worried about my new beardie.

[Ebrithil]

well, as you guys know i got my first beardie on tuesday this week, he's a 8 inch long baby

for the first two days he never ate anything, except a little bit of salad leaf, then yesterday we had a break through, he ate 13 phoenix worms in the morning, and when i fed him again later on he ate 3 locust, not a lot i know, but it was SOMETHING.

This morning i offered him phoenix worms again, and he took absolutely no interest, so i tried offering him a cricket, still no interest, he just keeps running along the back wall of his enclosure (i have one of those wooden ones with the sliding glass front)
he has done this since day 1 that i've had him, is it normal? does it mean something?
he tries to climb up the back wall aswell, underneath his uvb bulb, i put a branch there so he could climb up if he wants but he completely ignores it.
He did do a poop just a minute ago though.
This strange behavior, and the fact he doesn't seem to be eating very well is getting me worried, any advice would be great

thanks, chris.

 

[Beardednoob]

Since he has eaten, I am going to guess he is still in the "relocation stress mode". Do you handle him or take him out?

 

[Ebrithil]

i do handle him, but decided to stop for a day or two incase it was stressing him out further.

Edit: he spends most of his time basking, and when he does have a little run around it's the "climb up the wall attempt" dance.

 

[Beardednoob]

Putting up a background on 3 of the 4 sides of the enclosure can help calm down the stress period. What are the temperatures in the enclosure and what are you reading them with?

 

[Ebrithil]

he is in one of those enclosures with the glass sliding doors, all the rest is wood.

the temp is usually 47C on the hot side, and 27C on the cool side give or take, today i saw him with his mouth open (forget what you call it, when they're too warm?) why didn't the dafty just move over to the cool side? :/

i'm using the thermometer i got with the viv, it's a little electrical one with two probes (i forgot the brand, little black box, it's the one that says it can be changed to farenheit but it actually can't)

I've got a heat mat aswell that i am going to put in later, with a mat stat to go with it ofc.

he's asleep right now, the first night he hasnt slept with his head buried in woodchips (yeah i know they are bad for substrate,i'm working on it) and he's starting to sleep in his half log tunnel thing.

 

[luckydragon]

Do not put a heat mat in the cage! Beardies cannot really feel belly heat and many dragons get burned by mats. They prefer heat from above. Take your mat back and get your $$. As long as he is not losing weight, do not worry about eating. As days get shorter, appitite decreases, plus he is still going through moving stress. Last Christmas we brought our beardies from florida to NC and into a cold front. It sent Lucky into Brumation and she didn't eat or hardly move for a month!. Get rid of those wood chips! You do not want to risk impaction and an expensive trip to hherp vet. Buy a 50 pound bag of play sand for $3 and you have over a years worth of substrate.

Good luck,

Tim

 

[Beardednoob]

Do not put a heat mat in the cage! Beardies cannot really feel belly heat and many dragons get burned by mats. They prefer heat from above. Take your mat back and get your $$. As long as he is not losing weight, do not worry about eating. As days get shorter, appitite decreases, plus he is still going through moving stress. Last Christmas we brought our beardies from florida to NC and into a cold front. It sent Lucky into Brumation and she didn't eat or hardly move for a month!. Get rid of those wood chips! You do not want to risk impaction and an expensive trip to hherp vet. Buy a 50 pound bag of play sand for $3 and you have over a years worth of substrate.

Good luck,

Tim

Sand is no better of a substrate. Anything loose is a risk of impaction.

 

[Ebrithil]

update on the situation:

he ate 5 mealworms like 40 mins after i woke him up, then i started removing the woodchips (they're all gone now) when i was about to take them out i noticed him eat one! (there is a possibility it was a worm i'd lost, i didnt actually see the woodchip go in) is this enough to cause worry? plus, he was in woodchips in the pet store i got hm from, is this cause for concern? :S
a dust came off the woodchips when i was removing, and he tried to eat this aswell! i had to put him inside a little tub while i hoovered it out :/

he has no subtrate atm, just a small towel under his log hide thing and one near his basking spot.


and about the heat-mat, my central heating is always going on and off, and at night time we usually have it off, even in winter, it would get WAY too cold without it at night, if i have repti-carpet when i get some over the heat-mat, will there be a risk of him getting burned? (i have a mat stat to go with it remember)
& if beardies don't appreciate heat from below, how come they like to sit on rocks and such that absorb heat?

 

[luckydragon]

Beardies can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. In native habitat the daily temp can be up to 120 f during the day and drop to 40 f or less at night. Your original post ask about gaping (open mouth) while basking, this is because the dragon needs the UV light and heat to digest food and make vitimin d to allow calcium absorption. Just moving would cool him down but not let him get the proper amount of UV, so he gapes to continue to catch rays while lowering his body temp.

As for the rocks, As long as your basking temp is between 90-110, the rocks will not get hot enough to burn his belly. Plus his body is shading the rock below so it does not continue to heat up. I am just very wary of heat mats because of the horror stories about temp controls failing and dragons getting burned. If you are worried about night-time cold, you can get a radiant heater that produces no light but provides heat from above and fits an ordinary light fixture.

As for the sand, there is some debate about using as substrate with juv dragons. I believe that silica sand (not Calcium carbonate!) will pass right through if ingested. Others disagree and say "no sand". I have never had problems with sand substrate. You may want to just keep him on paper until he grows a couple inches.

Have fun!

Tim

 

[Beardednoob]

Speaking of natural substrate loose sand, or play sand is not what these guys live in. Just because they are refereed to as a desert lizard doesn't mean loose sand. That would refer to deserts like the Saharan. The natural desert substrate in which a bearded dragon lives is a clay/loamy substance. The deserts which have a cracked appearance. Just keep away from loose substrates and never run the risk, is my opinion.

 

[Ebrithil]

he just ate 5 locusts and is digesting them now
Not much, but it's something, the heat mat is a just incase type thing, a man i know who keeps a lot of reptiles lost some last winter because he wasn't prepared.