bad bulbs?

[demiblood]

first bulb seemed to be perfectly fine... it lasted 6 months, it was still working fine, my lizard was really healthy, eating well, active etc.
but I replaced it just for safety purposes (they say it doesn't emit much UVB after 6+ months, even if the bulbs still producing visible light)

I got another reptisun 10.0 from pet mountain that burned out in 1 month!
I got a temporary replacement of a reptisun 2.0 from a local pet shop while waiting for another (new) reptisun 10.0 to be shipped, the local shops don't cater to reptiles so they don't have the 10.0 in stock

the new reptisun 10.0 arrived...
my lizards been acting really lethargic lately, I think he's still to young to be brumating, but he is almost (1 month shy) a year old

he has slowly gone from being active, up all the time, and eating healthily, to a cycle of sleeping (almost all the time) and not hardly eating at all (about once a week I can get him to eat, about once every 3 days he drinks water from the bath)
over a period of about 3 months, he went from eating all the time and being active all day, to sleeping all the time and not eating at all (starting with the bulb that burned out)

I thought maybe, the bad bulb that died, coupled with the reptisun 2.0 temporary bulb, possibly caused him to go into a brumation cycle...
but then just out of curiosity, I took the reptisun 2.0 and put it back in, and he seems to be perking up a little bit, a little bit more active, and eating a little bit more...

so maybe I got a few bad bulbs from pet mountain?

I think I might switch over to a mercury vapor based bulb for lighting in the near future - i'm uncertain of the reliability of these florescent bulbs now

 

[demiblood]

other than being inactive in general, he seems pretty healthy, he's still got a healthy level of fat in his tail,

he's not showing any signs of impaction or neurological/physical disorders starvation or dehydration...
no twitching,
no lumps in his back/belly,
he still has a strong grip,
his joints don't seem to be weak or soft

his poop is a little on the dark side, compared to what would be a "normal poop", and he's not pooping as often, urates look fine if not a little dry, but he is also not eating very much,
his basking temperatures are fine, 100+ degrees (around 108-110) and I make sure he basks for at least an hour after he does eat and doesn't just go back to sleep

I haven't been waking him up much or messing with him in general or handling him except when I give him baths and feed him because I'm afraid of him getting exhausted or overexerting himself while he's not been eating
(I'm afraid of him putting out more energy than he's taking in)

 

[Drache613]

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