Some questions about my beardie

[Madskull00]

First off, Hi! I'm Madison, or Maddie, If you like! Nice to meet you all!
I got Arvo (My male bearded dragon) about 2 months ago. He's about 16 inches long, and around 6 months old. I just have a few questions about him:
1. He HATES baths/showers. If I place him into a bath, he tries to get out ASAP. I keep the water level at his shoulders, and its high 80's to low 90's in temperature. (I use a temp gun)
2. I think he may be a little dehydrated, he hasn't eaten in two days, and his skin is a little loose. But his eyes are wide and bright, and he holds his head high. Is he dehydrated at all? I know it's not impaction, since he pooped yesterday, and today.
3. He doesn't seem to like me that much yet. I've seen some dragons in which they LOVE coming out of the cage. Mine doesn't really care. Sometimes he will move away from my hand. But he never runs from me, or hisses/bites.
4. He isn't super active, AKA, he is more chill, and likes to sit and watch everything rather than run around. But he loves climbing things. At times he will run on my bed, or climb pillows, but he isn't crazy active. Is this normal for a male beardie his age? He has been like this ever since I got him.
Some information about his set up:
He is kept in a 40 gallon tank, paper towels as substrate, has a white basking light (his temps for basking range from 95-105 most times), and a red light (for extra day heat.). His UVB is a 10.0 HO reptisun tube bulb, that sits ontop of the screen wire top, he sits about a 11-12 inches away from it.
Some information about his diet:
He usually eats about 30-40 crickets a day, and some greens. He doesn't care for fruit/veggies though.
That's all for now!

 

[guel13b]

One way to find out if he is dehydrated is by lightly pinching his skin on the back. If it stays pinched he's dehydrated. If he's dehydrated pedialyte unflavored can be given to him to help hydrate. Bu if u bathe him a couple days a week he should be fine. They dont always eat everyday ether. Try different feeders and salads. I know my guy goes crazy for any type of worm. Beardies love worms. If stool looks abnormal id get it tested asap. Parasites can cause beardies to be lazy. All bearded dragons are different though. I think your guy is just fine, as long as he looks healthy and isnt loosing weight he should be ok. You can also feed some horn worms if they arent too big. They're high in water.

 

[Madskull00]

Thanks for the quick reply! His poop looks fine, and so does his body. Though his skin stays piched for a little on his sides. Expect when he's puffed out. (Like when he's in the bath, he puffs out to be really round.) I think he may be trying to brumate. I just checked on him, and he's in a sleeping position, but not sleeping. (I think the lights are preventing him from doing this.) It is fall here, it's very cold outside, and the clocks are getting turned back, (which make dark come sooner) so maybe he's going into brumation? What are the signs for it?

 

[guel13b]

6 months is a too soon for brumation from ehat ive read. I havent yet experianced ( my first dragon) my beardie in brumation but he might be in that stage now. Theres an article on this sight under care sheets and articles towards the top of this page. I dont know everything about bearded dragons. I did alot of research but somw things you cant research untill it actually happens to your beardie. Juat keep an eye out for abnormal stools. Very tuff dealing with parasites as im trying to get rid of them my self. Not fun. And keep giving him baths to keep hydrated.

 

[Madskull00]

Oh, I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on him. At least his poop looks normal, which is good. He's nice and big too, so he isn't loosing any weight. He doesn't look lethargic either, when he's out, he's bright and likes to climb.

 

[guel13b]

Thats a good thing as long as he is active and healthy he should be fine. Best of luck to you and your bearded dragon.

 

[Madskull00]

Thanks. I'm just a little confused/concerned since instead of sitting up when basking, he was laying down like when he sleeps. He only did that when I checked on him last. Maybe it's because it's dark outside, and he knows that? And he wants to sleep? But his eyes are bright, and when he's out, he perky and isn't lethargic at all. Just chill. He also hasn't eaten in two days, so that has me a little concerned too.
I gave him a bath today, which he HATED. He didn't drink any of the bath water, but I got him to drink a little water out of a syringe.

 

[guel13b]

What are the temps and what are they measured with. Best with temp gun. And try holding him down a little he'll calm down in the water. Mine doesnt like it ether but he calms down after a little bit. And they hydraye through thier vent ( the butt ).

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. I see you have a red light. Nix it. The 100 watt should be enough. If not then you can either raise the basking spot or lower the light. How are you taking the temps? Is it the temp on the basking spot? Also is the uvb a high out put? Is it a t8? Does it have a reflector?

 

[Taterbug]

Your little one sounds fine to me. Pepper is much the same, and started slowing down his appetite when he was about 7-8 months old. He also slowed down his first winter, not full brumation but noticable change. He prefers his cage sometimes and will run over and climb back in. :roll:

If he doesn't like baths then just offer with dropper or syringe. However he will drink is fine. I find it pretty unlikely that they absorb via the vent so if you have a method that he will take orally, run with it. The pinch test is not always accurate, dragons have a fair bit of extra skin. Do you have any pictures of him?

If you don't weight him, get a digital scale. It will put your mind more at ease when he decides to eat less. A healthy dragon can skip more than a few meals and be just fine.

I agree on the red loght, try replacing that with another white one (only if you need it, the 100W should be plenty). Dragons have excellent color vision and can see red - the light probably distorts colors just as much for them as us. It could contribute to a a weird mood.

 

[Madskull00]

What are the temps and what are they measured with. Best with temp gun. And try holding him down a little he'll calm down in the water. Mine doesnt like it ether but he calms down after a little bit. And they hydraye through thier vent ( the butt ).

I use a temp gun. The temps for the basking are 100-110F. It ranges at times. When I hold him in the water, he just climbs up my arm as fast as he can.

 

[Madskull00]

Hi. I see you have a red light. Nix it. The 100 watt should be enough. If not then you can either raise the basking spot or lower the light. How are you taking the temps? Is it the temp on the basking spot? Also is the uvb a high out put? Is it a t8? Does it have a reflector?

Yeah, I got rid of the red light, and put in another white one. (For the other side of the cage, to keep the temps up.) I use a temp gun. The temp taken is on the basking spot. The UVB is a HO, yes. No, T5, yes it has a reflector.

 

[Madskull00]

Your little one sounds fine to me. Pepper is much the same, and started slowing down his appetite when he was about 7-8 months old. He also slowed down his first winter, not full brumation but noticable change. He prefers his cage sometimes and will run over and climb back in. :roll:

If he doesn't like baths then just offer with dropper or syringe. However he will drink is fine. I find it pretty unlikely that they absorb via the vent so if you have a method that he will take orally, run with it. The pinch test is not always accurate, dragons have a fair bit of extra skin. Do you have any pictures of him?

If you don't weight him, get a digital scale. It will put your mind more at ease when he decides to eat less. A healthy dragon can skip more than a few meals and be just fine.

I agree on the red loght, try replacing that with another white one (only if you need it, the 100W should be plenty). Dragons have excellent color vision and can see red - the light probably distorts colors just as much for them as us. It could contribute to a a weird mood.

I use a syringe as well for water, and he sometimes licks it up. So that's good.
How many meals can a 7-8 month old beardie miss and still be normal? He doesn't want to eat today, (yet) either. He was actually hiding/sleeping under his basking rock. (it has a hole on the side, so it's like a cave.) I replaced the red light with another white one.
Also, a question about my dragon's age: when I got him, the breeder said he was 4 months old, but he was already (at least) 14 inches long! Is this possible for them to be this big at such a young age? The 6 month old ones were even smaller than this at a different breeder! (They were only like, 10 inches long!) The parents of my dragon were huge though. (They grew to be about 22 inches long.)
I have plenty of images of Arvo. But how do I upload them?