What is normal?!?

[Jsw]

I just got a 6 year old beardie last weekend. I got him set up in my terrarium (which you can see in a previous post), and he was so fun and energetic.

It’s been a week. He hasn’t eaten much at all, even though I’m feeding him what his previous people did. He went from fun and energetic to not basking, burrowing himself, and when I take him out, just lying like a lump. Not even doing the butt wiggle to get comfy on my chest.

I don’t know what to do. He has a reptisun t5 light and I switched out his halogen light to a reptisun basking bulb and added a ceramic heater. It’s 95-105 on the basking log and 79-85 on the cool side, though it did get to 115 yesterday afternoon and that’s when I found him burying himself on the cool side under the shelf liner. So I know I overheated him. ?

I thought maybe he’d perk up if I put him in his old cage. After all, he survived in there for 6 years. But it seemed so cold. He felt cold to the touch, and my infrared thermometer indictated the basking area was only 85. I added a ceramic heater and it now says 95. But he’s still so lethargic.

I’m frankly terrified I’m doing something to kill him, but I don’t know what to do. I’m calling the vet on Monday.

OnMomday, he seemed to really enjoy running around and exploring. And he has been exploring regularly. He did climb uo and jump from a chair about 3’ up. My previous beardie was not a climber and was not nearly as fast, so I was completely unprepared.

He seemed perfectly fine after (that was Monday) up until yesterday.

 

[Gormagon]

It could be a bit of relocation stress, along with high temps. the cool end should 75f to 80f and the basking spot should be between 95f to 100f for his age. Is the UVB bulb a 5.0 or a 10.0? There is a big difference between the two.

 

[AHBD]

I agree with Gormagon, he got overheated which can def. cause lethargy at least for a few days. Then he went from one tank to another, again stressing + confusing him. Keep him hydrated + in his new tank. Keep the temps. at 95 highest for basking. Once they get overheated they may not like a hot basking spot anymore. Better to have it accidentally too cool for a day than too hot. See if he'll have a drink if you give him a 10 minute lukewarm soak.

 

[Jsw]

Okay, thanks. He’s still pretty mellow. I gave him a bath, which his previous people suggested, but he just sat there for the fifteen minutes.

His lights are 10.0s both the T8 in his original cage and the T5 in my new one.

Do you mean he’ll never go back to his basking spot because he got overheated??? Or he’ll prefer it cool for a few days? I put him in his basking spot after his bath (which registers 88 right now), and he sat there for a little bit and then left.

I’ll take him to school tomorrow and then just leave him on the weekend, going in twice a day to check on him. It might not work out for him to be a class dragon then because my plan was to bring him back and forth on weekends and breaks. I live pretty far from school. If so, I’ll have to give him back to his family to find a new home.

They thought he’d like being a class pet because he’s so social and always wants to be held and go exploring on leash or shoulders. But if going back and forth will stress him, it’s not worth it.

 

[Jsw]

He went back to his basking spot, tossed his salad around (but I'm unsure if he ate anything), and started glass surfing. I let him out, and he explored for about 5 minutes or so. Not quite as vigorously as earlier in the week but definitely more energetically than Friday and Saturday.

 

[Gormagon]

He will never get over his relocation stress if you move him around, he needs to stay in a constant environment. They are "homebodies" to put it short, they hate change.