Storm- Hates me?

[HemiLeo]

Hello, the 22nd of December i brought home a baby bearded dragon and named him storm.

Well it was going fine until a few days ago he started running out of my hand at feeding time and spends alto more time under his rock. what should i do??? I need help!?!?!

I also tried setting him up in his play pen i made him and after 5 mins he jumps out and runs to his tank.

HELP!!!

 

[KarrieRee]

How old is the dragon? What are you using for his lighting? Brand and bulb of the UVB? Where is in the tank is it ? top of screen or inside the tank? What are his basking temps? how are you taking them? NO stick ons they are inaccurate--- Is he eating and is he basking at all?
Karrie

 

[HemiLeo]

How old is the dragon? What are you using for his lighting? Brand and bulb of the UVB? Where is in the tank is it ? top of screen or inside the tank? What are his basking temps? how are you taking them? NO stick ons they are inaccurate--- Is he eating and is he basking at all?
Karrie

We really have no idea how old he is.. he was a pet store lizzard

he basks when i'm NOT there and still eats....

 

[KarrieRee]

Ok the coil UVB is doing absolutely no good -- you are going to haft to change every thing out that you have shown me --- first ditch the red bulb--- they are harmful to dragons eyes and can cause long term eye damage and disrupt their sleep they like it cool and dark--- if you need extra heat get a Ceramic Heat Emitter -- you need to get 2 digital probes to get accurate basking temps -- the stick ons are ok for ambient temps so if they are saying your tank is 65 or below you will need a CHE -- but you must get the digital probes --- the 75 watt bulb my guess is not getting his basking spot to where it needs to be - which is 105-110-- he needs that to properly digest his food --- the next important thing is the UVB --- he needs this to absorb calcium and to prevent MBD at this point hes getting none---- you need to either order this online or see if your petsmart or petco or pet store has this in it -- you will need a 24" fixture a 20" or 22 " will work but preferably a 24" w/ a reflector and a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 -- a T 8 will work as well but what ever you can get it needs to done ASAP- the difference between the two is the bulb strength - the T 5 can sit on top of your screen approx 8-10 inches from basking decor - the T 8 needs to go inside the tank and sit appox 8-10 inches from decor - the T 8 is not strong enough to get the rays thru the screen as it blocks 30% of the rays --- NO cover over the bulb if there is one take it off and leave off ------------ you can put the T 5 inside the tank as well but it would need to sit 12-15 inches from basking decor then-- get this stuff fixed as soon as you can and you will see a big difference in behavior eating and his health depends on the basking temps and the UVB
Karrie

 

[Claudiusx]

Hi there,

Well you did the right thing by coming here and asking for some advice

Taming takes time and patience. A lot of times it takes a few weeks to a few months of constant handling to get a dragon tame when it's young. It's easier to do when they are adults (like they aren't as afraid of us anymore LOL)

That being said, there are a couple husbandry issues you will want to address like Karrie mentioned. It might not be related to the behavior you are seeing, but it's possible. And at the least, it's worth changing so that your dragon lives a long healthy life with you.

Firstly in regards to the red bulb. You really shouldn't use it at all. Sleep is very important for all creatures, and lights will disrupt your dragons sleep, just like it would you. Dragons have an extra cone in their eye, this allows them to see much more of the lighting spectrum than humans can. So think about it, if you can see a light, your dragon can too, and most likely in a much more vivid and powerful manner!
You do not need to use any lighting/heat at night unless your house drops below 60-65 degrees. If it does, you will want a CHE as it produces no light at all, but does output heat.
Personally, I've never needed to use one as my house doesn't get below 60.

So luckily, that's a change you can make right away without needing to spend any money

Another change you should make which will be very cheap, is to ditch the dial thermometers. I have done tests on them and found them to be extremely inaccurate. In one case, it was off by over 40 degrees.
Nothing is more important to the health of your dragon than proper temperatures, so you need to have an accurate device to measure temperatures.
Luckily, you can pick up digital thermometers with probe ends for 5-10 bucks. And these will do you wonders. And, you will actually be able to measure your basking SURFACE temp with them, which is basically the most important temperature. You have no idea of your surface temp with the dials.

Lastly is unfortunately your UVB bulb. Coils (or compacts, CFLS) generally are very weak emitters of UV. The reptisun 10.0 13w compact is no exception unfortunately. It needs to be very close to the dragon for the dragon to get the amount of UV exposure it needs. Not to mention, in your case (and basically 99% of the cases of people who use these bulbs) your bulb is ontop of your tank, being filtered by your screen top. This cuts the already weak bulb into basically nothing.
It really isn't doing much at all for your dragon.

You really do need to get him a better UV. Proper UV and lighting plays a big role in many aspects of their health, including their behavior.
I would strongly suggest looking into the reptisun 10.0 fluorescent tubes, or the arcadia tubes.
But please, before you buy anything, check with us first so we can make sure your purchase/plan is going to be suitable for your tank, we are here to help

So really, I would strongly suggest ordering the new uvb bulb, the new fixture for the bulb, and the digital thermometer with probe end.
Once your husbandry is all setup and good to go, all you need to worry about is creating that bond and building trust with your little buddy

-Brandon