New to the dragon life

[Ty-sol]

Hello every one!

I recently adopted a handsome little beardie. His Name is Duke Nuka, just Duke for short. He's about 8 months old. i got him about a week ago and i have a few concerns. I want to make sure i am making him happy as can be but he seems stressed. He is not eatting his veggies and he wont come out of his hut for hours. I feed him crickets at night and he gobbles them up like a champ but i know he needs his veggies. How can i get him to eat them? Also im not sure if its normal behavior for him to stay inactive for so long durring the day. For example i usually turn his day lights on around 9am, he usually wont come out untill around 2 or 3pm. He does not seem to bask as much as i feel he should. Any advice would help so much!

 

[Paarthurnax]

Before the rest ask these questions and I am sure you have read up on caring for new dragons on here.
Temps
Uvb light
What veggies
How long is the day light duration

You have come to the right place for sure the more experienced peeps should be along shortly. I just always do what they say and whale I got a fat happy dragon

 

[Ty-sol]

Before the rest ask these questions and I am sure you have read up on caring for new dragons on here.
Temps
Uvb light
What veggies
How long is the day light duration

You have come to the right place for sure the more experienced peeps should be along shortly. I just always do what they say and whale I got a fat happy dragon

thank you. i deffinatly keep an eye on the temps and everything seems fine there. the veggies are all the recomended veggies. i do a 12 and 12 light cycle, i believe that is what he needs. the only issue in the tank is humidity gets alittle high at night but once his lights are back on it does back down to a dessert zone, maybe thats an issue?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Hello every one!

I recently adopted a handsome little beardie. His Name is Duke Nuka, just Duke for short. He's about 8 months old. i got him about a week ago and i have a few concerns. I want to make sure i am making him happy as can be but he seems stressed. He is not eatting his veggies and he wont come out of his hut for hours. I feed him crickets at night and he gobbles them up like a champ but i know he needs his veggies. How can i get him to eat them? Also im not sure if its normal behavior for him to stay inactive for so long durring the day. For example i usually turn his day lights on around 9am, he usually wont come out untill around 2 or 3pm. He does not seem to bask as much as i feel he should. Any advice would help so much!

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the addicting world of beardies!! lol While I ask you some questions please take some time and check out the link at the bottom on my signature line that will take you to a thread we are working on to help new comers...

If you could post pictures of your little one and your set up that will help us tremendously..
I would first suggest that you get a light timer and mimic more of a natural sun cycle.. Many of us have their lights come on 6-7am and go off around 9pm. You should have a 12-14 sun cycle unless they are brumating.. Not all dragon's like their greens, young to young juv eat more bugs than greens then once more of an adult that will switch this varies from dragon to dragon.. In that thread you will find several links for food items that will give you great ideas on what to offer and how often to offer them.. just give him time.. some use powder bee pollen this can help stimulate them to eat.. I'm trialing this and it's hit and miss so far..
Be very careful to stop feeding him several hours prior to lights out as they have to have heat to digest. if they eat late it sits in their belly and can make them sick.
It is possible he is doing a semi brumation (hibernation), it's possible the lights you have are not what they need to be..

 

[Ty-sol]

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the addicting world of beardies!! lol While I ask you some questions please take some time and check out the link at the bottom on my signature line that will take you to a thread we are working on to help new comers...

If you could post pictures of your little one and your set up that will help us tremendously..
I would first suggest that you get a light timer and mimic more of a natural sun cycle.. Many of us have their lights come on 6-7am and go off around 9pm. You should have a 12-14 sun cycle unless they are brumating.. Not all dragon's like their greens, young to young juv eat more bugs than greens then once more of an adult that will switch this varies from dragon to dragon.. In that thread you will find several links for food items that will give you great ideas on what to offer and how often to offer them.. just give him time.. some use powder bee pollen this can help stimulate them to eat.. I'm trialing this and it's hit and miss so far..
Be very careful to stop feeding him several hours prior to lights out as they have to have heat to digest. if they eat late it sits in their belly and can make them sick.
It is possible he is doing a semi brumation (hibernation), it's possible the lights you have are not what they need to be..

thank you so much for the response. i had to go to the pet shop today to pick up more crickets so i asked them a few questions, it deffinatly sounds like i might be sending him into brumation by mistake. i also did not know they needed to eat several hours befor lights out, i have been feeding him about 2 hours prior. so i plan on fixing his light cycle and feeding him much earlier. i have been keeping a close eye on his temps and they have been fine. only issue i have been having there is the humidity is alittle high. you have been very helpful. i have attached images of him and his set up. any more advise you could give me would be super helpful. i love this little guy and want to keep him as happy and healthy as possible for a life time buddy. also the photos of him are ones i cought while he was out. he still spends most of the time in the hut and digs alittle.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Your very welcome.
He seems younger more like 5-7 months in size.. In the link in my sign line I have a section on approx sizes you can look at.
By your pictures: You are going to need a min of a 40 gal size tank for a number of reasons. First Dragon's thermo regulate their temp so being able to move about his home into the different "area's" is very important. Secondly you need the tank size to more accurately achieve those 3 area's. Smaller tanks like that make it hard to do so, this could be your source of your humidity issue.. Next he is going to outgrow that tank pretty quickly, they can get 24" in length some types longer...
Next, he might be in his hut digging because he's too hot that's alot of light for a small tank. What are your Basking, your warm, your cool side temps? Do you have a digital probe or a hand held temp gun? those stick on ones don't work and they only measure the glass .
I strongly advise to change the sand to a substrate that can't be ingested. Sand, crushed walnut shells, bark of any type are NOT advised for the following reasons as stated in the general care link. Cause impaction, skin lesions, respiratory infections, eye irritations, hold in moisture, hold in bacteria, hold in smells. Instead use: repti carpet, paper towels, contact paper, ceramic tile, newspaper are safe. They may not be as appealing however the risks are too high..
They will ingest the sand etc they lick taste their environment all the time it helps them know where they are..

 

[PatsyB]

Beardies also need a breaking in period. Someone once called it "moving sickness". They may be fine the first few days and then they realize "wait a minute i'm not leaving here" so they take some time to get used to the new sights and sounds and the new food items they are going to be fed, etc.

That does look like a lot of light on top of your tank. The others have given good information. Also remember that they do not need light at night for any reason. If your tank gets too cold at night then you want to use a ceramic heat emitter on a dimmer but if the tank is 65degrees or above you are okay.

They also don't need complete dryness. Humidity of 30-45% is okay. If the humidity is too high you should first try removing the water bowl. They don't tend to drink standing water so having water in their tank isn't necessary. Beardies hydrate themselves by eating veggies or by actually taking water in there mouth. The best way to get them to do that is to give them a bath and drip a bit of water on the tip of their nose to get them to lick it off. Or you can run your fingers through the water they are sitting in and they may drink it.

 

[Ty-sol]

i will absolutely buy im a bigger tank and the lights are just the UVB and heat lamp. the third one is a red heat lamp for at night because its been getting alittle cold in my apartment. so youre saying he doesnt need that one at all? and i do not have a temp gun i will make sure i invest in one to have a more accurate reading. you guys have been super helpful. i have one more question for now. could he be getting ready to shed? i was reading last night they will offten slow down on eatting veggies when they get ready to shed and he was doing this thing with his bead, almost like swallowing and puffing it out with i read means he could be streatching the skin to shed. i know he wasnt doing it in any sort of threatening way because nothing was around his tank to make him scared, he was in the safty of his hut. thank you all again so much for all your help. im so happy i found this forum

 

[Hdrydr31]

i will absolutely buy im a bigger tank and the lights are just the UVB and heat lamp. the third one is a red heat lamp for at night because its been getting alittle cold in my apartment. so youre saying he doesnt need that one at all? and i do not have a temp gun i will make sure i invest in one to have a more accurate reading. you guys have been super helpful. i have one more question for now. could he be getting ready to shed? i was reading last night they will offten slow down on eatting veggies when they get ready to shed and he was doing this thing with his bead, almost like swallowing and puffing it out with i read means he could be streatching the skin to shed. i know he wasnt doing it in any sort of threatening way because nothing was around his tank to make him scared, he was in the safty of his hut. thank you all again so much for all your help. im so happy i found this forum

Yes that is correct they do NOT/ should not have any light at night.. When you say it gets alittle cold in your apartment what is you apartment temp? they can safely go to 65F without additional heat.. IF it's below that get a CHE (Ceramic heating element) this gives off heat without any light..

It's possible he is getting ready to shed you will notice parts of his legs/tail they will get really dull and greyish looking, yes they will stretch out their beards and will puff up to stretch their skin, but that isn't the only thing they will do that for.. so he still could be uncomfortable.. As babies and juv dragons they are in a rapid growth phase so they will shed alot some say that it seems like they are always shedding They grow fast and so their skin has to shed freq.