# Bearded dragon STRESS LINES!!



## Meggysmithyton (Sep 6, 2015)

hiya everyone ive recently got my new baby bearded dragon a few days ago, seems very active and friendly, eating and pooping well, and i have the right set up  xx however he has these horribe dark lines of his belly I heard they are called stress lines which means that your bearded dragon is stressed and can get really ill  xx however for the last two days he hasn't eaten much because he is shedding, otherwise tho, completely normal, is there something to be worried about here?  xx:gasp:


----------



## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Photos would help if you're able

My bearded dragon has lines across his belly that come and go but not from stress.

If it were getting stressed you'd have a black beard hissing at you 

It's probably nothing but some photos may help


----------



## Meggysmithyton (Sep 6, 2015)

*Lines*

This is not a picture of him as i am unable to get one atm because im out but this is exactly what they look like... http://i42.tinypic.com/2hgreat.jpg


----------



## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

Looks perfectly normal to me

Mines the same

Sometimes they're darker than others which I believe is down to his temperature. If he comes out the viv they get darker and when he's under the heat they're much lighter.


----------



## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

What is your setup like btw

Size, temperatures etc


----------



## Meggysmithyton (Sep 6, 2015)

He has them when he first wakes up in the morning, when he calms down and does to sleep at night (temp drop) he's fine, i was just worried about picking him up and stressing him out. I know reptiles are susceptible to stress :\ xx it' not too do with shedding then? Should i worry about him going off his food?  xx


----------



## Corfel (Apr 29, 2013)

If this is your first reptile then you'll have a million questions everytime he does something but more often than not, if the setup is fine, he'll be fine.

If it's a juvenile I wouldn't expect it to go off food easily though (they can go off food a bit when going into shed, mine did)

If it's eating regularly but not pooing then there's something to look at

I had a period with my beardie when he simply stopped eating/pooing for about 3-4 months straight. Stressed me out because it was my first rep and I wasn't sure if I was doing something wrong.

Turns out he was brumating (basically hibernation for reptiles) and he's fine.

Given the time of year you might see it slow down and may even brumate (not all do it) but it's not always something to worry about.

As a juvenile it will shed frequently as it grows. Usually the scales start to turn a dull colour, cloudy. This is mine and you can sort of see his nose colour is different https://instagram.com/p/26YfeisWk9/?taken-by=c0rfel

To put it simply, every beardie is different and there's no 100% "this is normal" behaviour


----------



## Meggysmithyton (Sep 6, 2015)

Thank you very much ill try not to worry too much about him now  xx


----------



## Azastral (Jun 6, 2015)

Baby bearded dragons do not normally brumate, and should be discouraged if less than a year anyway.

Given its recent rehoming its probably just mild stress assuming your temps are good. Give him some time to settle in. 

It takes significant provocation for a bearded Dragon to actually hiss at you once used to people. Pumping his beard out is a sign that he's unhappy, turning it black is more unhappy and hissing is severely pissed off and warning you he feels threatened.

(The beard is also used to signify dominance which is unlikely given his age and I doubt he's trying to court you)

Slowly increase the amount of handling, starting with none, then offering food, then short handling sessions etc. You need to build trust and essentially "tame" babies/juveniles. 
Offering live food by hand will win him over, they are complete softees to anyone they think will give them insects.


----------



## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

Have to agree with Azastral in that babies do not brumate. As said it is probably slight stress due to being relocated. Handle only when necessary until he settles down some more.


----------



## supatips (May 29, 2012)

Azastral said:


> Slowly increase the amount of handling, starting with none, then offering food, then short handling sessions etc. You need to build trust and essentially "tame" babies/juveniles.
> Offering live food by hand will win him over, they are complete softees to anyone they think will give them insects.


I'm currently going through this with a baby beardie. My first beardie was about six months when I got him so I missed out on this particular part of the experience! 

With the youngster I'm past the stage now where it's terrified of my presence and is quite happy for me to have my hands in the viv. Some days I'm even permitted to put my hands near it on another day it hides as soon as the glass slides open. When the glass is closed it's out and about and spends a lot of time looking at what is going on. 

One morning not long ago when I opened the glass it ran up my arm and promptly bit me when I put it back, I think we startled each other :lol2: 

I've got some tweezers so I'm going to start offering some livefood that way and see if that helps win it over some more. It's been a really interesting experience so far and I'm quite enjoying how inquisitive it is with everything too. 

Patience is the key I think!!


----------



## Azastral (Jun 6, 2015)

Just be warned about tweezers/tongs VS fingertips....

To this day (so three years on) my youngest will still try and eat the end of a pair of feeding tongs because she associates these with insects.

Even if theres nothing in them, she'll repeatedly bite the end of it and get all excited even if she just sees me holding them.


1)Better a pair of tongs when they are full grown than your fingers.
2)Dont use metal tongs get some plastic type things or rubber coated (no such thing as Beardie Dentists)


----------



## supatips (May 29, 2012)

Azastral said:


> Just be warned about tweezers/tongs VS fingertips....
> 
> To this day (so three years on) my youngest will still try and eat the end of a pair of feeding tongs because she associates these with insects.
> 
> ...


Oh right thanks for the heads up. It's only eating small insects at the moment and I thought that would make it easier. Perhaps not!


----------

