A couple of questions

[JustSambino]

(picture at the bottom)

Information:
3 months old (according to shop owner)
10 inches long (Inc. Tail)
115x45x45 vivarium (cm)
100w basking bulb (daytime)
100w ceramic bulb (night time)
Controlled heating with thermostat, reaching a maximum heat of 43.6° celcius (hot side day) and 30.1° celcius (cool side day). Reaching maximum of 19.5° celcius (hot side night) and 17.1° celcius (cool side night) - at night, if he's on the cool side, I will put a t shirt over him I wore that day to warm him just in case/protect from missed crickets (usually get them all).
2.0 reptiglo uv (back of viv)
10.0 reptiglo uv (front of viv)
Live feed: crickets (twice daily as advised by pet store) and mini meal worms (twice a week).

I have him booked for an appointment next Monday at the vets to check for parasites and go over the questions I'm about to ask (this was the soonest time I could book him in) so just asking these questions for a bit of hindsight for the coming days before his visit.

Questions:

1. Do you think he looks a bit too skinny? I'm not completely sure. See picture

2. He constantly has either one eye or both eyes closed during the day (whilst I'm home anyway), is this normal? I'm guessing it isn't. See picture.

3. Hardly ever eats his vegetables, I've had him 6 days now and he's only ever touched them once and that was the one day where I only put greens in his bowl. Is this normal? How can I get him to eat his vegetables?

4. Never bathes/goes into his water bowl except the first two days I had him when he wouldn't leave his water bowl, almost falling asleep in it at night before I moved him to a different place just in case he drowned etc. I do mist him a few times a day though to make up for it. How can I get him to bathe himself?

5. In the picture, you can see his back and tail are two completely different colours, tail is more faded. Day I got him he was all the same. Head is slightly peeling too. I'm guessing he's shedding his skin, but can someone confirm?

Thank you for reading and thank you for any help posted

 

[JustSambino]

A few questions* should I say haha...
Also, lights on at 8am, lights off at 8-9:30pm depending on what time he goes to one of his sleeping places.
Mum/sister/girlfriend will feed around 12pm then I will feed once home around 4:45 pm.
Fresh vegetables in bowl from 8pm, rotated at 4:45pm.
Also has a bowl of juvenile pellets which I'm not too sure if he's eaten any or not yet.

 

[JustSambino]

Oh and the temperature for hot side day time is not actually for the hot side, it's for the basking spot. My bad.

 

[Elemental Dragon Lord]

Temp should be closer to 32°c if I remember my conversion right. He ius a young dragon which usually dont eat vegetation. He is thin and shedding yes. Dragons don't recognize standing water so they dont bathe themselves

 

[JustSambino]

On my thermometer, the conversion is at 110° f. When you say he's thin and shedding, do you mean he's thing because he's shedding or I just need to feed him more?

 

[TKG]

How many crickets does he get a day? According to my vet when my dragon was that age and size she was supposed to be getting about 30 pinhead crickets (about 15 each feeding) a day with greens every other day. Beautiful dragon by the way

 

[JustSambino]

At first, I was giving 25 a feeding then I read online that they don't need that many, so I just put so many in, if he'd eat them all, I'd put more, if not I'd remove them. Thank you

 

[Elemental Dragon Lord]

Switch to dubia as they won't hurt your dragon and they are healthier. You feed as many as he can eat in a 15 minute time span.

 

[JustSambino]

I ordered some on Sunday (no where sells them where I live) so just feeding crickets till then

 

[Elemental Dragon Lord]

When you get them in place them in a bigger container with your dragon and let him eat for the 15 minutes. You will probably be amassed how much he eats, dont worry he won't eat to death.

 

[JustSambino]

Can't really handle him at the moment, been advised to wait two weeks. But once that times passes I will

 

[jarich]

Yes, feed him as much as he will eat a couple times a day. Unfortunately the tshirt won't protect him from any excess crickets though, so make sure you leave the greens/vegetables in there overnight. The crickets are growing also so need to eat a lot too. If you don't leave them any food, they can get desperate enough to go after your dragon. Giving them a viable food source like the greens will remove that starvation.

What kind of decorations and hides do you have in the enclosure? Can you post a picture of your set up? That's a large enclosure for a little one, and that's great, but you need to be aware that they need to feel secure. It's possible the eye closing is a response to stress, especially in a new big open space.

 

[JustSambino]

I can't get a picture to you at the moment. But he does have 3 hides, but never uses them. I have been reading that it could be my uvb bulbs damaging him as they are reptiglo and apparently bad for them.

 

[jarich]

Thats another reason I asked to see the picture. The reptiglo isnt a dangerous bulb like it used to be, however improper placement of any UV light can cause issues. The light needs to be placed directly above the lizard (not on the back wall or anything like that) and needs to be at a proper distance.

 

[JustSambino]

I'll get you a picture in about an hour

 

[JustSambino]

Picture of vivarium

 

[Dragoneyed]

Hello,

I would bet he has parasited. Closing of the eyes is very typical therefore. This could also explain why he doesn't eat vegetables.
The temperatures on the cold side is a bit too high. The hot side is okay, in my point of view. And you don't need heat for the night. About 17°C at night is no problem for bearded dragons. If the tank is in a normal living room it is normally never necessary to use bulbs in the night as long as you don't prefer 10°C or so I personally wouldn't think about a heating in the night as the temperature is above 15°C.

And you also don't need to cover him with a t-shirt. It is normal that bearded dragons get cold at night as they are exothermic. I believe furthermore they need the cool down to properly sleep and regenerate.

 

[JustSambino]

I only put the heat down to 19° at night because it's like 2° where I live as we're in winter and winter is never nice to us. I took him to the vets and he had a few worms but she's sorted him out by giving him the medicine.

 

[Elemental Dragon Lord]

Young dragons dont usually eat salad unless they watch another dragon "show" them its ok. Before a year old dont expect your baby to eat salad.

 

[KelliLorenz2000]

My bearded dragon (about 6 months old ), doesn't eat his greens on his own, but will eat them if I hand feed it to him.. .spoiled dragon