Stress marks

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CheyenneCoffelt

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I was told that those oblong, leopard like spots on their stomachs and beards are stress marks. My beardie, Gerald, has always had those spots since I got him for my birthday. The guy gave me everything I needed to care for him like the heat and UVB lamp. His cage is at the right temperature, and the UVB is a 10.0 like they need, I even make it as humid as it needs to be (which is easy anyway because its very humid where I live). He has rocks and stuff he can hide under and even a log that he can climb up in case he chooses to get closer to the light to bask in the heat. He loves it! He eats like he's supposed to. In fact he has gained weight, because when I got him he was relatively skinny for a beardie. Now he looks like a healthy lizard. He loves his bath times, he loves the time he’s out of the cage. He walks around and everything, he's quite active. Our other animals don't seem to scare him, in fact he loves my dog. He will climb up onto her when shes laying down and stay there. He’s also really friendly for a beardie, he will let anyone hold him and he will even fall asleep on them, which I was told if a beardie closes their eyes that means they trust you. He shows absolutely no other signs of stress! I should also mention he passes stool along properly as well. But he always has those spots. They’re not even that dark, it just looks like a pattern meant to be there. Help me? I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. I’ve had him for almost a year now, and he seems healthier than when I first got him.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
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They are indeed stress marks.

Dragons are desert creatures they dont want high humidity. What are you doing currently in regards to humidity since you said you make it humid as it needs to be?

Is your reptisun a long tube or is it one that screws into a regular light socket?

I know you said your temps are good but can you elaborate? What is your basking surface temp?
What are you using to measure it?

What does his daily diet look like?

Do the stress marks seem to go away when hes outside his tank?

-Brandon
 

CheyenneCoffelt

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Original Poster
Humidity is kept at around 35% which I was told to use as that is about the humidity of Australia. Where I live its around that humidity anyway.

Basking area is kept around 90-92 degrees as I was told by a friend who grew up raising and rescuing these lizards. The cooler areas I keep around 80 to 85 degrees.

I use the ones you use to screw in, which is what was given to me by his previous owner. It’s also the ones my friend uses. None of his lizards have these marks.

As for diet, I feed him calcium coated crickets daily. I usually let him catch live ones, but I have freeze dried ones in case I have to leave and my brother has to watch him. He hasn't had an issue with that. I also occasionally feed him fruits and veggies (only what they’re allowed to eat, according to the list). He loves to eat them. But I always add a few freeze dried crickets which is what I was told to do.

Those marks never fade, but they never get darker either. Like I said, he just seems happy. He hasnt even puffed out his beard and flattened himself. My friend says hes a very happy boy ??‍♀️ I was told some lizards just naturally have that pattern on them and it’s rare, but I’ve looked into stressed out lizards and he shows none of those sogns. All there is, is those marks, which like i said, they never fade but they never darken. Theyre just like that.
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
I'm not expressing an opinion here; I was curious, so I've poked around a little on "stress marks" in BDs, and found quite a few differing... opinions/statements. :?

Some say they're natural markings that may darken with stress.
Some say they're not an indication of stress at all--that it's a misnomer.
Some say once they appear, they may never go away, even though the BD may not be stressed.
Some appear quite markedly and dark when stressed, then disappear entirely when not.
Some say that stress marks are usually accompanied by darkening of the beard or darkening in general.
Some say they appear in the morning, and disappear later in the day.
Some say they appear later in the day.
Some say they appear in baby/young BDs for no reason, and disappear with age.
Some say they are an indicator of social communication.
... and many more. (Try the archives and google.)

Many of these statements came from this site; some did not.
It's late, so I didn't have time to peruse the scholarly stuff, but here's a link for the intrepid: :)
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,33&q=bearded+dragon+stress+marks&btnG=

If we were talking about a dog, I'd advise calming down, because it's known that dogs can smell stress hormones on humans, and become stressed because/if their alphas are stressed. I don't know that BDs have that acuity. :dontknow:
 

CheyenneCoffelt

New member
Original Poster
I wasnt trying to seem mean or rude or anything. My apologies. I was just trying to justify that I've been doing right according to all these people and he just has them and they never go away. I was hoping he wasnt stressed because apart from trying to make him happy (which he seems), he still has those marks. Maybe Gerald is just a special little guy lol.
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
CheyenneCoffelt":f6ttayi3 said:
I wasnt trying to seem mean or rude or anything. My apologies. I was just trying to justify that I've been doing right according to all these people and he just has them and they never go away. I was hoping he wasnt stressed because apart from trying to make him happy (which he seems), he still has those marks. Maybe Gerald is just a special little guy lol.
Please relax. I don't think anyone thought you were mean or rude; you asked a reasonable question.
It's possible (likely?) that he's fine, and just has those markings at this time. I'm spitballing here, but in his case, darkening of those marks might be a better indicator of stress (along with other stress indicators you've already looked up), and since they don't appear to be... it sounds like you're doing fine. :)
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
You need to put some focus into your temperatures. Did you mention what type of thermometer you have? I might have missed it.

You need either a digital with probe end or a temp gun. These are the only real ways to measure your basking surface temp. Luckily digital with probe ends can usually be had now for less than 10 bucks at pet stores.

Nothing is more important than proper temperatures for a dragon.

90-92 is not hot enough for a basking site. For a dragon over a year old I'd be aiming for 100-105.

Lighting is also crucial. Unfortunately the screw in uvb bulbs really aren't suitable for dragons. the uvb they output fails off significantly with distance. Your dragon would have to be able to get within only a couple inches of it to get proper exposure to uvb. Even closer if it's on the screen. So you can see why these really aren't practical.

Can you post a picture of him and his setup? From the one picture you posted he looks a little small, but it could just be the pic.

I know its hard to take a stranger's advice over what your friend has been doing. But the advice given here is based on decades and thousands of collective owners coming together and sharing what works and doesnt. All of our suggestions ar simply to help your dragon.
That being said I strongly suggest getting an accurate thermometer if you don't have one.
Measure your temps to find out what they actually are.
Adjust them as neccessary.
And upgrade your uvb bulb to the reptisun tube.
I would also offer him a salad daily. Especially if he eats them.

Stress marks on the belly can definitely go away. I'd be so inclined to say people who say otherwise have dragons under subpar conditions. Hence the constant stress marks. That being said, stress marks on the belly are generally a mild outward display of stress. When its accompanied by other signs such as black bearding and lethargy, it's a definitive sign of something wrong.
 

CheyenneCoffelt

New member
Original Poster
CheyenneCoffelt":2e0cwsfv said:
105865-2528407877.jpg
I was told that those oblong, leopard like spots on their stomachs and beards are stress marks. My beardie, Gerald, has always had those spots since I got him for my birthday. The guy gave me everything I needed to care for him like the heat and UVB lamp. His cage is at the right temperature, and the UVB is a 10.0 like they need, I even make it as humid as it needs to be (which is easy anyway because its very humid where I live). He has rocks and stuff he can hide under and even a log that he can climb up in case he chooses to get closer to the light to bask in the heat. He loves it! He eats like he's supposed to. In fact he has gained weight, because when I got him he was relatively skinny for a beardie. Now he looks like a healthy lizard. He loves his bath times, he loves the time he’s out of the cage. He walks around and everything, he's quite active. Our other animals don't seem to scare him, in fact he loves my dog. He will climb up onto her when shes laying down and stay there. He’s also really friendly for a beardie, he will let anyone hold him and he will even fall asleep on them, which I was told if a beardie closes their eyes that means they trust you. He shows absolutely no other signs of stress! I should also mention he passes stool along properly as well. But he always has those spots. They’re not even that dark, it just looks like a pattern meant to be there. Help me? I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. I’ve had him for almost a year now, and he seems healthier than when I first got him.
 
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