Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a problem with a new dragons I got. he is 10 month old male. during the day and sometime in the evening he will hide under his basking plat form, which has a little cave under it. he will go under there and scratch and just hide for hours sometime. I'm not sure if he is trying to get a break from the light or if he is hiding. I have had him for 9 days now.

second he is eating very little. 2-3 bites of greens and then goes back to his basking spot. I have seen him go after his super worms, and crickets twice. the rest of the time I have been hand feeding them to him.

so does this sound like he just needs a little time to get use to everything. so help with these

1 should I stop hand feeding him and make him catch his own?
2 should I handle him at this stage to help him get use to me?
3 should I turn his plat form around so he cannot get under it?
oh yeah all temps are correct, and everything else is as well
thanks for the help peach

Assuming everything is ok, my guess is that your beardie just needs time to adjust to his new surroundings. I wouldn't handle him or hand feed him untill he gets settled in. It sounds like he is just nervous. I let him feed on his own, and to add some extra "security" I would either put his cage in an area of the house where cats, dogs, busy day to day traffic is going to annoy him or failing that put up a "screen" (newspaper or construction paper or a piece of cardboard) to cover half of his the side of his cage to make him feel more secure.

My two cents.
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1.0 Green Iguana
1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1 Blizard Leopard Gecko
1.1.1 Corn Snakes (2 Blood Red, 1 Albino)
1.1 Ball Python

yeah most likely this is what I need to do. I will cover up the half of the front of his cage tomorrow. the other 3 sides are already done. the only reason I'm hand feeding him is it seems to be the only way he has been eating. well I will try this and see what happens and if anyone else has info feel free to jump in.

If he is hiding alot during the day, it could mean a few things.

1-He is too warm and is seeking a cool place to cool down (double check basking temps etc. Never hurts to check twice, or check with a different thermometer. Even good ones can sometimes loose accuracy or have a manufacture defect. Change the batteries if they are not new. Weak batteries can also decrease accuracy.)

2-He is not feeling well. Illness can take many forms, parasite infections, plain stress, nutritional deficiencies etc. If he seems lathargic, is not acting alert (always watching what is going on around him, keeps head held high when basking, reacts to stimuli (ie you try and touch him, something fast moves by his cage (ie a bug, or even lights/shadows/reflections) tends to keep eyes closed alot, skin looks rather wrinkly or dull. These are all signs of illness. If this is the case, take a fresh fecal to your herp vet for examination and the dragon can be examined as well, blood tests etc.

3-he is nervous, hiding because he is not yet feeling secure in his new home, so hides where he feels safe. Follow suggestions as already suggested for this.

4- if he seems to be sleeping during the day, but otherwise looks healthy, he could be trying to brumate (enternig winter shutdown). I suggest weighing him and monitoring him over the next could days, and if he starts to loose weight (a couple grams in a week is fine) then take him to a vet for examination. A brumating dragon should loose very little weight.
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PHLdyPayne

yeah I think you might be correct, he does seem to be a little lethargic. he also seems to close his eyes a little if I'm trying to get him to show interest in some food. I will double check his temps with a new thermometer. when he hides he is not sleeping he is just under his cave peeking out. he did eat about 5 roaches today. but I chilled the before I gave them to him so he didn't chase them down. its gotta be 2 things one he is stressed or it is parasites. I will have to find out now.
someone said you could send off fecal samples to some place and they will check it for you of course for a fee. dose anyone know what I'm talking about.
thanks peach

I will sy my male does hide a bit. I don't really see a pattern to it but he does it every now and then. Doesn't seem to be a problem though

YOu can take a fresh stool for a fecal to any vet, though one experienced in herp care are best. If the vet can't do a fecal there at their office, they usually know what labs they can send the sample to get the tests done.
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PHLdyPayne