Baby beardie is being aggressive, and has a lump on stomach?

[beckydewar]

I've had my baby bearded dragon for a week and 4 days. He's always been good, never tried to bite. But about 20 minutes ago I had him out of his tank and he was sitting on the bench looking out the window while I was cutting up his veggies. He didn't move from where he was sitting the whole time (about 5 minutes). I decided to pick him up for for a minute and try give him a piece of the celery I had cut up but he wouldn't take it, then I tried to put him in my other hand and he turned around so he wasn't facing the window, then tried to run up my arm. I put him back on the bench then he ran over to the dish rack and hid in all of the cutlery. Then I put him back in his tank and he hid behind the plant in the corner. Was he scared of what was outside? Also, the window was open, so he could hear anything that would of been happening. I've taken him outside once, just sat him on a warm rock for about 2 minutes, and he was fine with it.

I have a red heat light which I usually have set on 35 at day, and about 25-30 at night. I also have one of those long white lights. I turn it off at night. He has sand in the bottom of his tank. He eats vegetation more than live food. I changed his tank around last night. Could it be stress from that?

Also, he ate a piece of broccoli stem 2 nights ago, and it seemed as he was having trouble getting it down. Now ever since yesterday, he has had a lump on the left of his stomach. He has had 3 poops since then. They have been big.

Please help!

 

[DorkiTimmy]

If his moving around daily and eating fine and pooing regularly then he seems fine. You may want to try to give him a warm bath. It would help if you had a picture of the bump on his stomach could be due to indigestion of the veggies! Also because his a small little guy his very hyper and may not be use to the environment let him adjust! a little frighten wouldnt hurt him though! The trick i use to feeding my dragon veggie are putting the veggie in a bowl along with some dubia roaches so it looks like the veggie are moving which will catch their eyes! or using a stick and poking the veggie in front of them

 

[diamc]

It does sound like something outside scared him, either he heard something or perhaps saw a bird. That's actually normal behavior so not surprising that he tried to hide from it. It doesn't actually sound like aggressive behavior though.

Sounds like you're using a red light for the basking light, we recommend using a bright white basking light rather than a colored one as they like the tanks very bright, helps to increase their activity level which in turn helps with their appetites. Bright white lights also help lessen any issues with the UVB light. You don't really need any heat at night if the tank temp doesn't drop below 65 degrees but if it does, then we suggest using a ceramic heat emitter which gives off heat but no light. A red bulb at night can disturb their sleep actually. If the night temp with the light on reaches up to 30 c (86 f), that is actually too hot, they need it cooler at night in order to sleep well.

The 35 celcius (95 farenheit) reading is actually a little too low for a baby beardie. We suggest a basking temp of about 105 and up to 110. But, before you make any temp adjustments, please fill us in on the type of thermometer you're using as some can be very inaccurate.

As you probably know, a baby should be wanting to eat a LOT of protein and they need that in order to help them grow efficiently. What feeders are you using and how many times a day are you offering live food? Are you dusting the feeders with calcium & vitamins? What greens/veggies are you feeding? Broccoli really isn't a very good veggie to feed. Here's a list that shows the best foods in green print: http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

We usually don't recommend any type of loose substrate, especially for a baby as they lick everything so it is an impaction risk. Also, it's impossible to clean up all the waste from sand so it can cause bacteria to grow,

Could you tell us the brand of UVB you're using? What is the distance of this particular light?

Sorry for all the questions but we need to try to cover all bases to make sure all is perfect for him.

 

[beckydewar]

Another thing I must add, when I get him out his beard goes black, but he acts normal. After about 5 minutes it goes back to normal colour

 

[beckydewar]

I've had my baby beardie for a week and 4 days. He has never been aggressive. When I get him out of his tank his beard goes black, then about 5 minutes after having him out, it goes to normal colour. His behaviour is good. Is he stressed out? I had him out about 2 hours ago and he was looking out the window, then all of a sudden he got scared of something and was trying to hide. Or could it be stress from when I changed his cage around last night?

Also, he has a lump on his neck more to the right side of his throat, but still on the bottom. Could it be a cricket bite? I usually put about 20 crickets in and he just gets them when he wants them. I also have veggies for him. The lump is a little hard, but I can push on it and it moves around and it doesn't seem to hurt him.

 

[beckydewar]

Today I noticed that my baby bearded dragon has a small lump on his throat. I'm not sure if it's normal, but I only noticed it just today. When I get him out of the tank he isn't as playful as he used to be before I noticed the lump. It's a little hard but if I push it, it does move around. It doesn't hurt him when I touch it.
I have a red heat lamp, which I usually have set on 40°C at day, and 30°C at night. I also have a white UVB bulb which I turn off at night so he can get some sleep. The heat lamp is about 10cm from the basking rock (highest point) and about 15-20cm from the ground, and the UVB bulb is about 30cm from the ground. (The heat lamp is on the inside, I have a reptile one vivarium, it's about 60cm x 45cm. I leave bok choy, corn, celery, asparagus, meal worms and some lizard diet stuff I got from the pet shop. They're like tiny balls and you soak them in water and put them in the tank. I have them on a food bowl. I usually put heaps of crickets in and he just goes for them when he's hungry, they stay in there for days. Could it be a cricket bite? I also have water available in a different bowl. When I got him I had sand in his tank. I've had him for a week and 4 days. But today I replaced the sand with paper towel, because I was worried about him getting impacted. Also about 3 hours ago I saw him sitting on the top with his mouth open like he was having trouble breathing. I've never seen that before.

Here are some photos of the lump.
http://s1153.photobucket.com/user/b...Uploads/image_zpsa1d6a24f.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

http://s1153.photobucket.com/user/b...Uploads/image_zps8236d36a.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

 

[ngerstbauer]

hope someone can help you. I'd be worried too.

 

[AHBD]

Hi Becky.....I doubt it's a cricket bite, there would be a " wound " instead of just a lump, but there is a slight chance. Even so, it's best to only throw in a few crickets at a time until he's had his fill + then remove the rest. How is he acting now ? It may be some type of cyst....only a vet could tell.Hopefully it's harmless. Do you know of a qualified reptile vet ? You might p.m. one of the mods.,Drache613 [ Tracie ] , she might have more insight. I wish for the best outcome for your sweet baby !

 

[AHBD]

Hi Becky....I replied on your other thread about the lump on the neck.

 

[Drache613]

Merged both topics to keep information together.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I merged your two topics for you.
How is your dragon doing this evening?
That lump/bump on his beard is relatively small but did it just suddenly come on or slowly developed?
It isn't a cricket bite since there is no broken skin or redness/infection, etc. A cyst is a possibility & can usually be drained & cultured to make sure there is no infection present.
Could a scale have retained in that area & started to swell? Is it underneath the skin or just superficial or on top like a growth? It appears that it is under the skin, correct?
How is his appetite?
I recommend feeding him outside of his tank though, to cut down on the chances of a cricket bite on him though. You can use a plastic bin to place the crickets in, just a few at a time so it doesn't overwhelm him while chasing them down.
Are you using a colored light for basking or a bright white light? Which UVB brand & type do you have, a tube bulb or a compact/coil light?
I am happy that you changed out the sand to paper towels now, it is much cleaner.
Do you have a picture of your tank setup? Are you using a temp gun or digital probe to measure the temperatures with?

Tracie

 

[beckydewar]

I noticed that instead oh him getting a black beard, his whole body is in fact darker, and this is only when he is in his tank. When I take him out he goes back to normal colour around about 10 minutes later. I through it could be stress from the new tank setup, because I changed it around two nights ago and that's when he started to show stress. But this morning I changed it back to how I used to have it, but he is still showing the darkness. I have a white UVB light and a red heat light. I turn the UVB light on at about 8am and I turn it off at about 10pm at night. I usually have the heat light on 40 degrees Celsius at day, and 25-30 degrees Celsius at night. His tank has a food bowl, a water bowl, a plastic plant from the pet shop (he loves climbing in it), one large rock and a small rock from the yard (I did boil them before I got him), and a long dividing stick, and a small normal one which I cooked also. Oh and a thick log. I only put that in about 2 nights ago, when I changed the cage around. Could he not like it and be stressed out by it? And a small fake hide from the pet shop. I'm not sure if the lump slowly developed or if it was instant, I never noticed it there so I'm 99% sure it would be instant. It is like a small growth under the skin. I'm not sure what the UVB brand is, but it's a long one fitted into the proper holder thing. I bath him every few nights.

 

[xMindy]

If his mouth is gapping open he is probably too hot.

 

[diamc]

Sounds like you're using a red light for the basking light, we recommend using a bright white basking light rather than a colored one as they like the tanks very bright, helps to increase their activity level which in turn helps with their appetites. Bright white lights also help lessen any issues with the UVB light. You don't really need any heat at night if the tank temp doesn't drop below 65 degrees but if it does, then we suggest using a ceramic heat emitter which gives off heat but no light. A red bulb at night can disturb their sleep actually. If the night temp with the light on reaches up to 30 c (86 f), that is actually too hot, they need it cooler at night in order to sleep well.

He may not like the red basking light so his whole body may be darker due to that. And/or, the temps may be off.

We usually recommend the lights be on for 12 hrs and off for 12 hrs. You might want to see if you can shut them off a little sooner to help him get a little more sleep, it may help him adjust quicker.

What type of thermometer are you using to check the temps, digital strip, round gauge (dial), temperature gun or digital with long wire & probe end? Some thermometers are very inaccurate so please let us know which one you have.

As you probably know, a baby should be wanting to eat a LOT of protein and they need that in order to help them grow efficiently. What feeders are you using and how many times a day are you offering live food? Are you dusting the feeders with calcium & vitamins? What greens/veggies are you feeding? Broccoli really isn't a very good veggie to feed. Here's a list that shows the best foods in green print: http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

[I merged some other posts with this one as it gets too confusing for us to know what information and suggestions you were already given & it also makes it easier for you to follow also. So, best to only have one thread with the same subject rather than multiple threads going at the same time]

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Any update on your baby today?

Tracie