# Black Under new Beardies chin



## bigronsdad (Jun 10, 2011)

Hi my lad got given a beardie yesterday & it's black under the chin. Does this mean it's stressed because of the move ?

The viv came with a UV light & basking bulb, but there's a heat mat in there aswell. Does it need the heat mat?

I'll probably ask dumb questions until I've got more experience with him. Apologies in advance


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## OliverW (Dec 8, 2010)

I dont think it will need the heat mat and the black beard is due to stress so just dont handle it for a few days and it will go away and your beardy will be normal again


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## bigronsdad (Jun 10, 2011)

Cheers


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## Beardie_Newb (Apr 4, 2011)

I've got a heat mat in my viv on the back wall, and noticed that my beardie wasn't as active after moving to my new place than he was in our flat, I've unplugged it, and he's a lot more active now, doesnt seem to make a huge difference to the temps but I don't have digital thermometers yet, It may be needed during the winter to boost up the temps as my room can get quite cold sometimes.


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## BlackRose (Jul 8, 2007)

Its not dumb to ask these things and could well save the bearded dragons life if you're not sure on something. Many people keep a species for years and still ask questions or learn soemthing new. 
No the heat mat isn't needed and neither are basking rocks (in case you were wondering). They are dangerous. Plus the bearded dragon needs to absorb the heat for digestion but it doesnt need to be scorched, boiled or roasted.
Are you sure he temps are ok? 
Bearded dragons go black for a number of reasons on their beard. Stress, anger or warning, mating, absorbing heat or the sun. When mine goes out in the sun he will go black on his beard first and then all over. Not jet black though. He then goes a lighter colour and wants to explore when back inside. It seems to charge them up and does wonders for their appetite. Obviously you don't wanna let him in the sun for a long time or leave him unttended. I carry mine about under my jacket zipped up when he goes out in a walk with me and have his head and front feet poking out. When he's used to it he will be taken out to bask a little in my hands. 
I have tried a special harness on him but he kept kicking me off and running away. Plus its not safe with the glass around so he doesn't actually get to run around outside. I'd avoid carrying a baby or smallish dragon outside though for obvious reasons. How big is he/she?

Mine likes to sit and lick the mirror around mating season...pacing, going black in the beard and bobbing his head. Makes me want to get him a girlfriend lol.

He's gonna be stressed for a couple of days even if he seems to be fitting in well. He is best not handled during this time but quite frequently afterwards for short periods only until he gets used to you. Until then it's a good idea to stay close to the tank and let him observe you and the surroundings so he can get used to you and your voice etc. Talk to him.

Do you have any past history of your new pet? This may have an impact on how long it will take him to settle in or how he will react to you and in certain situations. Was he always kept as a single dragon? They don't usually do well with others and on rare occasions can grow up and be kept together. Males shouldn't be kept together at all. how big the tank is as well can he a big factor on how long they will be stressed for. 
I have my adult in a home built 4 foot viv (he needs a new one really cos it's not very well made. He came with it and its an old aquarium with an open top lid rather than the nice sliding door ones I wanna get him. But they're so expensive  )
The bigger the better for the bigger beardeds. Mines a runt who had his tail munched on when he a baby apparently so he's only 14 inches or so. However he hasn't loads of room or anything with his bowls and decor in there.

I'm sure if I'm wrong someone can correct me on this but if I remember right you have to make sure the basking bulb is about 6-8 inches away from his head when he's on the peak of his decor and he's stretcing up to bask... This ensures he wont get burnt but gets maximum benefit. I dnt know hat you're using ATM but you dont want any substrate that will cause impaction. Caused by him eating it while eating prey. I always feed mine live food out the tank to avoid this and cos if he doesn't eat the live food then it won't be hiding in the tank munching on him or bothering him later. He also has a large salad feeding bowl inside his tank and a small water bowl.

A wide variety of food is needed and as he gets older his diet must consist of mainly the green variety and some fruits. You get some really fussy eaters such as mine.
Bearded dragons rarely, if ever, drink water but can be trained with a lot of patience and time to drink from a bowl using a drip onto mouth method with a syringe. However this isn't guaranteed to work or to last. He will get his main moisture from his foods. I always have a full water bowl there to keep the humidity snd on the off chance he will drink. I also spray my him every day along his back and if he's shedding I spray extra on the skin there. I check him event couple of days by pinching his neck gently on the scruff to check his hydration levels. You want it to fall back down quickly for him to be well hydrated. I feed mine kale or spring greens and spray that a lot so it retains moisture for him too. 
You will want a calcium vitamin supplement for reptiles to dust on his food...how much and how often will depend on his age and the rest of his diet/lighting type and others can assist you with this. 
I often forget or they are eaten up before I get a chance but its best to gut load your live food. Try and buy them gut loaded too if you can. Spaying the lid of he tubs will aid your live food with water which will add to the bearded dragons water supply. 

So there you have it. My posts are always long and hard to read but I love writing and helping. Anything im wrong about or havnt included others will post anyway. enjoy your new pet. They are awesome little creatures!!


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## BlackRose (Jul 8, 2007)

I forgot to add I found the cheapest and easiest substrate to use to be newspaper. It does get soaked though and sometimes your bearded dragon night do a really smelly poop and it doesn't cover up the smell. But overall a good cheap easy to throw away substrate if you got plenty of newspapers. I use it for my hedgehog, African grey, bearded dragon and cat litter tray. 
Reptile carpet looks better though and if I'm not mistaken can be washed and reused? However if that's so you'd wanna check up on the washing detergent and it's safety for animals. 
I use bold 2 in 1 liquitabs to wash my cats blankets and hedgehogs beds in. I was told that is ok for them. 

Things you may wanna check up also would be brumation, shedding, and lizards also can have bone problems if they arnt getting the correct vitamins. The name of it escapes me now,,,metabolic bone disorder/syndrome?... Be aware though that too much calcium and vitamins can also do harm. I have a UVB D3 strip bulb in there and was told I didn't need much of the d3 supplement to add to the food. Mine rarely eats his vitamins as he won't eat his greens ATM. Ivd a job to get him to eat crickets even. Locusts seem to be a firm favourite and watercress might be a popular choice for some of his diet if he's anything like mine used to be.


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## jo-jo-beans (Jun 28, 2010)

Wow, that's a lot of typing. Good stuff tho :2thumb:

One wee thing I noticed tho, beardies do like things to bask on, mine actually does have a basking rock and he loves it, the rock slowly heats up under the basking lamp and gets his belly all toasty : victory: 

I think what the lovely Blackrose meant by "basking rocks" was heat rocks, which are crazy dangerous inventions. That you plug in and they get horribly hot. As the beardies little temp gauge is at the back of his neck, he might not realise he is getting burned. 

To the OP - keep firing the questions. There's no such thing as a silly question when it comes to the care and well being of our animals :no1:


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## BlackRose (Jul 8, 2007)

jo-jo-beans said:


> Wow, that's a lot of typing. Good stuff tho :2thumb:
> 
> One wee thing I noticed tho, beardies do like things to bask on, mine actually does have a basking rock and he loves it, the rock slowly heats up under the basking lamp and gets his belly all toasty : victory:
> 
> ...


Why thankyou  that's it! heat rocks. Lol that was a close one. If the OP listened to me then they would've had it in just a tank with nothing in lol...not good. Yea, basking rocks are great, mines got a soft fake wood type thing that is big at the bottom and stretches up. Plus a little log and another one on the other side. I also got a flat rock for him to stretch out on while basking or cooling off but he knocks everything over so I just put em in willy nilly now lol and he sorts himself out. So long as they are all stable and there's the right height and distance regarding the bulbs he will he fine. 

It's true no question is a silly question, especially if you have a bad memory like me and end up asking the same thing every few months lol. It's good to ask, to know, good for your pet and good for us cos we get to help and to see there are still ppl out there who care enough to ask even if they think it's silly. 

Just out of curiosity how did your son obtain the animal if he didn't know about them and what they needed? I'm only asking cos in that case the old owner probably didn't know about it if it came with a heat mat that is, and just a little concerned on how much research was done before obtaining the lizard. They're an easy enough to care for species but as with them all, especially exotic like these, things can go horribly wrong if you're not up on some of the stuff. So ask anything,


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## aidanbeckey (Apr 9, 2009)

All I wanna no is..........do ur fingers hurt and r u sure u haven't forgot anything?


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## BlackRose (Jul 8, 2007)

Hehe no, I type like the wind (not my main reason for spelling mistakes...damn auto spelling).
I know I forgot tons of stuff lol.....such as....the UV/UVB types, differences, best makes, how long some last before needing replacing compared to others and the wattages of all bulbs. 

Which reminds me, I need to change mine.


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## bigronsdad (Jun 10, 2011)

I went to the reptile shop where I normally go, we've already got a leopard gecko & asked his advice. I've bought a thermometer to make sure the temps are right & replaced the UV bulb as I don't know how old the other one was. I checked him this morning & he's not as black under the chin so hopefully he's settled down a bit. The woman we got him off just fed him on locusts & crickets which I know is bad from reading on here so I've put some watercress in his viv and hopefully he'll have a try of it.

I'm going to leave him alone over the weekend and then get him used to my hand being in the viv for a bit next week. She did say he was used to being handled so hopefully he won't freak too much.

Thanks for all the advice


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## BlackRose (Jul 8, 2007)

That's good. You may have noticed the uv giving off a brighter light now?
If so it probably means the other one was really old. Some people think they last till they pop lol.
I really gotta get mine done. I'll change it on wednesday.

Yea is a good idea to slowly introduce yourself to him. He should be fine though. As far as I know bearded dragons rarely bite and mine never has.
Mine was always a softie though. I held him on the first day but he was already three and handled all the time. 
There was a time he would stay awake all through the night even with the lights off unless he had his bedtime smooths. As soon as you smooth his head he'd be out like a light and sleep till his lights were back on in the morning. 
You are switching his lights off at night arnt you?


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