Curly tail lizard wont eat and seems depressed

Question
QUESTION: Hi, i just got my first lizard about 6-7 days ago. He lives in a ten gallon tank, has a heat lamp, and uvb lamp, both bulbs purchased from pet store. he has a water dish, and fake rock cave and climbing stick, i used the substrate they pet store uses for all thier lizards, its a finner ground wood chip, suggested use for lizards on the bag, well my question is he would't eat for the first 5-6 days on day 5 i basically force fed him two wax worms, he wasn't intersted in the crickets i placed in there each day and every day and took out at night.  they are the size the pet store was already feeding him.  will the wax worms hurt him, it was a sunday and the pet store was closed so it was the only live thing i could find to feed him.  he just sleeps all day and night, doesn't move unless i go in and pet him, i've held him a couple times a day, for 5-10 minutes, he had a cage mate at the petstore, does he miss him? should i buy him too, i don't want him to be sad, but i don't think they are that social anyways.  oh and the pet store told me to leave the heat lamp on all day and night, it says its 95-100 in the heat lamp side, and the uvb is on a timer from 7am to 8pm. any suggestions would be great appreciated.  Thanks Nancy



ANSWER: Hello Nancy,

The big problem is relocation stress initially, when they are brought to a new home.  That usually lasts for a couple of weeks.  He will get used to not having a tank mate though.  No worries with that, he will be fine.   
What type & brand of UVB light are you using, is it a flourescent tube or a compact or coil light?  
The brand should be stamped on the base of the bulb.
What type of thermometer are you using, a stick on type?
No definitely don't leave a light on overnight.  He needs a 12 hour daytime cycle & a 12 hour nighttime cycle.  The light being on overnight will affect his sleep patterns.  Plus, he will get overheated & become heat stressed which will cause dehydration.
That could possibly be some of the problem.  
I think that it would be a good idea to change out that substrate though so he doesn't get impacted.  I would suggest paper towels, non adhesive shelf liner, or felt.
Don't forget to use supplementation of calcium several times per week.  
Keep me posted.

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: its a coil bulb, exo-terra, 5.0 uvb bulb.  so is the heat lamp bulb.  i used a exo-terra stick on thermometer, i'm gunna pick up another one at the pet store today.  well he ate two wax worms sunday and its tuesday now, and won't eat the crickets again, should i pick up something else he may eat for me, i have been misting him with water a couple of times a day and making sure his water dish is full.  anymore suggestions, oh will the flat foam like shelf liner work?  thanks again, Nancy

Answer
Hello Nancy,

Oh it will probably be the coil bulb, hon.  The coils are hard on their eyes as they produce too much glare & the UVB is not good quality & very low output.  For him you can get the Reptisun 5 or Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb.  Do NOT get the Reptiglo 10, the Zilla T50 tropical series, the ESU slimline or ANY compact or coil lights by Zoomed.  There are not very many good UVB lights out.  
Yes, the flat foam like shelf liner is perfectly fine!  That should look nice.  
You can get some mealworms, or order some phoenix worms online they would be good.  The crickets & waxies are fine, too.  Don't forget the calcium too.  
Did you find a different thermometer?

Tracie