Need Help/advice for my baby beardie

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lorenee

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Hello! I recently (about 2 weeks ago) bought a baby bearded dragon from Petsmart. They never told me the age but I’m assuming he’s a hatchling. Anyways, yesterday I noticed his legs started to shake/almost twitch and I got really worried. I looked and read that it could be a calcium deficiency ? I have a UVB light being shipped to my house this Saturday but I’m very concerned for my little lizard. I picked him up today and he began shaking his legs as well as his head, which lasted for about a minute and then stopped. (Also, it seemed like his front two legs looked stiff and sort of paralyzed while he was twitching but he is back to normal now in his cage) I feed him about 20-30 crickets a day and have been dusting some of them with a calcium powder, as well as feeding him some veggies. Please give any advice on what to do!! I am very worried for my new pet and I don’t want to do anything wrong.
 

CooperDragon

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Yeah it could be an issue due to lack of proper lighting so it's good that you ordered a UVB light. Which one did you get? It's important to invest in a high quality light and they aren't all equal. The upside is that a good light will last quite a long time. If the weather is nice try bringing him outside to sit on your lap and bask a bit. The natural sunlight might help him feel better.
 

lorenee

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CooperDragon":3saib7c5 said:
Yeah it could be an issue due to lack of proper lighting so it's good that you ordered a UVB light. Which one did you get? It's important to invest in a high quality light and they aren't all equal. The upside is that a good light will last quite a long time. If the weather is nice try bringing him outside to sit on your lap and bask a bit. The natural sunlight might help him feel better.
I went out and bought a UVB light tonight because I wanted to start sooner. I got one with the brand name “zoo med”. This sounds dumb but do I use my heat lamp and the UVB lamp at the same time? Also is this metabolic bone disease reverseable? I’m just worried that it’ll be deadly to him and cause health problems in the future
 

CooperDragon

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Which ZooMed bulb did you get? How far above the basking area is it? You certainly want to run the basking light and UVB light at the same time. They should both sit next to eachother over the basking area so they combine to provide heat, bright light, and UVB like natural sunlight.
 

lorenee

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Original Poster
CooperDragon":oceetehp said:
Which ZooMed bulb did you get? How far above the basking area is it? You certainly want to run the basking light and UVB light at the same time. They should both sit next to eachother over the basking area so they combine to provide heat, bright light, and UVB like natural sunlight.
My bad the ZooMed was the lamp fixture, but I bought a ReptiSun 10.0 13 watt bulb. The guy at the pet store reccomended it. The light is about 8-9 inches from his basking area. He is still having the legs shaking and paralyzed at least one to two times a day, and those are only the times that I catch it happening. I might be overthinking things but do you think he could possibly die from this since he’s so young?
 

CooperDragon

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Yes the lighting issue can be fatal to them so it needs to be fixed. The 13w compact bulb isn't powerful enough for a bearded dragon. Since you have the screw in type fixture the immediate fix (so you can use the same fixture) is to get a 26w UVB 200 by Exo Terra. That should sit 6-8'' above the basking area for best results. Ultimately you will be best off getting a 24'' T5 fixture with a 22'' T5 bulb. ReptiSun 10.0 or Arcadia 12% bulbs are recommended. That should sit about 12'' above the basking area and will provide sunlight levels of UVB. This is an excellent option http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/ In the meantime if you can take him outside for some natural sunlight without causing too much stress it will be beneficial to him.
 
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