just got my first beardie

[grimm]

first time poster here

So just got my first bearded dragon, from head to the tip of the tail he is about 8 inches long. i have had him for about 5 days now, and he doesnt seem to want to eat his greens at all, feeding him the same ones he was getting at the place i got him. now he has eaten crickets a few times, but he doesnt seem to be as hungry as he should be from what im reading, and other times, like today, he wouldnt really eat any crickets, maybe like 4 1/4". now i have changed his tank up a few times since i got him trying to get it right, do you think he might be stressed out since ive been changing hes bedding from paper towels to cardboard then to tiles? so maybe its just stress and i need to just let him chill and see what happens? some advice would be wonderful

40 gal tank, use a 150 wattage basking bulb, keeps the basking area between 100-110 ish, has a water dish/greens dish and a basking log/branch over a hide. use a 18" zilla desert 50 series t8 uvb bulb, which i think is the same as the 10.0 uvb outputs.

any clues? thanks

oh and also, i keep to the 14 hour rule for daylight, but i dont run it at normal hours because of work, usually lights on at 10am and off around midnight.

 

[zebraflavencs]

I'd change out one last thing and leave it be.. This is relocation stress..
The one thing would be that zilla. Reptisun 10.0 Linear is your ticket.. Long enough to span as much length wise of the 40, distance from basking spot around 6-8 inches...
Welcome to the Forum !

 

[Pogie]

Hi and

Sounds like relocation stress

Give him time to adjust to his new home. Relocation stress can
affect their appetite. It can also increase the parasite load in
their gut

do NOT freak out if your guy suddenly stops eating.. this is normal due to
relocation stress, many beardies go through this when they move to a new home, &
it could last up to a week for him to adjust.

Ive heard it can last longer than that, each beardie is different so give him time and keep offering food and salads, hell come around.

Here is a link to what to feed and what to avoid http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

Also check out the care sheet http://www.mybeardie.com/general_information.php
Lots of info and setup advice.

Hope this helps a bit

 

[renich]

Yep, as everyone said, it is most likely relo stress. The little guy is in a new home and doesn't know that you are ok. Keep offering salad. A lot of babies take time to warm up to their salad. But it should still be offered daily.

Any pics of your setup would be nice to take a peak at too.

 

[grimm]

I'd change out one last thing and leave it be.. This is relocation stress..
The one thing would be that zilla. Reptisun 10.0 Linear is your ticket.. Long enough to span as much length wise of the 40, distance from basking spot around 6-8 inches...
Welcome to the Forum !

i am using an 18" long bulb and its in the right place, do i still need to change that out?

 

[zebraflavencs]

Yup... Sadly the Zilla doesn't give the right amount of uvb. The reptisun will.
Sorry!
Hope that helps you though !

 

[grimm]

well i do have a repti-sun 10.0 bulb, but its not the long one, should i just be using that instead? until i can get the longer one that is.

 

[zebraflavencs]

None of the coils are worth your money, in my opinion, when dealing with dragons. And the only linear tube I would honestly recommend here in the states is the R-sun 10.0. You can just turn off the Zilla, and go with just the heat light, until you can get in the Reptisun, if it is going to be a couple of weeks.. I wouldn't let it go longer than that though.
Hope that helps out !

 

[grimm]

so i shouldnt use it at all? even if i dont have the other one yet?

 

[grimm]

so i tried posting some pics of my current setup( will be building a custom one soon-ish) but it said the upload folder was full or try a smaller file, but the file was only about half of the allowed size so idk.

 

[renich]

You'll need to upload your pics with a third party site, like photobucket.

 

[grimm]

now i know the cardboard isnt the best, i just put it in there until i get some tiles that will fit the tank better. will be easier once i just build the tank.

and normally there is a screen on top and the uvb light is set a little different, but still over the basking area. it just covers more of the tank the other way.

 

[zebraflavencs]

Card board works... Something you can usually find readily, and disposable..

 

[JustaV]

HI

 

[grimm]

well thanks for all the help, ya the cardboard seems to be the only thing he likes to sleep on at night lol, wont sleep anywhere else, anyway he was an eating champ today, but it look like hes starting a shed, one last question on this thing here, is there anything i need to do to help with that?

 

[renich]

Regular baths help with shedding. Soak your beardie daily for about 20 minutes. Water temp should be like baby bath water...human baby that is. Say, around 90-95F.

 

[grimm]

mmk will do, thnx.

 

[staylor]

late welcoming you but Welcome and congrats on your baby.

 

[grimm]

thnx ya hes eating like champ now.

 

[staylor]

makes you wonder were they put all that food.