is my bearded dragon ill

[justin fisk]

for the last two days me little dragon has done nothing but hang around his heat mat area with his head hanging low he is only eating around 5 or 7 crickets a day and never eats much veg he does not drink much aart from when a spray him.
is this normal or is it a bad sighn and also he only eats live food from hand and wont eat it if its running around his viv;
all advice is welcome as am new to this and want to kae sure he gets best treatment and well looked after

[Aunty_Lizard]

Can I ask what your set up is like please. Beardies dont really need heat mats and can cause them to get burnt.

I would really like to know if you have a basking light what strength uv you have, size of tank and temps.. Basking/hot end/ cold end.

Liz

[paynestaley]

It sounds like your viv might be too cold for him if he's only willing to stay by his heat mat and won't chase food. Does he use his basking spot? It has gotten a lot colder recently so maybe you need to increase the wattage on your basking bulb, what are the temps in the viv hot end/cool end at the moment? I'd say that is the most likely reason for his lack of activity. Also it is normal for beardies not to drink water, they get water from their food or when you bathe or spray them. And some beardies are fussy with salad, mine only eat certain types, what veg are you feeding him at the moment? What substrate is he on? Hopefully we can figure out what's wrong and get the little guy back on track.

[justin fisk]

hi thanx for all the help its only a small set up a got with him being small his self the viv is 1 and a half foot high and same width and length and the day light bulb is 100 watts and the other bulb is n10.0 uvb is the daylight the one which he should be basking under cause he normally only hangs round the uvb one and his tank is 70 on one side and 90 on the other'
and also should a just keep heat mat off then cause someone said they dont need them

[Aunty_Lizard]

yeah take out your heat mat. Do you have your basking bulb attached to a dimming stat as 100w bulb in a viv that small is probably too much. I would imagine that your beardie is like that because he may well be too hot

I really would think about upgrading your viv to a bigger size as I feel this is probably too small for it. A baby will do fine in a 3 x 2 x 2 as they grow rather quickly.


Liz

[justin fisk]

hi no i only have the two bulds they are built into the lip of the viv am sorry am think at this am new to reptiles if u could tell me what a need a will get them right away as am looking for bigger tank at weekend

[Aunty_Lizard]

Ok I would take out the 100watt bulb and put a 40 watt in there as I feel a 100 watt bulb on all the time during the day will put the temps in a viv that size through the roof.

When you get a bigger viv you will also need a dimming stat attached to your basking bulb. Place the probe of the dimming stat mid way along and mid way down your back wall and set it to about 92F. This will dim the light when the temp goes over that. Also invest in a good digital thermometer to check your temps. Make sure you have a basking spot of at least 110f, hot end 98 ish, cool end 86ish.

Liz

[justin fisk]

ok your help is much appreciated a will get these things at weekend and hopefully will sort me little mate out and ake him happy

[Dynamos Dragons]

Your viv is definatly too small and not hot enough, they need it hot to digest their food but they also need a cool side too. Due to it being to cold he isnt digesting his food properly which is probably why he is not eating much. Below is a few sections out of one of my blogs which should point you in the right direction of what you need :-

Vivarium - The recommended size for a bearded dragon is 8 square foot of floor space so a 4’x2’x2’, 4’x2’x1.8’ or 4'x2'x1.5' as L W H is all fine for an adult beardy. A baby or juvenile can be kept in a smaller cage for the first 12 months of its life depending on how fast it grows.

Heat and UV lights - They will need a spotlight at one end on a stat set to obtain the required temperature. I recommend a white spot light as beardys sense light/heat from above via their third eye. A Uv tube running the length of the viv, i recommend a 10% UVB minimum, and a cooler end. I have mine both set on a timer for 12 hours a day to keep their heat and uvb in a pattern similar to a day/night cycle. Beardies seem to like it between 105-115f (40-46 degrees C) under the spotlight, with a gradient of 80-90f(27-32 degrees C) in the centre and 70-75f(21-24 degrees C) at the cool end. It is a vital requirement that you have a gradient, due to not be able to regulate their own body temperature, known as thermoregulation. They have no way of controlling their own body temperature other than by sitting under a direct source of heat radiation and then being able to move away from it when they need to cool down. Night time the temps should drop to 70-80f(21-27 degrees C) which is fine for your beardie and simulates night time drops in the wild. There is no need for a heat matt in a beardies viv.

[paynestaley]

Yeh you need to take the 100w bulb out asap cos that's too hot for such a small viv. And it would be beneficial to the beardie if you were to replace your UV bulb with a UV tube such as Reptisun 10 or Arcadia 12% Reptilekeeping The online Reptile Shop, Selling Livefoods Reptile Accessories and Equipment. as they get more UV that way. Try to buy a size that will run most of the length of the new viv. (You will also need a starter unit to go with it such as this one Reptilekeeping The online Reptile Shop, Selling Livefoods Reptile Accessories and Equipment.). If you buy a 3ft viv your basking bulb should be 60-75 watts, a 4ft viv 60-100 to get the right temperatures (it depends how warm your room is so make sure you monitor the temps, obviously if you buy a dimming thermostat it will dim the bulb if it gets too hot). I find vivariums online are much cheaper than in the pet shops, you can get a 3ft here http://www.valueaquatics.co.uk/vivar...36-p-3946.html or a 4ft http://www.valueaquatics.co.uk/vivar...48-p-3949.html bear in mind that a 4ft is better for an adult beardie. I hope you keep us updated