Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought my son a beardie for christmas and it has been doing fine for a week we got a new tank and stuff and put her in it now she is acting kinda funny like i put her crickets in it this morning and she didnt want any I am concerned could it be the new tank?

That could be alot of things. Adjustment, tank, decoration, setup, temps.....etc.

Can you describe your setup or post a pic?

Temps, schedule, size of dragons?

I second Chris...you will have to give us far more detail.

Size of tank
Substrate
Current ambient (air) temperature basking area and cold end
Basking temperature
What you use to measure the temperature with
Age of dragon
What was he housed in the week you had him before moving him to a new tank.
Do you have a UVB bulb?
Size of crickets you are feeding, how many and how often?

How exactly is he acting 'funny'? This is very vague..he could be doing back flips or singing 'Momma Mia' tunes. Some 'funny' behaviors may be completely natural, hence why we need details.

Please take the time and answer these questions so we can help determine what could be wrong, if anything.
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PHLdyPayne

She is just gaping and this morning when i put the crickets in she didnt go after them like usual. I have misted her with water and I tried to give her veggies she isnt interested in anything.
Heres the answers to the questions. I have pictures but i am not sure how to post them here.

Size of tank - 55 gallon reptile tank

Substrate - newspaper
Current ambient (air) temperature basking area and cold end - one end says tropical and the other says around 80

What you use to measure the temperature with - two themometers in tank

Age of dragon - I am not sure its about 6 - 8 inches long and i was told a baby

What was he housed in the week you had him before moving him to a new tank. - in a little 10 gallon tank

Do you have a UVB bulb? - I have a basking bulb 60 watt and a red light for at night 40 watt

Size of crickets you are feeding, how many and how often? - small I have been giving it two or three 3x a day

I'm sure some more experienced owners will chip on in this but let me say this for now; you NEED a UVB bulb, your dragon cannot thrive without one unless it is getting a ton of natural light (direct, not filtered through glass)

Second, take out the red light for night, it can interrupt their sleep patterns and lead to them being stressed out.

All that being said your dragon may just be adjusting to her new tank. Give her some time (a few days) before trying to overwhelm her with misting and all that. Just let her settle.

First off, go out and buy a digital thermometer with probe and/or a temp gun (temperature gun, great for measuring surface temperature)

'Tropical' is not a measure of temperature. Also, stick on thermometers are useless. At best they measure air temperature on the side of the tank.

You need to have a basking spot surface temperature of at least 95F with a range between 95-120F being best (should have a basking spot where your dragon can move to different temperatures in that range, even with an option to climb higher to get into the high temps) Make sure you basking spot is wide and angled, to support your dragon comfortably (ideally it should be about 3-5" or more)

Second, buy a UVB bulb. This should run the length of the cage and should not be obstructed by anything (glass or fine screen). Repti glo and Repti sun are good brands.

Gaping is natural for a bearded dragon, it is how they cool down. However if the temperatures are too hot and your dragon can't get to a cooler area (ambient temp of 80F or less (cool side should be around 75-80F day time and 65-75F night, about normal room temperature..though this cool temp can be the entire cage at night, as your dragon will sleep).

As you just put him into a new tank, it will take a few days for him to get used to his new environment.
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PHLdyPayne