Stressed Beardie, not sure what to Stressed

[Cel2133]

Okay, this is going to be long but I want to provide all the details in the hopes that it will help people more experienced than myself help me with an answer.
Two weeks ago I got a three year old male bearded dragon off of Craigslist for my four year old for Christmas. The family that had him, got him for their two girls and I know he was handled by them. But they had been trying to re-home him for a while and when his heat lamp went out they didn't bother replacing it. He was in temps of 60-70 for who knows how long. They were also feeding him a commercial pellet diet, nothing else, his whole life.
So we get him home and he is super cuddly because he is cold. I get a heat lamp and then a heat pad and got his viv to a proper temperature. Start feeding him salads and mealworms (I know now this wasn't the best idea, I'm learning as I go here), then stressed for about three days waiting for him to poop, giving daily baths.
He started lunging at our hands during feeding time a few days ago, I assumed it was because he wanted more worms. Went to the store yesterday and got worms and crickets which he gobbled up. But after feeding him the crickets he started acting even more strange and started trying to climb out of his vivarium. Today, I took him out for his daily exercise and he bit me after flinching from my attempt to pet him.
Obviously he is stressed and scared. Poor guy has had a lot of changes in the past two weeks. My question now is in regards to the best course of action moving forward. I obviously can't have him biting my four year old and she is eager to love on her new baby. Do I let him chill in his tank for a few days or weeks as he acclimates to his new home? Or do I continue to take him out for exercise as he is in a 40 gal and I don't have money to get a bigger one currently as it is the slow time for my work and Christmas just happened? Do I stop feeding crickets? Please help...

 

[Janelle]

Can you give us a rundown of your setup? Lights? Temps? Substrate? In your pic, it looks like you have a red bulb. Red bulbs aren’t good for them and can hurt their eyes. Maybe if we can get his setup correct, he won’t be so stressed and will mellow out for you.

 

[Cel2133]

Please tell me you're not serious about the red light. It's what the pet store recommended and I don't have the money to get another heat bulb right now. I've got the temp at about 95-100 in the basking spot, and it's about 82 in the opposite corner of the tank. Still too cold, but I spent all the money I had on the heating elements I have now based on the recommendation from the pet store. I'm using paper towels for substrate. Planning to get carpet, but again, I spent all my money on heat and a new uvb bulb which I hadn't budgeted for because the person I bought him from didn't tell me his heat bulb had gone out. It's bad timing for this, the kiddo asked for him for Christmas and I wasn't expecting this many problems off the bat. I also freelance and have had no work for two weeks which isn't helping. What kind of heat lamp should I get? It gets cold in our house at night, we are in a mobile home in new England, so I really need to leave the heat bulb on all night.

 

[Janelle]

Sorry, but red bulbs are a no-no for beardies. Leaving a light on all night is also not good for him and contributing to his stress. For night time, as long as your temps are above 65*, you don't need anything. With an adult beardie, you might even be ok down to 60*. If it gets colder than that, you need a ceramic heat emitter at night. It puts off no light, only heat. They need darkness over night. For daytime heat, you can even just use a household bulb (not LED, since they don't get warm enough). You need bright white light and heat. Do you have a UVB bulb? They need UVB in order to digest their food, so it is a necessity as well. You need a tube, not a coil or compact. Reptisun t5 10.0 or Arcadia t5 tubes are what you're needing, in a reflector hood.
Paper towels are a great substrate. Don't worry about spending money on a carpet. They're hard to clean and keep sanitary. Paper towels are just fine, inexpensive, and easy to clean up.
If you can get the lighting right, you might see your sweet, cuddly beardie again.

 

[Cel2133]

I have a uvb, one that was for reptile tanks, don't remember the brand but it had a reptile on it. I do unfortunately need a heat bulb, it doesn't get warmer than 70 in his basking spot with a regular bulb, that's what the people I got him from we're using and he was freezing. Hopefully some extra work comes in so I can get a new bulb. In the meantime, is it better for him to be cold than not have the red light? Also, not sure if he would even be up to 60 at night where he is. Hopefully, I got a sticky heat pad for the glass and I think it adds a few degrees to the tank, but our house is set to get pretty cold at night because heat is expensive and we don't need it. My fiance is already complaining enough about the extra electricity so I can't raise the heat at night just for him.

 

[Cel2133]

Gotta love it when the pet store tells you to buy something that's actually bad for your pet.

 

[Janelle]

So sorry about the wasted money. Sticky heat pads aren’t going to be useful for a beardie and can be bad. They can’t sense heat on their belly and will burn themselves on it. I’m not sure which is worse between the red bulb and the cold. Hopefully one of the pros will be online soon. Is your UVB a long tube or a compact bulb?

 

[Cel2133]

The heat pad is on the side wall, so he can't rub against it unless he is trying to climb out of his tank. It is also small. Tried to send a pic but it won't upload.
The uvb was from zoomed, the only one they had at the pet store. It's a tube.

 

[Cel2133]

Turned off red lamp and not even ten minutes later his tank is already down to 85 degrees in the basking spot. Don't know what to do. I'm worried about getting him cold again.

 

[TripodTheGecko]

Turned off red lamp and not even ten minutes later his tank is already down to 85 degrees in the basking spot. Don't know what to do. I'm worried about getting him cold again.

If you put a large rock 5 inches away from a light, a cheap 75 watt heat bulb off of amazon will do fine.

Best,

Mickey

 

[Cel2133]

Thanks Mickey. I will look into that. I think I have an amazon gift card from Christmas. Still not sure what the best course of action is until it ships though. Red light and heat or no heat and no red?

 

[TripodTheGecko]

Thanks Mickey. I will look into that. I think I have an amazon gift card from Christmas. Still not sure what the best course of action is until it ships though. Red light and heat or no heat and no red?

I’d say do what you think is best. Take ITV off for a little bit. If he calms down, the light was stressing him. What is your room temperature? If it is over 70 degrees Fahrenheit he will be fine for a few days. Just make sure your light is on so he can see. Hope that helped.
-Mickey

 

[Cel2133]

Poor guy is passed out. I'm wondering if part of the issue was the light keeping him from sleeping. I feel so awful now. The house is cold and that room gets really cold. 60 or less at night and 68 during the day. Going to let him get a good night's rest and then maybe turn the red on again during the day tomorrow to warm him back up? Then hopefully I can get a new light in by Saturday. There's a few crickets in there with him right now I think, I need to get them out of there right? Hate to wake him up, the way he is sleeping he was clearly exhausted. I wish I had known about the red light.

 

[Cel2133]

Can anyone recommend a heat bulb from Amazon? They all have mixed reviews and it's giving me anxiety. Remembering why I went to the pet store to begin with even though I know they aren't always the best resource...

 

[TripodTheGecko]

Can anyone recommend a heat bulb from Amazon? They all have mixed reviews and it's giving me anxiety. Remembering why I went to the pet store to begin with even though I know they aren't always the best resource...

Zoo Med is a good brand

 

[Cel2133]

Awesome. Thanks everyone! I will update in a few days on his status. The red light was definitely the issue and I feel so bad now, but happy to have a solution. Poor little guy is still sleeping, we are looking forward to getting our sweet Beardie back!

 

[Cel2133]

Janelle, I cannot thank you enough. My heart is breaking right now. I really thought I was doing the right thing for this little guy and making his life better when really I just made it worse. He has been sleeping like the dead for a few hours now. We went on a scavenger hunt for the crickets we tried to give him this am and moved a bunch of stuff around in his tank, including him, and he slept through the whole thing. He is definitely alive but he must have been so tired. Doing my best to keep the room he is in on the warmer side with a space heater until we get the new heat bulb on Saturday. I want to hug him and tell him how sorry I am so badly, but he obviously needs sleep right now. I'm mad, but glad I was able to reach out and get the answers I needed before things got bad.

 

[Janelle]

It’s not your fault. The pet stores tell you all the wrong things, and you’re sincerely trying to do what’s best, and you figure they’re the experts and should know... I’m glad you’ve researched and are able to fix things sooner, rather than later.

 

[Tabasco]

Get a zoomed CHE bulb, 100 watts.

 

[Tabasco]

Zarco on amazon has a 100w che with digital thermometer for 11.99