Stress Marks (Please Help)

[AutumnTheBeardie]

Hi everyone! I am a new beardie owner, and I have some questions about the stress marks my juvenile bearded dragon Autumn has developed. When I first received her for my birthday present, she didn't seem to show any stress marks about being in a new place. I handled her and fed her daily, and even though I've only had her for maybe two weeks I feel like we're starting to get to know each other. My family goes out of town fairly often; so, of course, we took Autumn with us, along with her food and heating light. She was totally comfortable with the change: allways eager for her meal, always bright, and always alert. When we got home, I noticed the next morning (two days ago) I noticed that she was darker than normal, and kept a close eye on her throughout the day. She was still active, still eating fine, but darker than usual. I figured she might need a bit of time to settle in. Today, she's still darker than usual, so I made some changes like moving the basking light higher, thoroughly cleaning the tank, and removing extra objects that could stress her out. Autumn is still dark colored, but she's eating fine and is as active as usual. When I take her out of her tank, the mark disappear. She doesn't mind the tank, she'll jump onto her basking spot when I lower my hand in her cage. She's shedding on her front legs. Should I be worried? Any help anyone can offer? Thanks so much!!!

SG

 

[CooperDragon]

I find the term to be misleading. It's common for young dragons to have dark lines along their bellies. It's often due to them darkening to bask but could also be mood related. Since she is active and eating well I wouldn't worry about it. I would keep her basking light at a level that produces about 100-105 surface temps in the basking area and a cool side surface at around 75-80 or so with a gradient in between.

 

[AutumnTheBeardie]

I find the term to be misleading. It's common for young dragons to have dark lines along their bellies. It's often due to them darkening to bask but could also be mood related. Since she is active and eating well I wouldn't worry about it. I would keep her basking light at a level that produces about 100-105 surface temps in the basking area and a cool side surface at around 75-80 or so with a gradient in between.

Thank you so much CooperDragon! This helps a bunch. Out of curiosity, because I've never heard of putting gradient in between, why would I do that? I want to know because I love beardies and care about Autumn's health and want to know everything I can about them. Again, thanks so much.

SG

 

[CooperDragon]

It's good to make high heat and high UVB available to them if they want it, but they don't always want it. They are very good at self regulating what they need if they are given enough options. Over the course of the day, they'll bask a bit, hang out in cooler areas, and hide (it really depends on the dragon and the day). Because of that I like to have an area of high heat and high UVB and a gradient down to lower heat and little to no UVB so there are plenty of choices available. That's another reason it's important to have a large enclosure so there is enough space to properly set that up. Taterbug put together a nice article about it that is worth a read. https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/photogradient

 

[AutumnTheBeardie]

It's good to make high heat and high UVB available to them if they want it, but they don't always want it. They are very good at self regulating what they need if they are given enough options. Over the course of the day, they'll bask a bit, hang out in cooler areas, and hide (it really depends on the dragon and the day). Because of that I like to have an area of high heat and high UVB and a gradient down to lower heat and little to no UVB so there are plenty of choices available. That's another reason it's important to have a large enclosure so there is enough space to properly set that up. Taterbug put together a nice article about it that is worth a read. https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/photogradient

Thanks again, CooperDragon! This was very helpful!

SG