Have had our Beardy for about 1.5 months. He recently started having a dark patch under his neck "beard". I was thinking it was shed but its kind of hard. I soak him 3 times a week. He is not eating as much as I think he should he eats 2-3 Dubai roaches a day. He is around 7 inches and looks a little small. He has access to Greens and Carrots but he only usually takes a bite of them 1-3 times a week. He is in a 40 gallon tank. Basking spot is around 98 degrees and I use a ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5HO that sits on a mesh top on top of his cage.
Hi there, does he have a heat rock or any way to get close to a heat source like a basking bulb ? It almost looks like a burn. Can you post a pic of his entire set up ?
To me it looks like some sort of injury, either a burn like Ahbd suggested or a wound from maybe a cut or a bite.
Could you possibly get a clearer closer up picture too?
I will take a pic of the set up tonight as well as a clearer pic of the black mark on his neck. The lights sit on top of a metal mesh cover on top of the tank so he doesn't have access to the bulbs directly. I do not have a heat rock. I do have a rope vine that allows him to bask closer to the light source if need be.
I agree that it looks like it could have been from a wound or a bite. Are his roaches left in the tank, or do you remove any that he doesn't eat?
I agree that he seems quite small and is not eating as much as he should. This may be due to the lower basking temperatures. Your temp of 98F would probably be okay for an adult, but for a baby it should be 105-110F. I would try increasing the temps and see if you notice a difference.
What greens are you feeding him? Try to stick to ones like collard greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens if you don't already. Also be careful with the carrots as they are high in vitamin A and should only be fed occasionally. Butternut squash would be a great alternative! Here is a great reference for foods to feed (and not feed) your beardie: http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Are you supplementing with calcium and multivitamins?
I have left a couple of Dubia Roaches in the cage before that he didn't eat right away. I will raise his basking spot and get the temp up.
As far as Greens, I do a mix of Mustard greens and Kale. ill cut down on the carrots. Should I not feed the roaches carrots since they will be full of carrot or does that not matter? Thanks for the food reference link.
I do dust his Roaches and crickets with Calcium 5 days a week and I dust them with the multi vita 2 days a week.
I doesn't seem to bother him much. I soak him and brush him with a soft tooth brush and he doesn't mind the under the neck brushing to much. I was thinking about putting some Organic Aloe Vera on it but it was just a thought.
That's a nice set up you made for your little guy. The more I look at the spot it may actually be a fungal infection. Get a small tube of Lotrimin or Monistat antifungal cream and dab that area every day, careful to not get any in his mouth. Babies love to try to taste anything coming near their mouth so watch out as you are applying it.