Started acting funny...

[aegillesp]

I've had Laputa for a little over a month now, I thought she lost a little bit of weight, but she seems normal now. Just recently, she went from eating 6-7 hand-fed crickets, down to 2-3 at the most. She's shed twice within a week, but already 3 times within the month I had her. She had trouble the first two times, then I guess figured it out on her own. She's been brown recently too, when she is normally light to medium green. I did just get a bearded dragon that sits next to her cage, but I put some towels around her cage, which made her seem a little better.

Any ideas why she is acting like this? Is she just growing up? She is 1-1/2 to 2" currently, she hasn't grown much since I got her.

[Sasha]

It's quite possible that she is stressed. She's still acclimating to her new home and now she has a neighbor that is on a different sleep schedule as she is. Cover 3 sides of her tank to reduce stress. Try feeding her crickets in a glass bowl to limit the amount of time your hands are in her tank. Give her some time. You might want to have a fecal exam done to rule out parasites.

I have three Whites tree frogs and when I got my bearded dragon (his cage is about a foot away from theirs) they were very stressed and wouldn't sleep because they were so worried about him and his crickets. I finally covered the side of their tank that faced him and after about a month they calmed down. Now they really don't pay attention to him.

[aegillesp]

When I brought home my beardie he was chasing his reflection off of Laputa's tank so I immediately covered it up. I now keep 3 sides covered and I try to be careful during her sleeping hours. I haven't really seen her sleep today but she's been hiding on the bottom on her plant half the day. It's been about two weeks since I got my beardie, but I think Laputa is getting better. Just worries me a little.

[Sasha]

Has there been any changes in her tank to heat and humidity?

[aegillesp]

I know her tank has a hard time keeping humidity even with the top covered in plastic. I have wondered. Her UVB bulb is on the side through the glass. Does she actually get benefits from it through the glass or have I just been lighting her up?

[Sasha]

I'm not really sure about the lighting. I would think that the UVB would not penetrate through the glass enough. Plus, they are nocturnal animals so not sure if UVB is as important as it is to say the bearded dragon. Again, I know very little about lighting and it makes my head spin thinking about it! Especially when you learn that different brands of the same bulb are better than others!

As far as her color goes, I wouldn't worry about it. Frogs change color depending on their mood and their background so it doesn't necessarily mean they are sick. My frog Olive was a dark, well olive, green color for the first few months I had her. She eventually started to light up and now 7 months later she is mostly a lighter color but tends to darken when she's closer to the coco flber substrate.

It sounds like she just needs a little more time to get used to things. If she completely stops eating I would have her looked at by a vet.

[Heatheranne]

If you can, give a little space between tanks. The beardie might be scaring her a bit. See if you can keep your humidity around 70%. It sounds like she is adjusting to her new neighbor.