why so stressed?

[mybabymojo]

Mojo has had a lot of stress lines the last couple days and i cant figure out why? i haven't changed anything in his viv. and he gets fed everyday. is it hurting him to be so stressed out? or at least have the lines like he is stressed? please reassure me that he'll be okay, or tell me what i need to change.

 

[Pravius]

One thing that I have noticed in observing these animals is weird things can stress them out, including things like temperature fluctuations, humidity, and overall environment. Another really weird thing I observed is that colors can stress them out too. Whenever I wear red my dragon goes nuts likes run around and try's HARD to get away from me and hide. It's the strangest thing... I mean it could be a coincidence but I highly doubt it because he will display this whenever he sees this color. Anything that is white he immediately tries to attack it... for instance I accidentally dropped some rep-cal dust in his enclosure and he immediately lunged toward it and began attacking it. Whenever I wipe with a paper towel he tries to eat the paper towel. I guess my point is things could be stressing them out beyond our imagination.

 

[dna14]

how old is Mojo? How long have you had him? Can you describe his temps/setup/etc?

 

[mybabymojo]

mojo is 8 weeks, 10g long, reptiglo 10.0, and soft white light, daytime basking is 112 degrees, and cool side is about 90(which is the temp in my whole house), night time is about 75-80, ive had mojo since she was about a week old.

 

[SlaveToKazul]

I am still very new at this, but here's my 2 cents...

I had Kazul in a 10 gallon enclosure when I first brought him home. After about a month, he started getting stressed out and cranky, displaying stress marks and gaping at us whenever we came near him. It turns out that he had outgrown his tank! We have him in a 20 gallon for now until he starts growing a bit better, and the extra space has done WONDERS. I've read here that a 40 gallon breeder tank is the minimum size for a full grown beardie.

Also, the Repti-Sun 10.0 tube (not coil) has a much better reputation than the Repti-Glo, and 90 degrees is probably too hot for his cool side.

 

[dna14]

I agree with Kelly on the light, I too had a Repti-Glo which I changed to from a Zilla UVB which was even worse, my poor Twitchie went from stressed to completely lethargic and closing her eyes a lot and it didn't happen overnight, I'm talking like 4 months til I figured it out. I hate to say it b/c they're so damn expensive but the Repti-Sun 10.0 is definetly better, I have seen like 110% improvement in my beardie in the 3 months since I changed that. It's really worth it and they say on here to change the bulb every 6 mths. 'Soft white light' is that a UVA basking lamp? They do need UVA...

The 90 degrees on the cool side actually seems reasonable to me if that's your climate. 112 may be ok too because babies like it warmer but maybe someone with more experience than I will comment on that... What are you taking your temps with?

What size enclosure do you have Mojo in? What kind of substrate? Diet? OK I know I'm throwing lots of questions at you there's a whole list somewhere like 20 questions but I'm just throwing a few at a time at you :wink:

Have you seen this nutrition guide? It was a lifesaver for me... and my beardies of course
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

 

[mybabymojo]

that's the thing hes got everything i can think of right. we dont use calci-sand (thats like a curse word around here haha), newspaper, hes got UVA UVB, and a basking light, he eats dusted crckets and finely chopped greens. however i am working on a bigger viv, since he is growing fast. atm he is in a 10g, but ill have a 40 gal soon enough.

also i think might be bored. any suggestions?
he wont let me hold him for long, so taking him out for more that 5- 10 mins wont work.

 

[dna14]

I will PM a moderator for you, they've been awful busy around here so probably didn't have time to review your post...

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Everything looks pretty good, except for the Reptiglo 10 tube light. As suggested, I would turn that light off for now, just leaving a basking light on him right now.
Try purchasing the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb from here:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html

It is under $20 on that site. How close is the basking light to him?
Do you have any large log or climbing apparatus for him to climb on? They appreciate that as they love to play & climb around as babies.
Great you use newspaper & NOT calcisand! What type of thermometer are you using, a stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun?
I agree with Kelly, try to get your "cool" side temps down to 78-82 & the basking temps for now, try to bring them down to 105 or under. I say that because you have only a 10 gallon which holds heat & it can be very difficult to maintain proper temps so he could be getting too hot.
Just go slow with holding him, & gradually increase a few minutes daily. Babies need time to adjust.

Tracie