Bearded dragon suddenly acting weird.

[HoleeJuanCanoli]

So Alduin (about 4 months old(?), 13.25 inches long ) finished his full body shed not too long ago. A few days actually. I remember right after his last bit of skin was rinsed off in his bath, he kind of looked like he was puffing his beard and it almost turned slightly black. I didn't think much of it. The next two days he was eating normally, devouring crickets and eating almost all of the greens I offered him. And then the day after, he just stopped. I woke up and went to feed him his crickets like I normally do, and he didn't even glance at them. He had been awake for about an hour (I always wait about an hour after he wakes up to feed him so I know he's wide awake and ready to go) and I saw that his beard and belly were as black as ink. He wasn't puffing his beard, nor hissing. He doesn't seem angry either. I thought that maybe the pumpkin decoration I put in his tank was scaring him so I took that out, but he was still as black as my ex's heart. It's been about two days now and he still rarely eats. He's alert, eyes are not sunken, he gapes a little more often than usual but he likes to bask right under his heat bulb. His stool looks normal and his pooping schedule is still on track.


Basically, one day he was eating like a fatty, and literally the next day he didn't touch a thing. He's in a 40 gallon tank right now. His basking temps are usually in the 100-105 range and his humidity is always at a constant 50%. I bought a dehumidifier (which wasn't cheap ) and it only helped a bit. His substrate is some carpet that has no loose fibers and doesn't catch on his nails. I calcium dust his crickets every other day (except for this past week. My wife and I had to put our dog down and it completely threw us off track and I forgot to dust the crickets) His UVB is a Reptisun 10.0 26w bulb (not the linear bulb).

Does anyone know what his deal could be? I feared that maybe it was RI but he looks and sounds healthy. The only thing that concerns me is that he gapes more often than usual. He has no mucus whatsoever and his breathing has yet to change. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I absolutely love this little dragon and would hate if something ever happened to him.

Many thanks!

Robert

 

[Drache613]

Hello Robert,

I am sorry your little Alduin isn't feeling well right now.
Your setup sounds good, but wanted to recommend changing out your UVB light. The compact/coil lights really are not very good. They don't give off quality UVB so he may not be absorbing his calcium & other vitamins properly.
Could he have eaten too much later in the day or be impacted by any chance?
Since this seemed to come on suddenly, maybe impaction perhaps? The crickets that you feed, are they smaller than the space between his eyes?

Tracie

 

[HoleeJuanCanoli]

Hello Robert,

I am sorry your little Alduin isn't feeling well right now.
Your setup sounds good, but wanted to recommend changing out your UVB light. The compact/coil lights really are not very good. They don't give off quality UVB so he may not be absorbing his calcium & other vitamins properly.
Could he have eaten too much later in the day or be impacted by any chance?
Since this seemed to come on suddenly, maybe impaction perhaps? The crickets that you feed, are they smaller than the space between his eyes?

Tracie

Thanks for the reply! What kind of bulb would you recommend? As for impaction, I doubt that's the case. He seems to be pooping normal and hasn't missed a day on doing his business either. He will occasionally snatch some greens from my hand when I try feeding him. And the crickets that I feed him are a hair smaller than the width between his eyes. I've heard that bearded dragons can hit a "puberty" stage. But isn't he too young for that? And would he stop eating if that was the case?

 

[Drache613]

Hello Robert,

They can go through the puberty stage, as young as 6 or so months. So he could be a candidate for raging hormones right now. LOL They will get dark beards often.
You don't have any female dragons in the house do you?
Oh sorry, I forgot to recommend another UVB light. There is the Reptisun 10 tube or the Arcadia D3 12% tube bulb, both of which are great bulbs. They are T8 tube bulbs. There is also T5 tube bulbs which are high output bulbs that you could consider, too.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

 

[HoleeJuanCanoli]

Hello Robert,

They can go through the puberty stage, as young as 6 or so months. So he could be a candidate for raging hormones right now. LOL They will get dark beards often.
You don't have any female dragons in the house do you?
Oh sorry, I forgot to recommend another UVB light. There is the Reptisun 10 tube or the Arcadia D3 12% tube bulb, both of which are great bulbs. They are T8 tube bulbs. There is also T5 tube bulbs which are high output bulbs that you could consider, too.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

I'm really hoping that he's just being a stubborn little guy. I ordered a ReptiSun 10.0 T8 tube since PetSmart loves to charge way much and it should be here today. I also bought an under the counter fixture with some hooks that have an adhesive back to them so I can set the UVB inside of the tank rather than lay it on top of the screen.

As of right now, he hasn't changed much. He gapes more often than usual, but I have not heard the slightest cracking/popping in his throat, and he isn't breathing heavily at all. He also has not lost any weight, but until I find out what is going on with him, I have been sneaking in a few crickets and collars greens while he gapes since he still refuses to acknowledge his food.

All in all, he seems healthy. No difference in breathing whatsoever, and I've inspected his body for any weird lumps or disfigured bones and he seemed fine. I guess I'll just wait it out a little longer.

Thanks!!!

Robert