Bearded Dragon regurgitated food

[UberGeno]

Hey! I'm a little worried about my new bearded dragon. He is ~2 to 3 months old. He is 7 and a half inches. Every time I feed him more than once a day, he gets real docile and regurgitates his food about a day or so after.

My setup goes as follows

-10 gallon terrarium
-50 watt UVB 10.0 bulb in a sundome fixture
-basking light
-a log that reaches within 4-5 inches of the light
-digital thermometer
-salad dish
-water dish

I started out feeding him between 5-6 small crickets a day, the info I got from the bearded dragon expert. Dovahkiin (beardies name) seemed content with his ritual 7 AM waking and 10AM feeding and basking all day with some play time. I did that for about a month. Then I got him some larger (medium sized) crickets. They are smaller than the width between his eyes, I make sure of that. I give him 5-6 of those, and he was content with that as well, never going after the cricket holder(which is visible, he goes after it when hes hungry). Well Yesterday I saw people say feed him 2-3 times a day, as much as he can eat. Feeling bad for underfeeding him, I followed these 'experts' advice. Well today, he was not interested in eating. He just sorta chilled on his basking spot, stomach really big, and this was AFTER two bowel movements, which were huge btw. I could tell something was wrong so I kept an eye out on him, he had me worried! About 30 mins ago he regurgitated a rather big blob(the size of a large cricket) of food. Now hes active, cheerful, and running all around me.

I was keeping his basking spot at 97-104 degrees. I figured this was his optimum temp because he gapes for a few short moments to regulate his temperature or he would move to a cooler spot. Should I just keep him on his regular routine. Hes grown about 2 and a half inches in the past month, so his diet seems to have worked. He would also eat collard greens and celery as well on those days with calcium dusted over them.

I gut loaded the crickets (as I always have) with potatoes, apples and small ammounts of calcium.

Thanks for your time and ANY advice would be greatly appreciated

-Brandon

 

[dragonlover3]

Hi Brandon,
Welcome! :wave:
First rule of thumb: Never listen to pet shop employees. They are notorious for giving incorrect info in the care of bearded dragons, as anyone on this forum can tell you!

Can you post a photo of your dragon in his set up? This will help us help you. {and we all love admiring everyone's beardies!}
So, a couple of things stick out.
Is your digital thermometer one that has a probe you can lay on the basking surface to obtain an accurate temp reading?

Babies need basking temps of 105 to no more than 110*F for proper digestion and all other metabolic functions. Your basking temp is too cool. I'm certain it is contributing to his digestion problems and regurgitation. They should eat eagerly 2-3 times a day when digestion is functioning well. I'd get the basking temp up and that alone will help with digestion and I'm almost certain it will help stop the regurgitation if it's temp related.

That is awesome you are dusting with calcium but you will want to dust the crickets. Here's why. In order for proper calcium absorption to occur, it must be present in equal or larger quantities than that of phosphorus. The cricket has a calcium to phosphorus ratio of .33:1. That is, they contain nearly 3 times as much phosphorus as calcium. Fed a diet of these un-supplemented crickets, most reptiles will quickly exhibit signs of calcium deficiency. The simple addition of a light coating of calcium would correct (or at least improve) these numbers. So you will want to dust one of the live feedings of crickets daily for 5 days a week rather than the salad for now.
If you can make the above changes it most certainly will help!
And here's a link to a easy to follow, color coded nutrition site. Most here recommend and follow it. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

Next:
What is the name of your UVB light? If it fits in a dome fixture it may be causing some issues as coils have been know to cause eye and health problems in the dragon.
What is your basking light?
What substrate are you using in the bottom of the tank? If it's sand or anything loose it also can be a problem to his digestion and can cause impactions as well as a host of other problems.
If you can answer these questions we can help you tweak his tank out to be the best it can be for him.
So happy you came here! You will find we are all beardie crazy and want only the best for them!
Amanda
I

 

[UberGeno]

Hey amanda! And thanks for the reply. I will post a picture in a bit(i dont have access to a camera atm). I have come to the conclusion, through the website posted by an admin in the feeding section) that the crickets were to large to pass through his digestive track. It specifically mentioned that until 16 inches long, there is a 'kink' in the track. So I got him some small ones, like I was feeding tomorrow. He just ate them! About 5 or so before he was disinterested(probably because he was sick )

As for the additional questions

I'm using a reptile carpet substrate(desert color)
Using a Flukers Sundome with a coil UVB light(im soon going to get him a bigger tank with a fluorescent UVB light and use the sundome as the basking lamp) You mentioned getting his temps up, but he gapes after about 30 minutes of basking and moves slightly down the log. Also the basking light is a Zilla 50 watt with a smaller, more focused light dome. I'm dusting the potatoes with the Calcium dust and I put calcium directly on the crickets every other day. Should that be an everyday thing.

Also, to help him through his ordeal(my mistakes as well) I submerged him in luke-warm water being sure that his head was above the water. He had a bowel movement after that as well. Any other tips.

Thanks for the reply

-Brandon

 

[UberGeno]

Here are pictures of him, his basking spot, and his terrarium.

http://imgur.com/ZPy5y,xlLK1,n43id#0

http://imgur.com/ZPy5y,xlLK1,n43id#1

http://imgur.com/ZPy5y,xlLK1,n43id#2

 

[dragonlover3]

Hi Brandon,
It's natural for them to gape when basking, it isn't a bad thing. It's how they regulate their temps. And his temps really need to be elevated for proper digestion as I'm sure other will tell you as they pop in.
You will want to take a look at the nutrition list at the link I sent to you. Potatoes should only be fed rarely if at all. Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens and dandelion greens are good daily staples.

Yes, you will want to dust crickets 5 days a week. When his temps are corrected and his appetite is better he will be eating more than once a day. You will want to dust one of the live feedings a day with the calcium. Without enough calcium they can develop Metabolic Bone Disease.
That's fine you went back to smaller crickets for him but the temps still need to be fixed for his digestion. Remember he will eat more of the smalls so you will want to get more. When temps are fixed his appetite will improve and he will eat 15 to 50 crickets daily to start, and it gets to be more as they are growing. They don't eat as many feeders when they become adults.

Warm baths are great! It hydrates them as well as keeping them clean, and they will often poo in the bath which is great, a quick rinse and they are good to go and always have a clean enclosure. All 4 of my beardies get a daily bath and very rarely poo in their houses.
Remember warm water as warm for a human infant. Very shallow water, only elbow to shoulder deep. Never leave him unattended as they can aspirate water and drown quickly.
Also coil UVB bulbs are known to cause some health and eye issues. How do his eyes look? Does he keep them shut often. Without proper UVB they cannot make their own natural Vitamin D3 to process calcium and will develop Metabolic Bone Disease. This forum only recommends 2 UVB bulbs that have the proper UVB for bearded dragons. Reptisun 10.0 tube not coil, or Arcadia D3 12% which is also a tube.
Others will pop in to advise too!

Amanda

 

[UberGeno]

His eyes look fine. He seems to be very aware of his surroundings so I dont think its a problem, although I will look into a fluorescent bulb when I get the money. Also, I'm just feeding the crickets the potatoes and I'm also putting in his bearded dragon food to pass along some of the benefits. I want to thank you for the advice.

2-3 times a day
Warmer basking spot
Change the coil ASAP

I keep collard greens, carrots, and once a week a spinach leaf or two.

I want to thank you again, Amanda!

Any other advice will be greatly appreciated.

-Brandon

 

[dragonlover3]

Hi Brandon,
Wow! He's a real cutie! His tank looks good. You will want to remove that probe from on the glass and place it directly on his basking spot for about 45 minutes to get an accurate reading. Maybe you can hold him while it's coming up to temp. I leave my probe right on the basking surface. yes, it does sometimes get knocked off but easy to put back. If the temps you gave of 97-104 are recorded from that position you aren't getting his basking surface temp. He also needs a temp gradient to be able to cool down. He needs a "cool" side of about 80*F.

That's great you are dusting the potatoes with calcium for the crickets. Sorry I misunderstood :lol:
Please check out that nutrition site. It will help you with diet.
Spinach contain oxalates which bind with the calcium making that calcium unable to be absorbed, shouldn't feed spinach.
Carrots are high in Vitamin A which bearded dragons don't absorb well. Feeding carrots to often can lead to Vitamin A toxicity. You can feed carrots only occasionally. Good daily choice is almost any kind of squash!
Amanda

 

[UberGeno]

I've done what you asked yesterday as a matter of fact haha. The surface was 104-105 of his basking area with the light over him. That being said, where you see the probe in the picture, its stays at a constant 95-97

The cool side fluctuates between 80-85.

Also, I'm not sure if this matters, but I get him up at 7AM and put him to bed(turn off his lights) at 8PM

Is that time frame good enough to get all the UV light he needs and play with him for an hour or so. He loves running around my bed an looking outside on the window seal.

-Brandon

Also, he falls asleep on me at night :') and he doesnt want to let go when I put him in his tank, so I put my neck warmer on top of the wood so it could keep him comfortable and to encourage him to want to sleep in his tank(he has never stayed one day or night out of his tank ). I did that because I know wood isnt the best insulator.