Can someone help with all my questions please?

[Snakesox]

Hi
I’ve only had my baby for a week and I’m so stressed out, that I’m losing sleep.
Sorry if this is a bit jumbled up, but I’ve asked for bits and pieces of advice elsewhere and I’m still not really feeling any more confident.
She (or he) is 11/12 weeks old. She’s in a wooden viv just under 4ftx2x2. Basking temps are 108-112 (depending on where I measure on the platform), measured with a temp gun. The UVB strip is quite long, it covers most of her tank, so I have a shorter but better one ordered already. Ambient temp is around 83f and cool side around 80. Overnight temps are around 73f. She’s on kitchen towel right now. Since she came, she’s not eaten very much. No more than 5 crickets or Dubias a day and no veg at all. I know they have relocation stress but I’m starting to get kinda worried. She will drink a couple of drops of water from a syringe a day

She also needs encouragement in the morning to come out her hide. If I leave her, she just stays there all day and I’m concerned about her not getting UVB and heat. She seems to sleep a lot, but is definitely alert when awake and can move fast when she wants to. I’m concerned though that she’s not coming out herself to bask. I don’t have light timers but am consistent in turning them off and on at the same times


She is pooping and passing urate daily, although pretty small some days and yesterday her poop was completely white. It definitely wasn’t urate as that was also present. I’m not sure if this could be the calciupowder.

Sometimes she’s ok with my hands in the tank, cleaning and feeding, other times she will really flip out and start scrambling and scratching at the walls of her viv frantically.


Sorry this is all over the place, but if anyone can help me out with any of these concerns, you’d really be helping me out. I’ve never had anything so little before. I keep snakes and have had geckos, but this is much different.

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't know enough to help you, just wanted to say I LOVE the picture! What a cute little guy!!

 

[CiriTheBeardie]

I’m no expert on babies, but I’m hoping to reassure you a bit. I adopted my first bbearded dragon back in March, and shes 2 years old. So like I said, no experience with babies. BUT I was right where you were! I did my research, thought I was doing everything right, but she was acting weird, and so I was stressed and crying daily. Let me tell you, it got better! We both have adjusted and it’s been smooth sailing! When I first got her, she would scratch at the walls, she wouldn’t eat, she hid a lot, and just generally didn’t want to move or do much. But, after making sure temps and uvb were correct, I just let her get adjusted. It took a bit, maybe a month. But now she’s an amazing eater, she’s always out and about, and she lets me handle her and all is well. They can go long periods without food and still be okay. Just make sure you’re offering food daily regardless. Eventually, she’ll calm down, get used to your schedule, and it’ll be okay. Try and be as consistent as possible with lighting and feedings, I found that to be really helpful with my girl. My beardie is to the point where she stands where her food dish goes in the morning around the time I usually feed her, she gets in her sleep spot around 10 minutes before lights go off, and she knows which bowl is her bug bowl I’m sure you’re doing great! Just be patient and give her a little more time to adjust before becoming too worried

 

[Snakesox]

I’m no expert on babies, but I’m hoping to reassure you a bit. I adopted my first bbearded dragon back in March, and shes 2 years old. So like I said, no experience with babies. BUT I was right where you were! I did my research, thought I was doing everything right, but she was acting weird, and so I was stressed and crying daily. Let me tell you, it got better! We both have adjusted and it’s been smooth sailing! When I first got her, she would scratch at the walls, she wouldn’t eat, she hid a lot, and just generally didn’t want to move or do much. But, after making sure temps and uvb were correct, I just let her get adjusted. It took a bit, maybe a month. But now she’s an amazing eater, she’s always out and about, and she lets me handle her and all is well. They can go long periods without food and still be okay. Just make sure you’re offering food daily regardless. Eventually, she’ll calm down, get used to your schedule, and it’ll be okay. Try and be as consistent as possible with lighting and feedings, I found that to be really helpful with my girl. My beardie is to the point where she stands where her food dish goes in the morning around the time I usually feed her, she gets in her sleep spot around 10 minutes before lights go off, and she knows which bowl is her bug bowl I’m sure you’re doing great! Just be patient and give her a little more time to adjust before becoming too worried

Thank you so, so much. I’m sorry you went through this too because it’s awful, but It’s so reassuring to know I’m not the only one who’s been in this state. It’s lovely to hear that you and your beardie got through it and she’s so happy and healthy now, well done you! I will try and be more patient and relax about things.
I actually didn’t know they could go along time without eating, that’s a relief
again thank you so much I really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with me.

 

[averyhanna_]

to get her more comfortable with you, you can try to just place your hand on the opposite side of the enclosure that she’s on. leave it there for a little while and then take it out. do it a few times a day. eventually move your hand closer to where she’s at and try to pet her. it can take a while for them to get used to you and understand you’re not a threat, but it’ll happen!

 

[Snakesox]

to get her more comfortable with you, you can try to just place your hand on the opposite side of the enclosure that she’s on. leave it there for a little while and then take it out. do it a few times a day. eventually move your hand closer to where she’s at and try to pet her. it can take a while for them to get used to you and understand you’re not a threat, but it’ll happen!

Thank you for the tip. I’ve not been doing it so far, just because I’m worried about stressing her out more when she’s still not eating. She’s started to get excited when she sees me putting food in and will come right over to her bowl, eat one or two then leave it again and that will be her for the day

 

[averyhanna_]

Thank you for the tip. I’ve not been doing it so far, just because I’m worried about stressing her out more when she’s still not eating. She’s started to get excited when she sees me putting food in and will come right over to her bowl, eat one or two then leave it again and that will be her for the day

again it takes time!! when i got my baby he would only eat a few crickets a day and i was so worried. almost a month later i have to put in one at a time because he scarfs them down so quickly! it shouldn’t stress her too much if your hands on the other side as long as the viv is big enough. also try hanging out in the same room that her tank is in so she gets used to you

 

[CiriTheBeardie]

Thank you so, so much. I’m sorry you went through this too because it’s awful, but It’s so reassuring to know I’m not the only one who’s been in this state. It’s lovely to hear that you and your beardie got through it and she’s so happy and healthy now, well done you! I will try and be more patient and relax about things.
I actually didn’t know they could go along time without eating, that’s a relief
again thank you so much I really appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with me.

I'm glad I could make you feel better! I didn't know about the food thing either until I was watching a video by a reptile owner on YouTube who takes in reptiles, rehabilitates them, then adopts them out. He was talking about a bearded dragon he took in and said it took him a month before he started eating but that it "wasn't that abnormal for a reptile". I knew snakes could go awhile but didn't realize bearded dragons could too! I also saw your reply where you said she gets excited to see her bowl and only eats one or two pieces then leaves it and that is EXACTLY what mine did. She would stand where her dish went every morning, I would put in her food, she would eat one leaf, and that would be it. She just recently started eating her entire salad and it's been roughly two months since I've gotten her haha

 

[Snakesox]

I'm glad I could make you feel better! I didn't know about the food thing either until I was watching a video by a reptile owner on YouTube who takes in reptiles, rehabilitates them, then adopts them out. He was talking about a bearded dragon he took in and said it took him a month before he started eating but that it "wasn't that abnormal for a reptile". I knew snakes could go awhile but didn't realize bearded dragons could too! I also saw your reply where you said she gets excited to see her bowl and only eats one or two pieces then leaves it and that is EXACTLY what mine did. She would stand where her dish went every morning, I would put in her food, she would eat one leaf, and that would be it. She just recently started eating her entire salad and it's been roughly two months since I've gotten her haha

Goherping? I watch him too haha. Well it’s definitely reassuring, she’s probably much hardier than I think! If my snakes didn’t eat for a few months never mind a week, I wouldn’t be concerned at all.
Two months is along time to keep trying, you must have the patience of a saint. Thank you for sharing that, I thought it was really weird of her to do that. Other than a few Dubias a day, she will eat a couple of tiny bits of carrot but no greens, so I’m glad she’s not the only one! I gave her a little piece of strawberry and she ate it right out my hand, right away, but I don’t want to keep that up before she’s heating her healthy food!
Also, if Ciri is your beardies name, I love it so much you need a Geralt now.

 

[Snakesox]

again it takes time!! when i got my baby he would only eat a few crickets a day and i was so worried. almost a month later i have to put in one at a time because he scarfs them down so quickly! it shouldn’t stress her too much if your hands on the other side as long as the viv is big enough. also try hanging out in the same room that her tank is in so she gets used to you

I’m actually wondering if that’s part of the problem, I have her in my living room so I’m in here a lot at the moment, but so is my dog, he isn’t interested in her at all but he’s probably really freaking her out
It’s a good idea to start on the other side of the tank so she has her space. I will start doing that, thank you.
I get so jealous of people saying their beardies wolf everything down right away. It would make my day if she would just have a decent feed.
Thank you though. I’ll try and be more patient.

 

[averyhanna_]

I’m actually wondering if that’s part of the problem, I have her in my living room so I’m in here a lot at the moment, but so is my dog, he isn’t interested in her at all but he’s probably really freaking her out
It’s a good idea to start on the other side of the tank so she has her space. I will start doing that, thank you.
I get so jealous of people saying their beardies wolf everything down right away. It would make my day if she would just have a decent feed.
Thank you though. I’ll try and be more patient.

i hope it works out for you! keep us updated

 

[Julee1971]

Hi
I’ve only had my baby for a week and I’m so stressed out, that I’m losing sleep.
Sorry if this is a bit jumbled up, but I’ve asked for bits and pieces of advice elsewhere and I’m still not really feeling any more confident.
She (or he) is 11/12 weeks old. She’s in a wooden viv just under 4ftx2x2. Basking temps are 108-112 (depending on where I measure on the platform), measured with a temp gun. The UVB strip is quite long, it covers most of her tank, so I have a shorter but better one ordered already. Ambient temp is around 83f and cool side around 80. Overnight temps are around 73f. She’s on kitchen towel right now. Since she came, she’s not eaten very much. No more than 5 crickets or Dubias a day and no veg at all. I know they have relocation stress but I’m starting to get kinda worried. She will drink a couple of drops of water from a syringe a day

She also needs encouragement in the morning to come out her hide. If I leave her, she just stays there all day and I’m concerned about her not getting UVB and heat. She seems to sleep a lot, but is definitely alert when awake and can move fast when she wants to. I’m concerned though that she’s not coming out herself to bask. I don’t have light timers but am consistent in turning them off and on at the same times


She is pooping and passing urate daily, although pretty small some days and yesterday her poop was completely white. It definitely wasn’t urate as that was also present. I’m not sure if this could be the calciupowder.

Sometimes she’s ok with my hands in the tank, cleaning and feeding, other times she will really flip out and start scrambling and scratching at the walls of her viv frantically.


Sorry this is all over the place, but if anyone can help me out with any of these concerns, you’d really be helping me out. I’ve never had anything so little before. I keep snakes and have had geckos, but this is much different.

View attachment 22303

Hi There,
Play meditation music all day on your Alexa not too loud but at a decent volume; it relaxes them. NO loud noise they hate it!! Basking temp is too high lower it to 105-110, so maybe raise your basking lite to get the temp lower. When u turn on Lites in the mornign u can grab him and place him on his basking spot hopefully u have a basking platform with a hide underneath so he can go under itnif it gets to hot also a little platform on the cold side too. Do not feed until he has been bashing for at least an hour they don’t eat when they are cold; they need to be warm and shake the food dish in front of him or slowly give him the food from your hand; veggies and greens cut it up very very teeny Like bite size. Your food Dish is way tooo tall!! Get a lower one from petco or Petsmart. Last meal of the day he needs to bask for 2hoirs before shutting off the Lites. Do u have a coil or red or black bulb?? Get that out of there ASAP!! That’s why he doesn’t want to come out; it burns there eyes. The ZooMed Reptisun basking light is the best. 50 watt for 10 gallon, 75watt for a 20gallon and 100 watt for a 40 gallon tank and bigger tanks like 75 need a 150watt bulb. Humidity needs to be 30-40 never higher or he will be sick if it gets higher than 40 open windows or spray him a few times with a bottle sprayer. Filtered water only for drinking and bathing!! No chlorine in the water. UVB has to be the Reptisun 10.0 T5. It emits lots of light the tank needs to be lite and bright for them to have energy and digest calciumD3 and there food. Last feeding they need to bask for 2hours before shutting off the Lites. Dust all crickets in calcium shake them in a ziplock back and sprinkle it till they are ghost white. Try dubia roaches they are very good and small for him. At nite it needs to be super duper dark!! No Lites on at all if u need warmth for him in winter get a ceramic heat bulb; it emits no light. Please text or call me ans I can help with everything!!! 714-878-2595.

 

[Snakesox]

Hi, thanks for your advice I’ve never heard about playing meditation music to them before! I’ll definitely give that a try for us both!!

Hi There,
Play meditation music all day on your Alexa not too loud but at a decent volume; it relaxes them. NO loud noise they hate it!! Basking temp is too high lower it to 105-110, so maybe raise your basking lite to get the temp lower. When u turn on Lites in the mornign u can grab him and place him on his basking spot hopefully u have a basking platform with a hide underneath so he can go under itnif it gets to hot also a little platform on the cold side too. Do not feed until he has been bashing for at least an hour they don’t eat when they are cold; they need to be warm and shake the food dish in front of him or slowly give him the food from your hand; veggies and greens cut it up very very teeny Like bite size. Your food Dish is way tooo tall!! Get a lower one from petco or Petsmart. Last meal of the day he needs to bask for 2hoirs before shutting off the Lites. Do u have a coil or red or black bulb?? Get that out of there ASAP!! That’s why he doesn’t want to come out; it burns there eyes. The ZooMed Reptisun basking light is the best. 50 watt for 10 gallon, 75watt for a 20gallon and 100 watt for a 40 gallon tank and bigger tanks like 75 need a 150watt bulb. Humidity needs to be 30-40 never higher or he will be sick if it gets higher than 40 open windows or spray him a few times with a bottle sprayer. Filtered water only for drinking and bathing!! No chlorine in the water. UVB has to be the Reptisun 10.0 T5. It emits lots of light the tank needs to be lite and bright for them to have energy and digest calciumD3 and there food. Last feeding they need to bask for 2hours before shutting off the Lites. Dust all crickets in calcium shake them in a ziplock back and sprinkle it till they are ghost white. Try dubia roaches they are very good and small for him. At nite it needs to be super duper dark!! No Lites on at all if u need warmth for him in winter get a ceramic heat bulb; it emits no light. Please text or call me ans I can help with everything!!! 714-878-2595.

Hi, thanks for your advice, I’ve never heard of playing meditation music to them before, I’ll give that a try for us both!!
I’m surprised the dish is too tall, she can get into it ok, but maybe it’s not ideal so I’ll have a look for some better ones.
No, I don’t use any of those lights. Just a basking bulb and a UVB+D3 12%. I think it’s Arcadia. And I’m dusting Dubias with calcium daily already.
It’s pitch black at night and the temps are ok just now, but I’ll probably need a ceramic in the winter since it gets pretty cold in my house!
Thanks again.

 

[Iwantabeardie]

Before I answer any questions, I just want to say that your dragon is adorable.
In a tank that big, you don't want to feed them anything that can jump because it would be very difficult to catch. Try BSFL maybe in the beginning. My beardie is 3/4 months and he doesn't eat a lot of bugs either. Instead of syringe feeding water try spraying them when they come out, my beardie hasn't done anything in his water bowl except poop but I spray him regularly. Its okay for them not to come out so often because they might have to get used to the area. When I got my beardie he didn't move for the first 5 hours in his tank, and then he found an adorable sleeping spot. I left my hand in there for a total of probably more than 12 hours over the course of a few days, and he let me pet him and pick him up. As for veggies, ask the breeder (or wherever you got him) what veggies he ate so you could feed him that. Keep the basking light on the whole day and put a good sized rock under it. As for the glass surfing, at first I thought he was seeing his reflection in the glass but after covering the inside of his tank with paper and putting him in front of a mirror to see if he reacts, I learned that he just wants to get out, but I won't take him until he poops. He used to poop 2-3 times a day but now he goes only once a day. Hope I helped! Good luck!

 

[averyhanna_]

oh another thing to help him drink is to just get water on your finger and boop his nose do a drip goes on! my guy will lick it up but will never drink water on his own!

 

[CiriTheBeardie]

Goherping? I watch him too haha. Well it’s definitely reassuring, she’s probably much hardier than I think! If my snakes didn’t eat for a few months never mind a week, I wouldn’t be concerned at all.
Two months is along time to keep trying, you must have the patience of a saint. Thank you for sharing that, I thought it was really weird of her to do that. Other than a few Dubias a day, she will eat a couple of tiny bits of carrot but no greens, so I’m glad she’s not the only one! I gave her a little piece of strawberry and she ate it right out my hand, right away, but I don’t want to keep that up before she’s heating her healthy food!
Also, if Ciri is your beardies name, I love it so much you need a Geralt now.

Yes, Goherping! I love his vids! And it is her name, I’m so glad you got the reference!!

 

[Ashley Clifford]

Hi
I’ve only had my baby for a week and I’m so stressed out, that I’m losing sleep.
Sorry if this is a bit jumbled up, but I’ve asked for bits and pieces of advice elsewhere and I’m still not really feeling any more confident.
She (or he) is 11/12 weeks old. She’s in a wooden viv just under 4ftx2x2. Basking temps are 108-112 (depending on where I measure on the platform), measured with a temp gun. The UVB strip is quite long, it covers most of her tank, so I have a shorter but better one ordered already. Ambient temp is around 83f and cool side around 80. Overnight temps are around 73f. She’s on kitchen towel right now. Since she came, she’s not eaten very much. No more than 5 crickets or Dubias a day and no veg at all. I know they have relocation stress but I’m starting to get kinda worried. She will drink a couple of drops of water from a syringe a day

She also needs encouragement in the morning to come out her hide. If I leave her, she just stays there all day and I’m concerned about her not getting UVB and heat. She seems to sleep a lot, but is definitely alert when awake and can move fast when she wants to. I’m concerned though that she’s not coming out herself to bask. I don’t have light timers but am consistent in turning them off and on at the same times


She is pooping and passing urate daily, although pretty small some days and yesterday her poop was completely white. It definitely wasn’t urate as that was also present. I’m not sure if this could be the calciupowder.

Sometimes she’s ok with my hands in the tank, cleaning and feeding, other times she will really flip out and start scrambling and scratching at the walls of her viv frantically.


Sorry this is all over the place, but if anyone can help me out with any of these concerns, you’d really be helping me out. I’ve never had anything so little before. I keep snakes and have had geckos, but this is much different.

View attachment 22303
Hi there,
My first advice is buy a piece of the styrofoam poster board and cut it so that it wedges tightly to divide your viv in half. From my experience they should not have full roam of a larger viv until they are a little bigger (5-6 months plus based on grow rate) because they can actually burn more calories than they take in, along with there being an overwhelming amount of space. I did this with my beardy and when he seemed ready I removed it and gave him full roam. See if this helps lessen his/her stress levels and go a little slower with interacting by hand. Try a little bit each day and increase as your dragon feels more comfortable with you. Offering food on your hand allows for good bonding as well but they don’t always take to it right away. I think limiting her space to 2ft for now will give her less room to have to chase her food too so hopefully this will solve your problems but keep posting because this is a good place to get advice from experienced owners!

 

[Ashley Clifford]

Hi there,
My first advice is buy a piece of the styrofoam poster board and cut it so that it wedges tightly to divide your viv in half. From my experience they should not have full roam of a larger viv until they are a little bigger (5-6 months plus based on grow rate) because they can actually burn more calories than they take in, along with there being an overwhelming amount of space. I did this with my beardy and when he seemed ready I removed it and gave him full roam. See if this helps lessen his/her stress levels and go a little slower with interacting by hand. Try a little bit each day and increase as your dragon feels more comfortable with you. Offering food on your hand allows for good bonding as well but they don’t always take to it right away. I think limiting her space to 2ft for now will give her less room to have to chase her food too so hopefully this will solve your problems but keep posting because this is a good place to get advice from experienced owners!

 

[Snakesox]

Hi there,
My first advice is buy a piece of the styrofoam poster board and cut it so that it wedges tightly to divide your viv in half. From my experience they should not have full roam of a larger viv until they are a little bigger (5-6 months plus based on grow rate) because they can actually burn more calories than they take in, along with there being an overwhelming amount of space. I did this with my beardy and when he seemed ready I removed it and gave him full roam. See if this helps lessen his/her stress levels and go a little slower with interacting by hand. Try a little bit each day and increase as your dragon feels more comfortable with you. Offering food on your hand allows for good bonding as well but they don’t always take to it right away. I think limiting her space to 2ft for now will give her less room to have to chase her food too so hopefully this will solve your problems but keep posting because this is a good place to get advice from experienced owners!

Thank you for the advice. He/she is doing a little better now, eating quite a bit more (maybe still not as much as she should though), less glass/viv surfing and coming out at a regular-ish time each morning to bask, so she seems to be improving slowly but surely. She will occasionally eat from my hand but other times ignores it and seems to be getting very slightly more comfortable with my hand, she licked it the other day, so that’s something!
I thought about dividing the tank actually, she looks so small in there, but my concern is how to keep the temps right if I’m working in a smaller space? Her viv is the kind with an unbuilt shelf and her basking spot is right in there, so if i section some of it off, it’s not going to leave a lot of space for a cooler side?

 

[Snakesox]

I don’t know whether to start another thread on this so sorry if this is against the forums etiquette! But I have another question if anyone could help.
Just now, I’m dusting with calcium 5 days a week, on the sixth day, dusting with a multivitamin that contains calcium and D3 and not dusting on the seventh day. Does this sound ok or have I got it wrong?
thanks.