my beardie seems to “pass out” multiple times a day.

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heavenlhorton

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Help! My beardie is 5 months old (I’ve had him for almost a month) and he looks like he literally passes out/blacks out multiple times during the day. He turns his head sideways and freezes (with his eyes open), and then his breathing slows, and he won’t move. AT ALL. I’ve tried to snap him out of it, move him, and even hold food in front of his face (which he never denies). Then after about 10-20 seconds he gains his consciousness again, and finally reacts to me. it’s scaring me!! Since he has absolutely no other symptoms (he poops regularly, eats a lot, basks, sheds, and has energy/personality) I thought he was just doing the head tilt thing that they do. But when i realized he literally couldn’t see what’s in front of him in those moments, I got concerned.

I have a basking light that omits 150 degrees, inside the tank is 95-100, and he uses the Zilla UVB strip light (that i RECENTLY took the acrylic cover off, after researching and realizing it is suppose to be nothing between him and the light). The cool side is roughly 80 degrees. I feed him 20-30 dubia roaches a day and i put a calcium supplement with D3 in them for about 1/3 of the meals. He doesn’t eat many veggies, he doesn’t seem to like them. Could the light strip be a reason?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

The basking light is a 150watt light, correct? What are you measuring the temperatures with,
a digital probe or temp gun?
The basking spot temperatures are 95-105? The overall ambient temperatures should only
run around 80 or so, to avoid overheating issues.
The Zilla tube UVB light is an ok bulb, but doesn't really emit much UVB. It's good that you
did take the plastic cover off so you can use the light until you can upgrade to a higher
quality light. Try upgrading to either the Reptisun 10 tube or the Arcadia D3 12% or 14%
tube bulb, they are both great. Or you can consider upgrading to the T5 high output tube bulb
of the same brand.
I am not sure what could be going on, but it could be hypocalcemia or maybe adeno virus. It
is hard to know for sure.
Do you have any pictures of him & of his tank setup that we could see?

Tracie
 

heavenlhorton

New member
Original Poster
Hi thank you for responding!

Yes, the basking light is 150 watts and it’s a 100 gallon tank, so the other side is about 75 to 80 degrees. i use the digital strip thermometer that sticks to the glass that they sell at pet stores. I just bought the reptisun 10 tube and I have a video of his behavior (gotta figure out how to post it). I’ll take a picture of the cage setup once i’m in. i’ve researched the adeno virus and he isn’t spinning or falling (thank god) but honestly it seems like this may be the early stages.

I attached two youtube links below of the baby. in the first one, you see his breathing stop like halfway through. The second one is showing how he doesn’t react to stimuli in those moments. Even food.

https://youtu.be/hIaG_GytWkg

https://youtu.be/iGEpRUXAnU

Sometimes he will be standing on all fours, quickly twist his head to the left as if he’s staring up at the ceiling, and freeze like in the video. then snap out of it after a min.

please let me know if these videos are sufficient
 

Linzloohoo

Hatchling Member
Is there an overhead fan or something else towards the ceiling that could be spooking him? When scared they will literally look like a statue. Mine had a few bouts of going statue still for quite a while, like an hour. And from the help of this forum we realized that he was seeing something outside the window that was scaring him. This is just a thought though tracie is much more knowledgeable than I am lol.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Does he act like that, staring, looking up, etc when he is out of the tank? There have been cases
where ceiling fans have caused behavior like that, I will agree.
The digital strip for measuring the temperatures probably wont be real accurate for the literal
basking temperatures. I would recommend getting either a temp gun or a digital probe to have
a more accurate measurement of temperatures.
That is a large tank so I doubt it is too hot but it might not be warm enough, I am not sure.
Are you giving plenty of calcium? The Reptisun 10 tube is fine, as long as it is mounted directly
on top of the screen, 6-8 inches from him, unobstructed.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
That can be normal, sometimes they get fixated on something and we just don't see it or understand why. He is a beauty BTW . :)
 

heavenlhorton

New member
Original Poster
Hmm. He does it outside of the cage in the bath. When i look into the reflection in his eyes, he seems to be looking at the saucer light on the ceilings, both in the bathroom and my room. Maybe he’s fixated on those, wondering if it’s the sun or not lol.

Thank you all for the responses. He seems to be doing fine with the reptisun and has no other cautionary signs. And thank you!! I love his color. He’s the best :)
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

So, is he still exhibiting the same type of staring behavior or has it gotten better?
They definitely can watch things for a long time or freeze if something scares them or is
bothering them.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

heavenlhorton

New member
Original Poster
Hi

He is exhibiting the same behavior in the video still. He does it multiple times a day. But he still is acting fine otherwise. He’s shedding on his head, back and thighs right now so he is being less active, but I’ve been trying to find the root of what he could possibly be looking at. I noticed that I prepare his food on top of the cage (dubia roaches) and he watches me do it before I put it in. I have saucer lights on my ceilings above his cage, and I think he looks straight up at the UVB and heat lamp sometimes. He still gets very stiff and doesn’t break focus/blink, but i’m wondering if he’s just very fixated and is ignoring me.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

He is still looking up a lot? is he eating well right now?
It does sound like he's looking or watching something intently but you definitely need to figure
out what exactly it in, just in case it's bothering him to some extent.
Let us know if you figure out what's going on, but this behavior is a little common. They do tend
to like staring at things unbeknownst to us. They see things that we don't seem to.

Tracie
 
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