Beardie acting really wierd! help please!

[mrgoogls]

im starting to get worryed about my beardie phoenix. he has been acting very strange for the past 4 or 5 days. He stoped eating on saturday. and hasent pooped since friday. he is alot less active. i think that is because he hasnt pooped. He has only eaten maybe 5 crickets since saturday and a few bits of greens a day. and he isnt sleeping like usual. he usually sleeps in his basking spot. he lays there right b4 bed to get arm for the night then just sleeps there. but last night, he slept on the ground just under a log where it hits the ground. so he jammed himself under the log as far as he could and slept there. i have a hide for him and he hasnt used it in almost 7 months since i got him. any ideas whats wrong? im starting to get really worried. i also really dont wwant to take him to the vet cuz im broke but if it is absolutly needed i can try to find the money.

 

[diamc]

Hi, can you fill us in on the type & brand of UVB you're using, how old it is and what the distance is to your beardie while he's in his basking spot? Also, what are the tank temps and what type of thermometer are you using?

Has anything changed in his tank lately, like have you rearranged anything?

Have you been giving him baths and massages on the right side from his armpit to vent area to try to help gets things moving along? How old is he? What substrate is on the bottom of his tank?

 

[mrgoogls]

I have a repti-sun 10.0 uvb TUBE.i got it in october but i read they last 8 months to a year.

his basking spot is at MOST 6 or 7 inchs away from the ubv and a few inches to the side. but the light still shines on him almost like it was over him.

His basking spot is between 108 and 115. i have a digital probe thermometer.

nothing has changed since i bought him the new tank almost 4 moths ago.

i have been giving him baths. i didnt on friday or saturday cuz i didnt worry then. that is when it started. but i did yesterday and 2day. i did not run his belly. never heard of that. ill try it 2moro. \\

He will be turning 9 monoths old on april 11.

he has tile substrate

 

[diamc]

So, he has been in the new tank for 4 months? Do you think he's not using the hide because he might have outgrown it?

His basking spot should never be over 110 and since he is 9 months old, he may actually even like it a little cooler than 108. What wattage basking bulb(s) are you using in the tank? What size is the tank?
When you check your temps, are you making sure that the probe end is actually resting on the basking log and waiting at least 45 minutes for the temp to stop rising before getting the final reading? What is the temp of the bottom of the cool side? Does he spend quite a bit of time basking?

Are you using any type of heating at night, if so, what do you use?

 

[mrgoogls]

He definatly fits in the hide with a good amount of room leftover. and even when he was small he still never used the same hide. the hide was in his old tank btw:/

i thought it could get up to between 110 and 115 for bearded dragons. i know mostly for younger ones but iv read alot that says that is fine. i am using a normal 150 watt household bulb. it is a crystal clear too. and i have a second basking spot, same side of tank, just more tworcd back wall. that gets into the high 90's.

It is a 75 gallon wide tank. it is 4ft long,2ft deep and 16in tall.

yes the probe is on the log and i leave it in there fom 7am to 5-7pm sometimes. he spend a while basking. then he will run around his tank. he will almost do laps. he does the same rout over and over and ver again for up to like 2 hours some times. then he will bask for a while. then run. and usualy when i take him out at around 3pm he goes crazy. he runs around everywere exploring. but now he is much less active. same amount basking though. but when done will just move to cool side.

The cool side is anywere between 75 and around 81 on the tile. if it is off the cold tile....around 84.

at night i have not used heat. the LOWEST is has got was 64. but that was in like december. i stayed up til like 2 in the morning just to check his temps:/ but now it is starting to warm up so it is only going up from there. they are safe until 63-67 degrees give or take a few.

 

[mrgoogls]

great news!! he pooped 2day! i just got home and found a huge pile waitin g for me. i guess cleaning is better than i suk beardie ill let u know if he eats later.

 

[ShannyBeard]

Hi. As far as the basking surface temps, none of my dragons would tolerate temps as high as you have yours. I think they are too high and you are running the risk of dehydrating your dragon. They just don't need temps that high. A temp around 105*F is safer in general.

I have a dragon that doesn't always sleep in the same spot. The part about your hide made me think of her. She will sleep inside of it, or next to it, and sometimes on her hammock. I just never know where she will wind up. The others tend to sleep in the same spot every day.

 

[mrgoogls]

thanks fo the imput. right now im tight on money so i cant buy a new bulb. but he doesnt look dehydrated at all so i will leave that bulb until i can get a new one. ill try to make it a little lower at around 105.
and my beardie also sleeps in his hammock once in a while, but never the hides..... once again i will let u know about feeding later

 

[mrgoogls]

even though he pooped he still only ate 3 crickets! the good news though is that is doesnt look like he has lost any weight. the only thing noticable is his legs look more "toned" as in you can see the outline of the muscle. like how if you work out alot you "tone" your arms. that is sorta like his legs. but otherwise he looks the same

 

[diamc]

That's good that he cleaned himself out. Is there any way that you can lower the basking spot to help lower the temps? Or you could try a 100 watt household bulb instead of the 150 and see what temps you get then.

The way you described his behavior it sounds like he is basking until he gets warmed up and then is moving around trying to find a more comfortable temp for a while then decides to just go to the cool side. If you could get the basking temp down to 102 to 105, he may spend more time basking which will help increase his appetite and digestion causing him to poop more frequently too.

 

[bunnyrut]

as long as he keeps getting baths he shouldn't be dehydrated.
is he getting calcium and D3?

 

[mrgoogls]

yes, i dust his crickets with calcium WITH D3 5 days a week. multivitamins 2 times a week. he was getting baths everday but nowthat he pooped. he is back to once a week. but i spray his head every morning and afternoon and he licks the water up.

 

[mrgoogls]

today i went out and bought him his favorite foods....a pinky and waxworms.... HE ATE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2moro i will try crickets with a few leftover worms and hopefully he eats...he seems very content and more reactive now that he ate

 

[diamc]

That's great that he ate and seems more active now. I would be very careful feeding pinkies because they are very high in fat and harder to digest, since he just got his system cleaned out, I would go easy on the protein. Since he ate a pinkie, I would recommend that you go real easy on the feeders for at least the next 3 days.

It would be a good idea to give him a bath 3 to 4 times a wk to get him on a good pooping schedule and to keep his hydration up. Good that he is drinking water off his nose but a good soaking would really help him too since the water will be absorbed through his vent.

Were you able to lower the basking temp a little?

Thanks for filling us in on his improving appetite.

 

[mrgoogls]

I do know about pinkys. I was desperate to get him to eat tho and I know he loves them. I still have same baskin but as I said above there wad already a second basking spot with about 105 give or take a bit.