Star_Cameron
Not so new Member
Hey all,
I recently bought a central bearded dragon, 4 days ago, and I'm a bit concerned that he has hardly eaten at all since I've gotten him. He was a new arrival to the pet shop (the day before I got him), and he is somewhere around 10 months old. I'm told he came from a fairly small enclosure from the breeder, and his enclosure at the pet shop was also small.
I have a 4 foot enclosure, with a UV light at one end, and a heat light at the other end. I had a bit of trouble with temperatures in the first couple of days - I think I let him get to cold, but I've hopefully corrected that now. During the day I'm getting around 25 degrees on the cool side, and around 32 degrees on the warm side. I've been leaving the heat on over night now as well, so he doesn't get too cold, as the outdoor temperature is still dropping a bit. He has a log for a basking spot that he really loves and it obviously gets warmer there, I'm not sure of the exact temperature though. He can hide under the log, and also has a fake rock dome that he can hide under which is closer to the cooler side.
He has a small food dish for vegetable food, and a water dish. I've been putting live medium crickets in with him, he may have eaten 1 or 2 (I saw him chew and swallow once), but he generally shows no interest, to the point of letting them crawl on him. The vegetable matter I've been making available so far is parsley, capsicum and some mushrooms which I have been adding a tiny amount of calcium supplement to. I've also been leaving some dry reptile food pellets in with him as well. He hasn't really touched any of this. He has pooped once, in his water dish, so he knows it's there and what it is.
He is very alert and pretty active now, running between his basking spot and the cool side as he pleases. He also does a bit of that glass surfing type behaviour. I've handled him a few times when I've seen him doing this, on the assumption that it might mean he wants out for a bit. He is pretty good with being handled, he has been handled a lot, after a while he just gets a bit squirmy and I put him back in.
Basically my only concern is that he is hardly eating, I'm really attached to him already and I want him to be happy and healthy. Am I doing anything wrong? Or is he just settling in the a new enclosure, and will he eat when he is hungry/ready?
Thanks for any possible help
Cameron
I recently bought a central bearded dragon, 4 days ago, and I'm a bit concerned that he has hardly eaten at all since I've gotten him. He was a new arrival to the pet shop (the day before I got him), and he is somewhere around 10 months old. I'm told he came from a fairly small enclosure from the breeder, and his enclosure at the pet shop was also small.
I have a 4 foot enclosure, with a UV light at one end, and a heat light at the other end. I had a bit of trouble with temperatures in the first couple of days - I think I let him get to cold, but I've hopefully corrected that now. During the day I'm getting around 25 degrees on the cool side, and around 32 degrees on the warm side. I've been leaving the heat on over night now as well, so he doesn't get too cold, as the outdoor temperature is still dropping a bit. He has a log for a basking spot that he really loves and it obviously gets warmer there, I'm not sure of the exact temperature though. He can hide under the log, and also has a fake rock dome that he can hide under which is closer to the cooler side.
He has a small food dish for vegetable food, and a water dish. I've been putting live medium crickets in with him, he may have eaten 1 or 2 (I saw him chew and swallow once), but he generally shows no interest, to the point of letting them crawl on him. The vegetable matter I've been making available so far is parsley, capsicum and some mushrooms which I have been adding a tiny amount of calcium supplement to. I've also been leaving some dry reptile food pellets in with him as well. He hasn't really touched any of this. He has pooped once, in his water dish, so he knows it's there and what it is.
He is very alert and pretty active now, running between his basking spot and the cool side as he pleases. He also does a bit of that glass surfing type behaviour. I've handled him a few times when I've seen him doing this, on the assumption that it might mean he wants out for a bit. He is pretty good with being handled, he has been handled a lot, after a while he just gets a bit squirmy and I put him back in.
Basically my only concern is that he is hardly eating, I'm really attached to him already and I want him to be happy and healthy. Am I doing anything wrong? Or is he just settling in the a new enclosure, and will he eat when he is hungry/ready?
Thanks for any possible help
Cameron