Very sleepy bearded dragon

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Hi everyone.
I just adopted lovely Zeus last Monday

To give a bit of background in case that will help, Zeus is 6 years old. He was kept in a garage with no lighting (none at all) and had only grass to eat. (Yard grass.)

He seems to be absolutely exhausted all he time. Like when I put him in the bathtub he didn't lift his head up or open his eyes, I had to hold it up so it wouldn't fall in.

He is eating Kale and I've seen him eat four mealworms (I just got him crickets but I am waiting until he's more alert to hunt)

His basking area is exactly 93.2 degrees and his cool side of the tank is generally between 84-87 degrees.

He occasionally wakes up and will run around but he isn't very active at all. He will move around his cage (from basking to cold spots) but other than that he doesn't do anything.

Sorry if this is a stupid question. This is my first bearded dragon I've had on my own and I'm worried. :(
 

CooperDragon

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It sounds like he is in fairly rough shape. I would bring his basking temps up a little bit. Shoot for 100-105 basking surface with a gradient down to 75-85 or so on the cool side. What do you have in place for a UVB light? Keep offering him fresh veges. That should be the main part of his diet at that age. There are some good ideas about what to offer in this list. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html Just rotate based on what looks fresh at the store.

If he isn't holding his head up in a bath, don't offer them for now. They aren't worth the stress and it could be dangerous if he inhales water. Offer him hydration by dripping water on his nose to lick up. It's also good to bring him outside to sit on your lap and bask in natural sun if the weather is nice.

Can you post some photos of him and his setup? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.
 

Magicunicornofdoom

New member
Original Poster
Thank you for your responses!

His lights are; Exo Terra Solar-Glo Mercury Vapor Bulb, 80W and His basking light is Zoo Med repti basking spot lamp value pack, 100 watts

Also since it's been hot here, I've taken him outside a few times which he seems to enjoy but doesn't really do much.

By the way, I have been sprinkling some calcium dust on his kale and all the crickets/mealworms are gut busted since I feed them to my other reptiles, in case that makes a difference :)


Here is his set up at the moment
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100924-7916644471.jpg
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100924-6330001722.jpg

That's everything he came with after I adopted him so I kept the set up the same to try and make him more comfortable. (The heat rock I just put in there, he came with that too.)

(I also noticed he looks kind of skinny near his back legs)

Thank you again, I will wait until he's more alert than give him baths but for now I will keep dripping water on him :)
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
He is pretty skinny but should be able to bounce back with good lighting and a healthy diet. You don't need to add supplement to the veges as they are already nutrient rich. Just dust the bugs in calcium.

The Solar Glo should be putting out enough UVB but should sit 8-10 inches above the main basking area (closer to 8 if it's shining through a mesh top which will intercept some of the light).
 
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