Baby beardie questions?

[dragonfoot]

Two days ago my brother surprised me with a late Christmas present: my new baby beardie, Ajax. I already had the lights, heat mat and substrate because I wanted one a couple of months ago but my Mum said no. The father was described as more on the white side, and the mother more on the yellow.

My questions are:
1. Is it normal for his colors to be darker in the morning? He's been sleeping on his heat mat, and yesterday and today (around 8am when I check on him) he's darker, but around 10am he's back to his normal, sandy self.

2. When would be the best time to get him out of the tank? It's been two days, I've only been in his tank to offer him food and change his water. I don't want to scare the death out of the little guy so I've just left him to explore and get used to his tank.

Thanks for any advice

 

[Leasdraco]

Hi
Yes the color will change slightly depending on temperature and mood.If he seems calm,not hiding himself, you should try getting him used to handling.Ive learned from my baby that beardies are pretty cool with being handled even when young.

 

[statonb]

my beardie loves being handled she will sit next to me on the lounge and fall asleep when we watch tv

 

[ajandj]

when i got my beardie, i left him overnight but the next day we started to handle him. He's great, even wwith my 5 year old.
As for colouring, yoda can go from almost black all over (especially if out in the real sun) to a greeny ting to a bright red with golden yellow legs. It's awesome the colours they go.
Just curious, what substrate are you using? Also, you shouldn't need to use a heat mat is your temps are right. Heat mats can cause terrible burns if left unchecked (IMO)

 

[black_headed_mon]

beardys associate heat with light so ditch the heat mat and get a fitting for a globe.also i'd mist him every couple of days to make sure he's hydrated cause from my experience they hardly ever drink still water

enjoy your new friend!!!

 

[dragonfoot]

Thanks everyone for your replies, the only problem I have atm is that he won't eat properly? He's eaten two crickets, a worm and he had a lick of some tomato earlier. I've had him at least four days now.

Substrate: At the moment I'm using fake grass I got from bunnings because I was worried about impaction. Sort of like outdoor fake landscaping grass. It's not long enough for the crix to hide in the grass, they just seem to go right underneath it.

Lighting: I have two globes on during the day, and at night I have none, this where the heat mat comes in. I have a 26W Exo-terra 10.0 desert coil bulb (I'll replace this as soon as I can after reading that coils can cause eye problems? Someone can correct me?) and the other is the Exo-terra intense basking bulb which is 100W.


Heating: during the night I've been using an 'under the tank heat mat' by reptile one, which is 20W. I've also been using a heat rock that ive been checking daily for cracks incase of electrocution. Unless Ajax has these he doesn't have any source of heat during the night and I'm worried that hell be too cold during the night - he sleeps close to the rock but hardly ever on it.

Anything else: breeder had the clutch on dusted woodies but my local reptile supplier only sells ones that would be much too big, he'd probably choke.

I took him outside today on our drive way for 10-15mins and he seems pretty alert out there, but when I have him out inside he sits on my hand and closes his eyes. Yesterday he did a bit of exploration of my couch, my arms and my shoulder.

Ive been misting him two to three times a day, but he looks like he's never done it before. He closes his eyes and extends his front legs as if enjoying it, but then he puts his head back down and makes slow licks as if he has an idea of what he's supposed to do, but it seems really difficult for him.

Im sorry about the essay, I just hope I've given enough information for someone to get an idea of what's going on. Thank you again for your replies and any future advice.

 

[black_headed_mon]

he won't need heat at night atm were in summer,anyway i don't heat at night all yr round. what are your temps hot end cool end and baskin spot???? could be why not eatin much or just needs time to settle in.just leave him be for a while except for feeds,ater change and poo's!!!

 

[Nezikah]

My little guys love small crickets and spinich. They go crazy over small crickets. I dust their vegies rather than their insects as it sticks better.

 

[dragonfoot]

The hot end of the tank is about 36-37 and the cooler end would only be a couple degrees cooler due to the heat mat coming on and off throughout the day. Basking spot I think would be about 39-40, but how do I check this properly? I'm just guessing because I have two thermometers fixed at either end of the tank.

Do you think he would benefit from removing the other heating sources during the night and only using the lights during the day? The little guy had a 150W basking bulb but when he was underneath it he wouldn't put his body down, he'd just stand there with his toes raised off the log so I thought it was too strong for his little body and got the 100W.



I haven't tried dusting the veggies yet, he's been so picky. I'm not sure the breeder was even feeding them veg, because when I asked he said he bred woodies, baby Christmas beetles, moths and crickets to feed his. No mention of veggies though, what do you think are some good starter greens? Assuming he's only eaten live food, I don't think the stuff that doesn't move interests him.

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the help I can get!

 

[Nezikah]

My hot spots don't exceed 30 degrees even in their basking spot. My cooler side is currently 24 degrees (room temperature) but I haven't needed to use my heat lights since the beginning of December.

Carefull not to have it to warm as you can burn him.

 

[Marlinman]

be careful not to burn him the temp might be a little high my tanks are only 32 on the hot side for my beardies

 

[Heelssss]

hey dragonfoot,

my babies are approx 8weeks and they will not eat any sort of vegies. If it aint moving then there not interested. babies they need a bit of help with staying hydrated, thats why the misting is great. Though if he looks lethargic just dunk him in a shallow bowl and put his head under the water for a sec (sounds cruel- but this tough love is better than having ur baby dead). Your temperatures are very high. the hot side of my tank is 25-30 and there fine. regarding the closing eyes, until they feel comfortable they will do that. My 6yr old beardy still does that when he wants to be left alone, but very rarely as they love attention. just a rule of thumb make sure the food is no bigger than the space between his eyes!! enjoy ur dragon

 

[dragonfoot]

hey dragonfoot,

my babies are approx 8weeks and they will not eat any sort of vegies. If it aint moving then there not interested. babies they need a bit of help with staying hydrated, thats why the misting is great. Though if he looks lethargic just dunk him in a shallow bowl and put his head under the water for a sec (sounds cruel- but this tough love is better than having ur baby dead). Your temperatures are very high. the hot side of my tank is 25-30 and there fine. regarding the closing eyes, until they feel comfortable they will do that. My 6yr old beardy still does that when he wants to be left alone, but very rarely as they love attention. just a rule of thumb make sure the food is no bigger than the space between his eyes!! enjoy ur dragon

Hey Fangs01, thanks for the advice with the water bowl. I had considered doing this as drinking seems to confuse him, but didn't want to traumatize him & make him hate me. I am going to try and reduce the tank temps about an hour before I feed him, is this enough time to let him adjust, or should it be longer?

My hot spots don't exceed 30 degrees even in their basking spot. My cooler side is currently 24 degrees (room temperature) but I haven't needed to use my heat lights since the beginning of December.

Carefull not to have it to warm as you can burn him.

Do you mean that you haven't been using a basking bulb, or that you have an extra bulb for heat that you've taken out for summer? Taking out the only source of heat he has left seems a bit drastic?

be careful not to burn him the temp might be a little high my tanks are only 32 on the hot side for my beardies

I'm going to try and reduce the hot end to about 31, the room my babies are in does get hot on it's own so maybe that's making it worse. Thanks for your concern.

 

[Heelssss]

i only have my uva/b light which is plenty and at night i dont leave anything on as im in sydney and its not cold at all atm but in winter i use the under floor heat mat which works a treat. other than that take him outdoors as much as possible and enjoy him there a real fun lizard to take care of just keep it simple.

 

[black_headed_mon]

The hot end of the tank is about 36-37 and the cooler end would only be a couple degrees cooler due to the heat mat coming on and off throughout the day. Basking spot I think would be about 39-40, but how do I check this properly? I'm just guessing because I have two thermometers fixed at either end of the tank.

Do you think he would benefit from removing the other heating sources during the night and only using the lights during the day? The little guy had a 150W basking bulb but when he was underneath it he wouldn't put his body down, he'd just stand there with his toes raised off the log so I thought it was too strong for his little body and got the 100W.



I haven't tried dusting the veggies yet, he's been so picky. I'm not sure the breeder was even feeding them veg, because when I asked he said he bred woodies, baby Christmas beetles, moths and crickets to feed his. No mention of veggies though, what do you think are some good starter greens? Assuming he's only eaten live food, I don't think the stuff that doesn't move interests him.

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the help I can get!

hot end 30-32 cool end 24-26 u can do this with a 60w globe.to measure the baskin site u need a infrared temp gun and u can get one pretty cheap on ebay.no heat at night and get rid of the heat mat it's stuffing up your cool end.bok choy,celery tops and endive are good starter vegies and u could try putting a couple of mealworms with the veg to create movement.just keep offering the veg it will get him used to them.babys are 80% protein eaters and then as adults there 80% vegie eaters.

 

[thepythonguy]

I put meal worms under the veggies to give them movement in little over 2 weeks they have started munching on the veggies. I use butternut pumpkin squash and bok choy and about 5 mealworms in a small tray to give lots of movement. The first week or so they picked out the meal worms but now they are smashing the whole bowl of both veggies and meal worms and they are just over 6 weeks old.

 

[Nezikah]

Do you mean that you haven't been using a basking bulb, or that you have an extra bulb for heat that you've taken out for summer? Taking out the only source of heat he has left seems a bit drastic?


Our house is naturally warm (the joy of living near a beach in QLD). Our temperature today in the enclosure is 29 degrees without a heat light. They always have access to a basking light but it is soley that a basking light. It emits very little heat at all. I keep it on between 6 am and 7 pm which is about the same time as the sun goes down atm.

I also allow all the reptiles to time outside to get the natural rays.

 

[dragonfoot]

i only have my uva/b light which is plenty and at night i dont leave anything on as im in sydney and its not cold at all atm but in winter i use the under floor heat mat which works a treat. other than that take him outdoors as much as possible and enjoy him there a real fun lizard to take care of just keep it simple.

I just checked on the temps then, hot end is 30, cool end is 26. Thank you for the tip on the basking globe, I was actually thinking he may be too cold. So glad I didn't add more heat, I probably would have lost him!

hot end 30-32 cool end 24-26 u can do this with a 60w globe.to measure the baskin site u need a infrared temp gun and u can get one pretty cheap on ebay.no heat at night and get rid of the heat mat it's stuffing up your cool end.bok choy,celery tops and endive are good starter vegies and u could try putting a couple of mealworms with the veg to create movement.just keep offering the veg it will get him used to them.babys are 80% protein eaters and then as adults there 80% vegie eaters.

Thanks, do you have a brand of infra-red gun that works particularly well for reptiles? I've just been using a mercury thermometer under the basking globe (it's not there all the time, only when I'm checking the basking temp) but I have turned off the basking globe and temps are how you say they are supposed to be.

I will try the meal worms in with the veg this afternoon when I try and feed him next. At the moment, he's laying on his branch seemingly relaxed so I don't want to disturb him.

I put meal worms under the veggies to give them movement in little over 2 weeks they have started munching on the veggies. I use butternut pumpkin squash and bok choy and about 5 mealworms in a small tray to give lots of movement. The first week or so they picked out the meal worms but now they are smashing the whole bowl of both veggies and meal worms and they are just over 6 weeks old.

Sounds like the meal worms have work for a lot of people. Was impaction ever a problem? I read on another site that the Chitin from mealies can cause it?

Do you mean that you haven't been using a basking bulb, or that you have an extra bulb for heat that you've taken out for summer? Taking out the only source of heat he has left seems a bit drastic?


Our house is naturally warm (the joy of living near a beach in QLD). Our temperature today in the enclosure is 29 degrees without a heat light. They always have access to a basking light but it is soley that a basking light. It emits very little heat at all. I keep it on between 6 am and 7 pm which is about the same time as the sun goes down atm.

I also allow all the reptiles to time outside to get the natural rays.

I took him outside yesterday for 15-20mins. He seems so much more alert outside, would that be because he's young & on the watch for predators? My water dragon isn't scared of anything, not even my cat. In fact, Smoki is petrified of Tilly, so having a paranoid lizard is a new thing to me, lol.

 

[ajandj]

My hot spots don't exceed 30 degrees even in their basking spot. My cooler side is currently 24 degrees (room temperature) but I haven't needed to use my heat lights since the beginning of December.

Carefull not to have it to warm as you can burn him.

30 degrees is no where near hot enough for a basking temp. At that temp they are not getting the warmth they need to digest food properly. For a baby beardie it needs to be up around the 40 degrees. when they gte too hot, they move

 

[thepythonguy]

No problems with impactions yet from the mealworms they seem to pass all their waste and are quite regular

the 30 degrees hot end isn't hot enough I tried that and my dragons never seemed to leave their basking rock i positioned the halogen downlight closer and bumped the temps up to 40-45 degrees and they seem to love it alot more active and man they eat set your basking temps higher and let the dragon choose they will thermo regulate their body if they need to