# Baby Beardie - New Owner



## jordyc (Dec 2, 2015)

So, I bought a baby Beardie literally 4 days ago, it's been roaming the cage and sort of settling it but it's only eaten the locusts on one day and isn't eating any veg or drinking water. I know it has to settle in but I'm a bit worried? Also, I've been handling it everyday just letting it sleep and stroking it etc whilst watching a movie but lately it's been scratching at the cage and then once it's out and on me it's asleep within minutes. I'm not too sure on how normal this is. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! 

Thanks


----------



## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

jordyc said:


> So, I bought a baby Beardie literally 4 days ago, it's been roaming the cage and sort of settling it but it's only eaten the locusts on one day and isn't eating any veg or drinking water. I know it has to settle in but I'm a bit worried? Also, I've been handling it everyday just letting it sleep and stroking it etc whilst watching a movie but lately it's been scratching at the cage and then once it's out and on me it's asleep within minutes. I'm not too sure on how normal this is. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> Thanks


Can you provide details of your husbandry? Viv size, temps, UV, feeding regime, etc.

If you've only had him 4 days I would strongly advise you stop handling him until he starts eating reliably. He needs time to settle in and handling can cause quite a bit of added stress to an already stressful move.
Beardies are notorious sulks and are very sensitive to change, like a change in home/viv, and this can put them off their food - sometimes for up to 2 weeks. As long as he doesn't appear to be losing any condition, if he is otherwise healthy then he will eat when he is ready. Just keep offering it every day and he should eventually take it.


----------



## jordyc (Dec 2, 2015)

The viv is about 70x40 and the hot end varies from 80-100 and the cooler end varies from 50-80 depending on the time of day. It's a fish tank so it has the 2 lights on the lid and I bought an Arcadia 20W Natural Sunlight 2% UV-B lamp for basking. Thanks for your advise with the handling, I've read so many different views on how often to handle him so I will leave him be and hope he starts eating soon!


----------



## Ghost8 (Dec 2, 2015)

This is another vote for not handling for a while  There can be a lot of conflicting advice but leaving him to settle for up to two weeks certainly wont make him any less friendly but could and most likley will make him feel more relaxed and less stressed in his new home. Many reptiles are known for causing their owners worry for not eating! Just feel safe in the knowledge that as long as youve done your research and hes at the right temperature and humidity he will start eating when hes ready. Maybe check for number twos. He might be eating and you may not know  

The first two weeks is just as fustrating for us as it is for them! We just want to handle them immediatly! It can be very tough to wait.. but hell be settled in and relaxed in no time. Good luck! Pictures are always well recieved..


----------



## jordyc (Dec 2, 2015)

Ah I will leave him be and let him settle, it's true I just want to play! It doesn't help when he comes climbing up my arm when I'm putting new food in :') He's had one poop since he's been in there but he must be psychic because he literally ate after I replied so that's a relief  

As for the pictures, if I knew how to send a picture to this site through iPhone then I gladly would, definitely going to have to do some investigating!


----------



## jordyc (Dec 2, 2015)

Hopefully that's my little gremlin!


----------



## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

jordyc said:


> The viv is about 70x40 and the hot end varies from 80-100 and the cooler end varies from 50-80 depending on the time of day. It's a fish tank so it has the 2 lights on the lid and I bought an Arcadia 20W Natural Sunlight 2% UV-B lamp for basking. Thanks for your advise with the handling, I've read so many different views on how often to handle him so I will leave him be and hope he starts eating soon!


Please don't take this the wrong way but that setup sounds quite inappropriate for a bearded dragon. Your hot end temps need to be a little warmer at 110F, especially if he is still young - they do prefer it a little toastier when they are little. 
The tank itself is too small for a beardie and could really do with upgrading to a 4ft - preferably wood as it holds heat better and reptiles can struggle with the concept of glass, so may feel more secure with more sides being covered. Also with a viv that small it can be quite tough to maintain stable hot and cool end temps.
That Arcadia UV lamp sounds like a compact? Compacts are useless with this kind of species and they require a UV strip light that stretches across most of the length of the vivarium, with a heat bulb at one end to create the basking spot. Also, 2% is too weak. Beardies are a daytime species and so are avid Sun worshippers. 10% would be better by far.

Sorry to sound so negative but fixing these things sooner rather than later will certainly benefit his health in the long run 

EDIT: Just seen in your pic that the little one is on woodchip? I'd personally be extremely wary of woodchip since beardies can be quite clumsy hunters and may just grab up a piece when going for their insects, that fits in the mouth just fine but may not come out the back end as easily! For a youngster a lot of people go for non-particle substrates like kitchen towel or newspaper - then moving up to sand/soil mixture as they get older (or stick with non-particle stuff like slate, tiles, etc) more skilled at hunting and generally gravitate more towards veg so the risk of ingesting their substrate is less.


----------



## jordyc (Dec 2, 2015)

Ah see I had the tank set up as he was a gift to me so it was all sorted before I got there. With regards to the size, I was only planning on keeping him in there for a month or so as I thought a tank too big may be hard for him to feed from?

From what I've seen of the temperatures so far they've been stable but I will look at making the warmer end a little warmer. Do you have any websites you'd recommend to buy goods from?

Regards to wood chips, thanks for the advice I'll take them out


----------



## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

jordyc said:


> Ah see I had the tank set up as he was a gift to me so it was all sorted before I got there. With regards to the size, I was only planning on keeping him in there for a month or so as I thought a tank too big may be hard for him to feed from?
> 
> From what I've seen of the temperatures so far they've been stable but I will look at making the warmer end a little warmer. Do you have any websites you'd recommend to buy goods from?
> 
> Regards to wood chips, thanks for the advice I'll take them out


If it's only for a month then it should be okay  Do you know how old he is, roughly? He should be fine going into a bigger viv, a lot of people start with that size right away and just keep a close eye on feeding to make sure baby is able to hunt okay and find their veg. If needs be you can always 'encourage' his insects to wander a little closer to his waiting mouth!

I believe a lot of people use Swell Reptiles for their gear? To be honest I'm not sure what people use as I've not had to buy new stuff that's not decor in a while! But for starters:
Viv: Vivexotic Repti-Home Maxi Vivarium XL in Oak | Swell Reptiles
UV: Arcadia T8 D3+ Reptile Lamp - UV strip light | Swell Reptiles
Obviously buying the longest strip light that will fit in the viv, with a bit of space on either side!
Now I can't remember for the life of me whether people prefer the T8 or T5 UV line but if you ask in the main section of the Lizard part of the forum I'm sure they can help you there! 
Heat bulb: Apparently just an ordinary light bulb can do the job but I use these, personally (wattage depending) ProRep Basking Spot Lamp for day-active reptiles | Swell Reptiles 
Obviously if you need a less powerful bulb then by all means, as long as it can get to temperature, go for it!
Thermostat (if you don't already have one): Habistat Dimming Thermostat | Swell Reptiles

Assuming you are using a digital thermometer or temperature gun to measure your temps? If not, I use Exo Terra digitals: Exo Terra Digital thermometer | Swell Reptiles
Admittedly a lot of people don't like Exo Terra but personally I have never had any problems!

If you wander over to the main Lizard section, there are people there who can guide you further  There are people in there with far more knowledge and experience who would be happy to help!


----------



## Azastral (Jun 6, 2015)

The tank really is too small and will need to be changed rather soon, while he is a baby it will be ok, but he should be in a proper vivarium before he is 6 months old.

I recommend a wooden vivarium, and a minimum size of 4ft long and 2 ft deep, preferably at least 2ft high as well.

You may find some of the scrabbling about is due to the size being too small and he feels too trapped in.
Also, glass vivariums are not very good for how they hold heat, wood is far better for this species.

Theres lots of other things like what flooring (substrate) to use and how to set the vivarium up but i suggest one step at a time.

He will grow quite quickly in his first 6 months so the change of vivarium is a priority.

As for salad, try to get a range of different bits in each salad feed, put it in first thing in the morning and then do two live feeds, one at lunchtime, one late afternoon. Butternut squash (peeled and grated) lambs lettuce, rocket and a small amount of cucumber make a good base salad, add to this things like pea shoots, kale, celery, apple and carrot as you go to mix it up from day to day.

I recommend getting a base of three or four staple/everyday veggies and then each week having a couple of different ones to mix it up from the "occational" veggies list. Remember these all need to be chopped up into bite size bits he can eat. Dont forget calcium/multi vits (Arcadia do an excellent all in one everyday feed supplement i have been using, its very very good and no risk of overdose (Earth Pro A))

This should help encourage veg uptake but remember while young, roughly 80% of their food should be live food, as they get older this will slowly scale down and as an adult it should then be mostly veggies. (by about 6 months you would expect roughly 60% live food, by a year roughly 50% live, by 18 months roughly 40% live and by two years roughly 20% live)

Variety is key, this also applies to the insects, try to get a few different types, something like crickets or dubia roaches (dubia are excellent) as the main everyday insects, and then give things like locusts, morio worms, calci worms, mealworms randomly to mix up the intake.
Get the staple insects in and then buy a box or two of something different eat week to add to his live feeds.

As he gets older, reduce the live feeds down to one a day, and then again to every other day (so about 6 months or so drop to one a day, then about a year to every other day) Again this should help encourage him to eat more veggies, always putting veggies in every day first thing, it will also help to increase the % of veggies eaten.


----------



## Azastral (Jun 6, 2015)

Ophexis said:


> If it's only for a month then it should be okay  Do you know how old he is, roughly? He should be fine going into a bigger viv, a lot of people start with that size right away and just keep a close eye on feeding to make sure baby is able to hunt okay and find their veg. If needs be you can always 'encourage' his insects to wander a little closer to his waiting mouth!
> 
> I believe a lot of people use Swell Reptiles for their gear? To be honest I'm not sure what people use as I've not had to buy new stuff that's not decor in a while! But for starters:
> Viv: Vivexotic Repti-Home Maxi Vivarium XL in Oak | Swell Reptiles
> ...


I would of said this too until i saw a post from Gavgav linking to another viv maker, the vivs are thicker wood and far more choice in sizes and a little cheaper but just as good quality.

For the almost the same price as Vivexotics 4ft x 2ft x 2ft you can get a 5ft long one... Even better for your little beardie! (its about £15 more but worth it)
150cm x 60cm x 60cm 60x24x24 Flat Packed Vivarium 5ft

http://www.reptilecentre.com/arcadi...roller-&-reflector_p28154263.htm#.VmBzdL_Qqbk 
I highly recommend the Arcadia UVb strip lights (Get the T5 rather than the T8, its definately worth it even if it means buying a new controller, you can see the difference straight off and with a reflector too they are much better in my opinion) and something like a halogen spot light on a dimmer stat for the basking spot, these are all available widely, swell reptiles do them but so do Reptile Supplies | Live Food | Vivariums | The Reptile Centre and they are occationally cheaper than swell.


----------



## Ophexis (Feb 19, 2010)

Azastral said:


> I would of said this too until i saw a post from Gavgav linking to another viv maker, the vivs are thicker wood and far more choice in sizes and a little cheaper but just as good quality.
> 
> For the almost the same price as Vivexotics 4ft x 2ft x 2ft you can get a 5ft long one... Even better for your little beardie! (its about £15 more but worth it)
> 150cm x 60cm x 60cm 60x24x24 Flat Packed Vivarium 5ft
> ...


^^
This dude knows his stuff. As I said I've not had to buy gear for a few years so I haven't done much shopping around :blush:


----------



## Azastral (Jun 6, 2015)

Ophexis said:


> ^^
> This dude knows his stuff. As I said I've not had to buy gear for a few years so I haven't done much shopping around :blush:


Just noticed i linked the 6% not the 12% :O

Arcadia 34" T5 12% UVB Tube, Controller & Reflector 

This is the link for the UVb tube/controller and reflector 
34 inch is a tiny bit under for a 5ft viv but will do the job nicely, the next size up (46 inch) is a little bit too long, you want about two thirds of the total viv length so 34 inch will leave a nice amount in the cool side thats shaded still.


----------



## Azastral (Jun 6, 2015)

jordyc said:


> Ah I will leave him be and let him settle, it's true I just want to play! It doesn't help when he comes climbing up my arm when I'm putting new food in :') He's had one poop since he's been in there but he must be psychic because he literally ate after I replied so that's a relief
> 
> As for the pictures, if I knew how to send a picture to this site through iPhone then I gladly would, definitely going to have to do some investigating!



this is really nice to see, it shows that whoever bred him looked after him well and has already done half the work for you in getting him used to interaction.

Many babies will actively hide from people or puff their beard out as a warning to stay away.

however, from his pic he does look very dark so this could either be the temps need to be raised a bit or a sign of new home stress (as mentioned before, beardies are very prone to sulking when things change) Keep the bond by hand feeding but try to limit handling and only disturb him to give food.

Once hes settled in he will be just fine, double check those temps (roughly 42C to 45C basking spot, 32C to 36C ambient temp in the warm end and roughly 26C to 28C cool end).

Persist with the veggies, and introduce as much variety as you can by rotating through different veggies with some good staple base veggies like butternut squash, rocket and lambs lettuce.

Same with the insects, good staple like dubia roaches and mix it up by rotating other types through. Gut loading (feeding the insects of things like the base veggies) and dusting with supplements (arcadia earth pro a is really really good, supplies everything and can be used everyday)

You will end up with a healthy happy beardie that will be resistant to health issues by keeping that variety, providing the right lighting and giving a good sized viv for it to remain active in.

I would look into a sand or sand soil mix to use as substrate rather than woodchip as well, this will help with humidity (the 60% play sand/40% top soil mix is very good for this) and having a couple of inches of this will mean he can dig. Things like cork sections, natural slate tiles and driftwood make good decoration and slate makes for an excellent basking spot material. the cork and driftwood will provide natural cover and digging areas. 

With this kind of substrate you also have the choice of progressing to bioactive once you have more experience, but it also means you only have to spot clean areas and if the beardie is health and eating/pooping well it will be a lesser risk of impaction.

Go step by step, get the viv first and a good lighting setup, get the diet working well and rotating in that mix of veggies and live feed, then look at substrate. 

Should keep you busy for the next few months


----------

