EATING ADVICE NEEDED ASAP!

[Della]

Hi everyone,

My name is Della and we own a gorgeous baby beardie called Berti he is approximately 18 weeks old and when we first got him he loved chasing and eating his crickets. Now however and for about 4 weeks he has been off his food, we get the odd mealworm or baby cricket down him at a push but he's really not interested. He is pooping as normal is bright eyed, happy to be handled and run around and he scratches alot at the corner of the viv. We have been advised of possible constipation so give him short periods of time in shallow warm water weekly. We have been advised he may be fussy and have a sweet tooth and to try strawberries but he is not interested. We are keeping a very close eye on his temperature and behaviour and from what we can see it is all normal. Any advice please guys? We would really appreciate it.

Della

 

[Della]

Also, red lights through the night....yes or no??

 

[renich]

Hello and welcome.

No to the red light at night. Beardies need complete darkness to get a good night's rest. The red light will not allow this. Therefore, you have one cranky, tired dragon. Not a good thing.

Can you go over a couple of things? If you are feeding mealworms, they are a no-no. Not only are their outer shells tough to break down, they offer no nutritional value for your dragon.

What is the temp on your hot side?
What is the temp on your cold side?
What are you using to take your temp?
What salad mix are you offering?
What is your substrate (floor)?
What is the make and model of your UV light?

 

[Della]

We have a thermometer thing that came with the viv stuck on the tank that currently reads 40 degrees C
Both our lights are one end the same end as the thermometer.
I couldnt possibly tell you the make and model it again came with the viv.
We have a calcium sand floor
We offer rocket salad, cucumber and strawberries and have offered carrott.
The red light is on now and the white off is this wrong?

Thanks you so much.

Della

 

[renich]

Ok, the stick on thermometers can be off as much as 20 degrees. The temps are very important for your dragon to heat up enough to digest his food. For beardies under 1 year of age, the hot side should be around 43C, so, you are not too far off. The cools side should be around 29C.

If you take a peak at the UV light, it should have the make and model on it. This is very important. Beardies need a high level of UV to thrive in captivity.

Calcium floor is not the best thing for them. I have used sand in the past, but not till Bernie reached 1 year of age. It harbours bacteria and runs the the risk of your dragon eating sum, which could lead to impaction.

What is rocket salad? I'm not familiar with that.

Where are you located? Beardies should have 14 hours of lights on and 10 hours of lights off. Lights on would be your UV light and basking light. Nothing is needed at night. If temps drop below 18C, you can use a heat emitter to raise temps. It offers heat without light.

Hope this helps.

 

[Della]

oh i see the name of the uv is "Repti Glo 10.0 UVB" hope this helps.

I will remove the red bulb now too.

Does the other buld and the UV bulb need to be separate ends?

Should he have a heat mat?

Mealworms are a no no? Our petstore said they could live solely on them hope he isnt going to cause him to be poorly!!

Rocket salad is small green salad leaves our book says he is ok to eat them.
We live in Norfolk, East of England, he currently has both lights from 7am-7pm. Again as advised by the store.

Thank you

 

[renich]

Ok. Let me start by saying sooooo many pet stores give incorrect info. I have been victim of it and many others too. It is disheartening because we think they are the experts. But they are out to make a buck and have employees who have not been properly trained in bearded dragon care.

Honestly, the RepitGlo 10.0 had been known to cause issue with bearded dragons. I beleive there was a study performed in the UK about this. I like the ReptiSun 10.0, but I don't believe it is available to you. You need the Arcadia 12%.

Is the UV light a tube? Most run the length of your viv.

Yes, mealworms are bad. Definitely not a staple. You can use crickets, dubia roaches, locusts as staples. I'm sure he is fine, but discontinue the mealworms and replace the sand.

Your light schedule is fine.

 

[Della]

the uv light is just a bulb not a tube.

We will try and buy the Arcadia.
What do I replace the sand with please?
And if he wont eat crickets or anything how do we get him to eat?

 

[renich]

Ok, coil bulbs are not good either. Sorry to give you so many negatives. Coils can cause eye damage.
You need a tube.

Sand can be replaced with papertowels, reptile carpet, non-adhesive shelf liner, ceremic tile.
You can try dubia roaches, locusts, phoenix worms, silkworms. All must be no larger than the space between your dragon's eyes.

Here's a link to our caresheet, it gives you more ideas on all these topics.
Bearded Dragon Care

 

[Della]

thank you very much no dont worry about the negatives we need to know. unfortunately my partner who owns berti is a stubborn so and so and wont listen sometimes so forgive me keep asking questions.
How low is safe for the temperature to drop at night?
Is he likely to die if he's only eating every couple of days?
Is a heat mat in the cage ok or need to be removed?

Thanks so sorry to be a pain.

 

[li]

Chances are once you get your husbandry correct you will see a big difference in the eating. So it looks like Renee has answered most.

**calcisand..no good. Take it out asap.
**coil uvbs along with reptiglo no good. Reptisun 10.0 is the best
**temps....you need a digital thermometer. The stick ones...no good. Get one with a probe. Temp should be 105-110* in the basking spot.
**heat light...just a regular household bulb. No need for anything special
**no mealies
**no heat mat, beardies don't feel heat from below only above. They can get burned.
**as long as your house stays above 60* you are good at night, no heat or lights needed.

Keep asking questions if needed.

 

[Della]

Ok so as of tomorrow there will be:

No calcium sand - instead paper towels
No curly bulb - instead a tube bulb
No meal worms - instead try crickets

Iv just read they should be hiding under there rocks because they then get cold true?
Also basking spot can you explain this I thought I knew what you meant but it keeps being used in different context.
Berti is currently having a bath hopefully this will hydrate as we are also worried about his drinking :/

Thanks so much

 

[renich]

They should have a cool side, around 29C. It is to cool off if they need it.

A basking spot mimics the natural sun. It is a place for your beardie to go and soak up some 'sun'. In other words, it is a bulb that shines brightly in the viv. A standard (old fashioned) household bulb will do the trick.

Most beardie do not drink their water. A soak will get him hydrated.

 

[li]

The left side is the hot side. He actual basking spot which is the hottest spot on the tank is the highest spot at the top of the limb. Then it gets cooler as he comes down. The right side of the tank is the cool side. Hope this helps you visualize. You can also see the digital probes..one right on the basking spot and one hanging on the cool end.

 

[Pogie]

Hey LI, like your background. The decor blends in with it great.

Heres another pic of my setup, just to give more ideas...

If you look on the left side, the branch is the cool side and runs directly below the UVB tube. She can get anywhere from 11cm to 34cm from it while on the branch.

On the right side is the basking spot on the platform, it is 20cm from the platform floor. You can see her lying there.
I also have a heat emitter next to the basking bulb for nights as our temps here drop to between 2 and 10 deg C at night (Its winter), but in summer I don't use it.

Hope it helps you some....

 

[li]

Thanks Monique!

 

[Della]

Hi again,

havnt managed to get berti a new bulb but tried to encourage him to eat cucumber today but nothing.

We now have a digital thermometer in the viv now which at the hot end currently shows 49.9 oC is this ok?

Thanks

 

[li]

No..that is way too hot. That is about 120* You need to drop the temp by at least 10*.

 

[Della]

oh how on earth do i do that? his lights off now and its 34.4 is this hot?

 

[li]

What are you using for a heat source?