9wk old baby dragon acting weird, please help

[nathan]

okay so i just bought a 9wk old baby bearded dragon and at first it was eating very well. now i noticed at times it will twitch (either just the head or the full body) i googled it and it looks like symptoms of lack of calcium. the previous owner said she put them outside every day and since ive owned him he has been under a 5.0 UBV light. because i was concerned i went and bought calcium powder to coat his food in but now he refuses to eat, and he isnt as active. i dont know what to do. last time he ate was yesterday and he had 3 meal worms. ive done some searching around and it looks like a growing bearded dragon will eat at least 2-3 times a day. can anyone help me? im getting a little concerned for the lil guy.

thanks, nathan

 

[richard]

i would stay away from the mealworms and feed proper sized crickets. crickets are alot easier to digest and are better for them. a dragon your size should be eating 10 to 20 crickets twice a day and also be offered fruits and vegetables daily. the earlier you start them on greens the better success you'll have with them eating the greens. also, you should be using a 10.0 uvb bulb NOT 5.0 make sure his basking spot is hot enough. a dragon of his age should be a little higher, around 110 to 115 degrees. also give him a bath in luke warm water twice a week. it should wake him up a bit and help with hydration.

 

[richard]

http://carolinadesignerdragons.com/common/docs/food_list.pdf here's one of a few different links for what to feed. i use mustard and turnip greens, yellow squash green and red bell peppers and several different fruits

 

[Bill]

Can you post a pic there are some dragon morphs that get the twitch

 

[Bill]

Forgot Welcome to the Forum please take a minute and introduce yourself to everyone

 

[nathan]

10-20 crickets? i fight to get him to eat 2 a day! and ill post a pic as soon as i can. he is like a sunburst orange with white and grey belly. also ill get a 10.0 bulb. and ill get a bigger basking bulb to raise his tank temp.... and hi everyone my name is nathan lol what can i do to raise his eating habits?

 

[nathan]

and the 2 a day i get him to eat i have to hand feed it to him, he rarely will run down a cricket and eat on his own and if he does its only 1. im feeding him medium crickets, should i be feeding him small ones? thank you everyone for your time and much needed help!

 

[richard]

the proper heat, lighting and good eating habits go hand in hand. after a few days or so of proper changes he should start to come around

 

[nathan]

i hope so. i heard 10.0 bulbs are too much for baby beardies thats why i got a 5.0. ill get the proper 10.0 bulb and ill raise the temp to around 110. thanks again, nathan

 

[Bill]

The crickets may be to big try some smaller ones

 

[nathan]

i tried pin heads, small crickets and medium crickets. he used to let me hand feed him but now he completely refuses to eat. he will just climb on his stick and sleep or look out at the people walking around. its almost been 2 days since he ate. when i first got him he ate anything i put in the tank

 

[Dragonsx6]

Hiya Nathan, once you get the correct UV & Heat in his viv you should notice a considerable change in his appetite. If they dont have the correct uv & heat they dont eat properly. I use a 12% Arcadia UV in my vivs and all my dragons are doing fine with that.

Hope your little guy is on the mend soon

 

[nathan]

the pet store by my house only carries reptiglo UVB bulbs. im gonna try to return the 5.0 one i bought 4 days ago and get a 10.0 one. i tried uploading pics of him but metro PCS apparently cant send pictures to email addresses

 

[nathan]

this is rambo

 

[nathan]

sorry for the poor quality pictures, my camera phone is not the best lol

 

[joshjack90]

good looking dragon. Mine did the same thing, when i first got him a few weeks ago he ate everything that moved. A week or so later he stopped eating anything and didnt even look like he was hungry. I changed the tank and lights etc. Make sure he cant see any other animals and put a background on all 3 sides INSIDE the tank so he cant see his reflection. his lac of eating could be a symptom of stress. he is still new to you, so give it a while. Mine didnt eat anything for 3 days and is doing better now. maybe try a few BABY superworms about a centimeter long or so depending on his size. good luck

 

[Dragonsx6]

Hi Nathan, that good that you are going to get the proper uv for him, the store may not accept the tube you have back as it has been used, al be it only for a few days. It looks like you have him in a glass tank? The best thing you could do is cover 3 sides so he can only see out one, and he cant see his reflection all round him as this can stress them out also being in a new environment stresses them too. a combination of the correct lighting, covering the sides and once he settles in he should be fine.
Hope this helps

 

[nathan]

okay so i got a reptiglo 10.0 bulb (petsmart gladly exchanged the bulb for me) and i got a 100w basking bulb, should raise the temp to around 108-110. i never thought about covering the sides of the tank. ill have to use a towel for now till i can go buy proper stuff to block the sides. thanks alot guys, and girls lol this is my very first dragon and yous have been very helpful!

 

[nathan]

and ill try baby super worms and or silk worms. ive heard those are good to feed dragons as well. just gotta find a pet store that sells them haha

 

[nathan]

omg within 2 hours under his new lights he went from not moving and mainly sleeping to.. holding his head high, running all over, jumping limb to limb like a jungle gym AND eating crickets on his own!! its amazing what 20 degrees difference does. the only thing i have to fix now is blocking the 3 sides of the tank so he cant see his reflection and the crickets reflection. the poor guy will chase the crickets reflection instead of the actual cricket lmao.

 

[Dragonsx6]

Fantastic Nathan, Glad he picked up