Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 7 year old daughter wanted a beardie for the past year. With Christmas at hand, she has Spike, a baby one. I have read a book and numerous sites on their care, but a few things have me concerned. For all I know, this is all normal.

Feeding- irregular appetite. sometimes eats the 5 crickets (recommended by the pet store) in seconds, other times ignores them. My daughter and son fed it 7 wax worms (too many I think) last night and it doesn't want to eat today.

Behavior- sometimes very active, sometimes not. Can be aggressive (has bitten all of us a few times), other times docile.

Water intake- doesn't seem to recognize water in a dish, I have been giving it nightly water on the nose with an eyedropper. 1 drip at a time until it stops drinking.

Fecal production- has only gone once in two weeks without a warm water bath that we administer if it won't eat. Then astonishing production.

Vitamins- we had been giving it Reptivite on all crickets as recomended by the bottle. The store suggested this was too much and this should be given 1-2 times a week and Reptocal once a day. Do these dosages make sense?

I know how to care for snakes, cats etc., but I am concerned that we do right by Spike. Any of this a cause for concern?

Thanks in advance!

"Feeding- irregular appetite. sometimes eats the 5 crickets (recommended by the pet store) in seconds, other times ignores them. My daughter and son fed it 7 wax worms (too many I think) last night and it doesn't want to eat today."

This low appetite doesn't sound good. Most babies will eat 2-3 times per day and eat multiple items each time. Some will also eat greens/vegtables and this may help with rehydration and constipation. Wax worms should not be a staple food item but their high fat and water content may actually help him get hydrated and keep his weight up.

"Behavior- sometimes very active, sometimes not. Can be aggressive (has bitten all of us a few times), other times docile."

This sounds normal to me. When he is warmer he is probably more agressive. Until he is well I would keep the handling to a minimum.

"Water intake- doesn't seem to recognize water in a dish, I have been giving it nightly water on the nose with an eyedropper. 1 drip at a time until it stops drinking."

A lot of beardies will not drink from a water bowl and babies need to be misted 2-3 times per day especially if they don't eat greens. Just mist him 3 times per day until he stops swallowing.

Fecal production- has only gone once in two weeks without a warm water bath that we administer if it won't eat. Then astonishing production.

It sounds like your little guy is dehydrated causing constipation. Parasites may also be present and a trip to the vet may be in order. Mist it more and continue the baths for sure.

Vitamins- we had been giving it Reptivite on all crickets as recomended by the bottle. The store suggested this was too much and this should be given 1-2 times a week and Reptocal once a day. Do these dosages make sense?

Yes, The store is right about this.

"I know how to care for snakes, cats etc., but I am concerned that we do right by Spike. Any of this a cause for concern?"

He sounds dehydrated which causes constipation and compaction. We need a few details to better know what is going on. What are your temps and how are you measuring them? Can you explain you set up? What are you using for substrate and how do you provide heat? What size food items are you feeding? What do you use for lighting? How often do you handle him?
-----
Jaremy Douglas

Thanks for your response Jaremy.

He is in a 29 gal tank with rabbit pellets for substrate. We have an under tank heater, an infrared lamp and a uva/b fluorescent. We turn the uva/b off at night but leave the infrared on. air temp in the tank is at 80 (measured near the top) during the day and 70-75 at night. The infrared light is positioned over a rock where he basks at times. I don't have a measurement for that but it is quite warm.

The tank is in a central location in our home and with the kids home from school now, I am wondering if he would do better in an area with less activity as he seems quite aware of movements anywhere in the room.

We primarily feed him medium crickets as recommended by the store. We have also given him smaller ones. We had gotten a variety of recommended greens, I am not sure if he ate any or not, but certainly did not each much.

He is handled about once a day.

Lately he has been burrowing into the pellets at night and at times during the day.

Thanks again for the help.

I would measure the temps lower at his level. If air temps are 80 up high surface temps may be much hotter. I would also measure the temp of the basking spot and make sure it is not too hot, about 100-115. Moving him may also be stressful and I would leave him where he is. Your food items are OK but I would continue to feed greens/veggies and mist three times a day with a bath a couple times per week and give him a small shallow water bowl.

Good luck
-----
Jaremy Douglas

From "Beardiecrazy.com"

JUVENILES: 2-4 WK OLD CRICKETS, AGAIN, APPROPRIATELY SIZED, 3 TIMES PER DAY, ALL THEY CAN EAT. MAKE CHOPPED GREENS & VEGETABLES AVAILABLE TO THEM ALL DAY.

JUVENILES (OVER 8 WEEKS): 83-85 DEGREES ON THE COOL SIDE OF THE TANK & 98-105 DEGREES ON THE BASKING SPOT. THE OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURE SHOULD BE AT LEAST 70 DEGREES.

JUVENILES: 2-4 WK OLD CRICKETS, AGAIN, APPROPRIATELY SIZED, 3 TIMES PER DAY, ALL THEY CAN EAT. MAKE CHOPPED GREENS & VEGATABLES AVAILABLE TO THEM ALL DAY.

YOU CAN GIVE WAX WORMS AS A TREAT TO BEARDIES 2 MONTHS AND UP SPARINGLY. SUPERWORMS CAN BE GIVEN AS TREATS TO BEARDIES OVER 12 INCHES IN LENGTH.

MEALWORMS CAN CAUSE IMPACTION IN SOME BEARDIES DUE TO HIGH AMOUNT OF CHITTIN OR EXOSKELETON. THIS CAN BE DEADLY, ESPECIALLY TO SMALLER BEARDIES.

GREENS CAN INCLUDE COLLARD, MUSTARD, PARSLEY, TURNIP, ENDIVE, ESCAROLE & DANDELION. KALE & SPINACH MAY BE USED IN SMALL QUANTITIES ONLY AS THEY ARE CALCIUM BINDING.

VEGATABLES MAY INCLUDE GREEN BEANS, PEAS, SQUASH, YAM, CARROT, PARSNIP, CORN, & RADISHES. FRUITS INCLUDE GRAPES, BANANA, APPLE, PEACH & PLUM. ALL GREENS & VEGETABLES SHOULD BE MISTED SO AS TO PROVIDE EXTRA WATER FOR YOUR BEARDIE.
ANY MULTIVITAMIN SUPPLEMENT YOU USE SHOULDN'T CONTAIN VITAMIN A, DRAGONS ARE HIGHLY SUSCEPTABLE TO VITAMIN A TOXICITY.
JUVENILES: 2 TO 6 MONTHS, DUST CRICKETS WITH CALCIUM WITH D3 ONE FEEDING EVERY OTHER DAY & HERPTIVITE 2-3 TIMES PER WEEK.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Tracey Benson, Tracey's Beardies
-----
www.classylizard.com
Home of the Classy Lizard Hammock

____

He needs overhead heat, not belly heat....get rid of the heat pad, and get overhead light on him, they need brightly lit tanks to stimulate feeding....also a 29 gallon is usually tall...a long tank is preferable for regulating temps like a 20L....

Sounds like he's not warm enough to digest and poo.....get a digital thermometer with probe to check your temps....80 cool side, 90-92 warm side, basking with a minimal range of 98-105, 98-110 is even better....

Mist 3-5 times a day.....calcium on crickets once daily....should be fed 3 times per day ....

Stool to vet for a parasite check.....

Have greens available all day for him...
-----
Tracey
Tracey's Beardies
www.beardiecrazy.com
"Whining is not only graceless, but can be dangerous.
It can alert a brute that a victim is in the neighborhood" ~Maya Angelou

Well,

For one i would take him off the rabbit pellets and put him on plain white paper towels. Rabbit pellets breed bacteria like crazy. Plain white paper towels allow him to see his pray, and can be changed several times a day if needed.

Mist him at least three times a day.

Also, you should be feeding small (2 week old) crix at this stage. He should eat them 2-3 times a day, as many as he wants to eat. Some will eat 4-5,b ut most will eat up to 10 at a time. Remove any uneaten crix after about 1/2 hour, or they can start to chew on your beardie when he sleeps. He should also be offered as many greens as he wants or can eat all day long. Variety is the spice of life with beardies, and they should be offered lots of different greens and veggies. You can also offer TINY silkworms, which are better for him than crix b/c they have a much better calcium to phosphorous ratio, and the entire worm can be digested, as opposed to just the innards of the crix.

I would definitely keep him in a smaller but longer cage, like a 20 long. a 29 gallon is too tall, so it makes ti hard to heat effectively.

I wouldn't use a red heat bulb. It doesnt give off enough visible heat. Dragons need a visible basking spot, as they are diurnal, not like snakes and lots of other lizards who will just bask wherever its warm, dragons actually need to SEE that bright spot.

Get a temp gun or digital termometer. Your temps should be in teh following range:

Cool side 80-85
Ambient 85-92
basking 98-115

You can continue to soak him to keep him hydrated, but remember to use warm (like, 80 degrees) water, not cold.

Good luck with him and keep us posted!
ML

Just want to add that the appropriate sized crickets is one that fits the size between it's eyes. One person's idea of medium is another's small.