Hi guys, so I've been really worried for a while now about my juvenile beardie Boss.
I got him from a store about a week and a half ago, he's a red phase Central Bearded Dragon. They tell me that he's about 5-6 months, but he's only 6 inches long which seems pretty small. I've attached a pic here.
Before I talk about my problem, my setup and temperatures are like this:
90cmx45cmx45cm, a sand mat (not loose sand, its the ExoTerra sand mat) as the floor. I have a reptisun 10.0 T8 UVB lamb at the top. I'm using a 100w heat lamp, which gives him about 40-41c on the highest basking spot, 36-39 on the basking spot he usually hangs out at, and about 30-33 on the floor on the hot side, and room temperature 22-25 on the cool side, but he never goes there. The lights are all on for 12 hours a day.
Now the problem is, that he's been barely eating for this whole time. I've counted how many insects he's eaten, and I can confidently say he's eaten about 5 insects total this whole week and a bit. He won't touch his greens (I know babies don't really eat greens, but he hasn't had a single bite). I've tried crickets, I've tried woodies, I've even tried to encourage him a bit with a small mealworm but he won't even touch that. I've been keeping him hydrated, given him baths or small drops of water on his snout. I've tried feeding him both inside his enclosure or in a separate tank, but he's only ever eaten one single insect every 2-3 days.
I called up the store I bought him from, and they told me that my temperatures are "way too hot" and it's stressing him out? They say they keep all their beardies, even adults, around 28 c max in their basking spots, because they've been bred to be like this? That sounds very sceptical to me, as every post I read or any video/care sheet says to keep them at those temps I have him at.
I'm not sure if it's just relocation stress that he's not eating, but he's being very lethargic, his eyes look half closed almost all the time, and he looks skinnier than when I first brought him home/
It's so confusing to me, I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Can they really be keeping their Bearded Dragons healthy at those temperatures in their store, and my temperatures are too high? They are more of a speciality store, they have both fish and reptiles being sold in their own areas.
If any more clarification is needed I'll do what I can. I really want little Boss to be healthy, and he seems so slow this whole time.
I got him from a store about a week and a half ago, he's a red phase Central Bearded Dragon. They tell me that he's about 5-6 months, but he's only 6 inches long which seems pretty small. I've attached a pic here.
Before I talk about my problem, my setup and temperatures are like this:
90cmx45cmx45cm, a sand mat (not loose sand, its the ExoTerra sand mat) as the floor. I have a reptisun 10.0 T8 UVB lamb at the top. I'm using a 100w heat lamp, which gives him about 40-41c on the highest basking spot, 36-39 on the basking spot he usually hangs out at, and about 30-33 on the floor on the hot side, and room temperature 22-25 on the cool side, but he never goes there. The lights are all on for 12 hours a day.
Now the problem is, that he's been barely eating for this whole time. I've counted how many insects he's eaten, and I can confidently say he's eaten about 5 insects total this whole week and a bit. He won't touch his greens (I know babies don't really eat greens, but he hasn't had a single bite). I've tried crickets, I've tried woodies, I've even tried to encourage him a bit with a small mealworm but he won't even touch that. I've been keeping him hydrated, given him baths or small drops of water on his snout. I've tried feeding him both inside his enclosure or in a separate tank, but he's only ever eaten one single insect every 2-3 days.
I called up the store I bought him from, and they told me that my temperatures are "way too hot" and it's stressing him out? They say they keep all their beardies, even adults, around 28 c max in their basking spots, because they've been bred to be like this? That sounds very sceptical to me, as every post I read or any video/care sheet says to keep them at those temps I have him at.
I'm not sure if it's just relocation stress that he's not eating, but he's being very lethargic, his eyes look half closed almost all the time, and he looks skinnier than when I first brought him home/
It's so confusing to me, I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Can they really be keeping their Bearded Dragons healthy at those temperatures in their store, and my temperatures are too high? They are more of a speciality store, they have both fish and reptiles being sold in their own areas.
If any more clarification is needed I'll do what I can. I really want little Boss to be healthy, and he seems so slow this whole time.
