I will post pictures tonight. I replaced bulb with a t8 tube. Its a dessert 50 right now came with the new fixture. Have new reptisun 10 ordered this friday. No one had them where i live. I moved it inside the screen top as advised and maybe it was not the light. I was using repti sun 10 coil. Toothless showed symptoms i could not find here. He wasnt blind i dont think but no control over his self would flip over when he tried to walk walk into everything. Could not climb to bask or wouldnt eat. Then he was just gone i tried feeding him baby food and water but he never would eat. He was actually pretty good size still had his strenght and all i think it was something neuro? Idk poor guy. Rex is still showing signs of stress camo patterns on his belly not sure why. Have had new light since 1 day after origional post. Is it a good bulb or should i switch immediately when the repti sun comes on. Its a zilla desert 50 t8
Bad light? Please help
- Thread starter Bogey
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kingofnobbys
BD.org Sicko
Bogey":1uc5ikn1 said:
Flipping over like that sounds like a neurological problem.
Too large a prey item can be one cause , oversized prey insects with hard exoskeletons such as crickets, roaches, or locusts, places excess pressure on the spinal cord creating these head tilts, fits, rolls, wobbles etc. Best thing to do is to offer smaller crickets and maybe cut back on the insects of until he comes good.
An improper temp gradient is another possible cause, if they cant escape the heat to cool down enough.
It could also be because he may have an ear problem... maybe he got water in his ear from his drink and it has thrown his balance off like an inner ear infection would...
Overdosing with vitD3 (from calcium dust that has VitD3 in it) has in some cases been implicated in beardie's flipping over (neurological problem). Changing to pure calcium powder with no added VitD3 can alleviate the problem.
I'd send the Chinese made zilla desert 50 t8 back for a credit (maybe on something useful like perhaps a larger hide (he'll eventually need it).
traildrifterphalanx
Sub-Adult Member
I am really sorry to hear your little one didn't pull through 
It sounds like he went downhill fast, and as kingofnobbys mentioned, there could be a few things at play to cause it.
What we can do is make sure your little survivor pulls through.
The belly patterns are prominent when they are younger and are a sign of stress, or a sign they are absorbing the heat/uv rays, and is generally not a cause for concern.
Please replace the zilla with the reptisun 10.0 as soon as you have it, and move it closer to the basking spot. The waves from the UV can only reach so far, and at the placement its at now, he is barely getting anything, if anything at all. He will want to be withing 6-8" of the reptisun 10.0 to benefit from it
***EDIT - do you have 2 UV lights going? I just noticed the long one near the basking spot.
It sounds like he went downhill fast, and as kingofnobbys mentioned, there could be a few things at play to cause it.
What we can do is make sure your little survivor pulls through.
The belly patterns are prominent when they are younger and are a sign of stress, or a sign they are absorbing the heat/uv rays, and is generally not a cause for concern.
Please replace the zilla with the reptisun 10.0 as soon as you have it, and move it closer to the basking spot. The waves from the UV can only reach so far, and at the placement its at now, he is barely getting anything, if anything at all. He will want to be withing 6-8" of the reptisun 10.0 to benefit from it
***EDIT - do you have 2 UV lights going? I just noticed the long one near the basking spot.
The one one the right is now just a regular light to brighten the tank. I switched to a regular flourscent bulb like for a fish tank. He usually basks on the hammock which is within range of the new uvb bulb but i will switch it immediately when my new one comes in. Was better to just order myself. I am glad you say the marks are also when he is dark and basking. Because when i take him out or he is running around they fade out.. I hope i can get him happy because i sure enjoy having him. My son was bummed too so i told him we could name rex toothlees rex ( t rex) and he was a bit happier but still sad we lost our buddy. Someone mentioned oversized crickets. I noticed a few medium crickets in our batch before toothless got sick. but i considered them to be between the eye size but larger than the rest. And they ate them no problem of course. I thought he was going to pull through because he still had his energy and strength but i came home from work and school and he was already gone.
traildrifterphalanx
Sub-Adult Member
It may have been an underlying issue that you had no control of, so please don't beat yourself up over it.
Unfortunately, so many people decide to breed and sell bearded dragons due to how relatively easy it is, and that ends up less than optimal conditions and health for babies, with adults being mated just to raise a month and sell them prematurely to a chain store, only to be kept again in less than optimal conditions. Each supplier is different of course, but generally they're trying to turn product faster for more money with little care for the animals themselves. Again, this is not all breeders.
Thank you for clarifying the lighting! I had replied and looked at the photos and saw the one next to the basking light. Glad to hear/see it's set up right! Just a little word of caution on those hammocks if I haven't said this already, the material can snag and pull their little limbs resulting in injuries. Easy solution is to use some fleece fabric over it. Sew it on, pin it (safely), etc. Soft and snuggly.
And yup! They will darken when basking. When they're out and about the lighting is gone, so they lighten back up.
basking baby
non-basking baby
Even as adults they will still darken, but the "stress marks" are not nearly as noticeable, but these lines cause a lot of concern for new baby beardie owners. Totally normal
Unfortunately, so many people decide to breed and sell bearded dragons due to how relatively easy it is, and that ends up less than optimal conditions and health for babies, with adults being mated just to raise a month and sell them prematurely to a chain store, only to be kept again in less than optimal conditions. Each supplier is different of course, but generally they're trying to turn product faster for more money with little care for the animals themselves. Again, this is not all breeders.
Thank you for clarifying the lighting! I had replied and looked at the photos and saw the one next to the basking light. Glad to hear/see it's set up right! Just a little word of caution on those hammocks if I haven't said this already, the material can snag and pull their little limbs resulting in injuries. Easy solution is to use some fleece fabric over it. Sew it on, pin it (safely), etc. Soft and snuggly.
And yup! They will darken when basking. When they're out and about the lighting is gone, so they lighten back up.
Even as adults they will still darken, but the "stress marks" are not nearly as noticeable, but these lines cause a lot of concern for new baby beardie owners. Totally normal
kingofnobbys
BD.org Sicko
Gosh .... I hate reading of people's pets dying :shock:
.... I've so sorry he didn't make it and I really feel badly for you and know exactly how gutted you will be feeling and I know how you are probably beating yourself up with the "what if"s .... we all do that...
At least he's never going experience any more pain or suffering. And you do still have your other little beardie to care for and love and she will be a huge help to you emotionally by giving you another POSITIVE focus for your attention and love.
Lots of snuggles and cuddles for her now .... she'll enjoy them and you'll benefit too.
.... I've so sorry he didn't make it
and I really feel badly for you and know exactly how gutted you will be feeling and I know how you are probably beating yourself up with the "what if"s .... we all do that...At least he's never going experience any more pain or suffering. And you do still have your other little beardie to care for and love and she will be a huge help to you emotionally by giving you another POSITIVE focus for your attention and love.
Lots of snuggles and cuddles for her now .... she'll enjoy them and you'll benefit too.
kingofnobbys
BD.org Sicko
traildrifterphalanx":25c30f8x said:It may have been an underlying issue that you had no control of, so please don't beat yourself up over it. <<<< to go so quick I wonder if it was Atadenovirus ?
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Thank you for clarifying the lighting! I had replied and looked at the photos and saw the one next to the basking light. Glad to hear/see it's set up right! Just a little word of caution on those hammocks if I haven't said this already, the material can snag and pull their little limbs resulting in injuries. Easy solution is to use some fleece fabric over it. Sew it on, pin it (safely), etc. Soft and snuggly.
.. even some old T-shirt ... my gang all love a snuggly old sticky daddy t-shirt .... more daddy BO the better ....
And yup! They will darken when basking. When they're out and about the lighting is gone, so they lighten back up.
basking baby
<<< Those hatching skin explosions are a shocker !!! they look really daggy when that happens.
non-basking baby
Even as adults they will still darken, but the "stress marks" are not nearly as noticeable, but these lines cause a lot of concern for new baby beardie owners. Totally normal
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