2 baby dragons past away afraid of 3rd passing as well

[jfernandez28]

Where to start.... I have a 30 gallon long setup with a wire mesh top and a 3 in one dome with a flourescent reptiglo 2.0 and a reb bulb for the night and a repti glo bulb for basking. A rock big enough to fit all three for basking aprox 7 inches from the light source. I place fresh greens every morning and feed 2-3 times a day as much as they can eat crickets no bigger than the size between there eyes.

I bought 3 hypo bearded dragon from the pet expo 3 weeks ago about 4 -5 inches in size.I usualy feed them all they can eat and they do. Last week I noticed one of the babys very dark in color and not eating as well as not opening eyes. The other two where almost twice his/her size by now.... a few days latter a second one followed with same symptoms and color.

After reading these forums i decided to separate them. So i divided the tank in two and left the healthy one by itself. I swapped out the red bulb since i read it disturbs there sleep and placed a regular house 75 watt bulbin its place for another basking spot. Basking temps on both sides where measured by digital with probe needle and both measured aprox 105. At night i turned off all the lights because it didnt go below 73 . I gave them 2-3 warm bath a day and hand fed the sick ones( scrony, and scruffy ) baby food chicken from the jar. i even tried jump start from zilla. Today i woke up to find the most recent one that was sick to have past away and when i went to give the smallest one thats been sick for the longest a bath he past away as well...

I just ordered repti sun 10 and have un plugged the repti glo bulb and have been using the house bulb. I dust at least one feeding a day with calcium and 3 times a week with the dragon dust. Saphira now has the tank all to herself and looks healthy bright and alert. She/he doesnt like to be handled. she comes down and picks off a cricket here and there but i dont think shes eating enough. Saphira has only eaten 5 crickets today . Ive even placed can o crickets in her salad see if that helps since she rarely touches it. Basking is 105.4 and cool zone is around 84. I mist her with a spray and she sits and drinks what ever drips on her nose

Any suggestions on what else I should do. I sincerly dont want to loose saphira as well.

Ill post some picks up if i can figure out how.

 

[TazzysMamma]

Hi,

I think getting the repti-sun 10.0 and separating them were the two best things you could do for them. I believe that the repti-glo's were responsible for their deaths unless they were already ill to start with. Feed her baby food to get her more interested in eating, but be sure to mix it with squash baby food (mixture of chicken or turkey and squash - the greater amount should be the squash)

Please stop misting her, as it increases the humidity in her viv and can cause upper respiratory infection or pneumonia. The bathing should be plenty to hydrate her. Just make sure her vent area is in the bath for at least 5 minutes a day - longer if she'll allow it. 20 minutes is ideal.

Also, offer her a good salad every day like it sounds like you've been doing. Here is a good site for nutritional do's and donts: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

The cool side should be a "tad" cooler at 80-82 degrees. Use a thermometer with a probe and leave it in the area being tested for at least 45 minutes to get an accurate reading. You need an accurate reading of the cool side, as well as the actual spot where she basks.

HUGS to you! I wish they'd outlaw those awful Repti-Glo bulbs

Sandi

 

[jfernandez28]

I just went out and spent 50 bucks to get the repti sun 10. I didnt want to risk waiting and losing saphira. I will definetly stop misting her in the viv. Do you think im good leaving the 75w house bulb ask her basking light or should i place the exo terra sun glo 60w bulb back in. The House bulb seems to be warmer and keeps the temp at 105.

 

[TazzysMamma]

The 75 watt household bulb is just fine. You are getting the temperature reading after waiting for 45 minutes right? It takes that long to get an accurate reading.

HUGS

Sandi

 

[jfernandez28]

Yes the temperature reading are after 45 minutes or moreof exposure. I gave her a 15 min bath a few minutes ago. Saphira seems to be eating more now . I tried taking her out and feed in a different container but nthat wasnt working. I droped 10 crickets in there this morning before going to work and by the time I returned from work 8 where gone. I just got an order of 250 crickets in the mail and I noticed that they are about one third of the size I was feeding my dragons. I know that the size im supose to feed them is no longer than in between there eyes ... the one I usualy get in the pet shop are about the same size in between his eyes or a tiny bit bigger. Its been the smallest i can find till now.

Have I been feeding my dragon to big of a cricket?
Could that be another reason on why my other two passed away?
She has some dark spots underneath her is that normal?

I wish i knew how to post some pictures...

 

[TazzysMamma]

Ok, just a word to the wise - try not to leave crickets in her tank with her. When she's not eating them, they could very well be eating her. Many here have had beardies with injuries and infections due to cricket bites.

Keep trying to get her to eat in a separate feeding bin - or make sure you catch any leftovers before you leave her.

Crickets too large could have had something to do with the other 2 passing away - anything larger than the space between their eyes can cause impaction.

To post pics, just open an account with photobucket.com. Its free. Just upload your pics there, and then take the img code that you are given and copy and past it here in a post.

I hope this helps!

HUGS

Sandi