what to do what to do. **Pics Added**

[tylerl19]

Yesterday i brought my beardie out for some tome on the bed. he is about 7 inches now and i got him a day before Thanksgiving and I think he should be bigger but thats a different story. He was on my bed and apparently does not like me. he runs away from me and jumps and runs at any chance he can get. I want a nice loving beardie like i hear about on here...but i do not. He was on my bed and did not want me to touch him and when i reched for him because he was getting a little close to the edge...he ran and JUMPED off my 4 foot off the ground bed...in my dorm room. then he proceded to squeeze himself under the door and run down my hall way away from me. I went to pick him up and he started hissing at me. This is QUITE enough. He has never A. actually jumped off my bed and B. never hissed at me. He has been in his tank since then and I dont know what to do anymore, I am losing hope in the fact that he will ever be nice or calm. WHAT do I do

 

[Elora]

You wait for him to get older!

When beardies are young and tiny like that they are new to the world and are scared of everything. The smaller they are the more they run and squirm and jump. Be very gentle and careful with him and when he starts to get bigger he will get lazier and lazier Keep working with him every day. I would hold off on putting him on the bed until he gets older. hold him in the tank or close by. He can get seriously hurt if he runs off of you and falls to the ground It took several months for Stompy to let me hold him and he dosnt squirm anymore (unless its feeding time) Skyler is still small so she is crazy when I hold her. Once they get to be over 7-8 months they should start to calm down.

Dont give up! at 7 inches your beardie is going to have A LOT of energy and want to run, jump and practice bearding and puffing up! Hes gotta learn to trust you!

Heres a tip: always have some greens at hand when you are reaching into his tank. if he opens his mouth and tries to bite you just deflect it by putting greens in his mouth before he can bite your finger!

 

[diamc]

Babies have lots of energy and that is a good thing. If he wasn't active, then you would really have something to worry about. I suggest you get a leash and put that on him to help keep an eye on him better. Or put him on the floor in a room where he can't get into trouble, like perhaps a bathroom and stay right there with him.

If you got him around Thanksgiving, he sure is tiny, has he grown and shed at all?

 

[tylerl19]

yeah I am worried about his size. He has a 20L tank with a 10.0 UVB strip light and his basking temps are between 100 and 105 and his cool side is 80. He refises to eat salad or fruit and wont drink from a dish, I let him drink water from a syringe whevener he is thirsty. He eats crickets and wax worms (treat) disted with calcium...but doesnt like anythign else. He has shed his tail, feet, and body 2 times now.

 

[diamc]

So, he must be between 4 and 6 mo old, right and he's only shed 2 times? Something must be going on. What type of thermometer are you using to check the temps, a type of stick on, digital thermometer with probe or a temperature gun? Where exactly are you taking the temps? What is the wattage of the basking bulb and is it a colored or white bulb? What is the brand of the UVB and how close is it to him when he is basking? Are you using calcium and vitamins, if so, how often and what is the brand name? Have you been bathing him, if so, how often? What is the substrate on the bottom of his tank? How many crickets is he eating a day? How often does he poop? Is he the only beardie you have?

Some beardies don't show any interest in greens/veggies until several months old, sometimes even 8 mo or so. What greens are you giving him? Also, most beardies won't drink from standing water dishes, so that's not uncommon.

Have you had a fecal checked for parasites? If not, that would be a good idea because if they have parasites, it will affect their total health and can certainly affect their growth rate. Can you post a picture of him in his tank so we can take a look? That would be a big help.

 

[tylerl19]

wow ok let me try and answer all of these questions...I am using a digital thermomiter that is read out where he basks all the time. He has a 50watt heat lamp that keeps his temps perfect because he isn't in a deep tank (the bulb is clear) he has a zoo med 10.0 tube light that it on 90 percent of his tank, the other 10 percent is the heat lamp. he can het 8-10 inches away from the UVB. Everything i feed him is dusted in calcium and the dish also has calcium in it that i put his wax worms in and he likes to lick it sometimes (calcium +D3) he used to get bathes daily but now a few times a week with warm water. he is quite the pooper, so theres no problem in that department. Oh and he has reptile carpet for substrate...never used anything else.

This is him the day i got him

This is him now

 

[Freeie]

awww what a cute little one you have there!

 

[ronni1221]

wow. he is really tiny! I got Brutus that small, too. There's nothing to do but be persistent and wait for him to grow out of his young, energetic phase. Keep at it, and we promise he will become a great friend to you some day!

 

[Elora]

How much does he eat in one day?

 

[tylerl19]

he eats between 6-12 crix a day. and a few wax worms.

 

[Elora]

Perhaps that is why he hasnt grown as fast. I know for a fact that a healthy beardie baby should be eating around 30-70 crickets a day. You can buy them in bulk online for VERY CHEAP!

 

[tylerl19]

how am i supposed to force feed a bearded dragon 30-70 crickets a day? I feed him as much as he will eat and take out the rest. I can not force him to eat.

 

[diamc]

Thanks for answering most of the questions. There is something we still need to know thought, does the digital thermometer you're using have a long wire & probe end the end? Does it look similar to this?

If it doesn't please let us know because this is VERY important.

That's good that you have the Repti-Sun 10.0 fluorescent bulb but he needs to be able to get 6 to 8" from it when he is basking on his log. If it is too far away, he won't get the benefit of it. In the picture, it looks quite a ways away.

Babies can get dehydrated VERY quickly, so I suggest you bathe him at least 4 times a wk for about 15 to 20 min each time, making sure that his vent area (where he poops) is right down in the warm water. It's very important that they stay well hydrated.

Since you have had him for about 4 months and he hasn't grown much, there is a very strong possibility that he has parasites, so you need to take a fecal sample to the vet to be tested right away. Another little baby died early this morning due to a bad coccidia infestation and there are many other worms that he could possibly have.

Do you have any questions?

 

[Elora]

I would never suggest that you FORCE your dragon to eat more. Im saying that there is something that is holding his appetite back. Well hopefully you can get a fecal on him and see if he has parasites and hopefully the new UV light will get him eating more

 

[vickson420]

he eats between 6-12 crix a day. and a few wax worms.

That is I believe the reason he isnt growing.Babies require enormous amounts of protien to grow,he should be eating around 50 appropriately sized crix per day.It could also explain his aggressive beavior as well.It looks like everything else is pretty good .What size crix are you feeding him?Are you offering them 2-3 times a day?You could try to add some other feeders like phoenox worms,silks or hornworms to supplement his diet.