Beardie being lazy

[Gary251]

Hey. My beardie has been acting pretty strange lately ( he isnt the most active beardie ive been told before) but quite often he has just been sleeping in the corner of the cool side like the whole day (which would suggest the tank is too hot but the temp seems fine to me) he'l never wake up in the morning and just wander over for a bask. when i get in at lunch i always have to manually move him to the basking rock so he'l heat himself up and eat something. the odd time i see these slight head shakes, i really hav to concentrate to notice it though, so it might just be my mind lol. maybe its just him trying to help shed his head/nose area, which is grey atm im not sure. Are some beardies just quite lazy, or do u think hes maybe just became dependant on me doing stuff for him?




How old is your dragon? About 1 year old
How long have you had your dragon? about 10months
How long is your dragon? about 18 inches i think, been a while.
What is the sex of your dragon? male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 48 x 18 x 21 (WDH)
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? fine sand
Do you use UVB lights? use a megaray 100w so guess i should put that here
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? mvb
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? 100w megaray
How old is your UVB bulb? 1 month old
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? about 17inches away from it
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? nope
What are the basking temps? 108-111F wee bitty high, depends if its a hot day here, weather has been scorching some days.
What is the cool side temp? 84-86, night goes down to about 70f
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? digital
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? on top of his basking rock and on the ground at the cool side
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? nope
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. crickets and salad (usually random leaves and carrot is what is in the bag usually) none that are poisonous to him anyway
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? twice a day, usually afternoon (about 2pm) and night around 8pm (lights are 8:30 till 1030)
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? yes, fruit and veg
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? eh.. "natural calcium supplement" no phosphorus it says with a pic of an iguana on it lol. one feeding session each day i use it.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? hm about every4 days maybe, maybe 5.
Do you bath your dragon? How often? usually just when i see him turning grey ready to shed il give him one.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? i have started leaving a water dish in his tank and putn drips of water onto his mouth which he ususually starts to lick off.
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? no
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? no

 

[VEGASLIZARD]

Sounds like your basking temps are high I also use an MVB bulb and Scorch doesn't like it when her temps get above 100* she will go and hide. Maybe this is the issue. Try putting the bulb a couple inches higher and see if a cooler temp helps. You may also want to check out beautiful dragons website for better salads. He shouldn't be eating carrot every day. How often you giving him baths? Baths help to hydrate and will also help him poo more often. Allot of us on here give daily baths because many dragons will not drink from a water dish.

 

[Gary251]

I cant really raise the bulb any higher, i thot 17inches woulda been fine since 12 is the minimum lol. but it is stil a tad too hot at the hot end, grr. the only thing i could do is take the roof off the tank and stick some DVD boxes under each side to raise the roof, because i cut a hole in the roof to hav the dome sitting on top of the tank, looks ridiculous with dvds under it, but might have to lol. I hardly ever give me beardie baths, just when he looks like hes about to shed il give him one. is it important to bath them regularly?

Thanks

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

I agree with VEGASLIZARD in that you need to get your temps down on both basking and coolside. Your temps for basking should be between 95-105 with a coolside of 78-82. You can either raise the screen as you mentioned or get a stand such as this one http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-light-fixtures/510303/zoo-med-reptile-lamp-stand.html

Giving your beardie baths is very important in keeping him properly hydrated. You can do this daily or every few days.

You mentioned his head shaking. He could possibly be dehydrated. I would suggest bathing him ASAP for at least 20 minutes. Do this daily at least until he starts feeling better, then you can continue bathing daily or go to every other day.

Let us know how he is doing.