Barely basking, diarrhea, dark, sleeping often

[Rammsteinfan]

Hello, I have a juvenile bearded dragon maybe 6 months old. I’ve had him for a month. I noticed some changes I’m concerned about.

A week after getting him he had diarrhea for a few days. I assumed it was from the new environment. It returned to normal and was good till a few days ago.

In the last week and a half before we upgraded him to a 120 gal he started looking darker. Had stress marks and his back was darker. He looked like he just woke up dark. Then he started going to sleep earlier and earlier. Around 1pm he goes to bed and wakes up at 7:30am. Today he never basked under his light.

He had been eating great. Salad and feeders. Yesterday I noticed he ate less of his salad and today. It’s possible that I’m feeding him too much salad. I offer a plate that is probably 6” diameter that I fill with a variety of greens and a side veg.

He is in a 120gal Dubia, slate for basking, repti sun UVB, 100W Zilla both mounted inside. Basking spot is 100-105, hot ambient is 89, and cool ambient is 79. Current diet is Dubia, superworms, mealworms, BSFL, occasional hornworm (not in a while), and whole variety of greens but limit spinach. Side veggies include bell pepper, carrot, cucumber, squash, and peas.

Could he be going into brumation, have parasites, wrong temps, too hydrated, or something else?

If possible parasites how could I treat him? I can’t find a nearby vet. The woman I got him from takes her reptiles to another state. 6 hour drive from here. She thinks he might be going into brumation and over hydrated. She had a 6 month old tegu doing similar for the vet to tell her he is trying to brumate.

Is there anything I can try to do differently to see if it clears up the diarrhea? It had cleared up before and went back to the log shape.

Pics are all recent.

 

[KarrieRee]

Hello, I have a juvenile bearded dragon maybe 6 months old. I’ve had him for a month. I noticed some changes I’m concerned about.

A week after getting him he had diarrhea for a few days. I assumed it was from the new environment. It returned to normal and was good till a few days ago.

In the last week and a half before we upgraded him to a 120 gal he started looking darker. Had stress marks and his back was darker. He looked like he just woke up dark. Then he started going to sleep earlier and earlier. Around 1pm he goes to bed and wakes up at 7:30am. Today he never basked under his light.

He had been eating great. Salad and feeders. Yesterday I noticed he ate less of his salad and today. It’s possible that I’m feeding him too much salad. I offer a plate that is probably 6” diameter that I fill with a variety of greens and a side veg.

He is in a 120gal Dubia, slate for basking, repti sun UVB, 100W Zilla both mounted inside. Basking spot is 100-105, hot ambient is 89, and cool ambient is 79. Current diet is Dubia, superworms, mealworms, BSFL, occasional hornworm (not in a while), and whole variety of greens but limit spinach. Side veggies include bell pepper, carrot, cucumber, squash, and peas.

Could he be going into brumation, have parasites, wrong temps, too hydrated, or something else?

If possible parasites how could I treat him? I can’t find a nearby vet. The woman I got him from takes her reptiles to another state. 6 hour drive from here. She thinks he might be going into brumation and over hydrated. She had a 6 month old tegu doing similar for the vet to tell her he is trying to brumate.

Is there anything I can try to do differently to see if it clears up the diarrhea? It had cleared up before and went back to the log shape.

Pics are all recent.

He's really stressed out- uvb is a coil or long tube fixture - is it a T 5 or a T 8 - how are you getting surface basking temps-- please no spinach- your feeding a lot of water based veggies- he needs collards turnip kale or mustard - try feeding some raw shredded sweet potato see if it will firm up the poop -

 

[Rammsteinfan]

He's really stressed out- uvb is a coil or long tube fixture - is it a T 5 or a T 8 - how are you getting surface basking temps-- please no spinach- your feeding a lot of water based veggies- he needs collards turnip kale or mustard - try feeding some raw shredded sweet potato see if it will firm up the poop -

I think it is a T5 tube. I’ll have to check the box. I use a gun for basking temps and Govee hygrometers for ambient. His light is hooked to a VE-200 Vivarium thermostat on dimming mode.

He barely gets spinach. I usually avoid it. Most of his greens are collard, turnip, mustard, a bit of kale, and arugula so far. I plan to try some other greens. I’ll try the sweet potato tomorrow.

How big should his salad be?

 

[KarrieRee]

I think it is a T5 tube. I’ll have to check the box. I use a gun for basking temps and Govee hygrometers for ambient. His light is hooked to a VE-200 Vivarium thermostat on dimming mode.

He barely gets spinach. I usually avoid it. Most of his greens are collard, turnip, mustard, a bit of kale, and arugula so far. I plan to try some other greens. I’ll try the sweet potato tomorrow.

How big should his salad be?

Please look at the UVB it needs to be a T 5 directly above the basking decor approx 12-15 inches -- hygrometers are for humidity --- surface basking temps should be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer and should be 95-100-- no colored bulb no daytime bulbs no off white or yellowish bulbs for basking -- your govee hygrometers do they have a probe on them? the probe should be placed on the back center wall of the tank optimal humidity 40-50% - nothing under 20 or over 70% -- salad amounts vary - if hes eating all of the first feeding feed another salad see how much he eats -- please NO more spinach its a calcium binder-- are you feeding any supplements ?

 

[Rammsteinfan]

Please look at the UVB it needs to be a T 5 directly above the basking decor approx 12-15 inches -- hygrometers are for humidity --- surface basking temps should be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer and should be 95-100-- no colored bulb no daytime bulbs no off white or yellowish bulbs for basking -- your govee hygrometers do they have a probe on them? the probe should be placed on the back center wall of the tank optimal humidity 40-50% - nothing under 20 or over 70% -- salad amounts vary - if hes eating all of the first feeding feed another salad see how much he eats -- please NO more spinach its a calcium binder-- are you feeding any supplements ?

It’s a T5 that is 14 1/2” above the basking spot near the bulb. The hygrometers don’t have probes. They are just a digital ones but do have temp and humidity readings. Yes, he has calicium and multivitamins. I currently have a 100W Zilla like in the photo. I want to get a different type of bulb. Do you have any recommendations?

 

[Rammsteinfan]

It’s a T5 that is 14 1/2” above the basking spot near the bulb. The hygrometers don’t have probes. They are just a digital ones but do have temp and humidity readings. Yes, he has calicium and multivitamins. I currently have a 100W Zilla like in the photo. I want to get a different type of bulb. Do you have any recommendations?

Forgot to add that he doesn’t eat all his salad but eats most of it. There’s usually a few pieces left.

 

[KarrieRee]

It’s a T5 that is 14 1/2” above the basking spot near the bulb. The hygrometers don’t have probes. They are just a digital ones but do have temp and humidity readings. Yes, he has calicium and multivitamins. I currently have a 100W Zilla like in the photo. I want to get a different type of bulb. Do you have any recommendations?

I recommend getting 2 digital probe thermometers they are the most accurate and you want those temps on par - I would lower the UVB to around 13 inches it is inside the tank correct? - basking bulbs Exo Terra Intense - Flukers basking bulb or Arcadia Halogen -- the one your using looks ok -- the calcium D3 should be 5 x per week dusted lightly on the insects ONE time per day -- vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 x per week lightly coated on the insect ONE time per feeding - this will change at a year old --

 

[Rammsteinfan]

I recommend getting 2 digital probe thermometers they are the most accurate and you want those temps on par - I would lower the UVB to around 13 inches it is inside the tank correct? - basking bulbs Exo Terra Intense - Flukers basking bulb or Arcadia Halogen -- the one your using looks ok -- the calcium D3 should be 5 x per week dusted lightly on the insects ONE time per day -- vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 x per week lightly coated on the insect ONE time per feeding - this will change at a year old --

Yes, I have it inside. I didn’t want the screen to interfere with the UVB. I seen too many pictures of dragons with MBD and knew to make sure I had that correct.
The dusting you listed is what I’m currently doing. I’ll have to order the bulb and thermometers.

 

[KarrieRee]

Yes, I have it inside. I didn’t want the screen to interfere with the UVB. I seen too many pictures of dragons with MBD and knew to make sure I had that correct.
The dusting you listed is what I’m currently doing. I’ll have to order the bulb and thermometers.

Get a accurate temp before changing the bulb out-

 

[Chris.]

Remember that while IR guns are not inaccurate by themselfes, you need to consider what you are measuring exactly. They take surface temps which are dependent on the surface material, meaning a stone for example will heat up very differently from wood or a living dragon.
You can not take ambient temps with an IR gun but IMO the absOlut most accurate measurement is if you put your dragon on his basking spot and take the temp of his/her back after 30 to 45 min.
Probes will give you a more consistent (wich does not mean accurate) reading as they don't depend on a material other the probe (PT100 or PT1000 for example).

 

[Rammsteinfan]

Is this too much salad? This is actually less than I had been offering. I got thinking that I might be over feeding him especially his salad.

 

[KarrieRee]

Is this too much salad? This is actually less than I had been offering. I got thinking that I might be over feeding him especially his salad.

Not if hes eating it all

 

[Rammsteinfan]

Not if hes eating it all

How many dubias/ or other feeders should he be getting in one day for a 6 month old?

 

[Chris.]

I'd give him around 15 to 20 min and let him eat as many as he will. At this age you probably won't overfeed him as he will stop when he is full. As long as you are not feeding worms that is.
Young dragons will put extra calories into growth rather than storing fat.
If you feed to mutch at once he will throw up, in that case you would cut back.