THEY KEEP DYING!!!!????

[AustinMcIntosh]

3 weeks ago we got a baby bearded dragon. When we brought him home, he was playful and would eat. Then, by the next day the only thing he would do is sleep..sleep..sleep. One morning I woke up and he was dead. So, we went to the pet store and got another one. He did the EXACT same thing. He was cool when we brought him home then he just started sleeping. This morning I woke up and he is dead too. What the hell!

Every morning he gets a new salad and crickets.
He has a heat lamp.
He has a UVB lamp.
He has a basking log.
He has a water bowl.
He has a hide rock.
He has love.

Can someone please help?

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Morning Austin,
Im sorry to hear whats happening.
Can you add some details for me??
What temps are you hitting on both the hot and cool side? Also how are you getting them? digital or stick on?
What is the brand of UVB? And are you using a substrate?
It could also be the petstore selling them to young.

 

[AustinMcIntosh]

It's only getting to 85-90 on the hot side and 70 on the cool side.

Those are from both stick on an digital.

It's a zilla UVB light.

The substrate is one of those pad things.

They have both been 5 inches when I get them.

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Ok Austin,
Im going to make some recomendations.
If your getting a digital reading of only 85 to 90 you need to bump up your temps to about 100 to 105 on the hot side.
Ditch the zilla light, and get a reptisun 10 flurecent bulb for uvb.
And find another place to get your new dragon.

 

[AustinMcIntosh]

How do I get it hotter?

 

[AndyT]

A higher wattage bulb should do the trick. Tom gave good advice. Fix the temps, get the ReptiSun and find a new place to buy a dragon. Maybe a breeder. I hear Tom's a good breeder

 

[ATLBeardedDragons]

Were you bathing it everyday or misting it 3 times a day to esure hydration? That is ODD MAN! Im sorry to hear about your multiple losses!



[email protected]

www.AtlantaBeardedDragons.com

sincerely,
ABD

 

[pancakeee]

Try a halogen bulb!
I was using a 100watt exo-terra basking bulb and it was constantly giving me a reading of 102F.
I then bought a 90watt halogen bulb from walmart for 5 bucks for my older dragon and then a 50watt halogen bulb for my younger dragon since he has a smaller tank. I moved to a halogen bulb because i read that they have a higher heat output than regular bulbs. i connected my 90watt halogen bulb to test temps and in about 5 minutes the reading was already 126F! So I said crap, this is too much heat, but wait, it's a bulb that has 10 less watts and its doing a lot more work than a 100watt. i then decided to try the 50watt halogen bulb for the older dragon and guess what, my temps were spot on. 105F.
Now I'm saving on electricity costs because I moved from a regular 100watt basking bulb to half of the wattage and I'm getting better temps! i returned the bigger halogen and got a lower wattage one. A halogen should increase those temps.

 

[licketytongue]

I think either maybe what you wrote was misread... either by me or everyone else... are you taking your temps with a STICK ON THERMOMETER or a digital with a probe? It looks to me like you are taking them with a stick on and those can be up to 20 degrees off because they take the temp of the glass not of the basking spot. You want to put a digital probe thermometer directly on the basking spot and leave it there for at least 45 minutes before you get a reading. You want that temp (directly on the basking spot) to be 105. You also need a cool side temp of about 80. If I misread and and you are using a digital with a probe then I apologize!

 

[luvanimals]

85-90 is too cold for a baby. Temp should be about 105-110 degrees one the warm side. It's very important for stimulating their activity and appetite/digestion. Also, going with a baby that is at least 6-8 weeks old greatly improves its chance of survival.

 

[EShell]

5"? If that's nose to tail, they are too small to be selling to the public and the poster above who suggested a new shop is right.

With low temps, food doesn't digest well. If the crickets are not VERY small (1/4"-3/8"), they're too big for a baby. The combination of low temps and too large food can cause severe digestive issues and may be what's killing them.

 

[sarahbethgal523]

I am so sorry! You just have not had very good luck... the pad substrate confused me... what do you mean? And definitely do NOT go back to that pet store. What is the humidity?