Hi there, I went to my local pet store to purchase a new beardie. This is my first one and I could use some clarification to ensure his wellbeing and happiness. It’s been 2 days since I’ve made my purchase. I’ve decided to name the little guy Vernon and I am confidently assuming he is a few months old seeing that he is about 10 inches long including his tail.
When I got home i had set up my enclosure. Two sidesne being the basking area with a temp that seems to be around 90 degrees in indirect light. The other side I can only guess is around 80 degrees. Night time varies but I’ll get into that later. A dish for greens and a dish for water are included. Humidity fluctuates between 30 and 45 depending on time of day. A cave, plenty of space ( for now) and plenty of basking items are included. Here’s where my concern begins. The reptile “specialist” recommended that Dubia roaches should be a good source of food. And to include greens into his diet. And to feed him 10 to 12 roaches a day. If you know Dubias, The critters seem pretty large so I don’t doubt that he’s right about the things. Please help me keep my new friend alive and happy.
when I got Vernon home and into his enclosure, he did one single pass around the enclosure and scampered up to his basking location where I could see some activity. He looked at his reflection , surfed the glass for only a few seconds and once again sat on his basking spot. A few hours went by and I began to handle Vernon. He seems friendly and he loves to run around on my bed. He’ll slow down after a few minutes and snuggle with my hand where he seems he could stay all day. When night time rolled around, I swapped out his basking light for a low powered, night time red light. Keeping his basking spot at about 80 degrees. He seemed to go right to sleep and slept until I turned the basking light back on the following morning. I noticed that the temperature dropped dramatically to about 70 degrees, but he warmed up once the basking light was returned. I noticed no bowel movement the first night but I was not concerned. But he never moves from his basking spot. He doesn’t move between temperature areas, just sits under the light all day. The only moment he moved was when I handled him to feed him his daily intake of dubia roaches where he ate about 6 of them. And I thought to give him a few more in the evening. He showed no interest in any sort of green veggies or his water dish. I began misting Vernon to keep him from becoming dehydrated and he seems to love it. After feeding time, he returned right to the basking area. I also noticed the basking area struggles to break above 90 degrees so I thought I would grab a more powerful heat lamp. A 75 watt red spot light capable of producing more heat, closer to 115 degrees. Being scared of cooking the little guy, I moved the red spot light to the far side of the enclosure to increase overall temperature. Evening rolled around and I proceeded to feed Vernon 4 more Dubias. Still no interest in green veggies or water dish. While getting ready to swap light sources, I noticed that the red night light seemed to get shorted, so I bought an entirely different light. A 75 watt black light which emits about 80 degrees. It seemed to work again and he slept through the night. Day time rolled around and I refrained from using the red light until I got home from work, and after seeing him sitting with his open mouth, observing a drastic temperature increase for about 90 to over 100 degrees. His eyes swelled up and I thought he was going to explode. So I stopped using the red light. Once his eyes went back to normal and the temperature returned, I attempted to feed him but once again he showed no interest In greens, so I prepared 10 Dubias. But he only ate 4 over the course of about 20 minutes. I misted him again and handled him for a good hour or so. Where he seemed to sleep In my hand. He continued to run around my bed until he found my hand more appealing.
He doesn’t move from his basking spot, show interest in his water dish or green veggies, and I’m concerned that something is wrong with him and I hope he’s ok. Did I over heat him with the red lamp and cause something to go haywire? Am I doing something wrong? Overthinking? He hasn’t explored his enclosure, hasn’t explored the cave, he just sits in the light.
Thank you all
When I got home i had set up my enclosure. Two sidesne being the basking area with a temp that seems to be around 90 degrees in indirect light. The other side I can only guess is around 80 degrees. Night time varies but I’ll get into that later. A dish for greens and a dish for water are included. Humidity fluctuates between 30 and 45 depending on time of day. A cave, plenty of space ( for now) and plenty of basking items are included. Here’s where my concern begins. The reptile “specialist” recommended that Dubia roaches should be a good source of food. And to include greens into his diet. And to feed him 10 to 12 roaches a day. If you know Dubias, The critters seem pretty large so I don’t doubt that he’s right about the things. Please help me keep my new friend alive and happy.
when I got Vernon home and into his enclosure, he did one single pass around the enclosure and scampered up to his basking location where I could see some activity. He looked at his reflection , surfed the glass for only a few seconds and once again sat on his basking spot. A few hours went by and I began to handle Vernon. He seems friendly and he loves to run around on my bed. He’ll slow down after a few minutes and snuggle with my hand where he seems he could stay all day. When night time rolled around, I swapped out his basking light for a low powered, night time red light. Keeping his basking spot at about 80 degrees. He seemed to go right to sleep and slept until I turned the basking light back on the following morning. I noticed that the temperature dropped dramatically to about 70 degrees, but he warmed up once the basking light was returned. I noticed no bowel movement the first night but I was not concerned. But he never moves from his basking spot. He doesn’t move between temperature areas, just sits under the light all day. The only moment he moved was when I handled him to feed him his daily intake of dubia roaches where he ate about 6 of them. And I thought to give him a few more in the evening. He showed no interest in any sort of green veggies or his water dish. I began misting Vernon to keep him from becoming dehydrated and he seems to love it. After feeding time, he returned right to the basking area. I also noticed the basking area struggles to break above 90 degrees so I thought I would grab a more powerful heat lamp. A 75 watt red spot light capable of producing more heat, closer to 115 degrees. Being scared of cooking the little guy, I moved the red spot light to the far side of the enclosure to increase overall temperature. Evening rolled around and I proceeded to feed Vernon 4 more Dubias. Still no interest in green veggies or water dish. While getting ready to swap light sources, I noticed that the red night light seemed to get shorted, so I bought an entirely different light. A 75 watt black light which emits about 80 degrees. It seemed to work again and he slept through the night. Day time rolled around and I refrained from using the red light until I got home from work, and after seeing him sitting with his open mouth, observing a drastic temperature increase for about 90 to over 100 degrees. His eyes swelled up and I thought he was going to explode. So I stopped using the red light. Once his eyes went back to normal and the temperature returned, I attempted to feed him but once again he showed no interest In greens, so I prepared 10 Dubias. But he only ate 4 over the course of about 20 minutes. I misted him again and handled him for a good hour or so. Where he seemed to sleep In my hand. He continued to run around my bed until he found my hand more appealing.
He doesn’t move from his basking spot, show interest in his water dish or green veggies, and I’m concerned that something is wrong with him and I hope he’s ok. Did I over heat him with the red lamp and cause something to go haywire? Am I doing something wrong? Overthinking? He hasn’t explored his enclosure, hasn’t explored the cave, he just sits in the light.
Thank you all