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Need help with my new baby beardie

B

barbaracarra

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Hi, I purchased a baby 17 days ago. The first twelve days he ate great. Crickets, meal worms, fresh greens. However the last five days he hasn't eaten much at all. I've been doing a lot of reading to learn all I can and have learned that mealworms aren't a great idea. I've been misting him three times a day and he seems to be hydrated. He has had a bowel movement this morning but he has lost some weight. When I pick him up sometimes his head shakes. I have a UV and heat light. Warm side is around 100 cool side around 80. Do you think he will start to eat when he's hungry? Do I need to be doing something else? He has live crickets and fresh greens available.
 
increase the hotspot to about 110 if you can, try soaking him in warm water every other day along with the misting (the biggest deaths in baby beardies that i see is often dehydration) to ensure proper hydration. What kind of UV are you using? how big of an enclosure do you have?
 
Do not feed baby Beardies meal worms i know from experience from my first dragon they cant handle them. One of mine had a seizure from meal worms and later threw them up so the best thing would be to keep giving it warm baths to help it poop
 
Stopped giving him the meal worms. He had a bowel movement yesterday morning which I'm assuming is the two crickets he ate the day before. The UV I have says a Zilla 50 desert. 15Watt 120V. That's what the guy at the pet store sold me. Should I get a different UV? Really want this little guy to make it. He is alert and active just not eating. I've been misting him and soaked him in warm water yesterday. This morning I offered him crickets and finely chopped Kale.
 
Oh and also it's a ten gallon enclosure for now. He has a perch he climbs up to get near the light. A friend of mine is cleaning her 20 gallon out and will be having that soon.
 
Sometimes if you feed them a lot they wont eat for a day or two. Also the crickets ur feeding him should not be bigger than his head.
 
Well he had a bowel movement this morning again. I'm starting to think he may be eating a little when I'm not watching. I'm looking forward to getting the other tank. When I went to petco this morning to get a different bulb, one of the guys actually said he thinks I'm keeping the vid to hot. I can't believe that when everything I'm reading says I need his basking side warmer. I don't think those people have a clue to what they're talking about.
 
Well good news! My little guy shed today. Got his basing side as high as 105. He had some squash this morning and a bowel movement. I do believe were going to be ok. He's my first bearded dragon and I'm absolutely in love with him. Just want to do everything right.
 
Yeah the Basking spot should be 105-110 with a rock or something under the basking spot for him to lay on to help him digest his food
 
I have a petco reptile habitat thermometer on each end of his viv. As well as a humidity gauge on one end. I do believe the shedding had a lot to do with him not eating. He ate about thirty crickets yesterday and seems to have his appetite back. I'm definitely going to look in to a repti-sun uv. Thank you for all your help. I really appreciate having other beardie lovers to talk to.
 
If I were you, I would invest in a better thermometer - I just don't trust the petstore ones. Walmart sells a digital thermometer that has a probe and will read both sides of the enclosure called an Accurite - you can find them online, too, if your store doesn't carry them. They're around $12-$13 dollars usually so they're very affordable and also very reliable.

Good luck with your beardie.
 
Ok sounds good. I will definitely get an Accurite. $13 dollars is affordable and I want to have accurate readings. Thanks for all your help. Got the bigger Terrarium today also. Hope the move to his new habitat doesn't stress him too much.
 
It might stress him out, but don't worry about it. You really need to get the better UVB light ASAP. That one you have could be hurting his eyes and his appetite.
 
Hi Everyone, just wanted to give an update on Boo. He's doing great. Has been eating me out of house and home now. He loves green leaf lettuce and carrots. He eats his crickets and is growing quickly. Thanks for all your help and advice.
 
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