New beardie mom - Help please :(

[Julee1971]

This is the light fixture that came with the tank. However, like I said earlier I'll be getting the long tube UVB light & the baby food to try to feed to him. Should I mix his critical care powder (which I got from a vet) into the baby food before I feed him?
My boyfriend is home with our little dude right now and said that he's currently hiding behind his rock/log. We have him in a 20 gallon enclosure at the moment, I planned on getting him a 40 gallon in May (he'll be about 5-6 month old then) that had the doors on the front. Currently the enclousre has a sliding mesh screen on top.

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Yea coiled or colored bulbs are horrible for them. Pet store advice & enclosure setups Are akways most of the time wrong. Order the Reptisun like asap then just use one bulb in the double light fixture or get a single fixture or 2 Clear Zoomed bulbs maybe 50 watt each or one 50 & one 75 in each socket. Rite now with Chad so small I can get away with a 75 watt that should reach 105 temp. Under 8-9mnths old or so the temp should be 105-110; more like 105 or so and as an adult they like 95-100; more like 95-97. He needs a 40gallon like now; they need room to exercise & move and thrive/grow otherwise they will be stressed & have stunted growth if confined. They have a Gr8 one at petssmart a 40 gallon doors open In the front buy one it’s $170 only with pets plus card which is free. Save receipt and u can return it when he outgrows it at about 9-10mnyhs I will need a 120 gallon or 110 gallon one. As far as the critical care; I think u mix with water & place in a syringe; ask the vet call them. DONOT get the Reptisun 5.0 it emits little to no light. U ca. Got to Petsmart and get a 10.0 T8 and use. Till the better one arrives; this will work just won’t be as bright. T8 emits less light than a T5. Then return it when u are done. And remember uVb lights need replacing every 6Mnths.

 

[Dexter_Dragon]

BTW. Just wanna say he's got beautiful vibrant colors.

 

[byork1604]

Ok try going into the side of his mouth or have someone help and use a credit card to get in between his lips he will open - most pet stores do not carry the fixtures for T 5's- they will carry the T 8 which will need to go into.the tank--- T 8's are not as strong as the T 5- what size tank is he in?

He’s in a 20 gallon currently.

 

[Sadie]

He’s in a 20 gallon currently.

Ok so did you order the zoo med uvb fixture? If you did use that bulb that comes w/ it - it will be perfect for that tank-- make sure the fixture is unobstructed and the basking decor is 6-8 inches directly underneath- the bulb is considered a T 8- when you upgrade that tank to a bigger one your gonna need the Reptisun 10.0 T 5 -

 

[byork1604]

Ok so did you order the zoo med uvb fixture? If you did use that bulb that comes w/ it - it will be perfect for that tank-- make sure the fixture is unobstructed and the basking decor is 6-8 inches directly underneath- the bulb is considered a T 8- when you upgrade that tank to a bigger one your gonna need the Reptisun 10.0 T 5 -

I got a 10.0 t8 bulb & fixture. Hoping the change in light will give him a bit of a boost. He’s looking really down tonight. Was able to get a little bit of food in his mouth. Watched him swallow. But after that he wouldn’t open up anymore. Even tried the credit card. So we set him down in the enclosure under the basking light to let him rest. But he’s seems to be getting weaker and weaker. Really worried & unsure of what to do next.

 

[Sadie]

I got a 10.0 t8 bulb & fixture. Hoping the change in light will give him a bit of a boost. He’s looking really down tonight. Was able to get a little bit of food in his mouth. Watched him swallow. But after that he wouldn’t open up anymore. Even tried the credit card. So we set him down in the enclosure under the basking light to let him rest. But he’s seems to be getting weaker and weaker. Really worried & unsure of what to do next.

Get the T 8 in the tank no clear plastic cover over the bulb it needs to be exposed- take the screen and place half on the tank and put the basking light on it--- take the UVB place width wise on the tank next to basking light - get it do it's directly over the basking decor 6-8 inches - get him under both lights- do you have a ceramic heat emitter?

 

[byork1604]

Get the T 8 in the tank no clear plastic cover over the bulb it needs to be exposed- take the screen and place half on the tank and put the basking light on it--- take the UVB place width wise on the tank next to basking light - get it do it's directly over the basking decor 6-8 inches - get him under both lights- do you have a ceramic heat emitter?

T8 is in tank, it’s laying width wise right next to the bask light. Have no room left on top of the enclosure now lol. I don’t have a ceramic heat emitter, I read that he could burn his belly if he lays on it too long. However, I do have an adhesive heat pad on the outside of the glass on the bottom of the tank & it always stays on, day & night. Lights get turned on at 7:30/8am & turn off at 11/11:30pm.

 

[Sadie]

T8 is in tank, it’s laying width wise right next to the bask light. Have no room left on top of the enclosure now lol. I don’t have a ceramic heat emitter, I read that he could burn his belly if he lays on it too long. However, I do have an adhesive heat pad on the outside of the glass on the bottom of the tank & it always stays on, day & night. Lights get turned on at 7:30/8am & turn off at 11/11:30pm.

The ceramic heat emitter would go above on top of screen it produces heat no light - please only have lights on 12 hrs on 12 hrs off-- what is the temp in the tank in the morning? For now keeping the temp over nite at around 80 will help keep.his immune system up- when he starts feeling better active not sick those temps will need to be around 65-75 but right now let's not worry about that---- feed him small meals of 1 ml slowly and make sure the food is runny or soupy so he's getting hydration- and I would do this 3 times per day- is it just carnivore care your feeding?

 

[Julee1971]

We've offered both collard greens and mustard greens. I offered spinach once (the first time I fed him) then later read that it wasn't good for him but that was the first leaf he ate & he hasn't really touched the greens since. Guess I'll just mix thing up and try some other greens. You know I'd done a bunch of research before bringing him home but all that knowledge seems to have gone out the window lol

A plate of greens everyday so he mum he’s on them as needed change it midday cuz it gets wilted.

T8 is in tank, it’s laying width wise right next to the bask light. Have no room left on top of the enclosure now lol. I don’t have a ceramic heat emitter, I read that he could burn his belly if he lays on it too long. However, I do have an adhesive heat pad on the outside of the glass on the bottom of the tank & it always stays on, day & night. Lights get turned on at 7:30/8am & turn off at 11/11:30pm.

Please remove the heating pad; it’s not recommended unless u have a soft fleece blanket over it. U need a Heat Lamp & a UVB only. Ceramic heat emitters are used in the winter at night if the temp drops below 70. Just buy a ZOOMED Clear basking bulb for Heat & the Reptisun UVB 10.0 T5 please. U can use the T8 for now but he needs the best and highest Uvn which is the Reptisun 10.0 T5. Also u CANNOT leave the lights on for 15hours. In the winter leave the heat & uvb on for 10-12 hours; more like 10 & in the summer 12-14 hours only; more like 14. Is the UVB the long tubular bulb? Or a coiled one? Only order the long tubular bulb; let him get his UVb amd heat; he won’t eat until he’s warm never ever feed him the proteins rite when he wakes up; feed him after 1-2hours of basking & dust them 4-5 times a week with calcium powder once per day. But, always place the fresh plate of veggies & greens out. He needs lots of UVB, Heat & lots of proteins along with three veggies & greens & never ever feed spinach it binds to calcium. U are doing gr8 w/the mustard & collard greens those are very very good everyday ones; just Add in yellow squash; it has lots of calcium & butternut squash & snap peas. Here is a pic of the UvB to order the length u get should cover 70 percent of the tank; take him to a vet for calcium shots if U don’t see improvement & get the zoomed heat lamp asap.

 

[Sadie]

The ceramic heat emitter would go above on top of screen it produces heat no light - please only have lights on 12 hrs on 12 hrs off-- what is the temp in the tank in the morning? For now keeping the temp over nite at around 80 will help keep.his immune system up- when he starts feeling better active not sick those temps will need to be around 65-75 but right now let's not worry about that---- feed him small meals of 1 ml slowly and make sure the food is runny or soupy so he's getting hydration- and I would do this 3 times per day- is it just carnivore care your feeding?

How is your baby doing today? I wanted to post this last nite but my computer was off so I am posting this now if it helps -- let me know please

 

[Hadenuffyet]

I need some help or ideas! I bought a young beardie (his name is Zeke) at a reptile expo on the 28th of February. We estimate he's about 3 months old now. When I brought him home, he was eating fine but Wednesday of last week he started showing NO interest in any of the food offered to him. Live crickets (small-from Petco), bell pepper, mango, strawberry, blueberry, mustard greens, grapes, or carrots - he wanted none of it. I took him to the vet on Monday, he's too small for any tests to have been run on him but the vet said that he looked good. She gave me some critical care powder food. I'm supposed to mix it with water & syringe feed it to him but that's proving really hard to do. He's so tiny & apparently has GREAT jaw strength. On Wednesday this week he ate 4-5 live mealworms, which made me excited but after that, he's gone back to zero interest. He seems so weak and so tired like he just looks at the live food moving around and walks away. I only put the little water dish in the enclosure when I soak him. I figured it'd be more comfortable & less stressful for the little dude. Any help is greatly appreciated, I'm running out of ideas.

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My baby did the same. I read they can go 1-2 weeks without eating. Just being picky. He ate very little but keeps on pooping everywhere so I didn’t worry.

 

[Hadenuffyet]

A plate of greens everyday so he mum he’s on them as needed change it midday cuz it gets wilted.

Please remove the heating pad; it’s not recommended unless u have a soft fleece blanket over it. U need a Heat Lamp & a UVB only. Ceramic heat emitters are used in the winter at night if the temp drops below 70. Just buy a ZOOMED Clear basking bulb for Heat & the Reptisun UVB 10.0 T5 please. U can use the T8 for now but he needs the best and highest Uvn which is the Reptisun 10.0 T5. Also u CANNOT leave the lights on for 15hours. In the winter leave the heat & uvb on for 10-12 hours; more like 10 & in the summer 12-14 hours only; more like 14. Is the UVB the long tubular bulb? Or a coiled one? Only order the long tubular bulb; let him get his UVb amd heat; he won’t eat until he’s warm never ever feed him the proteins rite when he wakes up; feed him after 1-2hours of basking & dust them 4-5 times a week with calcium powder once per day. But, always place the fresh plate of veggies & greens out. He needs lots of UVB, Heat & lots of proteins along with three veggies & greens & never ever feed spinach it binds to calcium. U are doing gr8 w/the mustard & collard greens those are very very good everyday ones; just Add in yellow squash; it has lots of calcium & butternut squash & snap peas. Here is a pic of the UvB to order the length u get should cover 70 percent of the tank; take him to a vet for calcium shots if U don’t see improvement & get the zoomed heat lamp asap.

I had to put bee pollen on my greens and squash platter when serving my baby. Very picky.

 

[byork1604]

How is your baby doing today? I wanted to post this last nite but my computer was off so I am posting this now if it helps -- let me know please

Currently cleaning the enclosure. The reptile carpet is in the bottom on the enclosure & the heat pad is on the outside of the bottom glass. Once I’m done cleaning the enclosure I’ll be putting his plate of greens in. Plan to soak him for a little bit today, he wasn’t having it the other day but we’re trying again today

 

[Sadie]

Currently cleaning the enclosure. The reptile carpet is in the bottom on the enclosure & the heat pad is on the outside of the bottom glass. Once I’m done cleaning the enclosure I’ll be putting his plate of greens in. Plan to soak him for a little bit today, he wasn’t having it the other day but we’re trying again today
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You have your T 8 on top of screen? Your baby needs to be directly underneath the UVB approx 6-8 inches on top.of screen the UVB is doing no good-- I posted a pic of the hospital tank that is a 20 gallon tote-- I would lay off the baths it's only going to stress him out more- are you feeding the cc the vet gave you? Please have the T 8 unobstructed- no screen no clear plastic cover

 

[byork1604]

My baby did the same. I read they can go 1-2 weeks without eating. Just being picky. He ate very little but keeps on pooping everywhere so I didn’t worry.

Was your beardie still active? Or super sleepy? My little guys seems forever tired & sleepy. And when he does get up and move it isn’t very far then he’ll lay back down and close his eyes. Example, he was just sitting on his driftwood log & moved to the corner but when he got to the corner he slowed down then layer back down and closed his eyes.

 

[Sadie]

Was your beardie still active? Or super sleepy? My little guys seems forever tired & sleepy. And when he does get up and move it isn’t very far then he’ll lay back down and close his eyes. Example, he was just sitting on his driftwood log & moved to the corner but when he got to the corner he slowed down then layer back down and closed his eyes.

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Your dragon is not getting any uvb the way your tank is set up- he's getting sicker - please post a new thread

 

[byork1604]

You have your T 8 on top of screen? Your baby needs to be directly underneath the UVB approx 6-8 inches on top.of screen the UVB is doing no good-- I posted a pic of the hospital tank that is a 20 gallon tote-- I would lay off the baths it's only going to stress him out more- are you feeding the cc the vet gave you?

Trying, he fights real hard. Even when trying the credit card, I can’t get him to open up. The problem is having with laying the lights like that is I have a cat and can not leave the top of him tank open and exposed like that.

 

[Sadie]

Trying, he fights real hard. Even when trying the credit card, I can’t get him to open up. The problem is having with laying the lights like that is I have a cat and can not leave the top of him tank open and exposed like that.

Put him in a room and lock the cat out--- take 3/4 of screen to one end of tank set the UVB width wise across butt the screen up to it--- have the basking light set next to it - he needs this badly- look at the hospital tank pic just move everything to one end w/ uvb at very end

 

[byork1604]

Your dragon is not getting any uvb the way your tank is set up- he's getting sicker - please post a new thread

How is the screen preventing him from getting uvb? There’s no plastic cover. But I am really having a hard time understanding how a metal, mesh screen is blocking the uvb from entering the enclorsure?

 

[Zontar’s Mom]

How is the screen preventing him from getting uvb? There’s no plastic cover. But I am really having a hard time understanding how a metal, mesh screen is blocking the uvb from entering the enclorsure?

It’s too high up. bD is not getting the benefits of uva/uvb