Help! (stressed by change)

[Snowyowl953]

Hello! I have a 4-5 month old female beardie named Ellie. I recently changed her background to a three-sided image instead of a 1-sided one and we also moved to an apartment. I know that adjustment takes some time for dragons but I simply can’t figure out how to help her be less stressed. I even cover her tank from time to time to give her more privacy... luckily she sleeps and poops well but most of the time she’s riddled with stress marks I thought about creating a 3D background she can climb and hide in but I’m afraid of making more changes right now. Any help would be so appreciated! I’m so stressed by this I can’t even concentrate on work Thanks in advance!

 

[kayandbev]

i know it’s probably not what you want to hear, but just give her time, leave her alone as much as possible, and maybe give her another half log hide on the cool side. if she’s eating, pooping, and sleeping as she should be, there’s nothing major to worry about. she’s just a baby who doesn’t understand that she’s totally safe yet. time time time. and one more hide on the cool side

 

[HoomanSlave]

Yes, it's best to leave her alone so she can acclimate to her new environment. Avoid making any additional changes to confuse her further. Once she is settled in you can install the 3-D background.

 

[kayandbev]

oh, but if your UVB is a coil you should switch to a 10.0 long bulb ASAP - coils don’t provide enough UVB and can be too bright/damaging to beardies’ eyes. ideally it should be mounted under the screen but in the interest of avoiding as much stress as possible it would be best to rest atop the screen for now - but do make the switch as soon as you can, and then once shes acclimated a little more you can mount the UVB fixture under the screen during a tank cleaning. but like hoomanslave said - avoid making too many changes to her setup while she’s experiencing relocation stress. get a UVB hood and bulb tho! v important

 

[CaHarding]

Hello! I have a 4-5 month old female beardie named Ellie. I recently changed her background to a three-sided image instead of a 1-sided one and we also moved to an apartment. I know that adjustment takes some time for dragons but I simply can’t figure out how to help her be less stressed. I even cover her tank from time to time to give her more privacy... luckily she sleeps and poops well but most of the time she’s riddled with stress marks I thought about creating a 3D background she can climb and hide in but I’m afraid of making more changes right now. Any help would be so appreciated! I’m so stressed by this I can’t even concentrate on work Thanks in advance!

Are you using a uvb coil? When my girl was new she would stress over the smallest changes. We had a uvb bulb that the pet store recommended. Once I researched and found the Reptisun T5 uvb tubes are more efficient and healthier, I switched to that. And not even a day with it, she immediately quit stressing and didn’t even notice when I moved her to a bigger tank. Just my experience. Hope she feels better soon!

 

[kayandbev]

Are you using a uvb coil? When my girl was new she would stress over the smallest changes. We had a uvb bulb that the pet store recommended. Once I researched and found the Reptisun T5 uvb tubes are more efficient and healthier, I switched to that. And not even a day with it, she immediately quit stressing and didn’t even notice when I moved her to a bigger tank. Just my experience. Hope she feels better soon!

agreed - i’ve heard a lot of accounts of coils causing stress (possibly?) due to the brightness

 

[Sadie]

Depending on the UVB tube you get will determine where it goes in the tank --- please post what you get so we can help you properly place it ---- T 5 's and T 8 's are different distance and placement

 

[Snowyowl953]

Are you using a uvb coil? When my girl was new she would stress over the smallest changes. We had a uvb bulb that the pet store recommended. Once I researched and found the Reptisun T5 uvb tubes are more efficient and healthier, I switched to that. And not even a day with it, she immediately quit stressing and didn’t even notice when I moved her to a bigger tank. Just my experience. Hope she feels better soon!

Thank you sooo much! I will absolutely make that switch this weekend! It’s crazy that it can be something as simple as that

 

[Snowyowl953]

Are you using a uvb coil? When my girl was new she would stress over the smallest changes. We had a uvb bulb that the pet store recommended. Once I researched and found the Reptisun T5 uvb tubes are more efficient and healthier, I switched to that. And not even a day with it, she immediately quit stressing and didn’t even notice when I moved her to a bigger tank. Just my experience. Hope she feels better soon!

oh, but if your UVB is a coil you should switch to a 10.0 long bulb ASAP - coils don’t provide enough UVB and can be too bright/damaging to beardies’ eyes. ideally it should be mounted under the screen but in the interest of avoiding as much stress as possible it would be best to rest atop the screen for now - but do make the switch as soon as you can, and then once shes acclimated a little more you can mount the UVB fixture under the screen during a tank cleaning. but like hoomanslave said - avoid making too many changes to her setup while she’s experiencing relocation stress. get a UVB hood and bulb tho! v important

Thank you for this! Will do this Friday!

 

[Snowyowl953]

i know it’s probably not what you want to hear, but just give her time, leave her alone as much as possible, and maybe give her another half log hide on the cool side. if she’s eating, pooping, and sleeping as she should be, there’s nothing major to worry about. she’s just a baby who doesn’t understand that she’s totally safe yet. time time time. and one more hide on the cool side

I bought a hide for the cool side and will add it soon. Thank you

 

[Snowyowl953]

oh, but if your UVB is a coil you should switch to a 10.0 long bulb ASAP - coils don’t provide enough UVB and can be too bright/damaging to beardies’ eyes. ideally it should be mounted under the screen but in the interest of avoiding as much stress as possible it would be best to rest atop the screen for now - but do make the switch as soon as you can, and then once shes acclimated a little more you can mount the UVB fixture under the screen during a tank cleaning. but like hoomanslave said - avoid making too many changes to her setup while she’s experiencing relocation stress. get a UVB hood and bulb tho! v important

Thank you! Do you know how many watts it should be? I saw several for 15 watts but I want to be sure...

 

[Sadie]

Thank you! Do you know how many watts it should be? I saw several for 15 watts but I want to be sure...

You want a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 for a 40+ gallon tank--- what is the height of your tank? If it's only 16" then get the T 8-- if your tank is 18" get the T 5- the T 8's are 15 watt-- the T 5's are 24 watt

 

[Snowyowl953]

You want a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 for a 40+ gallon tank--- what is the height of your tank? If it's only 16" then get the T 8-- if your tank is 18" get the T 5- the T 8's are 15 watt-- the T 5's are 24 watt

Oh it’s actually only a 20 gallon tank! She’s still only about 8-9 inches long so I haven’t transferred her to a 40 gallon yet... Should I?

 

[Sadie]

Oh it’s actually only a 20 gallon tank! She’s still only about 8-9 inches long so I haven’t transferred her to a 40 gallon yet... Should I?

You can still get the fixture tho now-- is your 40 gallon 18" high?

 

[HoomanSlave]

Oh it’s actually only a 20 gallon tank! She’s still only about 8-9 inches long so I haven’t transferred her to a 40 gallon yet... Should I?

Might as well transfer her to a 55-75 gallon and keep her there for the rest of her life, she'll likely outgrow the 40 gallon and may begin habits such as glass surfing.

 

[Snowyowl953]

Hey all! So I bought the Reptisun T5 10.0 22inch 24watt bulb and mounted it on a 24inch fixture with a reflector (half of the reflector is over the solid edge of the top so only half of it is reflecting in the tank) and she’s been hiding all day (took out the coil one entirely, of course). Also bought her a hide for the cool side that she absolutely hates so I’m going to switch it out for a regular hollow log. I feel like I’m doing everything wrong. She is eating both protein (wax worms or crickets, both alive and dead/gut-loaded) and maybe a single veggie a day, her poop looks fine, she sleeps at night with no issues but she still isn’t happy I am attaching 2 photos — please keep in mind that I’m switching the stupid fancy hide thing on the left for a normal log or a cave or something.... Thank you in advance for any input. I just want her to thrive

 

[Knight98]

Go over your basking temps this could be an issue

 

[Sadie]

Hey all! So I bought the Reptisun T5 10.0 22inch 24watt bulb and mounted it on a 24inch fixture with a reflector (half of the reflector is over the solid edge of the top so only half of it is reflecting in the tank) and she’s been hiding all day (took out the coil one entirely, of course). Also bought her a hide for the cool side that she absolutely hates so I’m going to switch it out for a regular hollow log. I feel like I’m doing everything wrong. She is eating both protein (wax worms or crickets, both alive and dead/gut-loaded) and maybe a single veggie a day, her poop looks fine, she sleeps at night with no issues but she still isn’t happy I am attaching 2 photos — please keep in mind that I’m switching the stupid fancy hide thing on the left for a normal log or a cave or something.... Thank you in advance for any input. I just want her to thrive

She needs to be able to get directly under the UVB approx 12-15 inches from it - I would try and get the rest of the UVB unobstructed - is the UVB sitting on the screen? If so please get rid of the screen or place the UVB inside the tank --- your UVB can sit of the screen ONLY if the screen is a wide holed -- if its a fine mesh like a screen door it needs to go inside the tank or the screen taken off w/ NO obstruction --- w/ a wide holed screen it can stay on top and the distance for that would be 8-10 inches w/ decor piece directly underneath it --- how are you getting basking temps ? NO stick ons they are inaccurate -- you need a digital probe thermometer /and or a IR gun I use both -- I just noticed shes on the floor --- please get her off the floor ---- they like to see their surroundings they are social creatures -- you can use a dresser / stand -- if you need to get one look at used furniture stores craigslist etc--- they make great stands w / the drawers being used for their supplies ect

 

[Snowyowl953]

Go over your basking temps this could be an issue

 

[Snowyowl953]

Ok basking temp is 105 and on the cool side the temp is 84-86