Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello. I got a Beardie 2 weeks ago at a pet store. He is very active and alert. He is only 6 inches long, and this includes his tail. He is currently only in a 10 gallon set up with a repti glo 8 and heat bubl. Basking temps are 105-110 and his cool side is about 85. I use a probe thermo to get the results. I also currently have him on vita sand, which I know a lot of people do not recommened, but I housed many other lizards on this without a problem. I may be changing this to tile or carpet though.

Anyway, at first, he was eating mealworms and mustard greens. I stopped the mealworms because I heard bad things about them. However, he doesn't want crickets. He had 12 one day, and then two days later he ate 10. Then, he had a shed and ate another 12 4 days later. Now, it has been another 3 days and he doesn't want the crickets. They are small crickets (the size of between his eyes), but he has no interest. I am feeding him in a seperate container. He is going to the bathroom 1-3 times a day, and the look to be fine.

Any suggestions on how to get him eating crickets? I gut load and dust them, but he doesn't want them. He still seems alert and all, but I worry about him not eating when I hear these little guyg are cricket eating machines. Any advise on stimulating his appetite and getting him to eat would be great. I tried hand feeding, but again, no interest.

Oh, and I do drip him water every morning, which he does drink.

question do you have a UBV for him ? they need it it's important to digest there food

umm sand is a bad thing .. are second beared dragon we ever had was about 6 inches and got a eye infection .. and she died from it - .. with with the meds and stuff we got from are doctor ..

meal worms are bad your right about that .. cricket size sounds good too

i would suggest trying your normal feeding in the morning and afternoon with fresh mustard collard greens too .( babys tend to not eat them ) but we still give them greens anyway

do you give them supplment's ? and vitamins every other day ?

christina

I have a repti glo 8.0. I was trying the calcium and vitamins dusted on the crickets, but he is not eating them. Any suggestion how else to make sure he is getting them?

water is good .. give them water every day if possible they drink it .. and
give them a bath atlease 1-3 times a week

I feel your tank is too small. 10 gallon is too small for any size Bearded Dragon as it doesn't give him enough temperature gradient. You need to get a 20L. 36 x 12 x 12 High. Pet Stores sell "Critter Cages" made by All Glass for about $45. My impression is that he gets hot on the basking site but then can't cool off the way he wants to. The cool side should be closer to 70. In a 20L if you get the basking site right the cool side will be fine. Does he have a 1/2 log or other hide? Does he use it?

I also don't believe in sand for Dragon's under 12 inches. The problem is that when he catches prey his sticky tongue gets some sand too. Some dragons are more accurate and therefor get less sand. If he's pooing you have no problem right now. I always use reptile carpet, but many people use paper towels newspapers, shelf liner, etc.

Keep in mind that in the wild Dragons don't live in sandy deserts. The ground is more of a hard packed sandy soil. I do believe in sand for over 12" Juviniles and Adult Dragons which some don't agree with.

Oh, and he does have a basking log, and he will go under it for shade, but that is not the "cool" end of the tank.

Can someone tell me if they recommend the use of tile for a juvi as a substrate?

I keep the background temp in my tanks on the hot side at 84. Not the basking spot but air temp (I have thermostats) The cool side air temp is usually about 70.

But he eats the greens every day?

I am not sure that he eats the greens everyday, but he has to be eating something if he is going to the bathroom everyday, right?

Not Necessarily. The one of mine that is awake eats every day but only goes about every 4th day. She is about 10 months old 18" 512 grams.

Babies can't hold much in there digestive tract. So they go a lot.

You really need a bigger tank. Pet stores sell 10 gallon setups because their cheap and the want the customer to buy and not get turned off by the price of the right stuff.

Oh, I didn't buy the tank. It was one I had from a while ago. It is temporary until I could get a larger one. I am going to get a 20 gallon L for now, and upgrade to a larger one in a few months. Do you recommend tile as a substrate? I have read this before, but I thought beardies like to bury themselves sometimes too.

This is part of the sand debate. When mine brumate they go into their hide (1/2 log) and dig all the sand necessary to cover the entrance almost completely. I feel this is as close to natural as I can be.

I have heard of many people that use tile and I'm sure its fine. Easy to clean. Not much like home though.

My last 2 babies (6-7" when I got them) I got, I put in 2 20L tanks (30 x 12 x 12H). They were only in there for about 1 month. When they were 11-12", I moved them into 30 Breeders (36 x 18 x 12). Less than 2 months later (16-16 1/2" I moved them into their final homes (48 x 24 x 17).

I got these 2 from a breeder (Dachiu) and they grew very fast (1" a week). If I didn't already have tanks, I would have considered putting them in the 30B (Critter Cage made by All Glass about $70) from the beginning. You can always section off a part of it from the beginning if you want.

What substrate did you use for the babies? I prefer the sand as well, but figure until I get him eating well, I could use the tile. Once he is an adult and needs a larger tank again, I could switch to the playsand. It looks nicer, and they can play in it if they want too. Aso, don't they "taste" less when adults? So less risk of impaction. I know this is still not a guarantee.

I used reptile carpet. I think it just looks nicer than paper towels. I think tile is Ok but I wouldn't think they can get much grip when chasing crickets.

I fed mine in their regular tanks after removing everything. I'm very sensitive that no crickets are in the cage when they sleep so I used masking tape around the edges of the carpet because the crickets like to hide under the carpet. I don't know what people do if they use paper towels.

I wouldn't say they "taste" less in my observation. One of mine "tastes" the sand all the time. I think the thing is that when they're bigger and their digestive tract grows they can just pass the sand without a problem.

There's another poster here that strongly recommends against sand. But, her reason wasn't impaction but an eye infection that she felt was a result of the sand. I think that what sand you buy is also important.

I was a show and a local breeder told me he used play sand from home depot and all his dragons got mites. He switched to what I use which is play sand from Toys R Us. I am very particular too about the sand I get from them. I get it only from a store that stores it inside and won't take any damaged bags etc. I am religious about soil clean up and change all the sand at a maximum of 60 days (except if their brumating)

Vickie & Rob Dachiu (well known breeders) use it with babies but runs it thru a window screen first with babies. She does not use it with adults(I think because they just have so many and it's hard to get rid of) I have 2 adults and one almost adult and use 350 lbs. each time I change plus another 100 lbs. to fill in scooped out sand. That's about 2700 lbs. a year. Thank god I live in the country and can get rid of all of the soiled stuff.