trouble adjusting to new viv?

[sidda]

Hi there,

how long does it "usually" take for beardies to adjust to their new environment?

I have two beardies, Oscar and Sylar, both about a year old. they were just moved to a new viv. My female seems to be stressing from the move. at first, she seemed excited... exploring and licking everything. shortly after tho she hid in the cave (cool side). she hasn't come out to eat, drink, bath, bask... not a budge at all. it's been 2 days. usually the two are inseparable. the cave is part of a permanent foam/grout setup that i built so i can't just take it out. they were moved from a 50 gallon to a 7x2x2 foot enclosure... huge difference, i know. i also know that most people do not agree with keeping a male and female housed together but they seem to stress out when separated. they were rescued together and have stayed together ever since. i did, however, build the new enclosure with a removable panel to divide the tank down the center. i separate them at night and when i leave the house just to be sure there isn't any mating or aggressive behavior when i'm not around.

details (the viv is setup to be 2 seperate tanks in one. all lights are inside the viv and the temps apply to each side, not the viv as a whole) :

substrate: grout throughout the entire viv
lights: one 24" uva/uvb tube bulb on each side of viv, basking bulbs 50 watt each side as well. all lights are on a timer. 12 hours on, 12 off. I live in south florida and keep the ac at 73-75 so they don't need a heat source at night.
temps: basking 95-97, warm side 85-90, cool side 77-85 (temp doesn't fluctuate. that's just the gradient due to tank size
thermometer: zoo med digital probe
food/water: i offer a salad every morning/afternoon... collard greens and escarole, dandilion greens when i can find them. occasionally i toss in sweet peppers, carrots, brocolli, squash, or zucchini. crickets and/or phoenix worms twice a week. i remove all food at least 2 hours before bedtime and they have a separate glass tank for cricket/worm feedings. i offer water with every feeding but they usually don't touch it. they will always let me "hand water" them tho lol too cute.
supplements: calcium powder and multi vit daily
bath: at least once a week. more if they are dirty or if i think they didn't get enough water. i usually let them soak for at least 20 minutes each.

sorry for the long post and hopefully i'm not forgetting anything lol. i just want to make sure Sylar is ok. any help or suggestions is so gratefully appreciated

~Sidda

 

[CooperDragon]

They can usually adjust to a new environment within a few days to a week but it depends as they all have their own personalities. Your temperature gradients sound OK. Is Oscar showing any unusual behavior during this transition? Or just Sylar? The temperatures gradients and feeding routine all sound pretty good to me. Is Sylar showing a black beard? Or just acting lethargic? Is she losing any weight or refusing food?

 

[sidda]

hey, thanks for replying. Oscar seems to be fine. He's eating as usual and let me drip water into his mouth. The only unusual behavior I've seen from him is puffing his body and beard and waving in submission, which is odd because he's the dominant one. I stuck my head in the tank and looked out the glass doors. It was mostly reflection that I could see so I think he was freaking himself out. I'm currently looking into a cost effective way to cover the 7x2ft front wall so he won't intimidate himself. Sylar has not puffed her beard or changed colors at all. she just seems overly quiet and upset... like she's having a pitty party in the corner. i tried to reach for her and she freaked out and flipped all over the place under the cave. i tried leaving a trail of food at the opening of the cave yesterday but she wouldn't take the bait.

Oscar has had runny poop for a while now and i tried changing the diet and temps but it has gotten really bad the last couple days. I was thinking stress from the move might be the cause but it smells really really bad now so I made them both an appointment with the vet to check for parasites. I've also ordered bene-bac probiotics.

 

[sidda]

oh and she's definitely not losing weight, at least not at this point. she actually looks like she might be bloated. she had a big meal of crickets before she decided to hide so i'm worried about impaction since she hasn't been under her lights. I'm wondering if i should just (wo)man up and pull her out then block off the cave.

 

[CooperDragon]

I would try the divider for a while and see if that helps. You could use newspaper or butcher paper to cover the walls for the time being. It's a good idea to get them into the vet (just make clear which poop sample is which) and the bene-back will help. Hopefully they'll both relax soon and be back to their usual selves.

 

[sidda]

newspaper! duh... great idea!! thanks!