ok now im concerned..

this afternoon when i got home BOTH girls have those stress spots on their bellys.. i have taken canon (19g) out and put her back in the basic cage she was in, papertowel substrate, same branches, exc from before she moved.. nikon (25g) is in the 55 gal still but as i said before she too has the stress spots. (if thats really what they are can someone please post a link so i can see for myself that the darkening of their skin is stress) ive already spoken to hubby and tonight were going to get the repticarpet (or tiles, not sure which) for the big tank.. i didnt know if it was the sand, new big home, being together considering they have been together and more room you would think less stress or what causing the stress but thats why i put canon back to exactly how it was before the big change they had.. should i put nikon back in the small 10gallon tank too, the way they were before?

can i just get a tank divider like they have for standard fish tanks and keep them in the 55gal just not nessesarily together? i was told especially as babies they would be fine together, by numerous people. they are showing no signs of aggression either. the only difference is canon is smaller but i dont think its cause shes not getting less food perhaps shes just meant to be smaller... they were both 19-20g when they came here two weeks ago.

GRRRR now canon is back to pacing and rubbing her face on the glass!!! she hasnt been in the tank not 10 minutes.

her nose was worn down before i moved them to the 55gal (The reason i pushed moving them sooner) shes just rubbing abd rubbing and rubbing her face on the glass!!

edit: ok, nikon is in with canon right now... im getting the vacuum out and were goign to get rid of the sand and get carpet. i just called darren (hubby) and told him the girls looks stressed and hes freaking out "get the kids up and go get the carpet now"...so when the kids wake up were going to get repti carpet... and maybe a tank divider

Are they due to shed?

I honestly suggest asking at the Bdragons forum as well, they may have more insite to that problem. :(

I did a search on there, and this is what I found
http://www.beardeddragon.org/bjive/v...c.php?p=497808

im not sure if they are due to shed.. how often do they shed? they were both coming out of shed when they came home from the breeder that was about 2wks ago... i have used that forum before but i have a hard time using it... this forum is so much easier i will take a stroll over there though,

nikon is currently eating some greens so at least shes comfy enough to eat..and she just took a nice big poop!!! ewww

Remember if you just moved them, they will need some time to readjust to their new surroundings. I would get the carpet, not the tile. I have heard tile can cause problems with beardies, but don't hold me to that. Not 100% sure. Then put them both in the 55 gallon, and let them be for a while. They are probably just getting acclimated to their new home.

thank you kristy.. we are going to go with the repticarpet and as soon as my kids get up from their nap we plan to take a trip over to the petshop, i only hope they have some cut for a 55 gallon tank!!!

Yea, they say about the tile is that it gets too hot or too cold for proper digestion. I am of the mind that if your temps are correct that it should work fine. Some people swear by it, some say dont use it. I have no experience with beardies, just from what I've read.

im on the phone with the breeder and he told me to stay away from the reptile carpet cause it is loaded with bacteria.. its hard to clean, you have to wait for it to dry out, exc... he said to just do a couple layers of newspaper or papertowels and to definetly close off some of the 55gal tank, he said its way to much room for them right now... he said it sounds like they are getting ready to shed, that stress usually shows in their beard not so much in the darker pigmentation on the belly.

Hi,

This is probably a very stupid suggestion as I have zero experience with beardies.:oops:

Would putting some paper on the outside of the tank up to say a height of 5/6 inches (so she can't see over it) help with the rubbing as she wouldn't be able to see anwhere to try and get to?


dr del

Ok I am gonna jump in here since i am just as into beardies as I am Ball Pythons. First off a great site to visit is http://bearded-dragons.com/boards/index.php. They are set up like this and easy to use plus it is active constantly. Reptile carpet is not great and It does tend to hold alot of bacteria if not washed properly and regulary. I swear by paper towels because they are easy to handle and soft for the beardies and clean up in one quick swap.tiles are also number one reccomended usually by 95 percent of beardie owners because they are easy to clean and hold heat fairly well. If your beardie is too hot it is not the tiles but you temps would be way too high in that situation. You can also use washed play sand later on but it is not reccomended for babies. Also beardies should never be housed together and if you are keeping 2 babies it would be best to put one in one half and the other on the different side. Feel free to ask me any questions or check out the website listed above. Good luck.:taz:

Don't use the carpet. House them together, you can even house them in a tub. and if you want, put like a screen over it. make sure its high, but also big, as in lots of floor space. Tubs that aren't see through work good, but really anything is good. Also if you have a heat lamp with a clamp, just clamp in on the side of the tub, of better yet, put the tub on a counter, then above, there should be a cupboard... Clamp the lamp onto that, and have it shine down. Also, where the heat lamp shines, get a small tile and put that in the sand. Have it so the dragons can't crawl underneath it, that is perfect for belly heat or just basking. Hope this helps.

Oh and also, don't worry too much about the color change. I work with hundreds of dragons each day, and see some that are darker, it could be due to stress, or they are just getting used to the new environment. But really, don't worry about it too much, your dragons will be fine. No need to stress.

Hope this helps. Any questions, feel free to PM me.

thanks so much for the help and suggestions.. they are doing just fine :) i met up with the breeder this afternoon and everything is fine. they are sleeping right now, eating, voiding, exc so a little bit of color change isnt going to stress me (talking to the breeder and reading here has helped) they are young and were getting attached to them quickly.. that and im a mom, natural worry wart :gj: thanks for the help and as always i will keep everyone updated on them!

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Originally Posted by AshleyB

thanks so much for the help and suggestions.. they are doing just fine :) i met up with the breeder this afternoon and everything is fine. they are sleeping right now, eating, voiding, exc so a little bit of color change isnt going to stress me (talking to the breeder and reading here has helped) they are young and were getting attached to them quickly.. that and im a mom, natural worry wart :gj: thanks for the help and as always i will keep everyone updated on them!

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Hey, no problem hun! Theres no need to worry at all. But really, the tubs work great, at least until your ready to move them to a big 55 gal. because really, they don't need branch's in a tub. Just sand, dish's for food. And thats it. But yeah, keep us posted and pics would be awesome! Oh and your welcome ;):P

they are spending the night in the 55 gallon. we will see how they continue to do in the days coming, at least i have a great source here :) the breeder suggested those cement mixing bins too so if i feel they are stressed i might pick up a few. i do enjoy having our animals on display though

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Originally Posted by AshleyB

they are spending the night in the 55 gallon. we will see how they continue to do in the days coming, at least i have a great source here :) the breeder suggested those cement mixing bins too so if i feel they are stressed i might pick up a few. i do enjoy having our animals on display though

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I agree, animals on display are really nice, but when it comes down to having a happy reptile, you gotta do what is best for it. Good luck with everything, remember just drop me a PM whenever you need some info :)

oh of course!! ive always been good about keeping our animals in ideal environments for THEM... we did go out and get a new uvb tube bulb tonight so tomorrow they will have fresh lighting too. we plan to keep close eyes on them, as always :D

thanks for the offer, im sure one day ill take you up on it. im just glad i have a breeder close to me who is more than happy to give me the time of day. we got lucky we really did.

as for pics, always feel free to visit my website, i add pictures there all the time! i love photography

Hey Ashley,

This is coming a little late...but those "stress" circles you were seeing, aren't a big deal. On some dragons they show more than others and they can also be temperature related. My beardie tends to get them every afternoon. In the morning he's yellowish and by the evening he's rust colored with dark circle outlines on his belly. They tend to darken up when trying to absorb heat more.

I'm also in favor of tile. I love mine. It's so easy. Once a month I bake it for half and hour, otherwise just spot cleaning. Some people love reptile carpet, apparently it can go in the washing machine, so it's just recommended to get two that will fit your cage.

Keep in mind that full grown beardies are fine on playsand (not calcisand), so if you want to switch over to sand when they are over a year, that's perfectly ok.

thank you for that input!! its very reassuring. the girls seem to be doing well, still getting those dark circles daily but are deficating and eating crickets and greens very well. So in that sense it has made me feel better about both of them. Nikon is still much larger than Canon but were pretty much summing that up to they are different. thank you again