plants in the wild, or moving water. If you have concerns still, please answer these questions.

Substrate?
UV source type/brand?
How old is the UV source?
How close can your dragon get to the UV source?
What is the basking temperature?
What is the cool side temperature?
How are you measuring the temperatures?
What are the humidity levels?
What live feeders do you feed?
How small/large are they?
What greens are being fed/provided?
Do you dust the food?
If so what is you dusting schedule?
Do you provide water?
Do you bathe your dragon?
If so how often and for how long?
Do you mist your dragon?

Any other information you wish to provide?

 

[Claudiusx]

I would stop misting. If you want to hydrate your dragon, give it a bath. They absorb water much better through their vents and misting can cause upper respiratory problems.

-Brandon

 

[TheSilverKnight]

Substrate: green reptile carpet.
UV source type/brand: zilla 10" fluorescent uvb
How old is the UV source: brand new
How close can your dragon get to the UV source: 5-6"
What is the basking temperature: not sure at least 100
What is the cool side temperature: 80f
How are you measuring the temperatures: analog thermometer on each end hydro in middle
What are the humidity levels: between 50 and 60
What live feeders do you feed?: crickets
How small/large are they? Med to large
What greens are being fed/provided? Colland greens fresh
Do you dust the food?: the crickets I have dust for
If so what is you dusting schedule?: havnt come up with one since she hasn't eaten
Do you provide water?: shallow bowl plus spray bottle
Do you bathe your dragon?: only had her 2 days want to on my day off
If so how often and for how long?
Do you mist your dragon?: yes

Any other information you wish to provide?if stress marks are small black lines yes. Also whole tail is a pale white I assume it needs to shead.[/quote]

 

[Beardednoob]

Substrate: green reptile carpet. Good
UV source type/brand: zilla 10" fluorescent uvb Should replace with a Reptisun 10.0 I have had issues with my first dragon not eating cause of the Zilla UV light.
How old is the UV source: brand new
How close can your dragon get to the UV source: 5-6"
What is the basking temperature: not sure at least 100 Basking temperatures should be 105-110 for a young dragon, for optimal digestion
What is the cool side temperature: 80f
How are you measuring the temperatures: analog thermometer on each end hydro in middle Digital with probe is the best way to measure and monitor temperatures, gauge styles can be off as much as 20 degrees
What are the humidity levels: between 50 and 60 This is too high, 55% humidity fungus, mold and mildew can grow naturally (yellow fungus)
What live feeders do you feed?: crickets
How small/large are they? Med to large For a young or small dragon small feeder crickets are the way to go, feeders should be the same size or smaller then the space between the dragons eyes
What greens are being fed/provided? Colland greens fresh http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
Do you dust the food?: the crickets I have dust for
If so what is you dusting schedule?: havnt come up with one since she hasn't eaten
Do you provide water?: shallow bowl plus spray bottle
Do you bathe your dragon?: only had her 2 days want to on my day off
If so how often and for how long?
Do you mist your dragon?: yes

Any other information you wish to provide?if stress marks are small black lines yes. Also whole tail is a pale white I assume it needs to shead.

[/quote]

 

[TheSilverKnight]

Pretty sure the thermos work put the light directly over them and they shot up to 110. Wanna get a digital anyway. Not sure if the hydro is working it was at 50 when I bought it and it stayed there for a day and now goes between 50 and 60. There is no fog or muggy Ness and there is a fan close by that would pull rising air away so not sure thats right.

Would the black lines be stress marks or just part of her pattern. She has a very varying pattern and deep Orange coloring. I think I lucked out and got a sandfire and the store only gets plain white ones. Sales people think a "fancy" must have got mixed with their shipments

 

[Beardednoob]

Are the black lines you are talking about on her underside? If they are then yes these are stress marks. Don't be to worried over them though. All dragons tend to display their stress marks from time to time. Some dragons never stop displaying them. The larger factor would be, darkening in color of the whole body of the dragon. This can be caused from multiple issues such as; being too cold, scared or threatened, illnesses, parasites...
The stress marks are often displayed during relocation stress, if you have had your dragon for under a week then this is most likely the cause. One of my dragons, Pulma, displayed stress marks for nearly a month. Now they are still slightly present but, no where near as dark. I do not worry about it as it could be so many different reasons for the root cause. They can show stress marks just over a piece of decor being, what to them is in the wrong spot. You could go mad trying to figure out what is wrong. LOL :wink:

 

[TheSilverKnight]

When I got home from work most of her greens were gone. And one cricket was missing. Also her lights were completely off my Bombay managed to switch the timer surge off. I took her out to stare at her and put her day lights on to warm her up. When I placed her on the bottom she chased and ate the two remaining crickets.
Me being happy got another out and she tried to catch it but it hopped and she lost interest. I moved her closer and tried to hand feed her it but that just stressed her so much that her lines were like sharpie black. So I put her on her cave/rock and let her go to sleep.

And for the most part she is completely white on the bottom. Only if I move her back and forth and pick her up and down while cleaning her tank and rounding up crickets does she show them.

For the most part if I pick her up she wraps around my fingers in the oddest manner she can find and cocks her head about or goes to sleep. And if I pet her chin or belly she closes her eyes and waves at me.

 

[Beardednoob]

Are you using any night light or heat source? Are you using any alternative heating products other then lights?

 

[TheSilverKnight]

Just the lights. Red night light. White day light. Fluorescent UVB.

 

[Claudiusx]

You shouldn't leave crickets in the tank. They stress out the beardie and can even injure the beardie.

-Brandon

 

[Beardednoob]

Stop using a red spectrum light for at night, if it doesn't get below 70 degree (some say 65 degrees) at night then you do not need a heat source for night time. If you feel the temperatures are gonna drop down to much or you are just concern (as we all get for our beardies) then the best option would be a ceramic heat emitter or CHE. They provide heat without giving off light, if you don't want to spend that much a blue spectrum light put on about 1 hour after lights out is the next best option. The red lights can keep your dragon from having a restful nights sleep, without proper sleep your dragon can have decreased energy levels and as a result have a decreased appetite during the day. :wink:

 

[HeatherSullivan]

Make sure that the plastic covering isn't still on the light fixture. The onlything, if anything that should be in between the beardie and the light bulb should be wire mesh. And get a Repti Sun 10.0 You wouldn't belive the differance I saw in my Beardie in just 1 day! It is such an amazing change!

 

[TheSilverKnight]

You shouldn't leave crickets in the tank. They stress out the beardie and can even injure the beardie.

-Brandon

Only in during the day. If I don't leave a few she simply wouldn't have food because I often work well past 10 or 11 pm and so far unless prodded she shows no interest in food. She has eaten a total of 5 crickets in 4 days and no greens.

As for the night light its in a CHE deep dome fixture. And I have read equally that red light does and doesn't bother them. So its hard to know who to believe. She sleeps quite well she usually only moves once in the night. I live in a converted garage and with the red light on temp is at 75 so with out it it would drop. Have a digital thermometer with probe now. Basking spot easily 110 and higher if directly in pin point for more than a few mins so may move down to a 50w from 75w. Have seen her move from the center of the light to the edges after 5 to 10ish minutes.

 

[Beardednoob]

With the red light, it is just advice. I have seen one of my dragons have issues with them. It is up to you all in all.
Let us know if she is eating yet?