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Just got a new beardie

MountainWulf

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
6
Hello everyone, I just got a new bearded dragon, my first reptile, and I was wondering a few things I can't quite figure out online and was hoping I could get some help with.

I suppose first though I should introduce my beardie, I've named 'him' Iroh. I got him from petsmart (There were no local breeders sadly) and so have no clue the age, gender or really anything about him. Any educated guess on any of that would be appreciated.

Today is the third day I've had him and he still hasn't eaten any veggies. So far I've tried celery, mustard greens and green beans. When he first wakes up, I can get him to eat a couple crickets, but no more than that. I've heard they can be voracious eaters, but also that they won't eat much when you first get them. Except to try and get him to eat, I've left him alone. At what point should I start to worry that he's not eating enough? He does look a tiny bit skinnier than when I got him. Also, any tips to get him to eat now, and how to force him to if it becomes necessary?

Another big concern is the lighting, I have a three foot reptisun T5 HO 10.0 UVB that runs along the whole tank. I also have a UV sensor. It's a little plastic card you hold under the light and it tells you if it is giving off enough light for your dragon. If I hold it under the light, but above the mesh top of the tank, it shows as very strong, but if I hold it anywhere under the mesh top, it shows none at all. Can the mesh top be blocking 100% of the UVB/UVA? I really hope not, as I have no idea what to do to fix that. The tank is the national geographic brand from petsmart.

I have a basking bulb in the right dome for day, and a ceramic heater in the left dome for the nights until it warms up. I've been using a laser temp gun to check the temps; temp under the basking bulb is about 109 and it's about 81 on the left side of the tank and under the log (which he never goes under).

Also, he runs back and forth against the left most wall quite a lot, I don't know if he's scared, or just playing. Is that normal behavior?

Sorry for how long this all is. Just trying to include everything I can think of in one thread. If there is any more info you want, please ask and I'm certainly willing to hear any advice on any changes or additions I can make to the tank overall to make it the very best place for my dragon. I want him/her to live as long, happy and healthy a life as possible.
 

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MountainWulf

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
6
the full length UVB is not recommended- so with that being said I would cover half the UVB w/ a towel

Really? I had always read to have it go across the whole tank, but they were much older sources. If it's better I can cover half the light or just get a shorter length bulb and fixture. Do you know why it should only be half?

The screen on top of the tank is a fine black metal mesh. Maybe finer than a screen door? I can take a picture if need be.

And is it fine if the UVB sensor isn't picking up anything inside the tank?
 

MountainWulf

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
6
Thank you so much. That's a lot of great information! I appreciate it very much.

Iroh is half the size he was when I got him and very wrinkly. He still won't eat anything after a couple crickets first thing in the morning. Since he's so stressed from coming to a new home, I don't want to go anywhere near him for fear of stressing him more, but I don't know what to do. Am I worrying too much?
 

MountainWulf

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
6
OK, Updates; I switched to a two foot long bulb instead of the three foot one, so there isn't light across the whole tank now. Temps are perfect. He will eat from my hand if he's hungry, so mostly in the morning, not so much after that. He still runs from me if I don't have a cricket in hand, and I don't want to chase him because I fear he'll think of me as someone that chases him down. I have got him in my hand a few times, but he instantly hops out and is upset the rest of the day. He still won't eat veggies at all, I've tried kale, mustard and collard greens and green beans. But I do still keep them in the tank at all times. I'm pretty sure if I had enough crickets he'd be eating at least fifty a day if not more. But that's another problem I've run into and I don't know what to do.

Due to Covid fears, everyone in my area is hoarding dragon food, I can't get any. There are no stores here that have any left. I had when I got my dragon bought a bunch of food for him, I got what I figured would be enough for him and extra to breed to save myself money, expecting that I could just pick up more as needed and not have to feed off the breeders. But I've had to feed him everything I have. I have tried to purchase from online, but everywhere is so backed up, I won't have any more food until the fifteenth if I'm lucky. Any advice on this one? I do have about a hundred crickets left that are 1/4 an inch left, but he'd probably eat that in a day if I wasn't rationing it. I don't want him to starve to death.
 

MountainWulf

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
6
I read all your posts and I went to the sites you listed. I've ordered more bugs, but there is a shortage of them and a backlog because of it. I can't make the suppliers bump me to the top of the list. If I don't ration his bugs, he won't have anything to eat for over a week.
 

JumpinJellyfish

Juvenile Dragon
Messages
319
With no bugs for several days, he may just surprise you and start eating some of the salad. Is symtonbsf backlogged? (I haven't been on in a while. Also try aafeeder.com (all about feeders) - I just got an order of supers, bsfl, and hornworms, and it shipped right away. :0)
 

MountainWulf

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
6
With no bugs for several days, he may just surprise you and start eating some of the salad. Is symtonbsf backlogged? (I haven't been on in a while. Also try aafeeder.com (all about feeders) - I just got an order of supers, bsfl, and hornworms, and it shipped right away. :0)

No worries, he's not going completely without bugs. Just not as many as he'd like. He's getting at least thirty to forty crickets a day right now. He has just tasted his greens. He ate half a piece the size of his mouth. I was so happy. Hopefully he'll start eating more.

I've ordered a whole bunch from three sites so far and can't really afford to order from more now, until I get paid. The one says I'll get my package around the fifteenth, while the other two say I'll get my packages within three to five days of shipping, but don't say when they'll ship. As soon as I get an email saying one of my packages is coming, I'll count out the bugs I have left and figure out if I can feed more without risk of running out, and then of course will feed more. I should have enough, I just really don't like cutting it this close.

I also keep going to my pet store every day, hopefully I can get more crickets (crickets is all they sell there) pretty soon. Then I can just let him go ham. I got my dragon before there was really any word of corona. It was just on the news as a thing going on in China. I never imagined it'd cause panicking and shortages. Much less shortages of bugs...
 
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