Hi new here and to beardies

[jules]

Hello everyone, I am new to beardies and actually got my first one on Friday night. Iggy is going to be my classroom pet when school starts up next week.
  So I brought home Iggy Friday night, he was doing good and he ate the worms that the pet store told me to fed him and he at them yesterday morning as well. I put some frozen thawed veggies in a dish for him and he wouldn't touch those at all. But at like 6pm last night he went in the corner and curled up in a ball and went to sleep , I was scared as I thought that he wasn't breathing and I had to check on him all the time. I shut off his light and put on his heading mat which I have placed on the side of the house for him( recommended by the pet store). This morning he was awake, ate about 4-5 crickets ( my husband doesn't remember how many he feed him) and was up and about for maybe like 10 minutes but he is again back in the corner with his head on the tree again. His back is not to the lamp, his head is facing the lamp.
  Why is he sleeping like this all of the sudden? Is it the stress from the move into the new place, or is he sick? He was pretty active all day yesterday, moving from place to place to sun himself. He even was standing on his back legs for a while against the glass.
  I need help!!

His enclosure is a 10 gal tank, with the special calci-sand on the bottom. In the far corner he has a water dish. The middle of the enclosure has his rock(cave) then his food dishes, He also has a plant in the corner that he seems to like sleeping near. The temp has been at around 85-100 throughout the day. I'm not sure what it is at night as I have been sleeping myself and not checking the temp.

[9west2124]

the sand is a bad idea because they are messy eaters he might have digested some of in and he is impacted. How old is the dragon? and he should be pooping at least once a day if not two. You should be feeding about 10-20 crickets twice a day and once he is about 10 inches long he needs to be in a cage at least 40 gallons. Hope this helps u

[jules]

Thank you... I am not sure how old he is.. I got him from Petco on Friday, and they didn't know how old he was. I would say he is about 5-8 inches long including his tail maybe even a bit longer.
  Funny about the sand as that is what the pet store told me to use. What could I use instead of the sand that isn't overly expensive?

[9west2124]

i have a baby my self she is 7 inches long and she is on indoor outdoor carpet. the type that doesnt have the big loops on them. i got a seption that was 6 foot long and 10 inches wide from home depot. i spent maybe 3 or 4 dollars on it and i have 3 set of carpets for the bottom of her cage. i cut them to fit the tank and i switch them out about every week because i get to her poop almost imedietly. great and cheaper then the reptile carpet they sell at petco that is not reusable. i clean each section of carpet with a mix of 10 parts to 1 of bleach the 10 being the water. i let it soak up the water for about ten to twenty mins then rinse very very very good. after the first use the carpet will be softer and easier to put int he tank.

[perfectly_flawed]

I wouldn't recommend using any type of carpet other than reptile specific (which can be washed and reused). Many household carpets are treated with or even made with chemicals that are not safe under extreme heat. I prefer textured tiles or nonadhesive shelf liner.

[9west2124]

i made sure that it had no toxins in the carpet and all my dragon has been on his carpet for 2 weeks no problems what so ever he is as happy as ever and runs around fine. he cant get his nails caught because it doesn't have the little loops like most outdoor/indoor carpets. i have no problems  and have seen many Viv's with carpet its just easier to clean and a lot harder for her food to hide under like paper towels