help?

I got my first beardie yesterday hes 6 weeks old and named harry ( girlfriends turtle is named loyd (dumb&dumber))

he has been trotting around his viv and stopping in random places to start waving his arms, what does that mean?

also i was sitting on the floor watching him and he came up to the glass and puffed up his beard a couple time...

and now my cat is in my room sleeping on the floor and hes has his face against the glass watching her sleep, should i keep the cat out for awile?

o my goodness HOW TINY !! SO CUTE !!
Prolly just relocation stress. Just let it be for a few days. After about 4 0r 5 days slowely start to interact with it, let it get used to you slowely to reduce relocation stress.
Where did you get it at? Petstore? Breeder? ??
Its just the sweetest lil thing! Im sure the cat isnt helping its stress any , I would keep it at bay for a few days. Anything to help it stay calm and stress free.
Once again...SOOO CUTE!!
Congrats on the new baby!!

I got him from a local pet shop that specializes in reptiles and snakes.

he licks everything lol.

he keeps seeing his reflection, i hope that doesnt stress him.

how often should he shed?

also he was sitting on his rock and he like rubbed his head on his rock a couple times as if he had an itch.. is this normal?

He looks really healthy to me right now. (and soo cute!)

They lick around , the air , objects, alot. Its like its hands, only not. Its how they "check out" the environment around them and get familiar with "their" things, like their viv and even you. (Everything I know, I learned right here btw)

Thats prolly why he was "waving" . I heard it was something they do when other beardies are present , he is seeing himself and thinking its another one. It can stress them. But mine waves sometimes and has no signs of stress.

*BTW that pattern on their lil bellies is not part of that breed (like the pet store tried to tell me). Its a sign of stress. Their lil bellies are suposed to be creamy white, not patterned. If you see the patterns , 9 times out of ten, he is uptight. Sometimes they do it even when they seem perfectly fine too. You just gotta get to know your beardie and how they act normally.

Shedding-- There is no set schedule for shedding, its as simple as this , when they grow , they shed, with the right diet and right lights and setup, they grow fast.He might have been starting to shed , maybe was why he was "scratching" his head.

If you can tell us EXACTLY how your setup is , we can help get everything set up right for you , right down to what , how much and when you feed him. This can save you alot of heartach in the future if your babies health starts to decline because its hard for them to recover sometimes and some actually dont. PREVENTION is better when it comes to these lil guys.

I will PM Diane and see if she will come look at this post and get you on the right track, She is a PRO in my book!
Maybe some pics of your setup would be helpful too.

What a cute lil thing!

Hi there, Terri Lynn asked me to check in here. What a cutie you have, he's quite the little guy.

The arm waving is their way of communicating with us and also occurs when they see their reflection in the glass. If you think the reflection is scaring him, you could cover 1 or 2 sides of the tank with paper or cardboard to block it. It is a good idea to let them settle in before handling much but babies can get dehydrated very quickly and since very few drink out of standing water dishes, giving baths is the best way to hydrate them. You could either put a small transparent container with a little bit of water in his tank for him to hopefully soak in or take him out & bath him in a container of warm water, adding just enough to cover his front legs. Watch him very closely as they can drown in a small amt of water. Put a washcloth down in the bottom to help him feel more secure. You could also hold him in the palm of your hand & slowly lower it in the water but keep at least your fingers available so he can hang onto them if he wants. A 15 to 20 min soak allows for proper hydration and I usually suggest bathing a baby 3 to 4 times a wk. It would be a good idea to remove his water dish, especially at night to prevent an accidental drowning because they sleep very soundly and if he fell asleep in it, would be very dangerous.

I also agree with Terri Lynn about keeping the cat away from him as he doesn't need that stress right now and he can certainly seem like a threat to your little guy.

He is probably getting ready to shed, that would explain the rubbing of his head. A bath would help with that too.

It looks like a probe thermometer in the picture. What are your basking & cool side temps? Be sure to put the probe right under the basking light & wait about 45 min for the temp to stop rising before getting the final reading. What size tank is he in & what is the wattage of the basking bulb? What brand & type of UVB are you using, ex: coil, compact or strip fluorescent bulb? How far away is the UVB from the basking site?

It looks like you're using shelf liner in the bottom of his tank, that's much safer than a loose substrate. Is the shelf liner the type WITHOUT adhesive on the back?

Did the petstore mention that you need to make sure that the crickets are no larger than the space between his eyes, otherwise it can cause impaction? Babies should be fed 2 to 3 times a day and all the crickets they can eat in a 10 to 15 min timeframe each time. And, you need to dust his crickets with calcium with D3 but phosphorus-free 5 days a wk, but only 1 feeding a day & with vitamins the other 2 days a wk, but only 1 feeding a day.

Sorry for so many questions, just trying to cover the basics. :wink: We are here to help you with any questions or concerns you have.

my setup is:

40gal tank
non adheisive shelf liner
mega ray 100w self ballast bulb
basking spot is about 14" from light to surface
basking temp is 107-110
mid tank 90
cool side 83

he eats about 5-10 crixs twice a day (once with calcium, i need vitiamans)
ive been wetting my finger and wipping it on his back, but i will try to give him a soak tomorow.

thank you for all the help. :study:

Sounds great. You've done your homework. :wink: His appetite should increase shortly, he may eat anywhere from 50 to 100 crickets a day, so you might want to start ordering crickets in bulk if you're not already. Good job on your setup.

I cant get over how cute he is , and how tiny ! I have that same ramp and Kiku loves it, in fact thats her basking spot. LOL
Here is her viv , only till I get one made , it will be wider.


...and the ramp she is queen of...


I love posting pics of her!
If you see your baby sleeping like this...


Not only is it adorable, but its perfectly normal. You will find they sleep in all kinds of ways. LOL ! (thats my fav pic of her...and I have TONS!)

diamc":3676e said:

so you might want to start ordering crickets in bulk if you're not already. Good job on your setup.

Click to expand...

i would like to order crickets in bulk but idk if they will last long in the 110*+ heat of the desert, i plan on getting a 10 gallon with egg crates and they food, but i heard they smell, so i dont want them in my closet, and my garage gets hot cus its around 100 - 110 outside, so idk were to put it.

how long should he be awake in the morning before i feed him? 1 hour?

LOVE THE PICS !!

I wait an hour to make sure she has warmed up good. Beardies cool down at night, which is what they are supposed to do. They need to be real warm to help in digestion. I make SURE she is good and warm before I feed her.

Here is a link for good cheap crickets , I just ordered me some.

http://www.ghann.com/store/store_sub.cfm?Category_ID=1

When I first got Kiku , I used crickets , I never had a problem with them smelling , so I dont know about that. I just used the flukers cubes and potatoes to keep them alive.

my lizerd ust to do that jost wat a few days and he shuld stop mi still licks stof i think its becus he is marking his taroutary

is it normal for them to shed certain spots at a time? he shed his chin yesterday, but nothing since.

Actually , they shed in stages. Kiku just last week finished a complete shed. Now monday her head and tail got white meaning she is in another shed. First her head and tail shed, them her legs and back and belly. (Thats how fast they grow on Phoenix Worms.) It usually takes about a week for it to come off once it turns all pale and white looking. Then her back and legs and belly will turn white and in several days to a week, it will come off too. She is very cranky when her head in in shed. The rest of her body dont bother her.
Here are some pics of her right now , today that I took to show you what she looks like in shed
Head and tail in shed. You can clearly see the difference in color.Her body is a yellow color. She is a Hypo Citrus Tiger.

Close up of her head. Noticable difference in color. You can see the "line"

Close up of her tail. Again noticable difference in color.


She has always shed her head and tail first, then the rest. Nice warm baths really help when they are in shed. I give Kiku more at that time, seems to relax her .

Hope this helps. Good luck.

ok, harry's tail is starting to shed i think, its pretty dull.

so they tend to grow faster on pw's? i might have to get some

Like they ate Miracle Grow!! LOl ! Like I said , Kiku just finished a shed and is going right into another one.First time she has ever done that tho. Im going to start feeding her PWs in the morning and crix at night, salad all day. Just to cut down on cost right now.

PWs are very good for them, High in calcium and protien. makes a good staple.