Please help I'm a newbie and I have many worries and questions to ask

[Mackinley17]

Hi I just got my beardie Nova a week ago and I have a few questions/worries
Her poop is just a little smooshy

She ate a ton of mealworms yesterday and pooped like 5 times but also threw back up 3 mealworms and today she wouldn't eat is she ok

I just found out mealworms are bad for her is she gonna be okay I just got some more krickets and some phoenix worms for her

It looks like she's just licking her pellets she hasn't really eaten any and she won't eat any veggies but she's only 8 inches

I think she's shedding but am not for sure how do I know

 

[FourrosesNL]

I think she overate and mealworms are okay, but not too much. If it was my beardy I would go to the vet just to be sure. A regular appointment in Holland is just about 25 euro, thats a small price for reassurance.

 

[mxw0rld]

Hi I just got my beardie Nova a week ago and I have a few questions/worries
Her poop is just a little smooshy

She ate a ton of mealworms yesterday and pooped like 5 times but also threw back up 3 mealworms and today she wouldn't eat is she ok

I just found out mealworms are bad for her is she gonna be okay I just got some more krickets and some phoenix worms for her

It looks like she's just licking her pellets she hasn't really eaten any and she won't eat any veggies but she's only 8 inches

I think she's shedding but am not for sure how do I know

Mealworms are not good. They are very hard for beardies to digest. It sounds like she ate way to many and has an upset tummy. She probably doesn't feel like eating after that. Crickets are not good either, they carry parasites which can hurt your beardie. BSFL and Dubia's are the best. She's a bit young to just eat greens. The best way for us to help you is to give us details on your set up. Your enclosure, lights, watts, substrate, is she housed alone, what you are feeding her, etc. If you can provide pictures of her and her enclosure that would help too.

Best thing for you to do is stop the mealworms, make sure she's drinking water cuz with throwing up she could be dehydrated. You might need to get some Pedialyte and mix that in with her water and water bottle. I've even put it in the bath tub water to help hydrate my beardie.

I agree, she probably does need to be seen by a herp vet. Anytime I get a new reptile I always take them to the herp vet for a new visit check up. If you do take her make sure you take a fecal sample but make sure it's not more than 24 hours old.


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[Mackinley17]

My setup consist of a 40 gallon tank I have a uvb bulb a basking bulb and a natural daylight bulb her hot side stays about 105 and her cool side stays about 80-85 and at night it is the same in the 80s she has a food and water bowl that I keep fresh and a habba hut and a big log climbing thing I feed her crickets mealworms which I'm stopping and pellets mixed with romaine cucumber and occasionally carrots blueberries strawberries and watermelon chopped up in bits

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[Mackinley17]

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[Mackinley17]

And she is alone in her housing

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[mxw0rld]

And she is alone in her housing

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Everything looks good! My only concern is do you give her water to drink? Do you spray her? Do you bath her? Having a water dish isn't necessary. Dragons do NOT drink water out of a water dish.

Honestly, I think she just over ate and will be fine. But that's just my opinion.



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[mxw0rld]

And she is alone in her housing

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Couple more things:

1) Phoenix worms are good! Those are BSFL - just a different name. I do both BSFL & dubia's.

2) 80 at night is very warm. You need to get those temps down. They don't sleep good in warm temps. They need the cool to sleep. No lower than 65F. Do you use lights at night? Get those temps down at night.


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[Mackinley17]

I spray her and bathe her about 2 or 3 times a week I've seen her drink from her dish a few times but thank u so much for the help

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[Mackinley17]

My mom has a fear of roaches so those won't work but I'll definitely be using phoenix worms I use one light at night but I'll make sure it's getting down lower thanks

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[mxw0rld]

My mom has a fear of roaches so those won't work but I'll definitely be using phoenix worms I use one light at night but I'll make sure it's getting down lower thanks

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Did you know bearded dragons have a third eye on top of their head and having a light on at night keeps them in fear. They can't sleep with lights on.

If you saw your beardie lick the water dish that's how they identify where they are at. You need to drip water on top of her mouth.

You need to show your mom that dubia's are the best and they are not like household roaches. Research them.

It sounds like you are new to this whole process do you know anything about female dragons and when they get older? About them laying eggs???


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[mxw0rld]

One last little advice romaine is pure diarrhea. Stop the romaine. She needs dark greens. Collard, mustard, dandelion, etc. No lettuce.


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[JUNGLE JIM]

My wife is the same way when it comes to roaches which is why I feed mine crickets. Crickets aren't bad for dragons even though they can carry parasites. I feed mine crickets for over 20 years with no problems. That/s all I feed my leopard geckos and they are over 20 years old now. Variety is key to their health, definitely cut out the meal worms though. Super worms are a good one to feed as well. My boy will eat 20-25 at a time and would eat more if I let him.

 

[mxw0rld]

My wife is the same way when it comes to roaches which is why I feed mine crickets. Crickets aren't bad for dragons even though they can carry parasites. I feed mine crickets for over 20 years with no problems. That/s all I feed my leopard geckos and they are over 20 years old now. Variety is key to their health, definitely cut out the meal worms though. Super worms are a good one to feed as well. My boy will eat 20-25 at a time and would eat more if I let him.

I fed my baby crickets from PetSmart and they he add parasites. If you can breed your own then I agree with crickets but not from pet stores.


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[Mackinley17]

I drip water on the top of her mouth 2-3 times a day I have researched just about everything there is to know about the beardies I'm not completely sure if nova is a girl I'm just calling nova a her for now because it's better to say her than it i have to keep one light on or it gets to cold in her cage it's just a simple heat light it's very dark not like a bright like

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[mxw0rld]

I drip water on the top of her mouth 2-3 times a day I have researched just about everything there is to know about the beardies I'm not completely sure if nova is a girl I'm just calling nova a her for now because it's better to say her than it i have to keep one light on or it gets to cold in her cage it's just a simple heat light it's very dark not like a bright like

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It can't get too cold if it's in the 80's. You can go as low as 65. I'm just letting you know if they fear predators at night with the light then they won't get good sleep. I'm just trying to help you help her. When she gets to be about 6 months old you can use the flashlight to sex her for sure. You can buy a CHE for heat at night. They emit no light. But dragons are from the desert and need cold at night to sleep. They stay awake in the heat.


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[Hdrydr31]

Welcome to the forum.. Sounds like the others have been helping you out a bit and I know it can be alot of info to take in when your kinda worried about your little one.. A few of us have put together a link full of information that should help out alot and point you in good directions.. You'll find the links below several of our comments...If your using Taptalk here's the direct link as it won't show..
http://www.beardeddragonforum.com/threads/general-info-set-up-1st-timers.13863/

You are on the right path and he/she is looking pretty good just may need to tweak a few things diet wise...And lighting wise it looks like your using coil bulbs am I correct? Those are shown to cause eye damage. It would be best if you go with a tube style bulb like the Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 it penetrates thru the screen and only needs to be changed once a year. Petmountain.com often have great deals on hoods and bulbs..

Feel free to ask whatever you need.. I would suggest getting a fecal test done to see if he/she has any parasites, having some pinworms is common and natural it's when they are stressed that they can get out of control.. Getting them on supplements is important including probiotics to help keep the gut flora in line, multivit, calcium without D3, bee pollen are all a "staple" that most of us use..

Hope that helps!

 

[Kevin Hirlinger]

Wait what? Thay don't drink from a dish? Bolth of mine do, is that bad?

 

[PatsyB]

Please read the link at the bottom of mine and Hdrydr31's posts. As someone mentioned 80 is too hot at night. They need a temp drop at night in the whole tank to help regulate their body. 70 is good, as long as it doesn't drop below 65 degrees you don't need anything to heat them at night.

Another major thing that I noticed with your tank is your lighting is off. You're UVB light and your heat light need to overlap. UVB light creates D3 and the heat from the heat light helps process calcium. It's a whole process that only works when they are combined. Coil bulbs are very bad for your beardie as they are still known to cause eye problems in bearded dragons. Compact lights are a little better but work best in a temporary situation as they only concentrate your UVB into one small area. Your best bet is a fluorescent tube stye UVB bulb. The most common bulb used is the Reptisun 10.0HO bulbs. You want your UVB to cover at least 2/3's of your tank.

Also with lighting make sure that it is on a cycle. 12 hours on 12 hours off and that goes for both the heat and the UVB. I do a 14 hours on and 10 hours off.

Throwing up food is usually a sign of the temps not being high enough for them to digest their food. Make sure you either have a digital probe thermometer right in the basking spot or an infrared temp gun. Runny poop could be from not feeding it nutritious food or from parasites. Start giving healthy greens and after about 4 weeks have a fecal test done to rule out parasites.

Don't be afraid of crickets. Most people start out with feeding crickets. In fact, I am a person that doesn't like dubia. Crickets were my babies main diet for their first 6-7 months and they are just fine. Someone else mentioned here that crickets carry a species specific parasite. Meaning they can't transfer the parasite to your bearded dragon, just like you can't give your bearded dragon a cold. You do need to make sure that you gut load your crickets with very healthy greens and that you keep your crickets clean. Keep your bearded dragons tank clean, don't let poop sit for days and don't let crickets or other feeders stay loose in your bearded dragons tank. After about 10 minutes you want to take all live bugs out.

 

[Mackinley17]

Please read the link at the bottom of mine and Hdrydr31's posts. As someone mentioned 80 is too hot at night. They need a temp drop at night in the whole tank to help regulate their body. 70 is good, as long as it doesn't drop below 65 degrees you don't need anything to heat them at night.

Another major thing that I noticed with your tank is your lighting is off. You're UVB light and your heat light need to overlap. UVB light creates D3 and the heat from the heat light helps process calcium. It's a whole process that only works when they are combined. Coil bulbs are very bad for your beardie as they are still known to cause eye problems in bearded dragons. Compact lights are a little better but work best in a temporary situation as they only concentrate your UVB into one small area. Your best bet is a fluorescent tube stye UVB bulb. The most common bulb used is the Reptisun 10.0HO bulbs. You want your UVB to cover at least 2/3's of your tank.

Also with lighting make sure that it is on a cycle. 12 hours on 12 hours off and that goes for both the heat and the UVB. I do a 14 hours on and 10 hours off.

Throwing up food is usually a sign of the temps not being high enough for them to digest their food. Make sure you either have a digital probe thermometer right in the basking spot or an infrared temp gun. Runny poop could be from not feeding it nutritious food or from parasites. Start giving healthy greens and after about 4 weeks have a fecal test done to rule out parasites.

Don't be afraid of crickets. Most people start out with feeding crickets. In fact, I am a person that doesn't like dubia. Crickets were my babies main diet for their first 6-7 months and they are just fine. Someone else mentioned here that crickets carry a species specific parasite. Meaning they can't transfer the parasite to your bearded dragon, just like you can't give your bearded dragon a cold. You do need to make sure that you gut load your crickets with very healthy greens and that you keep your crickets clean. Keep your bearded dragons tank clean, don't let poop sit for days and don't let crickets or other feeders stay loose in your bearded dragons tank. After about 10 minutes you want to take all live bugs out.

My heating and uvb are together the one on the other side it a naturalistic light I am taking all live food out after she looses interest and I'm starting to turn off that light at night

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