9 month old Beardie help please!

[bkeaver]

Ok First off I want to start out by sayong I am going to take him to a vet and having said that here is the issue. I noticed last night he was on his log, not unlike him, and he was just sitting there with his eyes closed. This morning when I got up and his lights came on I noticed he hadnt moved. Thought it was strange but still only half heartedly shrugged it off. I went to work and while I was at work my wife dumped a few crickets in the tank like she usually does in the late morning (yesterday he ate probably 20 to 30 crickets in the a.m. plus his leafy greens and shreadded carrots), and last night he didnt eat anything. Well when I came home today he was still on his log with his eyes closed. He will open his eyes briefly to look at me if he hears me talk to him. but I can pet his head and or body and he wont open them. I gave him a bath which he usually tries to claw his way out of the tub but not today he just sat there. I dont get it.. he has never acted like this.

as for his enviroment its as follows
He is a male
9 months old approx ( i bought him at a pet store and he was at my guess around 8 weeks)
I have him in a 75 gallon tank
I have 2 light a tube UVB that is almost 6 months old (time to change soon) and a Mercury Vapor 100w PowerSun UV for basking
the cool side stays between 75 to 80ish degrees and the basking side between 104 and 112
I have a digital thermometer with a probe and I place that at the basking rock and have one on the cool side
I feed him a variety of collar, mustard and turnip greens with shredded carrots and occasionally apple peices, crickets and superworms.
I also have a under the tank heater for night time heat and that keeps his sand about 90ish degrees.

he is 388 grams and 15 inches long.

did I mention his beard goes real black and back to the normal yellow color that it usually is in a blink of a eye. Any suggestions?

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello,

I'm sorry your beardies not doing well. I am going to say it might very well be your PowerSun mvb. Lately there have been alot of stories about the PowerSuns and beardies eyes.
I am going to find the thread on this particular subject, because I personally have not been following it.

I will be back and if I am unable to help you I will find someone who can. In the mean time go ahead and turn off the PowerSun, you mentioned you have a tube UVB, use that for the time being.

Dawn

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello again,

Well it seems there are some PowerSuns out there that are emitting too much UVB. I found this link, it's the UK report guide(they do testing on UVB's) http://www.uvguide.co.uk/mercvapourfloods.htm#zoomedpowersun

I pm'd a member who has just recently gone through eye problems with her beardie, due to the PowerSun.

Hopefully she will reply and give you some insight on what to do for your little guy. Please turn off your PowerSun in case that is the culprit.

Dawn

 

[bkeaver]

ok thank you

 

[MissT]

Hi there,

Dawn PM'd me as I have just went through the same thing with my Abu. She had the light on her for a maximum of 48 hours and after it was switched off, she seemed to get worse for a couple of days and was totally unresponsive at times. Here is a link to the thread I started for her [ Invalid URL Removed / p= t=104604 f=6 ]

First thing you need to do is take out the powersun and replace it with a normal household bulb - I switched to a pearl shaped bulb as the light was softer than that of a spotlamp. Get some saline solution and rinse your beardies eyes with it - I was doing it twice a day for about 4 days. Give him/her lots of baths... if you can, mix some pedialyte with water and get some oral fluids into him in her. Abu's light has been off for a week now and she is just getting back to normal now so please dont be alarmed if you dont see immediate progress!

Good luck!

T

 

[bkeaver]

Thanks for reply. How do you give it the saline drops, my fear is that drop will go to the mouth and he will drink it. I dont want to harm it.

 

[diamc]

The saline solution comes in a plastic bottle and it has a small hole on the end. Just tip the bottle and put the drops in his eyes, make sure it gets right in them rather than just running down the outside. If a little of the solution dripped in his mouth, it would be totally safe because saline is just salt water.

Did you turn the Power Sun off and replace with a standard household lightbulb? What size tank is it? How close had the MVB been to your beardie? What brand is the fluorescent? Were you using both of those bulbs at the same time? How close is the fluorescent to him?

 

[bkeaver]

My thing is if he doesnt have his eyes open I dont know how to get them in. I have the solution.

He is in a 75 gallon Aquaarium. the Vapor light was about 9 to 10 inches from the top of his basking rocks. The UV tube light was at the other end of the tank, it is a Reti Glo 10.0 UV. This was/is 18 to 20" away

 

[diamc]

Well, if his eyes are totally shut, you might have to take your (freshly washed) fingers and gently try to pry his eyes apart so you can get a drop in each eye. How has his appetite been?

The MVB was actually too close, a 100 watt should be a minimum of 12" anywhere in the tank. There have also been some issues with the Repti-Glo 10.0 fluorescent causing eye issues too which you can read more about here. viewtopic.php?f=34&t=101703&p=814792&hilit=reptiglo+10+0#p791570 So, it's no wonder he is having eye issues. When using a MVB, you don't need another type of UVB at all because the MVB's are quite strong. The Repti-Glo fluorescent should be placed right alongside a bright white basking bulb and should be about 10" from your beardie, no closer than that anywhere in the tank. If you want to use another MVB, you could get either the Megaray or T-Rex, both of those are great bulbs. For now, I suggest trying a 100 watt household lightbulb and retaking your temps. The basking spot should be NO higher than 110. Let us know if you have any questions.

 

[bkeaver]

Temp at the top of the basking rock was 104. And I will correct myself on my measurements. the actual Vapor Light was 12" above his basking light.

This is also just the first day he hasnt ate. yesterday he ate between 20 to 30 crickets, 5 superworms and a bunch of greens... he just started not feeling good within the last 24 hours thats why I am just baffled why after all this time??

 

[diamc]

Hi, that's good that the MVB was 12" from him after all. How long had you been using that bulb? Beardies are great at masking when they don't feel good until it does get to the point that they are uncomfortable, then you can see the darkened beard, loss of appetite, lethargy, closing of the eyes, etc. So, he may have not been feeling quite right for a while but is only just now letting it be known. The temps or something else may have caused him to feel worse last night or today and now you're seeing the signs. It's good that you mentioned his recent behavior so we could tell you about the new problems with the PowerSun that we have been reading about here. Hopefully with the light turned off and the saline flushes and frequent baths, you will start to notice improvements very soon. Please keep us updated on him.

 

[bkeaver]

I have used powersun bulbs since I got him last sept. I will keep you all updated and thank you for your help and suggestions.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello again,

How is your beardie doing today? Is he opening his eyes at all?

Please lets us know how he's doing!

Dawn

 

[bkeaver]

he is about the same today as yesterday. he sits infront of his veggie bowl and when I placed a fresh bowl infront of him he picked his head up and looked at it then shut his eyes again. I thought for a moment that he was going to attempt to eat some but no go. I am trying to get him in to see the vet today. Will keep you posted...

 

[bkeaver]

UPDATE:

he has drank a little, has ate 4 super worms, 20 crickets and some veggies!!! he is holding his eyes open a little more and the fact he can keep them open long enough to chase down some crickets kind of tell me that the potential damage to his eyes is repairable. is beard is back to a shade of yellow rather than black.

Thank you for your support and help!! you guys are great