What's happening to my beardie?

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Zavi

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Some backstory:
I rescued two bearded dragons about two years ago from a store that didn't know how to take care of reptiles. One of them healed and is perfectly healthy, but one didn't recovered completly.

Even before I got him I could easily tell he had MBD, but I didn't know how bad it is until I came home with him. He couldn't walk at all, he only crawled around with his front legs stiffly glued to his body, he was very stiff in general. Sometimes he would roll on his side, but that was rare.
Besides that he had some trouble with shedding and I'm sure he has trouble with vision, since he doesn't react to anything unless it's very far away from him, so he needs help with eating.


Recently, I noticed my beardie has very stiff back legs and has them stretched most of the time. Once I was taking him out of his tank and his leg suddenly went stiff and he raised his hip.. I touched his legs, trying to see what's going on and they were rock solid. I even tried to lighlty move them but they wouldn't budge. Ever since that day he's been doing it more and more and everytime he does it, his beard turns black. He even rolls on his side more often.
What's going on? Is it the MBD getting worse, or is it something completly different?

Information on his terrarium;
1 heat lamp; temperature around 25-35°C, under the basking spot it sometimes reaches 40. At night I lower the temperature to 20-30°C
Humidity; around 38%
UVB ligt; is on for about 12 hours a day, I buy new ones every 5/7 months. I think it's called exo terra, or something like that.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Need a pic of tank and lighting please --- the name of the brand and bulb of the UVB---- my guess its gonna have something to do w/ the UVB --- hopefully he can bounce back a little bit that he can move but that is going to depend on the UVB and the diet etc of the dragon--- calcium supplements will help but we need to get the lighting addressed --- and one of the more experienced on here can help w/ the calcium etc
Karrie
 

Zavi

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":xd6bnjui said:
Need a pic of tank and lighting please --- the name of the brand and bulb of the UVB---- my guess its gonna have something to do w/ the UVB --- hopefully he can bounce back a little bit that he can move but that is going to depend on the UVB and the diet etc of the dragon--- calcium supplements will help but we need to get the lighting addressed --- and one of the more experienced on here can help w/ the calcium etc
Karrie

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Sorry for the bad quality, but my phone lesne is broken.
Also I just noticed that he does it when I touch his stomach like it hurts him, but it's seems like everything is okay with it, it's soft and I can't feel anything strange in it.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok so the UVB needs to be changed out ASAP---- this is what is recommended on the forum
Which UVB light should I use?
The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube HO (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia). UVB lights should be replaced every 6 months. The T5’s are a strong bulb and only need to be replaced once a year – the T 8 every 6 months--- where as the T 8 are not as strong—they need to be placed inside the tank the T 5 10.0 bulb approx 10-11 inches from basking spot – the T 8 approx 8-10 inches from basking spot—the cover needs to be off the bulb for full effect of the UVB rays--
Also are both bearded dragons housed together? That too is also a concern --- one will thrive while the other will fail-------------- please get the UVB changed out ASAP -- that will be a start --- but if they are housed together that is not good ---- they are territorial
Karrie
 

Zavi

Member
Original Poster
Thank you so much! I will try my best to buy a new one soon.
And don't worry, they aren't housed together. :)
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok do start there I would get as big as hood w/ bulb as you can afford- like a 36" I believe they come in
Karrie
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I am so sorry your dragon is having so much trouble.
I agree, you will need to upgrade your UVB light as soon as you can. Is your other dragon
using the same type/brand of UVB too? If so, I highly recommend changing his bulb out too
so you can avoid him having trouble as well.
As suggested the best tube UVB lights are either the Reptisun 10 T5 tube or the Arcadia D3 12%
or 14% tube bulb. Both bulbs are very good & are high UVB output. They need to be mounted
at around 10 or so inches from him, directly overhead inside of a good reflective light fixture.
Are you also using some liquid calcium for him, too?
Do you have pictures of him we could see?

Tracie
 
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