New beardie. Unwell?

[Kealyx]

Hi everyone, I am new to the site and just got a few questions I could do with some advice on.
So, I purchased my first bearded dragon, Lizzie, around 8 months ago, she is 2 1/2 and is very active, she loves being out and running around, she eats very well, sheds well, basks well etc, overall I have no problem with her health. However, my partner and I have just purchased another as my friend as had a baby and had no time for her. Brenda is 6, she is much larger in size than Lizzie and if I attach some photos of them both below I would appreciate if you could inform me if you believe she is too fat, as we are quite unsure. However, the initial problem is, since we got Brenda she has been very lethargic, she barely eats, she lets the crickets run round her face and body and is not bothered by it, she never eats her greens (although previous owners only fed her on live bate) I have never seen her bask or lie on her heat mat, and she is always pushed up in the corner to the cold side of her vivarium. We also have a basking rock just below her heat light which she never bothers with, although my partner said it was red hot, could it potentially be too hot for her to stand? Also, if we ever get her out to have a run round she doesn't she just stays where we put her, and when we do lift her out she is always very cold which is the main part of my worry. I appreciate it is brumation time for beardies, however Lizzie has never gone into hibernation so we are unsure of the signs. Any initial help and advice would be much appreciated as I'm worried that brenda is unwell and just want her in the best health possible. Thanks in advance

 

[Willtheeman]

She is probably gravid and u need to build her an egg laying bin. Some organic dirt mixed with sand I think 75/25 is the ratio. She will start digging and lay the eggs. Once she does u could dispose of them since they're not fertile. That's my guess. She seems a little chubby. At their age their diet needs to be mostly greens, a few fruits and then insects. She could also be brumating if her Temeratures dropped too much and her light schedule is off. Hope that helps

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[Willtheeman]

Oh and welcome lol

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[Kealyx]

Hi thanks for your help, previous owners said she has always been a larger dragon, how could I check if she is needing to lay any eggs?
I am aware of the diet ratio however she just will not eat any fruit/veg and it just ends up going dry in the tank, can you recommend anything I could do to try entice her to eat her veggies? As for the lighting, her lights are turned off through the night, however a heat mat is left on, it just all seems new to me as my first beardie has got the exact same routine and I've never experienced any of this. Thanks again for your reply

 

[Willtheeman]

Hi thanks for your help, previous owners said she has always been a larger dragon, how could I check if she is needing to lay any eggs?
I am aware of the diet ratio however she just will not eat any fruit/veg and it just ends up going dry in the tank, can you recommend anything I could do to try entice her to eat her veggies? As for the lighting, her lights are turned off through the night, however a heat mat is left on, it just all seems new to me as my first beardie has got the exact same routine and I've never experienced any of this. Thanks again for your reply

Yeah she could just be on the larger side. I'm not familiar how to check but u could just put the laying bin there and see if she does any digging for the next couple days. Maybe u could feel them by giving her a belly rub with your thumbs. I have a boy. He also won't eat his veggies and I spend about $30 a week buying everything on the veggies/fruit list but he randomly eats any. I don't mind since it's for his benefit. What I seen to work is put the veggies mix in his feeding bow and throw his worms/dubias on top and he always gets a chunk of greens by accident lol he also won't drink much so I always have a pod of hornworms so he gets hydrated. I would change the heat mat for a ceramic bulb is possible since it could malfunction and a bulb would just die out.

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[Kealyx]

Yes I will give that a try it's worth it for nothing. Ahh never thought of putting the worms ontop I'll try that instead of crickets for a while and hopefully she'll eat least be eating something. I only have the heat mat in as she won't go anywhere near the warm side of her tank so at least it keeps her at temperature as she was getting so so cold just staying at the other side. I have a slab of rock under her basking bulb, it seems to get really hot, I know bearded dragons are from hot environments but could it potentially be too hot for her to lie on?

 

[Willtheeman]

Yes I will give that a try it's worth it for nothing. Ahh never thought of putting the worms ontop I'll try that instead of crickets for a while and hopefully she'll eat least be eating something. I only have the heat mat in as she won't go anywhere near the warm side of her tank so at least it keeps her at temperature as she was getting so so cold just staying at the other side. I have a slab of rock under her basking bulb, it seems to get really hot, I know bearded dragons are from hot environments but could it potentially be too hot for her to lie on?

Yeah that's a good way to trick her into eating them. I don't feed mine crickets because I have a dubia colony but it's not for everyone since roaches are not the prettiest. Try some hornworms if possible, superworms and wax worms but these are fatty so they should be a treat but since she's not eating then why not. If the rock gets too hot it could scare her to go over it and burn her belly I have a a big branch of driftwood that mine lays on about 5" from the bulb. It gets around 92 -96 depending on the day and the wood doesn't heat up much. Leave the salads there all day and make sure her water bowl is always clean.


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[Willtheeman]

I meant wax worms are fatty not the other ones. Too many hornworms could give her diarrhea too so don't over feed. I made the mistake of giving mine 8 grown ones and later on had a big pile of liquidy doodoo lol now I have two repticarpets because of that.

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[Kealyx]

Ok thankyou. I will remove the rock and purchase some wood instead. She may start going more towards the warmer side then and stop worrying me so much lol! I will also try some different worms then to try and entice her into eating. Sorry another question, she came with a UVB bulb, the long ones it goes across probably 2/3 of the tank, this is the same as what's in my other beardies vivarium, however her basking/heat bulb is a red one. Is this ok? I've just seen a forum saying not to use the coloured bulbs? I'm sure a worrier but doesn't help that it says so much different stuff on different sites I don't know what to go off. Lizzie has a clear basking bulb, the red one was just what came with Brenda's set up.

 

[Willtheeman]

No problem. The uvb needs to be changed every 6 months because they lose their efficiency so maybe it's time to change that. Unless they get at least 3 hours of natural sunlight I think. Get rid of the red one and buy a regular house bulb at home depot or lowes or target. I use a 60 watt one plus a ceramic heater. Colored ones are not recommended.

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[Cori]

The red bulb is meant as a night light so it won't get as hot. But it's bad for beardies to have night lights.

Take out your heat mat too cause she could still burn herself.

If she is gravid you'll see signs before you even put a dog box in. My female has laid a few times and she tells me when she's gravid pretty easily. She is frantically digging and searching for good hiding spots constantly.

The older they get the lazier they get and the less they need to eat. My big girl hardly ever eats crickets anymore. She'll still eat large supers and dubia though. But she'll go a days without eating veggies. And she doesn't get bugs till she eats her veggies.

Lastly, what are your temps and how are you measuring them? And how long have you had her?

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[Kealyx]

Okay thanks for your help. My other beardie has a 60w heat bulb so I'll just get the same for Brenda and get a new UVB too. I really don't think she is gravid as she is not digging or hiding. She literally just lays in the coldest corner of her viv and doesn't move much.
The basking side is between 93 and 95 and the cooler side is around 82/83. I have thermometers on each side to measure the temperature. I have had her around 2 weeks. Lizzie I've had for around 8/9 months and followed the exact same measures

 

[Willtheeman]

Okay thanks for your help. My other beardie has a 60w heat bulb so I'll just get the same for Brenda and get a new UVB too. I really don't think she is gravid as she is not digging or hiding. She literally just lays in the coldest corner of her viv and doesn't move much.
The basking side is between 93 and 95 and the cooler side is around 82/83. I have thermometers on each side to measure the temperature. I have had her around 2 weeks. Lizzie I've had for around 8/9 months and followed the exact same measures

Also make sure it's a reptisun 10.0. Ive heard arcadia 12% is the best u could get but i think they only make t5 liner bulbs. They last a full year so u aave money if the price of 2 reptisun is less than one arcadia. I just ordered one but for my future chameleon [emoji1] Cori is more knowledgeable with females than me. Also maybe get a fecal exam to make sure she didn't have parasites as I've heard they get lethargic with that but yours seems pretty healthy.

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[PatsyB]

I would take her to the vet for a checkup and get a fecal done. She is 6, it is possible that she wants to brumate since this is the time of year that they do that. If she is gravid you may feel round balls in her belly when she is laying flat. She will also be digging around in her tank.

They don't feel heat on their belly and can burn themselves easily so get rid of the heat pad and or heated rocks whatever you are using. Also, for nighttime heat you want to use a CHE, it gives off heat but no light. Light at night will interrupt their sleep cycle. Colored lights during the day also interfere with their pupils dilating properly and can ruin their eyes. Adults need a basking temp of 95-100 degrees and at night the whole tank needs a temp drop. As long as it doesn't go below 65 degrees you should be fine.

 

[Kealyx]

Thank you. In general she seems healthy, she sheds well, goes to the toilet regular and she loves being in the bath. It was just the fact she was so cold and staying towards the cold side of her viv that's worried me. Because Lizzie has been so easy from day 1 it's just stumped me abit but I guess there is 4 years between them. I certainly don't think she is gravid as there's no digging and I can't feel any lumps in her tummy. On a night the tank is around 69/70. I will get rid of the heat mat and rocks and get a clear basking bulb and some wood for her to bask on so there's risk of her burning herself. Thanks again for your help

 

[PatsyB]

I would give her some hides in her tank. You can even make them from a cardboard box. Also weigh her to keep track of her weight. It sounds like she wants to brumate. She shouldn't lose much weight when she sleeps but you want to monitor it.

 

[Kealyx]

She has got 2 different hides in her tank that she likes to go under. I tried popping one over the warmer side so she wasn't always so cold but she wasn't having any of it. I think it probably is just brumation and I'm worrying for nothing but I will definitely change them factors and keep an eye on her

 

[Willtheeman]

I would take her to the vet for a checkup and get a fecal done. She is 6, it is possible that she wants to brumate since this is the time of year that they do that. If she is gravid you may feel round balls in her belly when she is laying flat. She will also be digging around in her tank.

They don't feel heat on their belly and can burn themselves easily so get rid of the heat pad and or heated rocks whatever you are using. Also, for nighttime heat you want to use a CHE, it gives off heat but no light. Light at night will interrupt their sleep cycle. Colored lights during the day also interfere with their pupils dilating properly and can ruin their eyes. Adults need a basking temp of 95-100 degrees and at night the whole tank needs a temp drop. As long as it doesn't go below 65 degrees you should be fine.

Oh glad to know that's it's brumation time. My rex has been lazy last couple days and doesn't move much. I was thinking that's what it was since he's been healthy and I just changed his uvb bulb since it was getting a little old. His eating has also slowed down. Hornworms are going to waste since he's only eaten 3 from a 25 pod [emoji19] [emoji19]

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[Kealyx]

I'm lucky I also have a very greedy beardie and a very greedy gecko so the food doesn't go to waste haha! 1 positive I suppose. Do some beardies not go into brumation then as Lizzie never has? She's still as active as always lol

 

[Cori]

Some beardies don't brumate and some start and end at different times. Elmo started really early and seems to be finished and my younger one, Stormy, who's about a year and a half appears to have just started

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