We just recently purchased a bearded dragon

Question
QUESTION: My fiance and I just purchased a bearded dragon. His name is Elvis, he is about 6" long from nose to tail and from what the pet shop told us he is roughly 6 months old. We temporarily have him in a 10 gal tank until we can find something a bit bigger. He has a small heat rock, reptile carpet for the substrate a small water dish that he loves to play in and a Godzilla action figure that he loves to climb and sleep on until we can get him something better. For lighting we have a 100 watt halogen for basking and a florescent UVB that the pet store recommended. We also bought some crickets from the same pet store and I noticed that the other beardies looked lively and healthy and I assume that they are eating these particular crickets. After making him comfortable then feeding him the next day, he began to get very lethargic so I put some fresh wet lettuce in with him and he ate very little. Today he again is lethargic and he threw up all of the crickets from last night. He has been using the bathroom regularly but just seems a little lazy. After vomiting he seems better, maybe just worn out from the ordeal? What could we do to make him as energetic as he was when we first brought him home?

ANSWER: Hello Morgan,

So Elvis is 6 months old & 6 inches in length?  He is very small for his age.  
What brand of UVB light do you have, it should be stamped on the base of the bulb.  
Great that you have a bright halogen, that is very good.  Just let me know what UVB light you have but for now, place the UVB directly beside the halogen bulb.  
The heat rock, they are not normally recommended as they can burn them.  Do you have carpet over it?  If he likes the rock itself, you can leave it in there just uplug it.  They don't have heat sensors on their tummy & don't always know to move if they get too hot.
The basking temps recommended are 95-110 & the cooler area around 78-82.  What do you use to measure the temperatures?  A stick on type of thermometer, a digital probe or a temp gun?  
How late do you feed him?  He needs at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours prior to bedtime to be fed so he fully digests before he goes to sleep.  
What size of crickets did you feed?  They need to be smaller than the space between the eyes to avoid impaction.  
Great that you have carpet he will not get impacted from that.  
How long have you had him?  They do go through a 1-2 week relocation type of stress which is possible that he is experiencing.  
Let me know how Godzilla is doing.  Do you plan on supplementing calcium regularly?  

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Thanks for the speedy reply! We are first time BD owners and we have only had him since 12/30/08 and we are already attached to the little guy.. You might be right about him being to small.. I think he is longer than 6".. He just moves around too much to be sure haha..  

AS for the UVB light, I forget what the brand was on the package.. On the base of the bulb it says "ESU Desert" and "Reptile".. Not sure if that helps.. He seems to be more attracted to the halogen.. Is that normal?

We have a stick on thermometer but it only goes to 86F.. So we will get something better today..

I have had the rock unplugged.. It got way too hot too quickly and I was worried about him getting burnt.. He seems to be fine now.. He is active, but not really climbing like he used to..

The crix we fed him are medium sized I believe.. It was the same size he was use to at the pet store.. The owner of the pet store (which specializes in reptiles and fish) owns a few BDs and gave us the advice on the halogen light and carpet..I tried reaching him today but couldn't because it was a holiday and I am like a nervous first time mother haha..

I think my fiance fed him a few too many crix and didn't give him time to digest before bed...

When it was time to get up yesterday he seemed a little lazy at first and laid around in his water bowl and drank some which made me feel better.. Then he threw up all of the crix.. You could see that he threw up everyone of them because they weren't digested well at all.. and he had a bowel movement later on in the day so I don't think he is impacted..  

We have only handled him a few times to put him in his tank and to remove the few left over crix.. Other than that I am afraid to stress him out more.. Other than not being interested in eating and climbing (Godzilla is getting lonely), he seems very alert and energetic now..

As far as calcium and supplementing, I am hearing so many different things from different people.. So I don't really know where to start.. It's a little overwhelming..



ANSWER: Hello Morgan,

Well, you definitely have not had him very long.  They can go through relocation stress too & that usually lasts around 1-2 weeks.  Give him a little bit of time & his stress levels should come down slowly.
No, Godzilla is not lonely, he is just adjusting to his new home.  
Try to allow him 1 1/2 to 2 hours to feed him, prior to bedtime so he can digest properly.  
The halogen is perfectly fine, but you do need to get a Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb to use in conjunction with the halogen.  Make sure that the UVB tube is placed directly beside the halogen light.  The idea is to create a basking spot where he can get heat & UVB all at the same time.
The ESU slimline 7% is not a very good light.  It is a very weak UVB light & it wont be strong enough for him in order to keep his bones strong.  Here is a couple of charts for comparison on the UVB emissions:
This one shows Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb results along with a few others:
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttuberesults.htm

This one shows the ESU emissions:
http://www.russiantortoise.org/uvb.htm

The calcium supplementation needs to be given 5 times per week, as he is rapidly growing.  Try getting the Repcal calcium with D3.  Once he becomes an adult at or around 1 year, you can cut back to 3 times per week.

Definitely get either a digital probe or a temp gun for better & more accurate readings of the temps.  You can get a digital probe from  www.reptilesupply.com  
Or you can find one at walmart.  It is the acutite brand & you should be able to find it in the plants section.
You can get a temp gun from  www.reptileuv.com  

Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie



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

QUESTION: Elvis is doing so much better! We gave him a bath last night and he seemed to come out of it.. He is climbing all over his Godzilla toy and eating his crickets..

We went looking at tanks and talked to the people at the store he came from and they said that we probably just over fed him and it's a good thing he threw it up..

We will be getting him the calcium and the thermometers soon.. He isn't really eating the lettuce that we give him.. We tried hand feeding and he didn't seem too thrilled..  

Answer
Hello Morgan,

GREAT that Elvis seems to be doing so much better now.  So he liked his bath then?  
Wow I am very happy to hear that he is eating well & is more active.  
I don't think that he was overfed, really, maybe just too late at night & perhaps the temps are not quite right.
For a growing bearded dragon, expect him to eat upwards of over 50 appropriately sized crickets per day, pretty much everyday!  So, I highly recommend buying the crickets online such as:
www.premiumcrickets.com
www.armstrongcrickets.com
www.mulberryfarms.com

They are much cheaper that way than at the petstore.  Let me know what the temps are when you get a better thermometer.  He should pick up when he gets the calcium & the better UVB, as well.  
Keep me posted.  Right now, continue to offer the greens & veggies, but he needs lots of protein right now to catch up on his growth.  It is crucial.  Check out this site for feeding options:
www.beautifuldragons.com    Click on the nutritional link


Tracie