Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got my first frilled dragon last tuesday 6/29 and he has been real lazy. He's been eating fine (he's an adult male and I've been feeding him about 20 3/4 in crickets a day. To much or to little?) but he doesn't drink very much. Again, I've had him for 6 days and he hasn't pooped yet. My main concerns are that he's being real lazy and why he hasn't pooped yet. I have him in a 55 gal. cage right now but thats only temporary (he'll be in alot bigger cage in 2-3 weeks)and I have a 100 watt heat lamp. I was thinking that maybe it's because he's not getting enough heat and I should add another heat lamp, maybe 150 watt on the other side of the cage. The room temp is at about 80%

Sorry for all the questions but any ideas would be much appreciated.

If he's an adult male, you need to have him in a larger enclosure than a 55 gal. Besides that, if it's only been a week, I'd give him some more time. However, you might already be doing this, but keep spraying him with water. Both my dragons drink the water I spray on them close to always. Spray him down with water at least once a day to make sure he's hydrated. Especially since you just got him.
Also, is he just generally lazy, just sitting around all day? Or is he actually laying around, closed eyes, and looks generally bad? Where did you get him from? Is he wild caught or captive bred?

I hope he perks up for you. They're truly an awesome reptile to keep.

"I got my first frilled dragon last tuesday 6/29 and he has been real lazy. He's been eating fine (he's an adult male and I've been feeding him about 20 3/4 in crickets a day. To much or to little?) but he doesn't drink very much. Again, I've had him for 6 days and he hasn't pooped yet. My main concerns are that he's being real lazy and why he hasn't pooped yet. I have him in a 55 gal. cage right now but thats only temporary (he'll be in alot bigger cage in 2-3 weeks)and I have a 100 watt heat lamp. I was thinking that maybe it's because he's not getting enough heat and I should add another heat lamp, maybe 150 watt on the other side of the cage. The room temp is at about 80%

Sorry for all the questions but any ideas would be much appreciated."

He just seems lazy. He'll sit on a log with his eyes open and he'll be there sometimes all day. I understand that he's in a small cage, I'm building a 4 1/2' Hx 2 1/2' Wx 4' L so he'll only be in there 2-3 weeks. I got him at a pet store and they say that he is captive bred. I'm feeding him about 20 crickets a day and was wondering if that was to much or to little?

My adult male just sits there all day too, most of the time. Pretty much the only time he gets hyper, is around feeding time.
As far as 20 crickets go, I don't think there's anything like too much. Feed him as much as he'll eat.
But as I said, be sure he gets enough water. Spray him everyday.

well,it's been 10 days since I got him and he still hasn't pooped. I was wondering if this was normal. He's been eating steadaly and if this isn't normal I was wondering if there was anything I could do.

Well, I'm not sure how normal it is for a frilled dragon to go 10 days without pooping. But what you could do to help him out a little, is to give him warm baths. Just let him sit in some warm water and chill for a while. Also, don't be too paranoid. Let him be alone and get used to his new surroundings. When I put my male in his new cage, he was acting kinda weird the first week or so. Moving and new surroundning adds stress to pretty much any reptile, or animal. So I'd just try and give him a bath, see what happens. And if he still doesn't poop, you might want to have him checked.
What substrate do you keep him on?

I keep him on a dirt/bark mix that I got at my local exotic pet store.

This might sound like a stupid question, but have you made sure he hasn't pooped? The reason why I ask is because I thought the same thing a few months ago, but I just didn't see the stuff in the substrate. It was blending in pretty darn well.

im a college student and my pets have had to get use to me moveing around. my teuge gets really mad at me when i move and he will lay under his bedding for a few days every time he gets moved. he has layed under his bedding for as long as two weeks once he scared the tar out of me when he pulled that one. also he didnt have much of a intrest in food either but he purks right up after he is done throughing his temper tantrum.
but my frilled dragon lays around most of the day and dosnt care if i move or not. he is just kinda lazy and only runs when he sees food or if i get him out and let him get on the floor where he has planty of room to run.

PS. my lizards have planty large tanks for the people who read this and think that i am a bad pet owner because they are forced to move. i wish i didnt have to move but when im done with school i plan on haveing a full room in my house for my tegu and my filled will get a huge area to so they will get the big pay off here soon i hope.