Black beard?

My beardie is a 2yr old male whom I recently rehomed about 2 weeks ago.

I've learned to read him whenever his beard goes black- is he too cold out of his tank, is he annoyed, is he shedding, etc. About two days ago, my dad (whom my beardie had never seen before) opened the tank just to look at him, and Beans started bobbing his head up and down, which he'd never done before. I know that can be a territorial thing, or a sign of establishing dominance, but he also did it with my mum this morning, whom he loves.
He also had a black beard yesterday morning for apparently no reason; I let him out of his viv to explore and it soon cleared up, but today he has a black beard that keeps coming and going and I can't really tell what's up with him. He has a loose scale on the side of his snout and also above his lip on the same side, which have been there for a while and haven't come off yet. I was going to bath him today to see if that cheers him up, but I'm reluctant to keep pestering him if he's not in the mood for it.
He had his claws cut about four days ago at the vet, but I noticed this morning that one of them is broken with a spot of blood on it- he has a tendency to get them hooked over the edge of the tank where the glass fits in. I wonder if it might be sore, and that's why he's so moody.
I did wonder if the head bobbing and black beard could be a sign of the mating season coming around, but I'm sure that would be in the spring, and it's August??

I don't have any other beardies, and there have been no changes to his environment inside or outside the vivarium. He's housed in a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft vivarium with a 22" UV tube light. His temperature is 95 degrees Fahrenheit. I've been keeping him at 89 degrees for a few days because that was the temp his previous owner kept him at, but I was advised in a pet store to turn it up to 95. I noticed this morning he was doing a bit of gaping whilst basking, which he doesn't do when the temp is slightly lower, but I know this is common basking behaviour. Maybe the change in temperature has irritated him a bit?

The black beard could be a sign of pain from the nail- it sounds like the vet got to close to the quick on his nail --- the head bobbing is a sign of dominance --- the gaping is him regulating his body temp which is normal- I would leave it at the high temp--- I dont think they can digest their food very well w/ lower temps-- your UVB is it a T 8 or a T 5 Reptisun? I would take a soft tooth brush on the bath and brush him to try and get the loose skin off of him --
Karrie

KarrieRee":1lbzuaw3 said:

The black beard could be a sign of pain from the nail- it sounds like the vet got to close to the quick on his nail --- the head bobbing is a sign of dominance --- the gaping is him regulating his body temp which is normal- I would leave it at the high temp--- I dont think they can digest their food very well w/ lower temps-- your UVB is it a T 8 or a T 5 Reptisun? I would take a soft tooth brush on the bath and brush him to try and get the loose skin off of him --
Karrie

Click to expand...

When she cut his nails, she made three of them bleed on his front foot, but they healed up at home. I think he's torn this one because he claws at the glass in the mornings when he wants to be let out, and sometimes his nails get hooked over the lip of the vivarium and he just pulls them off. Is there anything I can do for it to help it heal? It's broken but not fully ripped off, it's hanging on by one side. Should I clip it to prevent him from catching it?
I'm not entirely sure about the UVB, but I think it's a T5. I got it from my local pet store, it was the same bulb that his previous owner had already installed, just a replacement. I think it's 13%, but again, not certain because I don't have the box anymore. It's not a Reptisun though.
Thank you for the toothbrush tip, I never knew that!

I give him calcium powder on his veggies once a week, but I wasn't given any vitamin supplements for him, so I don't think she gave him any. Should I buy vitamin supplements for him, and how often should I give them to him? I know he gets D3 from his light for sure.

I would recommend changing the UVB to a Reptisun T 5 bulb the next time you change it out --- I dont know what it is either- as far as the nails go I am going to let some others on here weigh in on that subject --- they are better experienced than I w/ that - if hes eating his vegies and your giving a variety of vegies I wouldnt worry to much about the vitamins as he will get his vitamins thru them - the bugs I would dust when your feeding him those just some regular calcium would work - but the UVB you need to find out what brand it is--- the best on the market is the Reptisun or the Arcadia 12 or 14% bulb -- you could get that as well --- hopefully some one will respond w the nail thing --
Karrie

KarrieRee":3bcj5ldw said:

I would recommend changing the UVB to a Reptisun T 5 bulb the next time you change it out --- I dont know what it is either- as far as the nails go I am going to let some others on here weigh in on that subject --- they are better experienced than I w/ that - if hes eating his vegies and your giving a variety of vegies I wouldnt worry to much about the vitamins as he will get his vitamins thru them - the bugs I would dust when your feeding him those just some regular calcium would work - but the UVB you need to find out what brand it is--- the best on the market is the Reptisun or the Arcadia 12 or 14% bulb -- you could get that as well --- hopefully some one will respond w the nail thing --
Karrie

Click to expand...

Just checked and I have an Arcadia UVB, so that's good. Thank you very much for your help!!

UPDATE: He sat under my bed for a bit and I kept trying to reach for him but he kept moving away from me. I left him be for about an hour, and then I crawled under the bed to fetch him and he sat on my mum's lap warming up whilst I clipped off the broken bit of nail. He was asleep when I got him out from under the bed, and his beard was orange again. He pulled his foot away from me once because it was a bit sore, but I got the nail off fine after that. He did hiss when I misted him, but I think it was because I took him by surprise- he didn't open his mouth and his beard wasn't black either.

I think maybe the nail was a bit tender and he was maybe defensive because he didn't want me messing with it. He was mild enough when I clipped it for him, I think mostly because my mum was there (he adores her), he'd just woken up from a long nap on the soft carpet, and he was also a little colder from being out of his viv for so long.

Hopefully he starts to feel better now!

-Brandon