New Bearded Dragon

Question
QUESTION: I purchased a bearded dragon two days ago. She is about 5 inches long, but has the end of her tail nipped off. I made sure this was healed before purchasing her. I got her home and her tank stays between 95-100 degrees during the day and 80-85 at night. I have a Reptisun 10.0, and 75 watt heat lamp and a undertank heating pad. The bottom of her tank has about a inch of reptisand with calicium. I had fears of impaction but the pet store swore that it was easily digestible. My problem is that she stays on her branch basking most of the day, but she has her head up and looks about (sometimes she lays her head down and closes her eyes as if napping). She even sleeps on the branch at night. The only time she gets down is when she sees a cricket, then she is quick to snatch it up and return to her basking. When I get her out to handle her she is rather calm and likes to look about the room and lick my hands and wrist. After about 5-10 minutes it seems she is done with me and gets fidgety so I return her to her tank. Also she has yet to poop, and I fear impaction or constipation. I spray her twice a day and she eats some veggies. The pet store also told me she would be able to eat small crickets because of her size, she eats about 3 or 4 at a time. Should I be concerned of her constant basking? Or the fact of no poop? Or the fact that she is only eating 3 or 4 crickets at a time?

ANSWER: Hello Erin,
Oh we do need to change your setup a little bit, unfortunately.
Let me ask a few questions from you first.  
The UVB light, you mentioned it is a Reptisun 10, is that a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light?  This is very important & need to know this information.
The heatlamp, is it a colored lamp or a bright white light?  They do not sense heat from below, so, the heating pad is not necessary.  Being heated from overhead & underbelly she can overhead quite easily.  The do not always know to move before they get burned.  
It is always best to heat them from overhead.  What are you measuring your temps with, a digital probe, a temp gun or a stick on type of thermometer?  
The reptisand is not digestible.  It will clump up when it gets wet & especially when it mixes with stomach acids & enzymes it hardens like cement, causing horrible impactions.  Babies lick their surroundings way too much & will become impacted pretty easily.  Try to put paper towels, non adhesive shelf liner, or tiles in the bottom of the tank, instead.
Are you offering calcium with her crickets?  At her age, she needs calcium 4-5 times weekly.  The crickets should be smaller than the space between her eyes, or she could get impacted.  
She is probably going through a bit of relocation stress which is very normal with them.  
Also, try getting a plastic eye dropper to get some oral fluids into her.  She could be a bit dehydrated too just from stress.
Let me know about the UVB light, & how she is doing.

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Thanks for your quick reply. The light is actually a repti-glo if that really makes any difference, and its a flourescent tube light. It stretches the entire length of her tank, and the box says is supplies 33% UVA and 10% UVB. As for the heat lamp it is the red colored kind. But it seems without the undertank pad the tank drops in temp to about 85 degrees, should I purchase a higher wattage heat lamp? I monitor the temperature with the stick on thermometer. There is one on each side of the tank, but it doesnt really help because I have a 55 gallon tank split in half for her. She gets calcium with her all of her crickets, and D3 in her water, and a supplement added to her fruits and veggies that is formulated for bearded dragons. She still seems unwanting to climb off of her perch. The branch is in a Y-shape with one half under the strip light and the other under the heat lamp. She seems to prefer the bask under the strip light. I have read in alot of books and internet sites that warm baths can stimulate defecation, is this a good idea if she is still stressed about relocating? As for the sand bottom I am rather annoyed at the pet store at the moment. They questioned me about my substate and when I told them paper towels they had a fit. They claimed it held moisture and was a bad idea and didnt want to sell me a dragon until I had the proper sand... If this was a sales gimmic and my dragon gets sick I will not be a happy owner. I did do research, it seems half and half on how people feel about the sand. But at the pet store all of the animals were housed with it in the bottom of their tanks. Will using the sand when she is older be okay, when she is less crazed about catching her prey and licking?

Thanks for your help,
Erin

Answer
Hello Erin,

Yeah, sorry about all of the bad advice.  Petstores only want to sell their products & most of the time don't care about the animals, truly, mostly the dollar.
Can you take the Reptiglo 10 flourescent tube bulb back & exchange it for either the Reptiglo 8 flourescent tube bulb or the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb?
Unfortunately, the Reptiglo 10 flourescent tube bulb is causing eye issues, as well as health issues, too.  They are emitting low wavelength of UVB which is very close to UVC emissions.  (the petstore is not at fault for that though, but the Exoterra company for not testing their bulb)  
About the sand, yeah, unfortunately, it was a sales gimmick.  Sand, especially the calcium based sands, are not recommended.  The sand will hold bacteria also when it gets wet, which is not very sanitary.  The paper towels or non adhesive shelf liner are best, unless you want to put tiles in instead.
Well, if you do choose to use sand when she is older, the only type I recommend is the washed & sifted playsand because it does not clump together when it gets wet.  Really, they don't come into contact with sand all of the time in the wild.  Usually they are on brush, hardened dirt & clay especially in the wild terrain in Australia.  You can always make a little sand box for her later on.  One problem I feel is in captivity, if kept in a loose substrate, it is like sitting in their own toilet.  Even if you scoop out the sand or loose substrate, liquid still seeps into the substrate that you miss & moisture & bacteria collects & harbours which can make them sick.  That is why I don't advocate it most of the time.
A good amount of dragons from petstores that are brought home are partially impacted when they get to new owners too.  
The basking lamp that is red, needs to be replaced with a bright white light.  They do not do well on the lower kelvin reading bulbs, such as the red lamps.  It is not bright enough to increase feeding & active behavior.  Just get a natural daylight household bulb or flood light to use for the basking, or a bright halogen.  That is plenty bright enough.  Natural daylight runs around 5000-6500K on a sunny day.  I would say probably a 100 watt or slightly higher should get the basking temps to 95-110.  The cool end should be around 78-82.   The ambient temps need to be around 85 but no higher.
The calcium is needed 5 times per week.  I would get the calcium that includes D3 though instead of putting it in with her water.  
If she is impacted a bit, & still has not gone potty, then, use some sugar free applesauce, soft squash & chicken or turkey babyfood along with 1 drop of olive or mineral oil to get things passing through.  Yes, do bathe her in warm water.  You can massage her belly gently, starting at the armpit all of the way down to the vent area.  This should help greatly.  
What are you measuring the temps with?  A stick on type right?  They are only accurate in reading ambient temps so you will need to get a digital probe or a temp gun to monitor the basking spot, directly.  She was probably overheating with the heat pad on which slightly dehydrated her too.
If you have a walmart near you, there is a digital probe type of thermometer & the brand is acurite.  You should be able to find that in the plants section.  If not, I believe you can go to lowes online & find something similiar.  It has to have a wire with a probe that has a sensor on the end so you can put it directly under the basking spot to see what it is reading.  You can get a temp gun from  www.tempgun.com   or   www.reptileuv.com

I hope this helps out.  Let me know how she is doing.  


Tracie