BABY BEARDED DRAGON NOT MOVING

[Bianca675]

Just went to the pet store and got the UBV Light and a few other stuff for him. Just saw your comment on the bulb. When I get home I'll check immediately. If it's too big I'll go back to the pet store tomorrow to get one. I live in New York and it's 9:30 and pet stores are all closed, if not I would've went right back to get a smaller bulb!

 

[Bianca675]

I will also get a better thermometer like the ones you suggested

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

You can also use an indoor halogen flood bulb to produce heat. I use a 65w bulb I got at target for both enclosures

 

[kingofnobbys]

He looks too frail to actually chase and catch any live insects.

He should have been on at least TWO MEALS OF LIVE HIGH QUALITY INSECTS (THREE IS BETTER) AT 4 WEEKS OLD, I suspect a lot of the issue may be malnutrition (insufficient dietary calcium and insect protein + too cold to digest any food he was given + no UVA and no UVB).

This is one sick little hatchling , but he can recover and start to thrive with THREE LIVE INSECT MEALS PER DAY (IF HE CAN CATCH BUGS - UNLIKELY AT THIS TIME) or by being FORCED FED THREE TIMES PER DAY using something like HERPABOOST, or CARNIVORE CRITICAL CARE ór BUGPIE made as a slurry and given to him by feeding syringe and crop/feeding needle , you''ll likely need to give him liquid calcium daily orally by syringe (something like CALCIVET).

You can likely get HERPABOOST (or it's equivalent from a good reptile vet) , see http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/vetafarm_herpaboost

CALCIVET from a good petshop maybe (or the vet) , see http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/vetafarm_calcivet_liquid_calcium_supplement ,
he needs this in order to get his calcium levels up as dusting his insects will be too hit and miss for him at the present, and so he can produce the needed VitD on exposure to HIGH INTENSITY UVB (AT LEAST 10% from the MVB, or compact (26W UVB200 is minimum for your tank size, placed about 6-8 inches from his basking spot (on the ground as he's too frail to climb safely ), or 10%-14% UVB T8 or T5 tube.

I think Oxbow Carnivore Critical Care is only available from vet see
http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/products/type/detail?object=1609

BugPie can be bought from good pet shops or by mailorder see
https://www.store.repashy.com/by-product-name-en/grub-pie-reptile-en/ , made from BSF maggots and so naturally high in calcium and protein.

Crop Feeding Needles are available from good pet shop or from your vet see
http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/crop_medication_needles_birds?size=348

Feeding syringes are available from good pet shops or your vet see
http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/reusable_feeding_syringe_birds?volume=95

I have attached an image of how to use crop needles to feed a lizard :

He only has a very small capacity stomache , so you will likely be giving him 1 - 4 ml / 100g of bodyweight, so if he only weighs 10g that meals 0.1 - 0.4ml ) of liquid/slurry/pureed food / food supplement per feed and will likely need to use 14Gauge or 12Gauge crop / feeding needle. The vet or his nursing staff can show you how to do this if you ask them to .

Probably a good idea to let the vet care for him for a week or so to get him started under intensive care.

It will take a while (several weeks) to fatten him upo and get him to the point where he is able to cope with catching and eating insects like roaches and crickets, I'd start him off on BSF maggots or small (1.5 inch) silkworms , these are soft and slow moving and very easy for little sick lizard to digest.

As already said by others
he needs to kept warm 24/7 >> daytime warm zone about 30oCelsius, basking spot about 40-42oCelsius, overnight warmer than 24oCelsius (I'd go 26oCelsius to help him digest his food and boost his immune system).

UVA greater than 30%
UVB greater than at least 10%

and I think I'd bump up his photoperiod (time the UV and basking lights are on each day) to 16 hours --> more time for him bask, stay quite warm, digest his food, soak up UVA and UVB.
The UVA will help enhance his activity levels and appetite.
The UVB is necessary for him to be able to metabolise his dietary calcium and produce VitD --> make strong dense bones, and grow more of himself.

I have no doubt in a month or two he'll be growing like a weed and thriving and eating you out of house and home , and your pride and joy and a lovely little beardie.
Just going to a lot of TSL and intensive care from you and a bit effort to get him past this.

 

[Bianca675]

So much info but so helpful! I got him a uvb light that is 50 uvb and t8 becuase that's all the had at the pet store. It's like a long light. Should I put that over the whole top or only in a corner. And if that isn't a good light should I buy a new one. Also the basking light my brother had a 75 watt one on him and I'm going to put up some pics of the dome he has it in. Please tell me if I need to get a new bulb and dome! Also about the feeding I feed him a he only moves around to watch the crickets. My brother was feeding him once a day but I'm definitely going to kick it up to three. Btw should one of this three meals a day also be veggies. Becuase I read that that's good for them. And about the vet. I'm gonna defiantly do some research to find an exotic vet around me. I hope I can find one!

 

[Bianca675]

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

I'm going to guess the bulb you bought is this
https://m.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zilla-desert-50-uvb-fluorescent-t8-bulb

I've never used this and hear very little about it, which to me says it's likely not great. It's better than nothing, but I'd recommend a reptisun 10.0 t8 if you can find one.

A 75w bulb for that tiny enclosure has got to be too hot. I'd recommend dripping water onto his little mouth as mentioned to get him hydrated and maybe swapping out the 75w for a 50w. Regulating temperature is a lot harder with a smaller tank.

He likely won't be eating too much until the uvb and heating is corrected. You can offer veggies to him, but as a growing little guy he should have all meals of live insects. Any greens he eats is a bonus until he's at about a year old, but the hydration from fresh veggies will help if he'll eat them

 

[kingofnobbys]

So much info but so helpful! I got him a uvb light that is 50 uvb and t8 becuase that's all the had at the pet store. <<<< a 50 uvb t8 is equiv (?) to a 5% t8, you will need to mount this UNDER THE LID .

infact I'd suggest attaching it to the back wall hanging under some brackets
not perfect but something like this will be OK to hang the t8 fitting from the tank's back wall UNDER the lid
- found this that will do the job very quick and easily
https://www.bunnings.com.au/ltw-over-the-door-ironing-hanger_p4511817,

the t8 tube needs be over the centerline of the tank and as close as possible at one end to the basking spot.)

until you can get hold of a 10% or even a 14% UVB t8 tube (Arcadia have t8 and t5 tubes up 14% UVB rating (the higher the rating the better IMO)
Very important he be able to be inside 4 inches from the 5% tube if there is no reflector behind it see http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttubemeshtests.htm
and inside 8 inches from a tube with a reflector behind it.

It's a worry that it's a Zilla brand uv tube, they have quite a poor reputation and from my reading of reports it's due to their poor spectral output and poor quality of manufacture ....

DO NOT MOUNT THE T8 tube ontop of your mesh lid , she will get bugger all UVA and UVB from that distance from a 5% T8 tube with or without a reflector.



Looks like the compact UVB bulb is in a nanohood sitting ontop of mesh top .... am I correct ? The mesh will be blocking a lot of the UVA and UVB created by the compact (not good - I really wish pet shops would stop selling fish tanks as lizard tanks and putting mesh tops ontop of them...they are a hopeless design for a lizard tank).

Don't throw them out (the nanohood thing), and only ditch the compact if it is a shop brand Chinese clone and /or it's rated less than 10%UVB and /or it's over 5 months old.

You could try replacing the old compact UVB globe with a EXOTERRA 26W UVB200 and moving the nanohood to under the lid and suspending it using hangers like I've shown above so it's about 8 inches from her basking spot. I know that distance works with 26W UVB200s in a nanohood for beardies because that is exactly what I do in my rearing tubs.

A set of these digital thermometers
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4x-LCD-Digital-Temperature-Thermometer-Fridge-Freezer-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Reptile-/391259141696?hash=item5b18dcb640:g
will do a good job at giving you the tank temperatures at a few strategic spots ( basking spot , warm zone, cool zone , under hide) . VERY IMPORTANT TO GET THE TEMPERATURES AND UVB EXPECIALLY RIGHT.


if the dome is where you place you basking globe , it will likely be OK -- PROVIDING IT HAS A CERAMIC HIGH TEMPERATURE LIGHT SOCKET BUILT IN - they GET VERY HOT,
Need to have a means to measure the temperature at the basking spot (accurately) ,then you tweek basking light wattages to get a nice warm basking spot and good thermal gradient in your tank.


It's like a long light. Should I put that over the whole top or only in a corner. And if that isn't a good light should I buy a new one. Also the basking light my brother had a 75 watt one on him and I'm going to put up some pics of the dome he has it in. Please tell me if I need to get a new bulb and dome! Also about the feeding I feed him a he only moves around to watch the crickets. My brother was feeding him once a day but I'm definitely going to kick it up to three. Btw should one of this three meals a day also be veggies. Becuase I read that that's good for them. And about the vet. I'm gonna defiantly do some research to find an exotic vet around me. I hope I can find one!

 

[kingofnobbys]

If the current basking globe PROVES TOO HOT , an option is to mount the dome fixture with that basking globe inside it ABOVE the tank and high enough above the mesh lid (since you have a mesh lid) using one of these
http://www.komodoproducts.com/komodo-light-stand.html
so the basking temperature and warm zone are temperatures at the right level , these stands are very easy to height adjust to suit.

 

[Bianca675]

Ok i went back to the pet store and I got the zoomed naturalistic terrarium hood and I bought the reptisun 10.0 uvb to go into it. I also changed the basking light from 75 watt to 50 watt like you guys suggested. I can't find the liquid food so I took a little calcium with vit d and mixed it with water and gave him a little. I got him to eat just a little bit. He still isn't motivated thou. I put him under the uvb bulb so now he's laying under it.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Will take a while for him to improve.

Keep an eye out for the liquid calcium (might be a different brand where you live - best bet to get it from a vet, he''ll need to at least know what your beardie's body weight is to work out the correct dosage per day to give orally.

 

[Bianca675]

I saw these two online. Should I buy them both for him?

 

[kingofnobbys]

Flukers liquid Ca is the better of the two IF it has instructions for dosing by the lizard's body weight,
http://www.flukerfarms.com/liquid-calcium.aspx. They do not tell you the dosage by the lizard body mass. Your vet will tell you how much each daily dose should be (he''ll have to calculate it based on the concentration of Ca in the liquid (which is 6% (mass basis ?).

The first product shown is not a good choice either.

https://www.petology.com.au/exo-terra-liquid-calcium-magnesium-supplement-120ml
http://www.vetark.co.uk/Shop/Reptiles/Supplements/Zolcal-D-liquid-calcium.aspx
https://www.petland.ca/products/exo-terra-liquid-calcium-magnesium-supplement-for-reptiles-4-fl-oz

Are likely better products.

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

Just wanted to see how the little tyke is doing? It does take a while to see improvements, but hoping he's got a little more strength.
I've never used liquid calcium, just powered so far, so I'd take kingofnobby's word on those.

 

[Bianca675]

Hey guys thanks so much for the info but unfortunately he died. I made an appointment to take him to the vet this morning but when I woke up he wasn't breathing and he was cold. I tried so hard to save him with your guys help. Thanks so much for caring. You guys are the best.