Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is my first bearded dragon, he's nearly 4 weeks and seems to be quite lazy. I just brought him home from an expo about 4days ago. He seems to sleep a lot and he really doesnt eat. i've only seen him eat 1 cricket the day i brought him home but thats about it. maybe a few since then. anything wrong should i try to feed him something else? i do have veggies available.

thanks for the help.

Hi
what is the temp on the baskingspot ?
what is the cool side temp ?
you have uvb lightning on him ?
how big is the tank?
tel so miuch as posibal.
most of time the baskingspot is to low and people have no uvb source !
115-110 baskingspot coolside round the 80.
also ofthend it take some time they settle down .
but sleep whole day is weird !
how big is he ?
does he looks alert ?
byeeeeeeeee

The temp under the basking spot is at least 105F. thats as high as the thermometer goes. the cool side is about 80F. i have no UVB as of now, im will be getting one. the tank is a 45-55 gallon, not sure it was a gift. he's only 6" about 4 weeks old. he looks alert at times, it's been 5 days since i've had him. i have paper towl down for now. some rocks under the basking light. i just bought some of those pellets and some small mealworms. goign to see if he eats. thanks for the help. how important is the uvb? and where is the cheapest place to get them?

also with a young dragon in a large cage / tank is the question of general light levels...

they are daytime active lizards ... so if all he/she sees is one area of light then he will stay there and not really "wake up"

make sure that there is difuse light all thru the tank

some florecent white tubes and or some standard flood lamps placed so they do not over heat the rest of the tank....

also what about room lights?? is the room kinda dim? or well lit??

think "BRIGHT SUNNY DESERT"

"BRIGHT SUNNY DESSERT" good way to put it. there weren't any lights there befor, now there is. just a normal light but i will be getting a large uvb light to light the tank up. hopefully this will help. the room is pretty dim. i have a lot of computers and other electronics in the room, gets hot so i don't use many of the room lights. one other thing, he seems to be most active when im not here, when he's alone basically...weird or no?

well I think you said this is a new pet right?

so he may be a bit shy at first and need a bit of time to get used to you and his new home....

when I moved my dragon from a 20 to his current home he was put off a bit in his feeding for about 2 days... and that was with him having been in the family for over 2 monthts

Light: if the room is dim and the only intense light is in his home then that is going to kinda mess with him....

they use cyccles of light and dark to guide them on sleep and activity cycles, much like us and other ciritters

if you look closely on the top of his head between his eyes and just a tad behind them you may see a small sign of his prmitive
"Third Eye" this is used to help them flee predators and day / night cycles....

if in a bright sunny area an object casts a shadow on that eye they will run for cover or freeze if they were moving....

if they do not get enough light there then the brain tells them it's not day and they will tend to go to sleep a lot.

this is why most lizards live in open areas by and large...

an example: my apt is dark and has windows on one side only....
dragon is in a "reptarium" thats almost 3 feet x 3 feet by about 1 1/2 feet tall

Lights:

one 100 watt halogen about 2 -3 feet above the cage center over top.

on 2 foot UV florecent tube on the top of the cage diagonal

2 150 watt dayligt basking lamps at two differnt corners
one near a branch for up close basking from above, the other from a side just about 6" away...

and in the room there is an over head 75 watt bulb and a table lamp florecent -- not sure of the watts

plus and adjacent kitchen light....

so during the day the 2x150 and the 100 and the strip are on from about 7:30-8:30 pm till about 6:00-7:00 pm
they are on timers that are set to not all go on or off at one time....

when we get up in the am he is rewady for breakfast... very active....

then after he eats he climbs up and basks and digests for a long while....

off and on thru the day that repeats ...

Hi
also no mealworms they r very hard to digest .
and a uvb lighting is a MUST
without it the dragon never get so big so nice in color and healthy as without.
they even can get sick rachiites .
byeee
http://run.to/b22

ok it seems he's only eating mealworms. he ate his first two today. but i guess ill be taking them away from him. before he had the meal worms he was eating his veggies and his greens, not many crickets. the tank is about 4 feet long and a 1 1/2 feet tall. on one side is a 150watt basking lamp that shines over some rocks. on top is a 2feet long 20watt fluorescent light and another 1 1/2 foot 15 watt light. it sounds like i need more light!? he never seems to be active. it's going on a week so i think he's use to his home, i would thing.

Hi
i think if he eat greens you should be lucky !!
cricks wil come later andother prey items.
i would avoid the mealworms and push him cricks instrad.
but eating greens is nice.
also if they moved to other cage then they need time to settle down ofthend 1,2 weeks!!
byeeeeeeeeee

http://run.to/b22