Juvenile Bearded dragon pooping blood and also very agitated.

[Painter]

So i recently got a bearded dragon the week of thanksgiving. Hes been fine and eating mostly alright (hes a little picky) and all was well. Well i got him some small live crickets from the store the other day and have been feeding them a high calcium diet. He went nuts for them at first! But starting yesterday i noticed his poop was runny and he wasn't too interested in what i had to give him. Today i found some with blood in it and i'm worried. Hes also gaping his mouth at me suddenly when i attempt to touch him or if i spritz him he scratches his face and then gapes. He hasn't eaten today yet either and when i gave him fresh water he bolted over and chugged some.

 

[KarrieRee]

So i recently got a bearded dragon the week of thanksgiving. Hes been fine and eating mostly alright (hes a little picky) and all was well. Well i got him some small live crickets from the store the other day and have been feeding them a high calcium diet. He went nuts for them at first! But starting yesterday i noticed his poop was runny and he wasn't too interested in what i had to give him. Today i found some with blood in it and i'm worried. Hes also gaping his mouth at me suddenly when i attempt to touch him or if i spritz him he scratches his face and then gapes. He hasn't eaten today yet either and when i gave him fresh water he bolted over and chugged some.
View attachment 76255

Please go over the UVB your using coil or a long tube fixture and your surface basking temps- those should be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer -- are you feeding the appropriate size for insects- they should not be bigger than the space between the eyes

 

[Painter]

Please go over the UVB your using coil or a long tube fixture and your surface basking temps- those should be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer -- are you feeding the appropriate size for insects- they should not be bigger than the space between the eyes

I've got a basking lamp and i personally switch between a aqua culture daytime bulb/bask bulb and a aqua culture black nightlight bulb. Both are 75 watt if i remember correctly. The basking side is currently 92.3 and the cooler side is 76.2. The crickets i got aren't bigger than the space between his eyes.

Most of the equipment i have is from this kit if that helps Thrive Desert Reptile Essentials Kit - 10G | reptile Starter Kits | PetSmart

 

[KarrieRee]

I've got a basking lamp and i personally switch between a aqua culture daytime bulb/bask bulb and a aqua culture black nightlight bulb. Both are 75 watt if i remember correctly. The basking side is currently 92.3 and the cooler side is 76.2. The crickets i got aren't bigger than the space between his eyes.

Most of the equipment i have is from this kit if that helps Thrive Desert Reptile Essentials Kit - 10G | reptile Starter Kits | PetSmart

Ok so your going to need to upgrade to a bigger tank like now- the 10 gallon is way too small and I see there is NO UVB --- this is crucial in the health of a dragon -- I would get as of a big tank you can afford -- hes going to be going into a 120 gallon by the time hes a year old -- that is the size recommended for a adult dragon --- next you need this like yesterday I am going to post 3 UVB fixtures for you pick one - if your going to go w/ a tank that is smaller than a 40 gallon example 20 which he will out grow really fast you want this UVB 24" Zoo Med ReptiSun T5 HO High Output Terrarium Hood this will come w /a 5.0 bulb use that on the smaller tank - if your going into a 40 gallon or larger get this bulb 22" Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO High Output Fluorescent Bulb
for other tanks like 40 gallon + you can get one of these - this one found at Pet Smart you want the 24 watt / 12% bulb Arcadia Reptile ProT5 UV-B Kit | reptile Light Fixtures | PetSmart
or this one you will need to get the 22" Reptisun I posted above for this fixture you want the 2 ft or 24"

SunBlaster NanoTech T5 HO - Fluorescent Fixture with 6400K Lamp

Buy the SunBlaster NanoTech T5 HO - Fluorescent Fixture with 6400K Lamp at Hydrobuilder.com. Shop the entire line of SunBlaster products along with thousands of hydroponics supplies on sale now.

hydrobuilder.com

please get 2 digital probe thermometers like this Zoo Med Digital Thermometer for Terrariums these can be found at Pet Smart --
he needs surface basking temps of 105-110 for a baby --- improper basking temps will cause digestion issues -- these things I have posted are imperative to the dragons health -- please get this right away -- I am sorry but the stuff you bought is not any good in that kit-- your going to need a bigger dome for a 40 + gallon tank like a 8.5 inch for basking --- you want a solid bright white basking bulb that keeps temps 105-110 for surface ---- is the basking bulb Arcadia or another brand ?

 

[Painter]

Ok so your going to need to upgrade to a bigger tank like now- the 10 gallon is way too small and I see there is NO UVB --- this is crucial in the health of a dragon -- I would get as of a big tank you can afford -- hes going to be going into a 120 gallon by the time hes a year old -- that is the size recommended for a adult dragon --- next you need this like yesterday I am going to post 3 UVB fixtures for you pick one - if your going to go w/ a tank that is smaller than a 40 gallon example 20 which he will out grow really fast you want this UVB 24" Zoo Med ReptiSun T5 HO High Output Terrarium Hood this will come w /a 5.0 bulb use that on the smaller tank - if your going into a 40 gallon or larger get this bulb 22" Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO High Output Fluorescent Bulb
for other tanks like 40 gallon + you can get one of these - this one found at Pet Smart you want the 24 watt / 12% bulb Arcadia Reptile ProT5 UV-B Kit | reptile Light Fixtures | PetSmart
or this one you will need to get the 22" Reptisun I posted above for this fixture you want the 2 ft or 24"

SunBlaster NanoTech T5 HO - Fluorescent Fixture with 6400K Lamp

Buy the SunBlaster NanoTech T5 HO - Fluorescent Fixture with 6400K Lamp at Hydrobuilder.com. Shop the entire line of SunBlaster products along with thousands of hydroponics supplies on sale now.

hydrobuilder.com

please get 2 digital probe thermometers like this Zoo Med Digital Thermometer for Terrariums these can be found at Pet Smart --
he needs surface basking temps of 105-110 for a baby --- improper basking temps will cause digestion issues -- these things I have posted are imperative to the dragons health -- please get this right away -- I am sorry but the stuff you bought is not any good in that kit-- your going to need a bigger dome for a 40 + gallon tank like a 8.5 inch for basking --- you want a solid bright white basking bulb that keeps temps 105-110 for surface ---- is the basking bulb Arcadia or another brand ?

.-. Shouldn't of trusted pet smart, they convinced me what was in the kit was enough.. the basking bulb is the aqua culture brand also. I'll get to work on getting this all immediately.

 

[KarrieRee]

.-. Shouldn't of trusted, pet smart they convinced me what was in the kit was enough.. the basking bulb is the aqua culture brand also. I'll get to work on getting this all immediately.

ok so please replace the bulb --- you want a Flukers -- Exo Terra Intense -- or Arcadia Halogen --- but please get those digital probe thermometers --- you do not want to burn him up--- why would you put a aqua (water) bulb in a desert reptile tank? that is not your fault and who ever sold the kit w/ that in it does not know a thing about dragons---

 

[Painter]

ok so please replace the bulb --- you want a Flukers -- Exo Terra Intense -- or Arcadia Halogen --- but please get those digital probe thermometers --- you do not want to burn him up--- why would you put a aqua (water) bulb in a desert reptile tank? that is not your fault and who ever sold the kit w/ that in it does not know a thing about dragons-

The second day i had him the bulb fried so i had to go panic buy a new one at 6 in the morning and all walmart had was this brand of bulbs.

 

[Mollie the dragon]

The second day i had him the bulb fried so i had to go panic buy a new one at 6 in the morning and all walmart had was this brand of bulbs.

I could be wrong but im pretty sure beardies dont need a nighlight, they just sleep in the complete dark, from what i know, again im not an expert but the black nightlight bulb is unneeded and i think unsafe for them, they sleep in complete darkness, what you need to replace is the basking bulb to get the right temps. baby beardies need higher temps than adults.

 

[KarrieRee]

The second day i had him the bulb fried so i had to go panic buy a new one at 6 in the morning and all walmart had was this brand of bulbs.

Ok a regular house hold bulb like these will do

please get rid of the night time colored bulb ----- those are harmful to the eyes and can lead to blindness -- they disrupt the sleep -- dragons have a 3rd eye on top of their heads for predators --- they are more sensitive to light than we are

 

[KarrieRee]

The bright white bulb supplies the UVA they need ---

 

[Painter]

Ok so i have a lamp that covers both heating and uvb coming tomorrow so hopefully that helps. He also finally ate a little bit of collared greens so thats also a somewhat good sign.

Hes also shedding a little now so that might be why hes so irritated at me touching him.. hopefully with the lamp he'll feel better and i'll be sure to get a new size tank for him. This one was never meant to be permanent and i actually was going to get him a 40 gal very soon after i saved up enough.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[KarrieRee]

Ok so i have a lamp that covers both heating and uvb coming tomorrow so hopefully that helps. He also finally ate a little bit of collared greens so thats also a somewhat good sign.

Hes also shedding a little now so that might be why hes so irritated at me touching him.. hopefully with the lamp he'll feel better and i'll be sure to get a new size tank for him. This one was never meant to be permanent and i actually was going to get him a 40 gal very soon after i saved up enough.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

What mvb do you have coming? Those are good for heat not so much uvb- they don't emit enough and depending on how far the basking decor is and the screen we always recommend one of those fixtures I posted earlier - the mvb' s we recommend are the powersun and the mega Ray

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Sorry you didn't get everything you needed the first time! Petstores don't always have the
most accurate information or supplies on hand. It's hard doing research to get it all correct.
As Karrie suggested, they don't need nighttime lighting, but in the winter, you can use a ceramic
heat emitter to help keep it from getting so cold overnight.
The MVB lights are really good. We do recommend that you do use a tube bulb along with it just
to be sure that there is adequate UVB coverage for him.

Tracie