stress lines? why?

[citrustaz]

How old is your dragon? about 3 months
How long have you had your dragon? 3-4 weeks
How long is your dragon? 8-10 inches
What is the sex of your dragon? i think its a male the store didnt tell me and i havent picked him up alot to see
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 10 gallon
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? reptile carpet
Do you use UVB lights? yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? coil
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? dont remember =/ it was a tan box though
How old is your UVB bulb? a few days
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? 10-12 inches away
Do you use a separate basking bulb? yes What kind and what is the wattage? 75watts Is it a white or colored bulb? white
What are the basking temps? 103-117
What is the cool side temp? 79-82
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? i have a stick on and a temp gun
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? erm what?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? no
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. crickets and collard greens
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? morning around 630am 200pm and 7-8pm
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? yes
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? calcium, fluckers 3-4 times a week
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? yes
Do you bath your dragon? How often? not currently since i am not able to hold him
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? he has a small water bowl i fill just so it covers the bottom and occasional i wet my finger and pet him
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? no
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?no


when i come home from school he is very dark when i come home it starts to go away and i feed him.
im also in need of ways to lower humidity its usually around 60 sometimes 65 which i read can cause breathing problems. i live in virginia close to the beach if that helps
thanks

 

[spikeswithskills]

my beardie always had stress marks and i could never figure out why, but then my light bulb burnt out so i went and bought a 100w spot light, and presto!! he started to eat, move around and be very active.... so bottom line is to make sure u have 1 spot light over u basking site and also try to get a reptisun 10.0 bulb for uvb

 

[citrustaz]

he does eat normally when i put collards in there he goes right too them. he is active i guess you could say he sits in his basking spot alot really

 

[deco]

Just curious , whats a stress line? and why dont/ cant u hold ur beardie?

 

[PuffPuff11]

Stress lines are black lines that are on the lizards belly. My bearded dragon has had them on and off since I have had him and I don't know why, he has adequate temps, food, substrate and heat. Honestly I think some dragons just have them.
The original poster probably can't hold his dragon because he is still young/little and is trying to get him accustomed to his new home because he just got him 4 weeks ago.
I would give it some time he may just be adjusting. But I would recommend the reptisum 10.0 linear tube over the coil you are using. They say the coil compact bulbs aren't very good. Some cause eye problems, not all. But other than that the area that the UV given off by a coil is very small and a bearded dragon needs his whole body covered so a linear tube is better. Plus the reptisun 10.0 is one of the best bulbs you can buy that mimicks natural sunlight. He very well may not like the compact coil bulb.
Once you can hold him definitely give him a bath just to rule out dehydration. Otherwise it sounds like you are doing good, the temps are right (although I personally wouldn't let it get any hotter than 112-115) and you are using calcium and feeding 3x a day so.... he may just be adjusting, give him time and double check your temps, that will definately make them unhappy if too cold or too hot.
FYI eventually you will need a much larger enclosure the bearded dragon will grow fast and a 10 gal is way to small for anthing over 10inches in length. You probably knew that though.

 

[Sashee]

Stress lines are black lines that are on the lizards belly. My bearded dragon has had them on and off since I have had him and I don't know why, he has adequate temps, food, substrate and heat. Honestly I think some dragons just have them.

So glad you mentioned this! Cuz my Yoshi has everything he needs and adequate lighting, is healthy and active and he still has them. I think he's still kinda getting used to being held and whatnot but otherwise, he's great. But has the lines most of the time anyway.

 

[diamc]

Hi, a 75 watt basking bulb seems like quite a bit for a 10 gallon tank and you certainly wouldn't want to use a spot light because that would make the temps even high. A temp over 110 can actually cause rapid dehydration so I think it would be a good idea to use a 60 watt household bulb and see what the basking temp is then. It would be a good idea to give him a nice warm bath in case he is a little dehydrated as babies can go downhill very fast when that happens. You can use a transparent plastic container and put a washcloth or small towel on the bottom to keep him from sliding around so that he feels more secure. Test the water by the inside of your wrist, it should feel warm but not hot. If he seems uneasy in the bath, you can actually hold him in the palm of your hand and slowly lower him in the water making sure that his vent is right down in the water.

Is he jumpy, is that why you're not holding him? Since you've had him over 3 wks, it would be a good idea to get him accustomed to being held, they need that and it also helps the bonding. After his bath, you could wrap him up in a small towel or blanket and lay him on your chest, if you stroke his back, he may go right to sleep.

Since the humidity is so high in the tank, it would be a good idea to remove the water dish, then you could mist him outside of the tank if you feel he needs it. But, baths are really the best way to properly hydrate them and a 15 min bath is very beneficial.

Since he is so young, you should be dusting with calcium with D3 5 days a wk but only 1 feeding a day and the other 2 days a wk, you should be dusting with vitamins but again, only 1 feeding a day. The Repti-Sun 10.0 strip fluorescent bulb is a much better bulb and it really should help him perk up and minimize the stress lines once you get it. How many feeders does he eat daily and what greens are you offering?

Please be sure to keep us updated on him.