Worried about my new baby?

[anyoneelse]

So on sunday I got a 2-3 month old baby from petsmart.
At first it only ate a few crickets a day, maybe 3 or 4 each feeding, but it's appetite has been picking up which was really reassuring. Now I'm just worried it might be way too stressed.
Spur of the moment, my room got rearranged and unfortunately while the baby was supposed to be sleeping there was a circular saw going off in the room and then the viv getting moved around and blahb labhlabhalhb loooong story. Next day his appetite was just fine.
I remove the basking rocks to make finding crickets easier which probably stresses him out, especially since he likes to stay on the rocks and hitch a ride.
Since it deals pretty well around hands, I caved and tried taking him out for 10/15 minutes on Wednesday, and before long he started to calm down. Then Thursday morning I notice bits of skin and feel absolutely horrible for handling the thing on top of everything else when it was shedding and I didn't even know!
Today (Thursday) it ate a grand total of one dusted cricket, from my hand. Ran right over and took it, but then wouldn't go after the others, even when I left the room for a bit.
I'm sure the first week is always one of the most stressful for the baby, but between all of this I feel like I'm just piling the stress on and on. Lord knows I'm the kind of animal loving sap who wants to absolutely spoil my pet, so any tips, stories, advice, anything would be welcome and helpful, please :c

Also some extra tidbits:
I got the set up from someone who's beardie died of old age, so I have..
-55 gallon tank with screen lid
-Reptisun 10.0 UVA/UVB bulb
-Heat lamp
-Temp on the hot side is usually 90s or so
-Cool side temp is usually 80s
-Under the heat lamp are rocks from outside I sterilized in the oven
-Paper towels for substrate

 

[Luthien]

First off try getting your basking side a little higher, beardies like it around the 100 mark and babies like it even hotter around the 110 mark.

As for the stress part of things, don't be too worried if the beardie doesn't eat greens right away, it's kind of like our kids and eating veggies, BLAH!

Yes it does sound like your beardie is stressed a bit, the first couple of weeks are stressful enough to a baby in a new home. My suggestion is try keeping the room a bit calmer for awhile, no really loud/strange noises for sure. You can keep handling your baby though, I would even suggest handling once a day if the beardie will let you. This is the perfect time to do that and create a bond between you.

The lack of eating crickets could be because of 3 things. Stress, Shedding or lack of proper heat. The first speaks for itself, if your baby is overly stressed there will be less eating going on, the second when beardies shed they tend to slow down in movements and in eating, the third without the proper temps it's harder for a beardie to digest it's food so it won't eat as much because it's already full.

 

[anyoneelse]

Ahh that was quick! First off, thanks for the speedy reply ;u;!

I've actually seen a few parts of the greens I put in nibbled or dragged around, so I've got hopes he's at least snacking on them.

Raising the rock certainly won't be a problem, see how he likes it. Since I don't want to handle him /too much/ if he's shedding, would his time out be best spent soaking and giving him a light little scrub with a toothbrush? I don't see any loose skin, but the loose skin on his tail came all of a sudden so who knows.

 

[Luthien]

Giving him baths during shedding is a very good thing. It helps loosen the skin and keeps them hydrated. I would try to avoid the tooth brush though if the skin is falling off on it‘s own. Their skin is very tender during this time and the less aggrivation tje better.

 

[anyoneelse]

He's eaten a few more crickets today, not many but about 5 which is average for him so far. He still has the evening feeding to go, so here's hoping he chows down then. I stacked his rock onto two others, and he loved it, but loved being UNDER it more, which is why i layed them all flat in the first place. Maybe I should just leave him to know what's best, considering he was still using the rocks as a pillow.

Right now, he's zipping about the tank and trying to climb the walls. His belly looks like a creamy white for once instead of covered in lines. I'm thinking I'll take him out and soak him in a few, because he positively looks like he wants out.


EDIT: Ahahah no now when I look again a few minutes later his belly is nothing BUT black lines.. aaand white again. Mood swings much?