Looking for some help or advice

Status
Not open for further replies.

mhoops73

New member
Hello everyone. I’m writing to see if I can get some help or suggestions. We’ve had our beardie for 3 months..he is now 5 months old. He has been perfect up until now. He is currently in a 4x2x2 zen habitat with the zen mat as a substrate. We use a T5 UVB mounted inside the cage and is about 12 inches from him. We use a 90W halogen bulb for his basking. Our temps were spot on when we were using a rock, but the rock got too small for him, so my husband made a platform for him and grouted it and we began having trouble with the basking area being too hot. We put the halogen on a dimmer but once we had it dim enough to keep the temps in the 100-110 range, then the enclosure started getting too cold. So, we swapped out the 90W for a 70W…had same issue. My husband then built another new platform that was 2 inches shorter and tried the 90W bulb again….same problem, but a little better. We have since put a piece of foam board over the top of the screen top that is not on the side where his halogen is to try and keep in the warm air. The temps are pretty good now, but still having trouble getting the basking spot dialed in. One thing of note…in July, when he was 3 months old, we took him to the vet just for a well check up and fecal. The fecal tested positive for pin worms, but the vet said it was “within normal limits.” We had his lights set to come on at 6 and go off at 9. He would still sleep for hours after his lights came on, so we adjusted those. We set them to turn on at 8am and go off at 8pm. One day he didn’t get up for about 5 hours after his lights came on. (we have a camera mounted outside his cage so we can watch him during the day while we are at work) Twice we drove home to check on him and make sure he was ok…just sleeping. Fast forward a couple of days and here it is today. He was up this morning, ate, basked, and pooped, and now he is currently sleeping on one of his ledges. He has NEVER taken a nap during the day, besides just not getting up for 5 hours. Not really sure what the next step is. I am going to take another fecal in to get tested again in case the pin worm count has risen. Other than that, do you have any advice? I am open to any and all suggestions as I really do want to fix the problem. He is our first beardie and we have done tons of research and tried to do everything correctly, but something is just not right.
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
First, you guys are awesome. It's possible the worms are getting an upper hand, but sometimes they can live in the gut... not sure "symbiotically" is the right word--benignly, anyway.

I think the extra sleeping could just be a part of growing up. If he's old enough to be an adolescent, his body is going through hormonal changes just like other animals, and that can include longer/erratic sleeping patterns.

What color and material was the original basking rock, and what color and material is the newer basking platform? Colors can--of course--absorb light/heat differently, and so can different materials--even if/when the same color. I guess where I'm going is to try to get another (larger) basking rock made of the same stone and as close to the same color as you can find. I've got a large granite rock from the garden I'm going to try, but I also bought a couple of pieces of flat shale as alternatives.
 

mhoops73

New member
Original Poster
Thank you, and thank you for your input! I'm not really sure what kind of rock the old one is...it was in our rock garden. You are right though, it was definitely more porous than the grout...I think the color of the grout is "sandstone" so it's not real dark. The rock was lighter in color though. I will have to search for something similar to it, and try that to see if it makes a difference. I know what you're saying about the worms living in the gut and sometimes cause no issue. That's pretty much what the vet told me about his first results. She said they don't normally treat for them unless there are other issues going on and/or symptoms to suggest it warrants treatment. That's why I'm just unsure if it's a husbandry issue, a pin worm issue, or something else entirely. We have been very nervous and worried about this recent behavior. I have a call in to the vet to see if I can just bring a fecal or if I should take him in. Thank you again for your reply!!
 

MrSpectrum

Gray-bearded Member
jrhoops":3hferqks said:
The platforms are foam board and grout, sealed with water-based polyurethane
BINGO! :D That natural rock was a big ol' heat sink. The foam base is an insulator (so is the urethane, but not so much)--it reflects the heat back upward. That explains why it's hotter than the rock was.

The color you've got on the foam is pretty light; I don't know if changing it will do much good. If you could replace the basking platforms with real stone (I found some at a landscaping place) it might help, but they won't have the same mass as the original rock, so...
Come to think of it, I also saw some stone (or ceramic) tiles at Home Despot that were a similar color. In the right size, they might do as well... :dontknow:

I like the background! I'm working on similar in my enclosure, except that I'm using real stone (backsplash tiles). :wink:
 

jrhoops

New member
we have ordered a 5.5" mini deep dome, 7" deep dome, a regular 8.5" dome as well as 39w PAR 30, 60w PAR 38 and 90w PAR 38 clear and frosted. we already have several domes and 60w PAR 30 short necks, 70w PAR 38 and 90w PAR 38. So far today just running 2 domes each with a 39w PAR 30 the temps seem to be maxing out around 112 in a 2inch radius dead center of the bulb output. the smaller domes probably concentrate the heat a little more but they are easier to move around and get closer together so we can elongate the basking spot and spread the heat more. we will run this tomorrow to see how he does. I might pick up a thermal camera to monitor his core temps remotely but I dont really have a current baseline so it will take time to know what "normal" is, I think she is looking to deliver a fecal sample to a lab some time this week. Assuming they come back normal we should have a pretty good idea of how to manage this moving forward.
 

mhoops73

New member
Original Poster
Turns out our beardie did have parasites and coccidia. He ended up having a couple of drops of blood in his stool so I took him to the vet. He is still on meds. He has a recheck today, but of course he hasn't pooped. Looks like we will be rescheduling for the recheck. Silly dragon.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
What were all the parasites that were found and what were their counts?

What was prescribed for him?

Some of the meds are pretty harsh and upset their stomachs and appetites. Has he been eating?

-Brandon
 

mhoops73

New member
Original Poster
They gave me Panacur for the pin worms and then something called SMZ/TMP. I did some research on my own and ended up getting him a probiotic called Bene-bac. They didn't give me any numbers. He didn't eat for a few days, but now he is eating more and more. I rescheduled his recheck for Monday, so hopefully, I can get a sample either Sunday night or Monday before the vet.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

No members online now.

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,898
Messages
1,255,672
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom