Reptile & Amphibian Forums

out of 5 babies, 1 is thin but eats and jumps all over, who i'm not worried about... and another is a big bigger, but hardly moves, but walks with a jerk, and doesn't eat much compared to his brothers/sisters. he shows a lot of interest and watches the lettuce and crickets, but never really makes an attempt. when i give salads (just about every day) i put a bit that's cut up extra small right in front of him, and he stares at it for about 10 minutes before taking a bite or 2, then putting his head down. i just fed them a few more crickets and he's watching everyone else eat... looking like he wants to eat too, but just doesn't make the effort! OH JUST NOW he ran after a cricket and got him, but that hardly ever happens. i feed 1/4 inch crickets, i pick out the smallest for the baby dragons and the bigger ones go to my older baby leos.

He is still eatting now and then, so that makes me feel a bit better, but what worries me is how easy it is to pick him up (the others run away), and how he walks with a jerk (he can run okay, but it's so rare he runs!

there are 5 babies, in a 10 gallon with hiding places, humid hide places, grape vine to climb on, a exoterra under the tank heater on one half, and a reptisun 10.0 compact uvb bulb (on for 12 hours). i spray them twice daily, feed crickets twice daily (one small meal and one larger one), and feed salad just about every day. they have a dish of water, which they rarely use, but it's there.

i know that feeding too large of crickets can cause problems, but these crickets are 2/3rds the distance between their eyes. i dont know what else could be causing his lethargy and awkwardness. any ideas? he wasn't the weakest of the clutch, he hatched either the fastest, or the next fastest (some took nearly a full day)

One thing that jumped out at me right away...no calcium supplement? That could easily account for your babies jerky walking. I would be dusting veggies and bugs everyday with a regular calcium, and 2-3 times a week with a supplement that has vit. D3. This will help fix or prevent any MBD your dragons may be having. Also, are they pooping okay?

oops, didn't mention that. they get miner-all 5 days a week and calc. d3 2 days

There are a few things that cause some concern about your set up, a combination of all the things probably has something to do with your babies problems.

1. A ten gallon tank is not big enough to accomadate a baby. Although size-wise it works, but its not big enough to accomadate the proper temps. Babies need a basking spot of 100-110degrees, and in a ten gallon tank, they will not be able to have that high of a temp without the whole tank being that high - which would cook the dragons. Since you are having issues getting the babies to grow and they are acting funny (one being lethargic andone being skinny)I would separate them and give them bigger tanks. I would at least give the skinny one and the lethargic one their own tanks and then set the other three up in a tank together. 20gallon long tanks would work well.

2. The other thing is you mentioned an UTH but no overhead heat. Are you using a basking bulb to acheive the proper temps? Beardies need basking heat and bright white light to properly function. The biggest problem you will see when they dont have a high basking temp with bright white light is lethargy. Use house hold bulbs to heat the bassking spots in the tanks to 100-110degrees. You should notice that your babies are more active then. Without this they cannot properly metabolize calcium, so all the supplementing you are doing is useless. The jerking behavior of the lethargic dragon sounds like nutritional secondary hyperparathyriodism, which is probably caused by their inability to metabolize the calicum you are giving them.

3. If they are newly hatched babies make sure they are staying hydrated by frequently misting them. also make sure they have a water dish, i cant remember if you said you had one or not. even though they dont drink from them they keep the ambient humidity between 10-30%, which the dragons need to function properly as well.

try those three things, if you dont see an improvement in your babies then i would talk to a vet
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0.1 Bearded dragon (Hannabil)
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake (Morticia)
1.1.2 Leopard Gecko's (Pogo, Louise, Orion, Jeffrey Nothing)
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn (Autumn)
0.1 Bullmastiff (Asha)
4.1 Cats (Poe, Tucker, Abhid, Felicity, Emmy)

i just got married the other week and we'll be moving soon, but they'll be going into a custom cage (don't know the gallons, but about 3.5 feet long and 2 feet deep). right now they don't have a heat light, the room they are in only started dipping below 90 (sometimes 95 or higher on occasion) within the last week. even at night, this room just retains the heat, it would go down to maybe 80 at the lowest. i had to take all heat lights away from everyone (big beardies, snakes, leos) because even switching to a low wattage was still exhausting them. the uvb bulb is VERY bright, like, can't stare at it without getting blue spots in your vision.

they'll be getting moved to a new tank with heat lights, as well as their heat mat and uvb very soon. hopefully that's all the lil guy needs. oh and yes they do have a water dish, and they get sprayed twice daily (i spray them lightly several minutes apart until they no longer drink)

How soon will you be moving?

Bright light is VERY important to them and if they dont get it pretty soon they will suffer more, psycologically and physically.
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0.1 Bearded dragon (Hannabil)
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake (Morticia)
1.1.2 Leopard Gecko's (Pogo, Louise, Orion, Jeffrey Nothing)
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn (Autumn)
0.1 Bullmastiff (Asha)
4.1 Cats (Poe, Tucker, Abhid, Felicity, Emmy)