Adopted Dragon not eating and hiding all the time

[Reaper’sDragon]

Hi. My sister adopted a Beardie. She is a first time owner and has struggled with set up. I gifted her a 75 gal tank and we sit up a UVB tube and a basking lamp. She also has a ceramic heater. The problem is that the place she adopted the Beardie said it wasn’t eating for a few weeks already and the Think she is in brumation. So do we assume it to and be true and keep the temps low, or keep the tank at optimal temperatures? She has only eaten a few crickets on a few weeks and nothing else. She is starting to look wrinkly and a little thin. What should we do?

 

[Sadie]

Hi. My sister adopted a Beardie. She is a first time owner and has struggled with set up. I gifted her a 75 gal tank and we sit up a UVB tube and a basking lamp. She also has a ceramic heater. The problem is that the place she adopted the Beardie said it wasn’t eating for a few weeks already and the Think she is in brumation. So do we assume it to and be true and keep the temps low, or keep the tank at optimal temperatures? She has only eaten a few crickets on a few weeks and nothing else. She is starting to look wrinkly and a little thin. What should we do?

First give the dragon water --- she is more than likely dehydrated - drop water on her nose to see if she will lick - how long has she had the dragon? Next we are going to get the lighting and surface basking temps on par--- you need a digital probe thermometer two of them one for the hot side of the tank - take the probe place where the dragon sits for basking temp 95-100 ambient temp around 100 cool side of the tank 80ish during the day - UVB please NO coils - that would be in a dome fixture - you want a long tube fixture I can post 3 good UVB's w/ links for you - this is crucial to get the dragon to eat and his over all health - it can be brumation as it is the time of the year but we need to make sure all temps and UVB are on par to rule in brumation -- post a pic of the dragon please and his tank including the lighting --

 

[Reaper’sDragon]

First give the dragon water --- she is more than likely dehydrated - drop water on her nose to see if she will lick - how long has she had the dragon? Next we are going to get the lighting and surface basking temps on par--- you need a digital probe thermometer two of them one for the hot side of the tank - take the probe place where the dragon sits for basking temp 95-100 ambient temp around 100 cool side of the tank 80ish during the day - UVB please NO coils - that would be in a dome fixture - you want a long tube fixture I can post 3 good UVB's w/ links for you - this is crucial to get the dragon to eat and his over all health - it can be brumation as it is the time of the year but we need to make sure all temps and UVB are on par to rule in brumation -- post a pic of the dragon please and his tank including the lighting --

Ok. Will do so tomorrow since I don’t have access right now.

 

[Reaper’sDragon]

First give the dragon water --- she is more than likely dehydrated - drop water on her nose to see if she will lick - how long has she had the dragon? Next we are going to get the lighting and surface basking temps on par--- you need a digital probe thermometer two of them one for the hot side of the tank - take the probe place where the dragon sits for basking temp 95-100 ambient temp around 100 cool side of the tank 80ish during the day - UVB please NO coils - that would be in a dome fixture - you want a long tube fixture I can post 3 good UVB's w/ links for you - this is crucial to get the dragon to eat and his over all health - it can be brumation as it is the time of the year but we need to make sure all temps and UVB are on par to rule in brumation -- post a pic of the dragon please and his tank including the lighting --

View attachment IMG_9398.jpeg

I gave her a warm soak. She won’t drink. The tank is sparse because we want to focus on her health first. She has a tube UVB light, one highly recommended but I forgot the name, and a basking 150 W bulb. The basking spot gets up to about 95 degrees Fahrenheit. We also have a ceramic heater that we had for night, so tomorrow it will be turned on in the daytime. Weight at adoption was 352 grams and now she is 348 grams. I am going to order the probe thermometers, what do you recommend as far as brand?

 

[Reaper’sDragon]

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I gave her a warm soak. She won’t drink. The tank is sparse because we want to focus on her health first. She has a tube UVB light, one highly recommended but I forgot the name, and a basking 150 W bulb. The basking spot gets up to about 95 degrees Fahrenheit. We also have a ceramic heater that we had for night, so tomorrow it will be turned on in the daytime. Weight at adoption was 352 grams and now she is 348 grams. I am going to order the probe thermometers, what do you recommend as far as brand?

Oh and she has had her about 3 weeks and they said she was already not eating much at all.

 

[Sadie]

View attachment 37159View attachment 37160
I gave her a warm soak. She won’t drink. The tank is sparse because we want to focus on her health first. She has a tube UVB light, one highly recommended but I forgot the name, and a basking 150 W bulb. The basking spot gets up to about 95 degrees Fahrenheit. We also have a ceramic heater that we had for night, so tomorrow it will be turned on in the daytime. Weight at adoption was 352 grams and now she is 348 grams. I am going to order the probe thermometers, what do you recommend as far as brand?

Zoo Med makes the thermometers - if she didnt drink she was not thirsty - can you post a pic of the tank - I need to see what is in there and give some tips maybe on decor hides etc -- please look on the UVB bulb itself it will tell you the brand and bulb look for T 5 or T 8 its going to be on the bottom of the writing on the bulb and how old it is-- CHE's are good for night time heat and you can use them to supplement getting the heat to higher ambient temps but you need those digital probes to get actual surface basking temps- shes going thru relocation stress is what it sounds like if you just got her and once she acclimates to her tank and surroundings she should start eating more but we need to get everything w/ her lighting on par so she does start eating better -- dragons will not eat or will stop eating if things are off w/ the things I just mentioned -

 

[Reaper’sDragon]

Zoo Med makes the thermometers - if she didnt drink she was not thirsty - can you post a pic of the tank - I need to see what is in there and give some tips maybe on decor hides etc -- please look on the UVB bulb itself it will tell you the brand and bulb look for T 5 or T 8 its going to be on the bottom of the writing on the bulb and how old it is-- CHE's are good for night time heat and you can use them to supplement getting the heat to higher ambient temps but you need those digital probes to get actual surface basking temps- shes going thru relocation stress is what it sounds like if you just got her and once she acclimates to her tank and surroundings she should start eating more but we need to get everything w/ her lighting on par so she does start eating better -- dragons will not eat or will stop eating if things are off w/ the things I just mentioned -

Here are some photos. As you can see there isn’t much in there because I am trying to focus on her health. But if changing her surroundings will help, then we can get that taken care of sooner.

 

[Reaper’sDragon]

Here are some photos. As you can see there isn’t much in there because I am trying to focus on her health. But if changing her surroundings will help, then we can get that taken care of sooner.

The tube light is Arcadia T5. It says 12% UVB and we just bought it a couple weeks ago. My sister uses an infrared thermometer and checks multiple times a day. Is that not good enough for this situation? She went with that because it was recommended to her. What about humidity gauge? I would like to buy a good quality one but not sure which.

 

[Sadie]

The tube light is Arcadia T5. It says 12% UVB and we just bought it a couple weeks ago. My sister uses an infrared thermometer and checks multiple times a day. Is that not good enough for this situation? She went with that because it was recommended to her. What about humidity gauge? I would like to buy a good quality one but not sure which.

Ok so I would get some more decor pieces in there - I am going to post a pic of one of my tanks to give you some ideas - I like resin decor pieces they are very easy to keep clean - what is on the bottom of the tank for substrate? You have a great UVB and the screen on the tank is a wide hole type so it can stay on top but you need to get a piece of basking decor directly under it 8-10 inches - please replace the bulb in 10 - 11 months from date of install or around there - the IR gun is good but you want 2 digital probe thermometers I use 3 types - a stick on for ambient 2 digital probe ones to get surface basking temps and the IR gun for spot checking - a good hygrometer is one w/ a probe placed on the back center wall of the tank - optimal humidity 40-50% nothing under 20 and over 70% - Exo Terra makes them you can find them on Amazon I think they are cheaper I got mine from here https://dubiaroaches.com/products/exo-terra-digital-hygrometer?_pos=1&_sid=ece1ab4a8&_ss=r -- if you have more questions please ask

 

[Reaper’sDragon]

Ok so I would get some more decor pieces in there - I am going to post a pic of one of my tanks to give you some ideas - I like resin decor pieces they are very easy to keep clean - what is on the bottom of the tank for substrate? You have a great UVB and the screen on the tank is a wide hole type so it can stay on top but you need to get a piece of basking decor directly under it 8-10 inches - please replace the bulb in 10 - 11 months from date of install or around there - the IR gun is good but you want 2 digital probe thermometers I use 3 types - a stick on for ambient 2 digital probe ones to get surface basking temps and the IR gun for spot checking - a good hygrometer is one w/ a probe placed on the back center wall of the tank - optimal humidity 40-50% nothing under 20 and over 70% - Exo Terra makes them you can find them on Amazon I think they are cheaper I got mine from here https://dubiaroaches.com/products/exo-terra-digital-hygrometer?_pos=1&_sid=ece1ab4a8&_ss=r -- if you have more questions please ask
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Thanks so much.