Beardie very cold when sleeping

[ohenoch]

I got my beardie (Syd) over a year and a half ago and have had no major problems with any of his set up, he prefers the cool side of his tank but always goes to bask at least once during the day.

The only health problems he’s had is an impaction a year ago and a current case of suspected dehydration (he was fine this morning but I checked on him a couple hours later and he had sunken eyes, fully black beard and end of tail, bloating and couldn’t stop falling asleep, even in the bath)
he’s starting electrolyte soaks tomorrow, just hoping I don’t wake up to a even sicker beardie

I’ve recently moved houses and the new house doesn’t hold heat in it very well and temperatures can easily drop anywhere to 10° (50F) at night. I know these kinds of temperatures aren’t very good for beardies and whilst Syd has always woken up feeling very cold to the touch, I’m worried these temperatures could harm him in a more permanent way. I’m currently unable to get a ceramic heater but I do have a fairly large heating mat, would putting it on for an hour longer than his lamp at night help him keep a little warmer whilst he sleeps?

 

[Claudiusx]

It won't be very efficient at all, but you can try putting the heat mat against the outside wall of his tank to radiate heat in. Although i'd just recommend getting a CHE.

That being said, it sounds like your dragon isn't doing very well, I'd spend some time doing a lot of research here to make sure your husbandry is up to par.

-Brandon

 

[ohenoch]

It won't be very efficient at all, but you can try putting the heat mat against the outside wall of his tank to radiate heat in. Although i'd just recommend getting a CHE.

That being said, it sounds like your dragon isn't doing very well, I'd spend some time doing a lot of research here to make sure your husbandry is up to par.

-Brandon

I’ll definitely get a CHE when I can, thanks for the advice.
I’ve done a lot of research on here to try and correctly diagnose him and I’m pretty sure he’s dehydrated, given that he was perfectly healthy less than 12 hours ago it’s still a bit of a shock, he’s not shown any behaviour recently to indicate he was unhappy. As I’ve said in my post, I gave him a long soak in the bath (he also dipped his head in and started drinking) and have bought him some electrolytes to put in his bath tomorrow,
Do you have any advice on anything more I can do to help?

 

[Claudiusx]

Sunken eyes really aren't a good indicator of hydration. The only good at home indicator of hydration is looking at the urates/poo.

What does your dragons daily diet look like?
Can you post a picture of him?

-Brandon

 

[ohenoch]

Sunken eyes really aren't a good indicator of hydration. The only good at home indicator of hydration is looking at the urates/poo.

What does your dragons daily diet look like?
Can you post a picture of him?

-Brandon

His urates and poo are a little smaller than average and slightly darker too

syd gets kale, rocket (arugula) and collard greens daily with bell peppers once or twice a week, he occasionally gets half a strawberry too
For bugs, he has 3-5 Dubias a day and some crickets, he also gets a morio worm once a week

 

[ohenoch]

Sunken eyes really aren't a good indicator of hydration. The only good at home indicator of hydration is looking at the urates/poo.

What does your dragons daily diet look like?
Can you post a picture of him?

-Brandon

Apologies for the bad angle, I don't take photos of him that often, this was taken today.

 

[xp29]

If hydration is poor you can use an eye dropper to drop it on his nose, if he doesn't start lapping it up then you can add a little none citrus fruit punch to give it flavor. Go slow and don't force it in as you could aspirate him. Also be sure to use a wet towel afterwards to wipe off any that ran down his beard and chest. You don't want to risk the fruit punch causing bacteria to grow in his scales.

 

[xp29]

Also 50 degrees is to cold he needs to be closer to 70. Maybe run the heat mat all night and cover the the screen to keep the heat in at night until you can get the che. I would do like Claudiusx Suggested and put it on the wall of the tank, but be sure it doesn't get to hot inside if you cover the screen.

 

[ohenoch]

If hydration is poor you can use an eye dropper to drop it on his nose, if he doesn't start lapping it up then you can add a little none citrus fruit punch to give it flavor. Go slow and don't force it in as you could aspirate him. Also be sure to use a wet towel afterwards to wipe off any that ran down his beard and chest. You don't want to risk the fruit punch causing bacteria to grow in his scales.

He’s had a few drops of water, still refusing food but is perking up a little, still black beard and is very sleepy/lazy and won’t hold his weight on his front legs?? He was waddling in the bath today and won’t stop stretching his beard out.
His mouth and gums have also turned a pale yellow colour overnight and he’s producing a lot of saliva.
Anything I can do to help?? I’m a uni student and don’t have the money to go to a reptile specialist or reptile vet. As I’ve said before I’m going to put him in an electrolyte soak and see if that will help

This is him today, I had to place him on his log so he could bask because he just didn’t want to move

Tank specs just in case
4x4x2
Reptisun 10 and ProRep 60W
his uvb was changed 4 months ago and his basking bulb was changed 3 months ago

 

[KarrieRee]

He’s had a few drops of water, still refusing food but is perking up a little, still black beard and is very sleepy/lazy and won’t hold his weight on his front legs?? He was waddling in the bath today and won’t stop stretching his beard out.
His mouth and gums have also turned a pale yellow colour overnight and he’s producing a lot of saliva.
Anything I can do to help?? I’m a uni student and don’t have the money to go to a reptile specialist or reptile vet. As I’ve said before I’m going to put him in an electrolyte soak and see if that will help

This is him today, I had to place him on his log so he could bask because he just didn’t want to move

View attachment 73451


Tank specs just in case
4x4x2
Reptisun 10 and ProRep 60W
his uvb was changed 4 months ago and his basking bulb was changed 3 months ago

What is the UVB a coil or a long tube fixture ? Where is it in the tank top of screen or inside ? Surface basking temps should be 95-100 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer -- please get your night time temps up to 65-70 50 is way tooo cold -- please invest in a CHE dragons heat from their backs not stomach - you can use the heat mat to keep temps up at night but you need a good solid clear bright white basking bulb for day --- you should have 3 temps in the tank hot side 95-100 for basking middle of tank 90's and cool side 80's -- your dragon doesnt look well --- we need Tracie to weigh in on the gums and what she thinks - flagging to her she is on late night - she is our vet tech -
@Drache613

 

[xp29]

Be careful with the baths, he is already weak, they use the same muscle group to walk and breath, they can not do both at once. He could be at serious risk of driwning in the water.
I agree with Karrieree he looks sick, he really needs to see a vet.

 

[ohenoch]

What is the UVB a coil or a long tube fixture ? Where is it in the tank top of screen or inside ? Surface basking temps should be 95-100 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer -- please get your night time temps up to 65-70 50 is way tooo cold -- please invest in a CHE dragons heat from their backs not stomach - you can use the heat mat to keep temps up at night but you need a good solid clear bright white basking bulb for day --- you should have 3 temps in the tank hot side 95-100 for basking middle of tank 90's and cool side 80's -- your dragon doesnt look well --- we need Tracie to weigh in on the gums and what she thinks - flagging to her she is on late night - she is our vet tech -
@Drache613

It’s a long tube fixture and it spans the length of the vivarium, I’m working on bringing his temperatures up right now.

I’m a uni student and don’t have the money for a CHE right now let alone the money to see a reptile vet/specialist as they’re very expensive in my area

I’m not ruling out MBD but he has his leafs and bugs dusted with calcium every day and gets natural sunlight for at least half an hour every day, the only ‘symptom’ I can see is how he was waddling in the bath and not keeping his weight up on his limbs but I think that may just be tiredness?? He keeps falling asleep even whilst he’s basking

I’ve opened his mouth and he has a lot of thick saliva and keeps stretching his neck out every minute or so I’ve leant him forward and no fluid has come out so I don’t think he’s aspirated, I did however syringe feed him some water and a drop or two of olive oil just to see if he was impacted as he’s refusing food and when I checked on him initially, he was very bloated. His poops have been a little watery and I wasn’t able to give him a bath last week or mist him that much so am I right in thinking this is maybe dehydration??

 

[ohenoch]

Be careful with the baths, he is already weak, they use the same muscle group to walk and breath, they can not do both at once. He could be at serious risk of driwning in the water.
I agree with Karrieree he looks sick, he really needs to see a vet.

I keep him on my palm whilst he’s in the bath so he doesn’t need to walk
I feel like such a bad owner but I literally don’t have the money to send him to the vets, our nearest reptile specialist is over an hour away and costs more than what I make in a month

 

[KarrieRee]

I keep him on my palm whilst he’s in the bath so he doesn’t need to walk
I feel like such a bad owner but I literally don’t have the money to send him to the vets, our nearest reptile specialist is over an hour away and costs more than what I make in a month

What UVB is it ? T 5 or a T 8 and is it in a hood w/ a reflector

 

[ohenoch]

What UVB is it ? T 5 or a T 8 and is it in a hood w/ a reflector

It’s a T5 and has a reflector as well, I’m not sure what I can do now, I’ve tried to make him comfy and I’ve put him in a dark corner so he can rest, I had a online consultation and they essentially said they don’t know what it could be
He’s breathing more regularly now that he’s in the cool side of his enclosure so I’m going to let him sleep for a while and just check on his breathing often. Without professional medical care I don’t know what to do or even what’s wrong with him