Hi
I have a 5 month old bearded dragon called Rex. In his tank we have a piece of log that was supplied from the shop where we got him from. This piece of log is at an angle in his tank and he goes behind the log when he goes to sleep.
For the last 2 days he's been behind the log and hasnt come out at all except for a bit of food. I would say he's off his food a bit - normally he will eat quite a lot which he isnt doing.
Is this usual in bearded dragons or can he be poorly?
Thanks
Deborah

Deborah,

My BDs do this from time to time, I shouldn't worry too much. Many a time I've written off Twisty my disabled male (who we thought was with us for hospice care) only for him to perk up after a day or two. A few questions, that might help further:

What are the temperatures across the tank? (I'm not going to prompt the to thermostat or not to thermostat debate but they do need a good range).

Is he starting to 'bob' his head or puff out his chin? (he may be hitting puberty a little early)

Have you had the UV going on months? could it be due for changoing? (some are 6 month, some are longer).

Try leaving some salad - dandelion leaves are the best - in a bowl so he had easy food.

I hope this helps

Geckoqueen
Thanks for this.
Can you help me again then please? I'm new to all this and have read books/looked on the web but obviously there are certain things that I havent been told by the shop that I bought him from. All his tank was set up when we got him and all we've had to do is plug it in.
I.e. 1. Thermostat - its on the top of his tank but I didnt know that it could be changed
2. Bobbing his head and puffing his chin out - he's been bobbing his head since we got him and he's started to puff his beard out.
3. The UV - we've not changed this since we got it.
Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
Thanks
Deborah

He could be poorly what substrate are you using?

Do you handle him at all?

Is he eating anything?

Are his temperatures in the viv ok ?

Does he look bloated?

Has he had any water or passed motions recently ?

Could you post a picture of him/her

Sorry lots of questions I know but I could be a few things or he could just be in a mood.

If you are really worried you could bring him down to shiregreen and I would have a look at him for you oherwise it might be wise to take him to the vets for a checkover.

If you have had him 5 months his uv light may be ready for a change soon they say its best to change after 6 months as they slowly become less and less affective after about 5-6 months

Geckoqueen
Thanks for this.
Can you help me again then please? I'm new to all this and have read books/looked on the web but obviously there are certain things that I havent been told by the shop that I bought him from. All his tank was set up when we got him and all we've had to do is plug it in.
I.e. 1. Thermostat - its on the top of his tank but I didnt know that it could be changed
2. Bobbing his head and puffing his chin out - he's been bobbing his head since we got him and he's started to puff his beard out.
3. The UV - we've not changed this since we got it.
Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
Thanks
Deborah


1. I don't use thermostats (a personal choice) but the same principals of temperature apply. You need a hot/basking spot - about 100 degrees in the warm end (90-95) end of the tank and a cool end. This is reccomended to be about 80 degrees - I have a 6ft tank so use a second bulb but in smaller tanks its just the area furthest away from the bulb.

Are you sure it is a thermostat? Apologies if that sounds patronising but the starter motor for the UV could be mistaken for a thermostat.

2. He's a boy alright :-) He is probably going through his 'Kevin' phase. This is a good time to start introducing more greens into his diet. There's another thread of mine somewhere about what they can eat from the garden.

3. At 5 months you're probably OK but be aware they lose their stregnth so change it minimum once a year (even if it still flouresces).

If you have had him 5 months his uv light may be ready for a change soon they say its best to change after 6 months as they slowly become less and less affective after about 5-6 months

There you go then, I was told soem were 6 months but most were fine for a year.

To compliment (but not substitute) this you can take him outside on nice warm days.

Hi Viper
Thanks for this. I've answered your questions, can you help me further? Also forgot to mention - we dont know what sex he/she is!


He could be poorly what substrate are you using? What's a substrate

Do you handle him at all? Yes and we let him walk about our living room

Is he eating anything? Yes crickets/mealworms but not his normal amount. He's on alternate days with lettuce/dandelion leaves & heads

Are his temperatures in the viv ok ? Not sure, going to check when I get home from work. Do you know what it should be? I'll have a look in my book

Does he look bloated? Yes, very

Has he had any water or passed motions recently ? Never seen him pass water and I dont think he's passing his motions like he normally would.

Could you post a picture of him/her Will do when I get home.

Sorry lots of questions I know but I could be a few things or he could just be in a mood.

If you are really worried you could bring him down to shiregreen and I would have a look at him for you oherwise it might be wise to take him to the vets for a checkover.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, I'm going to check all this when I get home.


1. I don't use thermostats (a personal choice) but the same principals of temperature apply. You need a hot/basking spot - about 100 degrees in the warm end (90-95) end of the tank and a cool end. This is reccomended to be about 80 degrees - I have a 6ft tank so use a second bulb but in smaller tanks its just the area furthest away from the bulb.

Are you sure it is a thermostat? Apologies if that sounds patronising but the starter motor for the UV could be mistaken for a thermostat.

2. He's a boy alright :-) He is probably going through his 'Kevin' phase. This is a good time to start introducing more greens into his diet. There's another thread of mine somewhere about what they can eat from the garden.

3. At 5 months you're probably OK but be aware they lose their stregnth so change it minimum once a year (even if it still flouresces).

I aggree fully with geckoqueen I personally dont use a thermoatat with my beardie as his basking spot is around a 95 degrees and sometimes a little more but with a 6ft viv he has plenty of tank to wander off if he wants to cool down I also turn all his heat source and lights off at night as where they come from can go very cold at night so our front room will never drop the amount they are ok with. I do know some people who provide heat 24/7 but it isnt needed unless you have a very cold house and its very cold outside.

I aggree fully with geckoqueen I personally dont use a thermoatat with my beardie as his basking spot is around a 95 degrees and sometimes a little more but with a 6ft viv he has plenty of tank to wander off if he wants to cool down I also turn all his heat source and lights off at night as where they come from can go very cold at night so our front room will never drop the amount they are ok with. I do know some people who provide heat 24/7 but it isnt needed unless you have a very cold house and its very cold outside.

We heat one end (about 1ft) 24/7 with a heat mat because our tank is on the ground (and so colder) but they usually sleep in the unheated bit anyway.

CV what's your opinion on BDs living on their own? There's no harm in it (as far as I'm aware) but IMO you see a much wider display of natural behaviours if they're in groups.

Ok not trying to alarm you but if he is bloated he could have something called impaction this is where they eat something and get a blockage. Very much like our constipation dont give him any more food yet when you get home get a bowl of luke warm water and bath him and gently massage his belly area this can help them to poo also you could give him a little iceberg lettuce this can help to make him poo too as it can be used like a laxative but only give him a little

I aggree fully with geckoqueen I personally dont use a thermoatat with my beardie as his basking spot is around a 95 degrees and sometimes a little more but with a 6ft viv he has plenty of tank to wander off if he wants to cool down I also turn all his heat source and lights off at night as where they come from can go very cold at night so our front room will never drop the amount they are ok with. I do know some people who provide heat 24/7 but it isnt needed unless you have a very cold house and its very cold outside.

I'll have to have a look at what the black box is on top of his tank, not sure if it is a thermostat or not. Like you his heat source is turned off at night. Sorry to seem so vague but like I say I'm on a learning curve with him.

We heat one end (about 1ft) 24/7 with a heat mat because our tank is on the ground (and so colder) but they usually sleep in the unheated bit anyway.

CV what's your opinion on BDs living on their own? There's no harm in it (as far as I'm aware) but IMO you see a much wider display of natural behaviours if they're in groups.

I have no choice I cant afford the ridiculous prices people want for an adult female or eddie my male would have a harem:D

Just coming abck to substrate a moment - its what covers the round. Is he on sand? If so, what sort?

Just coming abck to substrate a moment - its what covers the round. Is he on sand? If so, what sort?

Kiddies called me earlier he is on sand. I have given advice on how to possibly help rex if it is impaction like the usual bathing in warm water and to give him a little iceberg lettuce as it has a laxative effect.:D

kiddies how is he any news

kiddies how is he any news

Hi
Rex seems a lot better this morning. When I went to see him he was actually up and about for the first time in 3 days. He looked a lot better.

Normally when I go to feed him, he's waiting for me at the glass but yesterday he was behind his log.

Thanks for your advice Viper - I gave him a 'bath' last night and gave him some Iceberg but only a little bit, he did eventually eat it.

This morning I've put some more in his tank and he's eaten it straight away.

Hopefully he's over the worse now.

Thanks to everyone for the advice.

Deborah

P.S.
I'm going to put some pictures of him on here. He's grown so much in 5 months.
Deborah

Please remember to only give iceberg in this situation as it is not a good food for beardies.

hi lettice isnt good for any reptiles as its just full of water and gives them the runs if hes puffing up his beard and bobbing alot it could be that it is a boy and sounds to me like hes horny thats why hes been of his food and blowing himself up hes just saying this is my tank the males or teritorial and can fight hope this helps hes just down because of the time of year its mating time

hi lettice isnt good for any reptiles as its just full of water and gives them the runs if hes puffing up his beard and bobbing alot it could be that it is a boy and sounds to me like hes horny thats why hes been of his food and blowing himself up hes just saying this is my tank the males or teritorial and can fight hope this helps hes just down because of the time of year its mating time

I take it you read all the posts where carpetviper advised that feeding iceberg was only to be used as a possible way to clear possible impaction and that normally feeding iceberg was a no no Or did you decide to jump in without checking the other posts where after answering quite a few questions and a call to CV kiddies managed to resolve the problems he was having with a nice bath and a little iceberg. The fact he had gone of food and his belly was hard and bloated usually points out impaction plus at 5 months he possibly may not have reached the stages of maturity yet.

Akuma
Around what age do they reach maturity? What are the signs? Should I be doing anything get Rex through it?
I dont know what sex he/she is?
Deborah

If he's puffing his chin out, I'd say he's starting to hit puberty. 5 months does seem a little young though - how certain are you of the exact age? How big is (s)he head to tail?

There's not a lot you need to do extra, though like I said they need more greens in their diet when they're older and if it is a boy then keep him away from other males as they will fight.

If he's puffing his chin out, I'd say he's starting to hit puberty. 5 months does seem a little young though - how certain are you of the exact age? How big is (s)he head to tail?

There's not a lot you need to do extra, though like I said they need more greens in their diet when they're older and if it is a boy then keep him away from other males as they will fight.

Thanks Gecko
He's started to puff his chin out but not a lot.
We are not absolutely certain of his age - when we bought him he was roughly 6 weeks old, my son bought him with his birthday money. We worked the dates back to the start of February. We were measuring him every week up to 2 weeks ago when he was about 16 inches long.

We arent certain that he is a boy. I've had a look at the book I got about beardies and how you can sex them. I've had a feel at the bits that you are supposed to feel (according to my book) but I cant be certain of his sex.

I dont really want him to come into contact with any other beardies - males because like you say they can fight and females because I dont want no baby beardies lol.

I'm attaching some photos of when he was younger.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb228/Debz23/12042007075.jpg
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb228/Debz23/06042007048.jpg
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb228/Debz23/03052007111.jpg

Deborah

(S)he's a cuty! I wouldn't worry about beardie babies - you're not obliged to hatch the eggs. You could dispose of them or give them to the pet shop/ a breeder