Is this tail rot!?

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AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, does his tail straighten out or does it always lay like that ? Does he walk with it curled up or is it wavy like that ? Can you get a few more closer pics in better light against a solid color ? The end does look suspicious [ about an inch or so up ] and while it may not be tail rot it may have some trauma that can lead to rot.


Did anything happen to it ? Can you list the exact type + brand lights you use , what type of calcium supplements you use and also post pics showing his set up + light placement ?
 

SomeDude

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His tail was like that when I bought him. No he doesn't usually walk with it bent. He generally keeps it straight.
I will post pics tomorrow.
 

SomeDude

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He has a repti sun uvb bulb and a ceramic heat emmitter.
He hasn't had any trama from me. Maybe the pet store? I have Rep-Cal with d3 that I heard you can over dose with so I have a calcium with no d3 on the way. I also have Rep-Cal Herptivite which is multivatimins. You can look this stuff up if you don't know what it is.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Yes, post more pics tomorrow. And I'm familiar with the supplements, I raised dragons for 25 years. I keep calcium with + without D3 on hand.

Is your Reptisun a long tube, if so is it t5 or t8. If it's a coil or compact it's not going to be quite enough for his uvb needs long term. And you will need a bright white basking bulb to reproduce a sunny environment, CHE is only if you need heat at night.
 

SomeDude

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I swear I hear mixed info all of the time. I was told not to use a bright bulb because it can damage their eyes. I also have no idea if it's a t8 or a t5 or whatever that is. All I know is that it's a repti sun 10.0! It sits on the screen of his enclosure and it is a normal wire screen so the uvb Can get through so that clearly is not the problem. Like I said, he was like this when I bought him. So it has nothing to do with me. I'm not sure if his tail has been injured or anything. I haven't did anything to him and nothing in his enclosure could do anything to him. Once his calcium gets here I'm gonna dust his crickets everyday. So he will be getting the calcium he needs.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
No, I didn't mean that you caused the tail ripple, you did say he came to you like that. I'm just pointing out that the type of bulb will be a big factor in correcting any more damage if this problem is caused by lack of good uvb.

And all long time breeders, myself included use bright bulbs for heat, not a CHE. Look on a long time breeders care page to see what they recommend. People like Rainbow b.d's. Draggintails, Carlina Classic, etc.
 

SomeDude

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Original Poster
I ordered the Reptisun off of Amazon and it didn't say if it was t8 or t5. I will look at those heat things. I already have lights. But I have been told for so long that the light bulbs hurt their eyes. Is there a way I can treat tail rot?
Or cure it?
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
You can get some betadine, mix it with 4 =5 parts water + soak it in that, then when it's dry apply neosporin.
 

SomeDude

Member
Original Poster
Sorry about the delay. I don't know how to post more picture on here. But his calcium without d3 just came yesterday and I fed him dusted calcium today. He seems normal and his tail is straight. But I have pics of the enclosure. Can you tell me how to post pics!
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
SomeDude":3aux2qwx said:
I swear I hear mixed info all of the time. I was told not to use a bright bulb because it can damage their eyes. I also have no idea if it's a t8 or a t5 or whatever that is. All I know is that it's a repti sun 10.0! It sits on the screen of his enclosure and it is a normal wire screen so the uvb Can get through so that clearly is not the problem. Like I said, he was like this when I bought him. So it has nothing to do with me. I'm not sure if his tail has been injured or anything. I haven't did anything to him and nothing in his enclosure could do anything to him. Once his calcium gets here I'm gonna dust his crickets everyday. So he will be getting the calcium he needs.

You cannot use a CHE for their "Basking" light, they are from the Deserts of Australia, and need tons and tons of bright white light and strong, adequate UVB light. A Ceramic Heat Emitter(CHE) is not at all necessary for a Bearded Dragon during the day, not ever. Whoever told you this knows nothing about desert reptiles or Bearded Dragons. They sit in the wide open desert all day long, every day, under intense, direct sunlight, and it's your main goal to replicate this natural sunlight over the Hot Side of their tank as closely as possible. You do this by putting a very strong, adequate UVB TUBE (not a compact or coil bulb), preferably a T5-strength UVB tube and a bright-white colored halogen Basking Bulb right alongside each other, over the Hot Side of the tank, and then moving his Basking Spot/Platform directly underneath both lights, so he gets both directly while basking.

You need to ditch the CHE immediately and get either a Reptile Specialty Basking Bulb that is only bright-white in color (never us any colored bulbs with a Bearded Dragon, no red, blue, yellow, green, purple, black, etc.), or like most of us use just go to Lowes, Home Depot, or Tractor Supply and buy a Halogen Indoor Flood Bulb, the par38 type that are used in homes. They are much cheaper and work wonderfully well. Whatever bright-white colored Basking Bulb you choose needs to be the correct wattage to get his Basking Spot Surface Temperature (between 105-110 degrees F maximum for a baby/juvenile and between 100-105 degrees F for an adult a year old or older) and his Hot Side Ambient (air) Temperature (between 88-93 degrees F maximum) within the correct ranges.You need to have either a Digital Probe Thermometer ($10 at any Petco or PetSmart) or an Infrared Temperature Gun to be able to #1) Measure the Basking Spot Surface Temperature at all, stick-on thermometers are only capable of measuring Ambient (air) Temperatures, and #2) To get accurate Temperature readings, as this is extremely crucial because without temperatures within the correct ranges dragons cannot properly digest any of the food they eat, cannot absorb and nutrition from the food they eat or from the supplements you give them, and cannot process/use any of the nutrition from either food or supplements, and this is part of the reason he has a calcium deficiency going on, as evident by his tail. Stick-on thermometers are extremely inaccurate, and when tested are usually off by between 10-20 degrees.

Dragons must get their heat from above them, never below them (no heat mats or heat stones), and they must get all of their heat from bright-white colored light above them. This is why whenever someone decides to either use a CHE as the only Basking light or use a CHE to supplement their heat because they are not using a high enough wattage of bright-white Basking Bulb, their dragons always eventually become lethargic, stop eating on their own, and develop calcium deficiencies and other nutritional deficiencies and their resulting diseases, such as MBD and Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) deficiency disease. The ONLY time you should ever use a CHE with a Bearded Dragon is if their tank temperature drops below 65 degrees during the night, as they need their nighttime environment to mimic the Australian Desert at night, meaning it must be Pitch-Black, no lights at all (no "night bulbs" or "moonlight bulbs" that emit any color of light at all, not purple, red, etc.), and also be much, much cooler than their daytime temps, as the Desert at night is very cool/cold. I'd go as far as saying that 99% of people never need any type of nighttime heat source for their Bearded Dragons at all, not ever, because in order for their tanks to drop below 65 degrees at night, that would mean that the owner's home would have to be 60 degrees or colder at night, and most people keep their homes much warmer than that at night.

In addition to needing to get a bright-white colored halogen Basking Bulb that is the correct wattage to get his temperatures within the correct ranges (for reference, usually a 40 Gallon Breeder Tank will be put within the correct temperature ranges with a 100 watt or a 125 watt bright-white colored Basking Bulb or Halogen Indoor Flood Bulb over the Hot Side of the tank), you must absolutely have a very strong, adequate wavelength UVB tube, a long tube and not a weak compact UVB bulb or a weak and harmful coil UVB bulb (all coil UVB bulbs seem to eventually cause serious eye damage, neurological issues, and blindness). So the only type of light that is "dangerous" or "bad for their eyes" comes from the artificial light produced by coil UVB bulbs, that emit harmful rays as a byproduct of their manufacturing process.

If you Reptisun 10.0 UVB bulb is either the compact bulb or the coil bulb version (meaning that it fits into a normal lightbulb fixture/socket instead of being in a long, flurescent tube fixture), that is at least 18" long, then your dragon has gotten little to no UVB light at all for as long as he's been under this UVB light, and if it's sitting on top of or blocked by a mesh lid of any kind, then the already far too weak UVB bulb has also been blocked by another 40% by the mesh lid. In addition, even if the Reptisun 10.0 compact/coil UVB bulbs are not obstructed by a mesh lid, they must be within 3"-4" of your dragon to emit ANY adequate UVb light to him, that's how weak they are. They are only at most 13 watts of 10% UVB light, while the 18" Reptisun 10.0 T8-strength UVB tube is 17 watts (still too weak to be blocked by a mesh lid and still must be within at least 6" of your dragon's basking spot/platform) and must be replaced once every 6 months like clockwork, as they have a very fast UVB decay rate, just like the compact/coil versions.

In contrast, if you buy the best available UVB tube for a bearded dragon or other desert reptiles that need intense, strong UVB light all day long, every day, the T5-strength UVB tubes, he will never become at all lethargic, never lose his appetite, and most importantly will always be able to properly digest his food, absorb all of the nutrition from his food and supplements that you give him, and any damage already done by the calcium deficiency/MBD he already has can possibly be reversed. Right now because of the lack of a bright white Basking Bulb and any adequate UVB light, he is not absorbing any of the calcium and/or multivitamin supplements you've been giving him.

The cheapest place to buy a Reptisun 10.0 brand T5HO UVB tube and a matching T5-rated fixture is by far on Amazon.com, where a 22" Reptisun 10.0 T5HO UVB tube will cost you around $25, and a 24" T5-rated tube fixture with a metal reflector (crucial to reflect UVB light throughout his tank) will cost you another $25. So for $50- shipped you can fix these issues, stop them from progressing, and possibly reverse any damage already done.

You'll also save a small fortune over time if you skip over the much weaker T8 UVB tubes and just buy the much stronger (24 watts) T5 UVb tube, because the T5 UVB tube only needs to be replaced once every year, as opposed to having to replace the T8 tubes once every 6 months. Also, the T5 UVB tubes can sit on top of the mesh lid because they are strong enough to still emit adequate UVB light to your dragon with the mesh lid blocking 40% of the light. That's just how strong they are. And they only need to be within at least 11" of your dragon, as opposed to having to be within 6" of your dragon with a T8 tube. So you won't need to get a taller basking Spot/platform.

I highly suggest going any buying an adequate wattage, bright-white colored Basking Bulb immediately, like today, that's easy enough to do, especially if you go with the regular Halogen Indoor Flood Bulbs, again I don't know what size enclosure you have, but if it's a 40 Gallon Breeder Tank I'd buy both a 100 watt and a 125 watt, and then return whichever one you don't need. Also be sure to grab a Digital Probe Thermometer so you can actually measure the Basking Spot Surface Temperature too. And order an adequate UVB tube and fixture for him, you'll pay over $100 for the same Reptisun 10.0 T5HO UVb tube and fixture if you can even find one in a pet shop, all that Petco and PetSmart sell in stores is the much weaker and shorter 18" Reptisun 10.0 T8 UVb tube, and in the stores just the 18" T8 tube costs $37! So it's ridiculous not to get both the much longer, stronger 22" T5HO UVB tube and a 24" T5-rated fixture on Amazon.com for $50.

After you get both the correct wattage, bright-white Basking Bulb and a Reptisun 10.0 T5HO UVB tube, and you get them both set up right alongside each other over the Hot Side of the tank, and you move his basking spot/platform directly underneath both lights, and you measure his Basking Spot Surface Tamp and his Hot Side Ambient (air) Temperature and make sure they are within the correct ranges, then you need to measure the Cool Side Ambient (air) Temperature. If it is not between 75-80 degrees F, but is a little too cool, you may need to add a secondary bright-white colored Basking Bulb in either a deep-dome or a clamp lamp fixture over the Cool Side of the tank to get it up to between 75-80 degrees, no hotter...obviously this second bright-white Basking Bulb will be a much lower wattage than the main one over the Hot Side. Some people need them, some people don't. I have a second Halogen Indoor Flood Bulb over the Cool Side of the only glass tank I use, it's a large Exo Terra (36"x18"x18"), and I have a 100 watt Halogen Indoor Flood Bulb and a 22" Reptisun 10.0 T5HO UVB tube both right alongside each other and over the Hot Side of the tank, and I needed to add a second 30 watt Halogen Indoor Flood Bulb over the Cool Side to get the Ambient Temperature between 75-80 degrees, plus is brightened up the Cool Side of the tank for him too. Works perfectly.
 
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