Black Beard/Not Eating/Has this happen to anyone before?

Hello, I have recently put the post up thinking my dragon had tail rot. I started a new topic to try and see if anyone has ever seen these symptoms before.

Started out as odd behavior. Laziness. And no appetite.

Then his beard started getting black. It is usually not 100% black unless I soak him or stress him out in some way.

I have confirmed on the previous post that he does not have any tail rot. He needed a stronger UVB. (he has that now). And not to give him any of the meds from the Vet.

He has not pooped in about 3-4 days now give or take. Maybe even 5. I lost count because he's driving me up the wall.

He is probably 6 months-7 months old. I have no clue. He is probably 10"-12" long. Only 145 grams every since he lost weight from not eating.

He used to love to eat.

He hasn't eaten anything live in a week and half. Up until this morning. He had one cricket. And it was very small in size. I'm more then 100% sure he should be eating large crickets at 6-7 months.
He also stopped growing.
Do I need a bigger tank. Is that the solution to my problem? Could THAT really be causing all this trouble with him. He has the right temps. The right set up. The right food. The right veggies. The only thing wrong is him. Please. What do I do. Started a new thread for new advice. ?


That's the set up. His size. And the tank size.

But could that really have started causing him. Not to eat or act right? It's hard to believe. Anybody had this off behavior before???

It might be best to keep all the info in your main thread, but it's good to have an update/summary. Last I saw, you were able to remove the plastic from the UVB fixture as AHBD suggested which will make a big difference. Is the UVB fixture shining through the mesh top or is it going around the mesh somehow? The mesh will intercept too much UVB to make it useful. What you might do is take the screen top off completely (if you have no other animals in the house) and put in a cross beam along the top to rest the UVB fixture on. Then just suspend the basking light from a hook or adjustable stand. That will take the mesh out of the picture and ensure you're getting the most out of your lighting. He's actually looking better in the current photo than he was before which is good. Perhaps just some more time under proper temps and lighting will help him feel better.

A larger tank will certainly be needed in the near future, but I don't think tank size is the cause of these issues. Your best bet in terms of cost is to build your own enclosure. Something similar to this would work nicely https://beardies.dreamwidth.org/2145.html Aside from that I remember you mentioned the sale at Petco. Is that the $1 per gallon one? If so, you really won't find a better bang for your buck in stores. You'd have to go second hand on Craigslist or similar. If you can get a 40g breeder tank (they're usually set off away from the other tanks, I'd ask someone if they have em) it would work well for a while. If they don't have the mesh tops for them, you can get one online easily, but if you can suspend the lighting overhead you won't necessarily need one.

Hey thank you yes I started a new thread because I felt maybe that one was over whelming to some. I woke up today and I actually found a way to get the light without mesh covering it. He still is not eating. There's only two crickets missing so maybe he did eat them? Plus there is no black beard today!!! Which is amazing. But I did find him sleeping under his little cave thingy. Until I turned the lights on then he walked out. He doesn't seem as sick. But still very slender. And just a little weak. And not eating. These are my only problems now. He is not eating. Lol what the heck can we do about that!!

NEW UPDATE ****

Just got home. Looks like the black beard is fully gone thanks to the extra UVB. Thank you to all. But I still don't think he is eating.

Now there is a new problem.

Ever since the extra UVB he got slot darker and lost his beautiful golden color. Is that normal.?

Also should I still give him Carnivore care by syringe? Or. Let. Him starve 'til he eats something.

Just bought him a new home. A 40 Gallon Skills, Zilla tank too! Setting it up. Now.

Okay so I just want to validate that his black beard is gone it's not 100% gone it comes back every so often from here to there but for the most part it's gone I'm pretty sure he needed that extra UVB thank you to everybody that help me out with that he has a 40 gallon tank now and the UVB is strapped under the mesh like everyone told me to I have a 75 watt bulb and a 50 watt bulb both on for heat it is about 95-100 degrees in there now most definitely 75 on the cooler side for sure I'm going to get myself some digital thermometers but as for the most part he still not eating not sure what he could be going through not sure if anyone has any ideas this is his new habitat I have attached pictures and I have posted this on both threads just cuz I want AHBD to look at it

I'm glad to hear the black beard is gone. He may be feeling better. The darkening color along the rest of him is likely just reaction to the lighting change. They darken to better absorb light and heat. Perhaps give him a few days without the force feeding and see if he'll start to go after bugs and veges on his own.

He ate one meal worm today all on his own when I wasn't looking but I heard him crunching it was good to see but when I offered him another one he just closed his eyes again looks like there's something bothering him in his stomach he hasn't used the bathroom in about a week and a half to two weeks now I'm not sure if my beardie is going to make it or not

What I am really afraid of is that he may not even grow anymore what if the whole problem the whole time was very bad UVB source and that's why his tail couldn't shed on his own I heard that if they don't get the right UVB for the wrong amount of time they could potentially stop growing I would really love to see my dragon grow I don't want him to stay this small he's only about 11 to 12 in maybe less does anybody know if this is part of a Metabolic Bone Disease or does anybody know if he has any hope in growing

I don't see signs of MBD such as extended or deformed jaw or humps along the back. An x-ray would help show bone density but I don't think that's necessary in this case. I think over time under the right lighting and with a healthy diet, he will thrive. At his age he still has plenty of time to hit some more growth spurts. While their growth generally slows at around a year old, they can continue to grow up to around 2 years old.

He's only about 6 months lol

I am at the vet now and REX HAS POOPED!! They are testing the fecal sample now. Let's pray it's clean. They want to do an X-ray on him. But I don't think I really need it. Waste of $82 bucks on my opinion. They wanna check his organs and his intestines for poop. Well. He just pooped right infront of the doctor. It was like he did it on purpose haha. Anywho. Not sure if I need a X-ray. They just want money I'm sure. But he has eaten one meal worm and 2-3 crickets in the last 5 days. Beard is golden again. And everyone is telling me he looks great. I think he's gunna be okay. Just needs some alone time maybe.

That's good news. Good that they have a fresh fecal sample to test for any issues. As mentioned the X-Ray would help determine bone density but he looks OK so while it would provide helpful information, it's not necessary. I'm encouraged by his bounce back so far!

He has hook worms.

Do you have the count of hookworms? Was Panacur prescribed to wipe them out? They should be treatable but I'd be wary of more meds given his previous reaction. Treatment may not be needed if the count is low.

She said it was a high amount and who knows if there is eggs