Is Kozmo ok?

Hey y'all! Our little Kozmo has me worried. She's our 2nd beardie, but it's been 12 years since we cared for one and I'm a worried momma. With all the talk about MBD, I feel like I'm constantly watching for signs of something to be wrong. Her lips, her feet, her poop... haha! And I know she's tired of me constantly poking her and forcing veggies.
We bought her from a chain store PS in October after our 15yr old daughter begged for her. She was tiny, 5in head to tip of tail, and maybe 2mos old when we brought her home. She's always loved her dusted crickets and now dubias(5 days calc -2 days vit), and the occasional super worms. She does not like her greens or veggies, I force a few greens or peppers or squash daily(try to slip them between her lips until she takes a couple). She's bathed at least 3x per week, more when shedding. She poops a couple times daily and has a comfortable home, 105 basking side - 85 cooler side. She's under a Reptisun 10.0 long tube and 2 MegaRay murc-vapor lamps because they sit on the metal mesh top of her vivarium (36x18) and I was worried she wasn't getting the full effect of uv through mesh.
So, she sleeps sometimes hanging vertically or horizontally on the faux rock wall, but now that she's getting bigger, 12+ Inches, she sleeps in the floor with her front foot/feet folded under. :| and the back edges of her jaw/lips are kinda loose. Is that normal? She likes to run around the house at full speed, she's fiesty! Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Greetings Kozmo!

Let me first start by saying you have a very healthy looking dragon! Her color and markings are very similar to my youngest who is also 12" long now (last I checked last weekend, but he's in a growth spurt.)

Your setup and pics to me say you are doing everything right, and your concerns are normal. As they get older, the corners of their mouths get a little more loose, and both my dragons love to lay with their palms up. It may be the same feeling you or I would have kicking our feet up after a long day.

The only comments I would make is that the "cool" side of your tank seems a tad high. If you could get her a basking platform closer to the bulbs, you could lower the wattage and give her more of a temperature gradient. That being said, my guy hangs out in his basking spot of 112 pretty much nonstop, and then will also sleep in the same spot... so he isn't really using a gradient.

The other thing worth mentioning is if you have the ability to, you could mount the long UVB inside the tank on the screen. I purchased some cheap "under cabinet" fluorescent bulb holders and used flower twine (like long twist ties) to mount it to the inside screen.

Otherwise, things are looking great and she looks super happy!

long lost siblings?

Omgoodness!! They could be twins! Haha! Thanks so much for your input! I think she's just adorable and she's spoiled rotten with our love and attention. She even gives kisses/nibble. :love10:.
Are toes super flexible? I'm always trying to put them in the "right" place. Haha I may be a little OCD. I just want her to grow healthy & happy so we can enjoy one another for a long time.
I'll look into putting the fixture under the mesh or simply cutting a hole in the mesh right under the bulb. Thanks!!
p.s. why are my photos sideways??

I unfortunately have no idea why your photos went sideways :lol: can't help you there!
I have 2 dragons, one is nearly 2 years old, but I baby this little guy more than I ever babied my older one when he was younger.. I feel terrible!

My little guy is a sweetheart, too, and super soft. Yours appears to be a "leatherback" morph and also "hypo", just like mine! (claws are clear instead of black.)

The toes are super ridiculously flexible and tends to look painful when it isn't for them, often the long toe curling like the one in your photo.

We'll have to see how ours looks once fully grown and see if they still match

I agree, she looks very healthy and happy. Which wattage of the MegaRay are you using? Your temp gradient is pretty good and I like that you put them side by side to create a wider basking area. They have fairly narrow/concentrated beams of UVB but they are very high quality lights. Is your ReptiSun a T8 or a T5? I ask because the models have different outputs and optimal distances. The 100w MegaRay is good at about 10-12'' while the 160w is good out around 17-20''. Those distances are slightly less going through a screen but only by about 30% or so. A T8 ReptiSun 10 has an optimal distance of about 6-8'' without a screen and isn't very effective beyond 6'' through a screen while a T5 has an optimal distance of about 12-14'' without a screen and about 10-12'' through a screen. If that basking log is close to those distances then I'd leave everything as-is. I like your setup quite a bit.

Beautiful baby!

Your worries are totally normal, I've had Linus almost a year and I still constantly look for anything wrong and obsess over any changes. Sometimes I get the side eye from him telling me to quit poking and prodding and just chill out.

Enjoy the time when your little one is still young enough to wrap around your fingers, they quickly outgrow the fingers and it soon becomes a case of wrapping around your entire arm.

Pretty Babies!! Their markings almost look like little rainbows on an oil slick.

CooperDragon":2jib189s said:

I agree, she looks very healthy and happy. Which wattage of the MegaRay are you using? Your temp gradient is pretty good and I like that you put them side by side to create a wider basking area. They have fairly narrow/concentrated beams of UVB but they are very high quality lights. Is your ReptiSun a T8 or a T5? I ask because the models have different outputs and optimal distances. The 100w MegaRay is good at about 10-12'' while the 160w is good out around 17-20''. Those distances are slightly less going through a screen but only by about 30% or so. A T8 ReptiSun 10 has an optimal distance of about 6-8'' without a screen and isn't very effective beyond 6'' through a screen while a T5 has an optimal distance of about 12-14'' without a screen and about 10-12'' through a screen. If that basking log is close to those distances then I'd leave everything as-is. I like your setup quite a bit.

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Ok. So her basking branch is 10" from the top of the screen where all 3 lights are sitting. The Reptisun is T5 and the MegaRays are 70w. I'm hoping that's giving her plenty of Uv for her optimum health. Thank you for your input, it's so much easier when you have knowledgeable people to chat with. The PS sales guy was nice, but clueless. We visit the babies there and want to bring them all home!

At 10'' through a screen your T5 is just about right. That alone should be providing great levels of UVB. Those are the little MegaRays. I haven't used those yet (I have 100w bulbs) but you can keep using them if they're providing proper temps or you could spin them off into clamp lamps and use them as portable basking spots outside the tank.

Hello again! I'm still worrying about my Kozmo and possible MBD. Ugh! This time it's her loose lips. They don't look like other beardies' and it worries me. Nothing has changed except she's been through a shed about 2 weeks ago. She's eating & pooping as usual. And is alert and quite active. I took these this morning. Your opinions are so appreciated!!

Kozmo looks very healthy, no sign of MBD. An overbite or underbite can be a sign of MBD, weak bowed out legs, lumps in the spine + tail are the physical signs. Some dragons become unable to walk properly, doing an " army crawl " , and some just get very weak. Most beardies will develop tremors before the visual deformities happen but not always. And a slight jaw misalignment is sometimes just cosmetic and can be found in otherwise healthy + energetic dragons. Your dragon looks good.

Hey twinsy!
Kozmo looks perfectly healthy, as AHBD has stated. The corners of their lips do get looser with age, totally normal.

She still looks like my Richter

I remember you telling me that the first time, but I'm a worry-wart at heart! It's amazing how alike they look, Wow! She's just over 14 inches now and still slim. At least she's starting to eat her greens and squash on her own, not everything on her plate, but it's a start!

I'll be back here in a month or two over-analyzing something new. Haha! We'll see how they continue to grow.

KozmoRox":3ix9fm5b said:

I remember you telling me that the first time, but I'm a worry-wart at heart! It's amazing how alike they look, Wow! She's just over 14 inches now and still slim. At least she's starting to eat her greens and squash on her own, not everything on her plate, but it's a start!

I'll be back here in a month or two over-analyzing something new. Haha! We'll see how they continue to grow.

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Sounds good! Richter is just over 16" now and will eat anything I hand him but isn't too wide yet, think he's using all his food for length.

See you in a month!