Am I overreacting?

[smackey2]

This is Spike. I have had her for a little over a week. She was running around, chasing crickets, scratching at the sides of her tank, or generally just sitting under her basking light on top of her rock or her hammock.
Now, she only wants to hide UNDER the rock she used for basking. And she just lays there, head resting on her front feet or laying on her reptile carpet, some times she props it up on the side of the rock. Right now, she is currently still under the rock, both eyes closed. It is 10:42 am and her basking light is on, but she is sleeping! She has been quite lazy for about, roughly, 4 days.

However, she is shedding. I gave her a nice warm bath yesterday as she was having difficulties shedding her tail. I aloud her to soak for a good 15 minutes. Not only did it perk her up, but within 45 minutes, she shed her tail easily against her rock. The underneath of her legs are now peeling and she still has a little bit on her belly that she is still working on getting off.

Her tank:
She is currently in a 20 gallon tank (No mesh lid). I use reptile carpet. She has a shallow water bowl that I change daily, and a food bowl that I put her greens in and also change daily ( even though she only eats them when she wants). She has a rock to bask on and a hammock beside the rock that even goes up a little closer to the basking light. For her lighting I use a Mercury vapor bulb that is 100 watts. She also has a under tank heater. On the warm side of her tank the temperature is roughly 95 degrees. (I use a digital thermometer with the little prob on it.) On the cool side it is roughly 85 degrees. At night I use a Zacro Reptile Heat Lamp 100W Infrared Ceramic Heating Non-light Lamps Emitter 110V (Black) only because at night we like our house to be a little on the cooler side while we are sleeping and I was afraid she would get too cold due to it still dropping down to the 40s at night where I live.

Since I have noticed her shedding, she isn't nearly as active as she was. She still loves her crickets and eats roughly 5, twice a day ( but only when she wants). And I do dust them with her calcium as well. Her poop is normal and formed as it should be.

So, is her change in behavior something I am doing wrong, or is it just due to her still being in the process of shedding the rest of her skin? Her wanting to stay under the rock and barely move around worries me. Am I overreacting? Even when I take her out, hold her for a little bit, once I put her back in her tank, TRYING to set her on top of her basking rock, she runs off and goes right back underneath of it. Which again, she didn't start doing until she started shedding.

Any input would be great! Thanks in advance!

 

[smackey2]

Ok, so I just read a few posts about people saying that possibly the Mercury Vapor bulbs could be making their beardies sick. Could that be Spike's problem, part of it maybe? Could that light be the reason she never wants to come out from under her rock? (It is quite dark under her rock.)
And it was a few days ago when I switched to the Mercury Vapor bulb that she started hiding, but she did also start shedding around the same time. I don't know. I am attempting everything I can think of just in case I am doing something wrong.

I just took the Mercury Vapor bulb out and put in a regular 100 watt repti basking spot light and went a head and set up another deep dome light, beside of her basking light with a Reptisun 5.0 UVB light. I will probably upgrade that bulb to a 10.0, but as of right now, the 5.0 bulb was that one I already had on hand and came in a combo pack with the 100 watt basking spot light.

 

[YoursTruly]

I can't speak to what smackey2 said, as I don't use a MVB, but I would say the culprit of your beardie's odd behavior is the shedding process. My girl gets grumpy, lazy, and doesn't want to eat as much when she's shedding. She's going through it as I type this, actually. Her tail is almost completely grey and looks like it will shed any minute now. I try to imagine how uncomfortable I'd be if my skin felt a size too small for my body, and that's likely how they feel when they're about to shed. Once the shed starts to break, she cheers up.

However, there are other things to address, based on your post.

Suggestions:
-Keep up the baths, but only one a day. Do not to submerge her head as she can aspirate the water.
-Block off your beardie's hide at least until she starts basking for most of the day. They need the UVB for the better part of the day, and she is too young to brumate. If she's hiding all day, she's not getting those important rays or sufficient heat to aid in digestion.
-Turn off the under-tank heater. Bearded dragons cannot sense heat from the underside of their bodies, and she could get burned.
-I saw that you said the warm side of the tank is 95. Is that the temperature of the surface of her basking spot? Or is it the surrounding air temperature? Her basking spot, for a juvenille, needs to be 105-115. You can easily resolve this by lowering the MVB or raising her basking spot.
-The cause may also be parasites, so you will want to take a sample of her poo to the vet and have them test for parasites.
-Continue using the CHE at night. That will boost her appetite. 10 crickets a day is not enough for a growing beardie. It is not uncommon for juvenilles to eat 50+ crickets a day. My 7-month-old girl tends to eat around 60 a day, split between two feedings.

I know this is a lot to take in, but any of the above could be causing her lethargy and lack of appetite. I hope this is helpful.

 

[CooperDragon]

It could be a combination of shedding and lighting. Which 100w MVB are you using? The PowerSun? How far above the basking area did it sit? They need to be mounted based on UVB output rather than temperature reading.

What are the surface temperatures on the basking site and on the cool area of the tank? What are the temperatures inside the tank overnight? Do those get down to the 40s without a heat lamp?

 

[smackey2]

Ok, so I lowered Spike's basking light, the air temperature is roughly 98 degrees. I did leave her hammock, that she has access to climb up to get closer to her light as well. Directly on the hammock, the temperature is 105 degrees.
I also took out everything that she can hide under and she isn't happy in the least. Her tank is set up beside of my computer desk and now, every movement I make, she scampers around like I scared her. But, compared to how she was, she is acting very alert instead of just laying down under her rock.

I also have a 3 year old son, every time he comes in the room, she puffs up. So, I am also wondering if he might stress her out a little bit with his running around and quick movements.

She is quite active right now, though. She has managed to eat 10 crickets so far in one feeding, BUT only when no one is in the room (I could see her from my couch in the living room). I am thinking I have a shy eater. (Yes, the crickets were in her tank, but there is nothing that they can use to hide on or under from her.) (I tried putting her in another, smaller tank that I have for her to eat, but she refused to eat and move, period.)

 

[smackey2]

It could be a combination of shedding and lighting. Which 100w MVB are you using? The PowerSun? How far above the basking area did it sit? They need to be mounted based on UVB output rather than temperature reading.

What are the surface temperatures on the basking site and on the cool area of the tank? What are the temperatures inside the tank overnight? Do those get down to the 40s without a heat lamp?

Yes, it was a PowerSun. It was about 10 inches from her basking rock. (I switched the bulb to a regular 100 watt basking spot, though)

On the cool side of her tank, it is now 90 degrees. (I have done some rearranging of her light fixtures.)

 

[CooperDragon]

10-12 inches should provide a good amount of UVB from that bulb. The trouble with MVBs is that you might have a hard time getting the temps just right when it's sitting in that range.

It's good that you've gotten the basking temps up but 90 is too hot for the cool side. You want the cool side to be between about 75-85 while keeping the basking site at around 100-110. This is easier to do in a larger enclosure.

The 5.0 UVB light you put in place won't really be effective at all so I would replace it. Is it a tube light or is it a coil/compact?

 

[smackey2]

10-12 inches should provide a good amount of UVB from that bulb. The trouble with MVBs is that you might have a hard time getting the temps just right when it's sitting in that range.

It's good that you've gotten the basking temps up but 90 is too hot for the cool side. You want the cool side to be between about 75-85 while keeping the basking site at around 100-110. This is easier to do in a larger enclosure.

The 5.0 UVB light you put in place won't really be effective at all so I would replace it. Is it a tube light or is it a coil/compact?

Hm. I will move things around just a little bit more and try to get the cooler side down some more. I will figure this out! One way or the other!

And the UVB light is a compact Fluorescent.
So, should I just go back to just using the MVB until I can go to the pet store and get a different UVB light?

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah I'd use the MVB for now if it's not making the temperatures go too far out of whack. If the basking temps are still too low you may want to suspend the CHE next to it and adjust it's height until you're getting a proper heat gradient.

Is your tube/fixture a T8? Switching to a 10.0 ReptiSun or a Desert 50 should work in a 20g. they should sit a bit closer to the basking area though. I recommend about 6'' no further than 8'' for best UVB output. The PowerSun will give you better UVB output but as you've seen it can be difficult to get the temperatures just right, especially in a small enclosure.

 

[smackey2]

I will give it a try and if need be, I will put the CHE in the other lamp. I will post an update about the temperatures. Thanks for your help!

 

[YoursTruly]

I am fairly certain that you only need one UVB source in the tank. So either use a fluorescent tube (the compact UVBs are no good. I had one and it caused an eye infection in my girl), or the MVB.

She may be stressed out by your son now, but she will get used to him

It sounds like lowering your bulb helped a bit in brightening her mood, and 105 is perfect.

 

[smackey2]

I switched the lamps I was using. I put the MVB in the deep dome light fixture instead of the Fluker's Farm clamp light I was using. The temperature on her basking rock is holding steady at 110 degrees now and she is currently sitting all pretty perched ON it and not UNDER it. I also moved it away from the side of the tank, which is where it was, so now away from the sides and she has yet to go back underneath of it since I put it back!

 

[YoursTruly]

Yaaaay!

Please keep us updated on how she's doing!

 

[smackey2]

As of right now, she is doing fairly well. She keeps climbing off her basking rock and relaxing on her hammock. She still isn't hiding underneath of it either. Since I have rearranged her lights, she has come alive again; scampering around and eating crickets like crazy. So far, just since the rearranging of her lights, she has eaten about 40 crickets, which is a HUGE improvement of then 10 I was lucky to get her to eat before in a day. No, she didn't eat all 40 is just one sitting, as I did offer them to her 3 times since she has perked up. (I will work on a feeding schedule later. I am just pleased she perked up enough to show some appetite!) AND she did fairly well with eating in a different tank this evening so I could keep track and make sure she was indeed eating. She is still kind of leery of me watching as she was eating, but as long as I didn't move, she did amazing!

 

[smackey2]

Last update before I turn Spike's light off and call it a night. She has been glass surfing at the side closest to my computer desk. Thinking she wanted attention, I picked her up and she was quite content with me just holding her and gently rubbing her back and under her chin. However, she run down my leg, onto the floor, into my bookcase and lunged for the cricket keeper! Haha! She is perfectly fine, didn't hurt herself or anything, but also apparently knows where I keep the crickets! She ate another 15! Her appetite is improving like crazy now (not complaining). Now, hopefully with a full belly and after sitting on her basking rock for a good while, I think it is finally time to head to bed!

Night everyone and thanks bunches for the advice, it REALLY did help A LOT!