Sick bearded dragon

Kukac":2hp4t3jt said:

Hi AHBD,

Yes. He is about 45cm / 18 inches long, a bit skinny do to his condition. As you can see his chin is black at the moment also.

The terrarium is 120cm x 60cm x 50 cm (360l):
<<< excellent size viv and the temperatures look fine.

He in just lean , I can see some fat reserves in the thick part of his tail = GOOD and despite the difficult angle I can some cranial fat pads = GOOD.

I managed to set up the terrarium that he gets an additional 4 hours of direct sunlight every day during sunset that he usually enjoys at his basking spot.

PS.: I know that many beardie owners recommend not to use sand in the terrarium. He has never had an impaction so that's why I keep using sand. I am using ExoTerra sand and I am changing it every month besides the daily cleaning. However since I am running out of ideas I am scooping it out and replacing it with paper towel

CooperDragon":2hp4t3jt said:

I'm glad to hear he is getting better! 30cm is just about right for a T5. Do be sure that it's shining through the mesh and not through glass because glass intercepts the UVB completely.

Easy enough to using cable ties to attach a T5HO UNDER THE MESH / SCREEN LID.
Here's a good guide for mounting distances for your UVB globe when you get it

I haven't been to Budapest zoo yet. Do they have a good reptile area? I was not too far away at Vienna zoo about a month ago and it's fantastic but has few reptiles and no dragons. It's good to dust the crickets to make up for their lack of calcium. Some dragons are picky about the calcium dust so you may need to try some different brands and see what works. Sometimes they are just picky for a while so keep trying for a while with the new lighting and see how it goes.

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.<<<< very good idea , here's hoping you have acted soon enough to avoid sand causing impaction .

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Kukac":2iua5dl6 said:

I don't think she did a blood work, but I will ask her to do one this Friday.

What I can do is add another UVB150 light from the side and see if that helps. A have an 6 month old light that should still work fine. The reason I ruled out the lighting issue is that we changed the terrariums and the issue still persists and the vet confirmed that his bone structure is ok.

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Kukac":3bnf4ndw said:

Hi All,

I hope that you can help my bearded dragon.

Samu is a 1,5 year old beardie. Unfortunately he has been hospitalized multiple times, and it seems that this issue keeps reoccurring.

What happens is that he keeps eating less and less and after a time he won't accept food at all. First we were thinking that this is a environmental issue (less sunlight because of winter), however after taking medication he got better. First happened when he was 5 months old, second time when he was over 1 year old and now again.

He just got home from our vet, he received metronidazole for parasites, and he is still taking it every 5 days. They have told me that he got better and now he eats, however he barely eats an adult size cricket a day. After the first time he got medication he ate 8 roaches and looked like a balloon.

He is in constant discomfort (his chin in dark or black) and he barely eats. When I throw in a cricket he notices it and sometimes even follows it with his eyes, but it seems like he is too lazy to eat it, probably has no appetite for it.

I have checked dozens of articles about how his place should be setup. He has a 300l terrarium, basking light at one side (where he spends most of his time), UVB bulb. The temperature is between 25 and 40 degrees Celsius, basically he can pick any condition in that terrarium.

He is fed crickets, because that seems to work better, but I have tried dubia and red roached, phoenix worms, silk worms without much luck. He is offered vegetables, but does not seem to bother with them.

Do you guys have any advice what I should change or what I should recommend to the vet?

Thank you in advance.

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