Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just got a beardie Sunday and he ate yesterday morning(7:20). Then that afternoon(3:00) He didn't eat. Then today he didn't eat at all. He pooped the day he ate. But today I just noticed my dimmer switch for my flourscent was on low and my basking is on that switch too.So it could be he hasn't got enough UVB and I took off the plastic cover on the flourscent.If he doesn't eat tomorrow what do you think the problem? Also whats a way to get them to drink?
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My Leo's
1.0.0 Normal
0.1.0 Tremper Albino
My Beardie
0.0.1 Red x Gold

Also is 3/4" crix to big for a 2 month old beardie?
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My Leo's
1.0.0 Normal
0.1.0 Tremper Albino
My Beardie
0.0.1 Red x Gold

Hey man, i got mine on sunday too, he ate like a pig the first day, then pooped three times! Just keep greens in his cage, and how long is your beardie? Because 3/4 sounds large to me, might not be though

He is about 5 or 6" SVL. Have you guys ordered from Reptile Depot? because I ordered alot of supplies and I got a 100 crix for 4 bucks but it didn't say the size.Does anyone think they know the size?
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My Leo's
1.0.0 Normal
0.1.0 Tremper Albino
My Beardie
0.0.1 Red x Gold

His cage should be brightly lit, and his basking spot should be somewhere around 105F, in order for him to digest properly. It has nothing to do with UVB (although UVB is absolutely vital for a beardie, don't get me wrong!), but with temperature. If the temp was too low because of the dimming, that's the reason he didn't eat.

About the size, if the crickets are larger than the space between your beardies' eyes, they could cause serious damage and possible death to your beardie. Never feed your beardie any crickets larger than the space between his eyes. He might be able to eat and digest a larger cricket without too serious problems, but then again, he might not.

Good luck!

You could try soaking him in warm water, like a bath. Once he starts getting used to it (expect a frantic reaction the first few times!!!), he will dip his head in the water and start guzzling. When you do this, make sure to only put enough water in the tub/sink/container to allow him to touch the bottom and puff up to float comfortably on top. Once he gets used to baths, he will want to swim around, defecate (QUITE common), and generally have fun.

You can also set up a wading pool with a rock in the center, which will give your BD all sorts of room to play around in. He can then decide when to jump in/out of the water and have a nice safe haven to climb on. However this should probably be reserved for the spring/summer months.
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Dl

try salad greens chopped up. smaller crickets, check temp to see if their warm enough or too warm, even try superworms if they are over 5 months old. to get them to drink use spray bottle with water plus alittle vitamins mixed in and give them a mist i introduce the water by placing the dish in the tank and slowly pouring water in making sure the dragons see what im doing. somtimes i place dragon in bowl and they start to drink. good luck ive had beardies not eat too be patient if it dosnt eat in 2 days then force feeding may be issue, i know a great safe way if you need, emailme at LoganRB@aol.com if you need to

Make sure it's UVB producing as well. What brand is it? Make sure the beardie can get as close as at least 10" min. from the flourescent light. The bulb should not have a cover either as UVB will not pass through just anything.
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Rob

I have a branch that is about 3 inches from his basking bulb and flourescent.
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My Leo's
1.0.0 Normal
0.1.0 Tremper Albino
My Beardie
0.0.1 Red x Gold

I'm honestly not too sure how long it should take before he starts eating being in a new environment but I would think it's getting close to the point where you may need to hand feed him.

I certainly wouldn't force feed him unless you've tried everything else you possibly can. Forcefeeding is extremely stressful on an animal and should only be done after all other solutions have been exhausted.

I've used mashed up repcal pellets with a bit of calcium in a syringe and fed my little guy when he wouldn't eat. Just mash up some pellets so they're nice and watery and put them into a feeding syringe. Place a small amount on the beardies shout and he should begin to lap it up. If it's been a while since he's had water he's probably also dehydrated. Make the solution on the watery side and use pedialyte or gatorade instead of water. Instead of pellets I've also used Kaytee baby parrot food and have read people also use chicken baby food.

I'd be realllllly careful with superworms. They are hard for a little guy to digest and it's best to try some other things first. Plus, you can't necessarily go by the age of the beardie with supers you have to go by the size as it is the size that dictates the size of the digestion tract. I think the minimum length recommended for supers is 10" nose to tail. If you must try superworms make sure you give only one or two and also make sure it's very light in color. Freshly molted supers are almost white. It's the shell that's hard for the beardies to digest.

Oh yeah, you may want to take a fecal into your local vet to see how bad his parasitic load is. Usually it's heightened a bit from stress from moving but sometimes it can get way over a safe level and needs to be dealt with by meds and a strict cleaning routine.

Good luck!!
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Rob

If your beardie gets as close as 3" from the UV tube, you should be very happy. Don't put it on a dimmer....I didn't even think you could put flourescents on a dimmer. That UV light should be going full blast. The heat lamp SHOULD be controlled by a dimmer though.

-ryan

HE JUST KILLED 21 CRICKETS! The flourescent is on a dimmer because i have the dimmer and heat bulb on a timer which has only one plug so i hooked the dimmer to it and now there is two.I'm going to get a indoor extension cord soon.
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My Leo's
1.0.0 Normal
0.1.0 Tremper Albino
My Beardie
0.0.1 Red x Gold

the flourescent and heat bulb on a dimmer**
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My Leo's
1.0.0 Normal
0.1.0 Tremper Albino
My Beardie
0.0.1 Red x Gold

>>HE JUST KILLED 21 CRICKETS! The flourescent is on a dimmer because i have the dimmer and heat bulb on a timer which has only one plug so i hooked the dimmer to it and now there is two.I'm going to get a indoor extension cord soon.
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>>My Leo's
>>1.0.0 Normal
>>0.1.0 Tremper Albino
>> My Beardie
>>0.0.1 Red x Gold

Make sure you get that cord quick as you'll fry your flourescent fixture real fast with a dimmer!! Probably mess up that expensive UVB bulb too!

Just when you think there's a major problem, BAM, he eats 21 crix. Glad he's eating good. Get that fecal in a couple days regardless of how he is just to be sure there's not something wierd going on. It's funny how they will be sick and you can't tell until it's really bad. They have a good way of hiding weakness because in the wild weak animals are the ones most easily prayed on.
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Rob