Beardie not basking

Status
Not open for further replies.

Scarsnare

Member
Hi all,

I am worried about my beardie the last few weeks. 2 weeks ago she started to show signs of a URI, so I made an appointment at the vet for 3 days later. The symptoms got less and once at the vet he couldn't tell it was a URI. I got antibiotics for parasites for her after a fecal examination tho.

Now 2 weeks later:
- she finished her antibiotics 2 days ago.
- she does eat some greens, but not as much as before.
- she does eat her crickets and worms.
- she poops every other day now (before every 5 days) and it's a bit watery but solid poop. Could be because of the antibiotics ofcourse.
- she hasn't basked in the whole 2 weeks. When I put her on the baking spot she just jumps down after 10 min.
- every 20-30 min she moves, but always on the ground.
- She isn't very lethargic, but zooms out. When she sees me moving she is alert again.
- basking temp is around 100F
- ground temp is around 80-85F
- she is almost 6 years old and 300 grams.
- I use a 25w UVB coil. I know there is a lot of controversy about them, but this one is approved by breeders and does it's job.

So although she doesn't seen very sick, I'm still worried. She is just not acting like normal. Should I just give her some more time to recover? Will the not basking have consequences for her health in other ways?

Thanks in advance!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Yes it will---- usually the not basking is due to lighting issues or temp issues-- how are you taking the basking temps? If its a stick on its inaccurate--- coil bulbs are not the greatest--- and I am assuming its the 26 watt not a 25 watt? What is the brand of the coil--- sorry I am not a fan of coils --- seen and read too many issues w/ them ---- where in the tank is the coil? If its a 26 watt Reptisun is it in a dome w/a reflector and appox 8-10 inches from basking spot---- sorry trying to rule the lighting thing out -- and how old is the coil UVB?
Karrie
 

Scarsnare

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":120wf6cn said:
Yes it will---- usually the not basking is due to lighting issues or temp issues-- how are you taking the basking temps? If its a stick on its inaccurate--- coil bulbs are not the greatest--- and I am assuming its the 26 watt not a 25 watt? What is the brand of the coil--- sorry I am not a fan of coils --- seen and read too many issues w/ them ---- where in the tank is the coil? If its a 26 watt Reptisun is it in a dome w/a reflector and appox 8-10 inches from basking spot---- sorry trying to rule the lighting thing out -- and how old is the coil UVB?
Karrie

Hi Karrie,

I have 2 internal in the terrarium and 2 external placed inside the terrarium so I think I can have an accurate reading of the temps. In all 6 years i had her she never had any problems with the lighting before and haven't made significant changes to the lighting since. Basking temp is around 100F, ground temp around 85-90F.

Since your reply 10 days ago she is still always on the ground. She goes wild for insects, eats greens every now and then. After eating she goes back to laying around all day.

In Europe it is 25W not 26, but I placed it only a few months ago.

I don't know what to do anymore, I have tried everything that was recommended to me and I don't want to put her through the stress of going the long way to the vet again, which didn't have as much knowledge as I expected him to have.

A picture of her and the setup:
https://ibb.co/KwhKX7J
https://ibb.co/Jy1S9RC

I removed alot from her setup because of the parasites. When is it okay to return all the props? She hasn't had diarrhea in a few days now.

Her last 3 poops on 9 may, 10 may and 13 may:
https://ibb.co/Mssv62V
https://ibb.co/Xb7SMbx
https://ibb.co/XL879mY

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm out of ideas!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The 25 watt UVB bulb is not a good one for the height of that tank --- I cant see it --- if its above the screen and further away than 6 inches from basking decor piece and not in a reflector dome she is not getting any UVB --- the 26 25 watts need to be a Reptisun bulb brand and in a reflector dome w/ NO screen approx 6 inches from decor piece- what is the height of your tank ? If its 24 or better inches I would replace the UVB w/ a 24" fixture w/ a Arcadia 14% bulb- it needs to be inside the tank and strapped to the top of the screen -- you would not be able to use that piece of decor sitting in there now as 14% bulbs require a distance of 24" or if you wanted you could get the Arcadia 12% and then it would need to be inside the tank w/ a distance of 12-15 inches from basking decor piece- if she is sitting on the floor of the tank all the time there is a issue w/ the lighting- and that is my first guess is the issue --- her last poop looks like it has no urate -- meaning she is possibly dehydrated -- how is she getting water?
Karrie
 

Scarsnare

Member
Original Poster
Hi Karrie,

First I will answer your question about the UVB. There is no screen in front of it. The lamp is about 7 inches above the basking decor. I also use reflectors on the side of the casing. See picture. She gets her water through insects, greens and weekly baths. She never drinks tho, even when in bath.

https://ibb.co/VMKCz2Q

Then what happened in the last 2 weeks. I noticed she was ready for a second batch of eggs because she started scratching. She laid the eggs on may 21. I figured that would be it and she gained strength. She gained 30 grams after laying the eggs, does eat more greens and eats her insects gladly. She does climb halfway up the decor, but not under the basking spot all the way. Her head is shedding, her legs, beard and tail did shed over the last 2 weeks.

Since 2 days ago she started showing signs of stress marks on her beard and started zoning out again. She is definitely having a fallback. I can't figure out what it is this time, or if it is still the same. She seemed fine 2 days after laying eggs until 2 days ago (for about 10 days), so it could be something else. I want to help the poor thing so bad.

Here are some pictures of her and the stress marks.
https://ibb.co/1bPbkYf
https://ibb.co/DDSQSBs

Thanks alot once again.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The coil is the UVB? If it's a 13 watt they are not a ideal UVB- please replace it w/ a 24" fixture w/ a reflector-- and a Reptisun 10. T 5 bulb -- you can put it on top of screen or inside the tank--- top of screen decor needs to be directly under it approx 8-10 inches inside tank 12-15 inches from decor
Karrie
 

Scarsnare

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":1dwp65bv said:
The coil is the UVB? If it's a 13 watt they are not a ideal UVB- please replace it w/ a 24" fixture w/ a reflector-- and a Reptisun 10. T 5 bulb -- you can put it on top of screen or inside the tank--- top of screen decor needs to be directly under it approx 8-10 inches inside tank 12-15 inches from decor
Karrie

It is a 25W bulb, the lighting is fine. And so it has been for 6 years. We've been over that before. Could you think of anything else?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The only thing I can think of is basking temps- something is making her not go to that spot to bask- how long has she been on the floor to bask? When did the behavior change? Had you replaced the UVB bulb? And your getting an accurate temp? With her laying eggs I am wondering if that has caused the behavior-- ahbd or Tracie would haft to answer that question-- they are more experienced w/ the egg laying thing
Karrie
 

Scarsnare

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":2q01zswq said:
The only thing I can think of is basking temps- something is making her not go to that spot to bask- how long has she been on the floor to bask? When did the behavior change? Had you replaced the UVB bulb? And your getting an accurate temp? With her laying eggs I am wondering if that has caused the behavior-- ahbd or Tracie would haft to answer that question-- they are more experienced w/ the egg laying thing
Karrie

She has been on the floor for at least 4 weeks now. I changed the 2 50 W bulbs out for a 75 and 25 W basking bulb so she can bask on the ground on 1 side of the terrarium and could heat herself up instead of all the way on the decor where she wouldn't come. I am not sure when the right moment would be to put the 50 50 setup back like she is used to. She needs to get back up there some time. The behaviour change started about 2 months ago. I changed the uvb lamp 3 months ago.

I have 3 temp meters so I should be fine regarding temps. 100-105 F at the basking. 80-85 F at the cool side. Her temporary basking (on the ground with the switched bulbs) is 90-97 F.

Thanks for your help Karrie.
 

Scarsnare

Member
Original Poster
A little update:

She pooped today and for the first time her urate is really pink. Also the poop itself is a bit loose. See picture:

https://ibb.co/m9vNWTN

I don't think it is blood, but it doesnt look good to me at all! She got fed carrots, bell peppers, apple, cockroaches, Phoenix worms, dola worms and grasshoppers.

Should I wait for the next poop to see if it is different or is this something I have to go to the vet with immediately?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Not sure about the pink -- do you think its blood ? What color peppers red? That would cause it to be pink -- dont feed her anymore red peppers if that is what you fed-- and see if it changes color-- I am not a poop expert but something caused it and it could be what she ate --- AHBD is gonna haft to take a look
Karrie
 

Scarsnare

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":380qxh1x said:
Not sure about the pink -- do you think its blood ? What color peppers red? That would cause it to be pink -- dont feed her anymore red peppers if that is what you fed-- and see if it changes color-- I am not a poop expert but something caused it and it could be what she ate --- AHBD is gonna haft to take a look
Karrie

I don't think it's blood personally. Indeed red bell pepper (and yellow) and carrots. I will stop feeding that for a while and wait for the next bowel movement. I hope AHBD will read this and give some expertise vision on this movement.
 

Scarsnare

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":1l3qussr said:
I would give her some collard greens turnip kale or mustard greens - some squash like yellow or zucchini - here is a website for nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder --
Karrie

We don't know the concept of collard greens and mustard greens here in Europe. Or at least I can't find good information on what is exactly in these groups. Is everything in these groups safe to feed? Things like Brussels sprouts, cauliflower leafs, brocolli leafs etc.? I use endive and kale as a stapler, but can only get Kale in the winter/autumn months here. Anything else in these groups that is easy to come by?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
If you look at the nutrition website I posted it will give things to feed what not to feed and how often to feed -- brussel sprouts broccoli is not a good everyday feeder -- I believe you can find rocket there or also known here as arugula -- I have flagged your post to AHBD --- I am still betting its the UVB for reason for not basking --- lets see what AHBD thinks
Karrie
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

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
Taking my beardie for a walk

Forum statistics

Threads
155,854
Messages
1,255,181
Members
75,936
Latest member
KarmaChild99
Top Bottom