My Dragon only wants her cage

[Steve_lazzo627]

Hello, I have had my bearded dragon for 7 months now, I believe she is 9 months old. I have been trying to take the best care of her but it seems that she does not appreciate it. Whenever she is out of her cage she always tries to find a way to climb back to her cage if she can see it. But then when she is in her cage she only sits on top of her hide and she always has stress marks. She very rarely does not have stress marks and usually only doesn’t when she is sleeping. She had a few parasites over the winter which are now all gone but she didn’t grow/shed all winter and I can only assume it was because of the parasites because once she finished her antibiotics she immediately started shedding, but she did not grow a lot when she was done shedding. I’m not sure if I am doing something wrong that is preventing her from being stress free or preventing her from growing. Does anyone know what I can do?

Her cage is only 20 gallons at the moment but I plan on getting a bigger one in a month. Is 40 gallons enough for when she is full size or does she need bigger? I put lettuce in her food bowl in the mornings, feed her either crickets or super worms for lunch and then mostly crickets for dinner. I take her out of her cage a lot so she can be social, but she always seems to be climbing back to her cage.

The pictures are before and after her last shed time. March 19th is when it started, and she finished shedding April 13th (she’d her head and back separate which I know is normal, hasn’t shed her tail yet). She did not grow much

 

[Sadie]

Hello, I have had my bearded dragon for 7 months now, I believe she is 9 months old. I have been trying to take the best care of her but it seems that she does not appreciate it. Whenever she is out of her cage she always tries to find a way to climb back to her cage if she can see it. But then when she is in her cage she only sits on top of her hide and she always has stress marks. She very rarely does not have stress marks and usually only doesn’t when she is sleeping. She had a few parasites over the winter which are now all gone but she didn’t grow/shed all winter and I can only assume it was because of the parasites because once she finished her antibiotics she immediately started shedding, but she did not grow a lot when she was done shedding. I’m not sure if I am doing something wrong that is preventing her from being stress free or preventing her from growing. Does anyone know what I can do?

Her cage is only 20 gallons at the moment but I plan on getting a bigger one in a month. Is 40 gallons enough for when she is full size or does she need bigger? I put lettuce in her food bowl in the mornings, feed her either crickets or super worms for lunch and then mostly crickets for dinner. I take her out of her cage a lot so she can be social, but she always seems to be climbing back to her cage.

The pictures are before and after her last shed time. March 19th is when it started, and she finished shedding April 13th (she’d her head and back separate which I know is normal, hasn’t shed her tail yet). She did not grow much

Welcome---- it sounds like shes not comfortable out of the tank so I would leave her in it -- dragons grow at their own rate but her diet and lighting all play a part in that - so in order to get her to her potential please go over your UVB your using no coils please they are bad for their health -- basking surface temps what are they and how are you taking them?
I am glad your getting a new tank 20 gallons for a 7 month old dragon is not big enough and could be slowing the growing down -- she needs a tank of 75-120 gallons - you can look on FB marketplace or Craigslist for used one w/ front doors or I can link some new tanks to you -- most go w/ a 120 gallon but it is also a financial decision as well --
Please no more lettuce its only giving her water and no nutritional value
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html kale is a great staple feeder
Stress marks are / can be caused by incorrect lighting and temps -- other animals in the room -- relocation stress

 

[Steve_lazzo627]

Welcome---- it sounds like shes not comfortable out of the tank so I would leave her in it -- dragons grow at their own rate but her diet and lighting all play a part in that - so in order to get her to her potential please go over your UVB your using no coils please they are bad for their health -- basking surface temps what are they and how are you taking them?
I am glad your getting a new tank 20 gallons for a 7 month old dragon is not big enough and could be slowing the growing down -- she needs a tank of 75-120 gallons - you can look on FB marketplace or Craigslist for used one w/ front doors or I can link some new tanks to you -- most go w/ a 120 gallon but it is also a financial decision as well --
Please no more lettuce its only giving her water and no nutritional value
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html kale is a great staple feeder
Stress marks are / can be caused by incorrect lighting and temps -- other animals in the room -- relocation stress

Is there a way I could get her comfortable out of her cage? Because I have a friend who has a BD that loves being outside the cage. I just recently got a UVB strip last month. Her basking spot might be a little too hot but that’s because the cage is too short so the light is too close I think. There’s nothing I can do about it until I get the bigger tank (or at least there’s nothing I can think about). I only still have a 20 gallon because I’m still in college and it’s the only one that fits in my dorm but when I graduate this May I’ll be getting the 120 gallon tank so that will be better for her. And yes I will switch to kale from now on. Thank you

 

[Sadie]

Is there a way I could get her comfortable out of her cage? Because I have a friend who has a BD that loves being outside the cage. I just recently got a UVB strip last month. Her basking spot might be a little too hot but that’s because the cage is too short so the light is too close I think. There’s nothing I can do about it until I get the bigger tank (or at least there’s nothing I can think about). I only still have a 20 gallon because I’m still in college and it’s the only one that fits in my dorm but when I graduate this May I’ll be getting the 120 gallon tank so that will be better for her. And yes I will switch to kale from now on. Thank you

Please no dont switch to kale its also a good feeder to feed --- thats what I meant -- it can be added to the diet- too close of the basking light will possibly burn her or she wont bask / or not as long as she should -- what brand and bulb do you have for the UVB please show me your tank and we will get this set up correctly --- but I do need the brand of the UVB and is it a T 5 or a T 8 -- as far as her getting her comfortable out of the tank I am not sure how to do that -- and PLEASE do not put those two dragons together if they are males they will fight till one is dead or severely maimed---- male / female if you want babies then I wouldnt and two females they may or may not fight but they should never be left together ---- what wattage of a basking bulb do you have --- this needs to be corrected not later - the lighting and the basking temps are critical for a dragon -- do you have a digital probe thermometer ? this is the best way to get accurate surface basking temps

 

[Steve_lazzo627]

Please no dont switch to kale its also a good feeder to feed --- thats what I meant -- it can be added to the diet- too close of the basking light will possibly burn her or she wont bask / or not as long as she should -- what brand and bulb do you have for the UVB please show me your tank and we will get this set up correctly --- but I do need the brand of the UVB and is it a T 5 or a T 8 -- as far as her getting her comfortable out of the tank I am not sure how to do that -- and PLEASE do not put those two dragons together if they are males they will fight till one is dead or severely maimed---- male / female if you want babies then I wouldnt and two females they may or may not fight but they should never be left together ---- what wattage of a basking bulb do you have --- this needs to be corrected not later - the lighting and the basking temps are critical for a dragon -- do you have a digital probe thermometer ? this is the best way to get accurate surface basking temps

What greens should I switch her to. So that I could constantly give her the right one. Since she got bigger I moved the basking light to where it is now, it used to be above the stick in the middle when she was smaller but now she is too big for that spot and that spot gets way too hot. I put it over her hide because it is lower so she won’t get burned, the temperature there is around 107. The UVB is a brand new strip, details are in the other picture. And yes we do not leave them alone unsupervised, they barely see each other, only few occasions do they see each other and even when they do they are usually separated, we don’t let them get too close.

 

[Sadie]

What greens should I switch her to. So that I could constantly give her the right one. Since she got bigger I moved the basking light to where it is now, it used to be above the stick in the middle when she was smaller but now she is too big for that spot and that spot gets way too hot. I put it over her hide because it is lower so she won’t get burned, the temperature there is around 107. The UVB is a brand new strip, details are in the other picture. And yes we do not leave them alone unsupervised, they barely see each other, only few occasions do they see each other and even when they do they are usually separated, we don’t let them get too close.

Here is a website for nutrition the kale is a good staple feeder -- http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
I would take your log hide and put it in the middle of your tank then take the stick and set it under your UVB placing the long stick part down on the floor of the tank w/ the big trunk part under the lights --- that piece is going to give you a gradient heat - meaning different heat temps where she can sit - she will able to pick the spot she wants for temps-- make sure you take your digital probe and set them around on the piece seeing what temps your getting -- you can also use a IR gun to see what they are as well - I would test tho every so often like every 10 days w/ the probe to see what your getting - you will be able to find out what temps the dragon like for basking
Please get rid of the bulb for your UVB and get this one it is a way better bulb and NOT made in china
Reptisun 10.0 T8-- since its a T 8 your basking distance should be 6-8 inches directly above the basking decor - you have it sitting good on top you just need to get a piece of decor 6-8 inches under it -- another idea is to take the wood / hide and place it long ways in the tank instead of width wise -- try some of the ways I have suggested and see how it works - just make sure your getting your surface basking temps of 95-100