beardie health concerns. please help.

[bboston]

Hello everyone, and thanks for the read.

Tyson (7yr old male) Has just gotten a new UVB light. one of the zoomed 10.0 compact bulbs, and got a shop light fixture for it. It replaced a dual halogen 4 foot set that i was using but the bulbs were very old and I know the uvb was probably not being pushed out. At anyrate... he has a new bulb. Also bought a bag of crickets at the shop and a tub of super worms. Side note his basking area is at about 112 - 115 degrees. At the moment his outside body temp is 108. I can provide pics of the tank if you would like to see what his environment looks like.

All these symptoms seem to have appeared since we got the new bulb.

He is very lethargic, so I was thinking he is brumating but he is laying directly in the basking light which is the part that is bugging me the most. He hasn't passed anything in about 2 weeks. He will sit there in the basking light holding his head up but never once opening his eyes. He will hold his head up for hours, never flexing his beard or anything like that. Since we did make a change to his environment we have left his new UBV light off for the last 2 days but he hasn't changed. Seems to have gotten worse.

I am wondering if he may had gotten some bad crickets or worms. He hasn't eaten anything since this last weekend. All he ate was 3 worms.

I am going to give him a bath so he gets some hydration and so if he is impacted (could he be?) it may help him out. Thanks again for the read and any suggestions will be much appreciated.

Brandon

 

[dobiegil2000]

Compact UVB bulbs have been known to cause eye problems in beardies. I would imagine this could be the cause of the problem, but I am sure others who have more experience will be able to help you out more than I can. I do know not to use them, please leave it off.

Robin

 

[beardie parents]

the temps you have are a little high. 110 is the highest and that's for babies.
I suggest you leave the uvb off a little and give him a couple of baths, a duration of 15-20 minutes each, every day for awhile. Because of the high temps he could be dehydrated which will make him lethargic.
What do you measure your temps with?

 

[bboston]

Thanks to you both. I will leave the light off for a few more days and lower his basking temp. I use a temp gun to measure the temp of the substrate. I use a flood light that I can regulate with a inline voltage regulator. I thought that when I first got him many people had their basking sites at about 115. I will lower it to about 100 and after a few days I will will raise it to 105. Is that a good temp for him? I did a quick read on a few guides they said 100-110.

My biggest concern is the fact that he just wont open his eyes, and not eating. Well, its off to take a bath. Thanks again for the help guys. I hope the bulb isn't the cause it was pretty expensive, but I did keep the old fixture.

Brandon.

 

[bboston]

well during the bath he didn't open his eyes more then 4 times. only for a few seconds at a time. he just layed in the water, which he NEVER does. He usually fights to escape but he didn't so much as to even walk around. I am fairly worried. any idea's will be helpful.

Brandon

 

[bboston]

well.

It's been a few days now, we have had the compact uvb turned off. lowered the temp of the basking area to 100. He is still acting the same way. He doesn't move at all and leaves his eyes closed, sitting under his heat lamp. Any ideas?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

If he is still acting lethargic you are going to need to begin to intervene with rehydration therapy. Use a combination of water & pedialyte & a plastic dropper or a syringe to get fluids into him. Also, if he is not eating you will need to get some chicken or turkey babyfood along with some squash mixed in with it as well.
I think that the combination of the compact light & the basking temps that were too high, that he is very dehydrated. What do his eyes look like? Are they sunken in or bright?
A picture of him & his setup would be helpful, too.

Tracie

 

[bboston]

Thanks for the help. I am really wanting to get this rectified. Here are a few pics I just took of him and his tank. I was able to get one of his partially opened, sorry the pic isn't the greatest. That is how he lays all day long with his eyes shut. Please take a look at the pics and let me know if I should do the therapy you suggested. I am kind of hoping for a good idea that it is a hydration issue. Also, should I continue with the daily bathing? I have some pics from 1/7 and he is alert and normal.

http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s245/indi911/tyson/

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ok, based on your pics, what are you using for a basking light? Are you using a basking light? I know you had mentioned you had lowered your temps a little but in the picture I don't see a basking light.
You did turn off the Zoomed Reptisun 10 compact/coil light, correct?
If you are not using a basking light, that is probably the main reason why he is so lethargic he is too cold.
You will need to get a bright white halogen bulb to use for his basking light, if you don't have one. It will need to be 6-8 inches from him. You should be able to use the clamp light fixture for that halogen. You can find a halogen at Lowes or Home Depot. For that 55 gallon, a 90 watt should be perfectly fine & should get the temps up to par for you.
Overall, he looks pretty good. His eyes do not seem sunken in, but he would most likely benefit from hydration though after being underneath that bad light.

Tracie

 

[bboston]

Hello.

I am using a flood light for basking I think it is a 90watt. I have a voltage regulator in line with it so I can control the temp that way (took me forever to find one). In the pic the basking light is in the right drop fixture. It doesnt put out a lot of light, I only brefly turned on the compact to help with the lighting in the pic. The compact uvb is in the center fixture. If you would like to see a pic with just the basking light on, I can supply one. Should I switch the basking light from that flood light to the halogen? It isn't a bright white flood light. I would understand if it would need to be a bright white. Also, should I dump the compact UVB light and get the tube UVB ones instead? Thanks for the quick reply.

Brandon

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon,

Yes, please get a flourescent tube bulb for your UVB light instead of using the compact or coil lights. The Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb is the best one & you can get it from: http://www.petmountain.com for around $20 or so.
If the basking light is not very bright then definitely replace that with a halogen which is very bright. Since the basking light you are using doesn't put much light out that is why he is lethargic. They see "light" in a completely different way than we do. If light is too dim & their parietal eye does not register bright light, everything kind of looks like dust to them & dull.
You are using a voltage regulator to control the temps? I don't recommend using that unless you are using a ceramic heat emitter. If it shuts the light off & on that is interrupting their basking time. The basking light needs to stay on for at least a 10-12 hour cycle along with the UVB light. Then a 10-12 hour darkness time for them, for sleeping.
Yes if you can post a picture with your basking light on that would help. Thanks.

Tracie

 

[bboston]

hello

I will get a tube ordered.

I will get a pic tomorrow. It is a dim light, but it isn't on a timer or anything like that. It works like a dimmer switch found commonly on overhead ceiling fans that dims the lights or makes them brighter. But yea, it makes sense that he needs a brighter light. Before with the tubed fixture there was much much more bright light. I kind of was thinking something like that was happening. Thanks again for the help and explanation.

Brandon

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great a tube flourescent UVB is much better. Make sure you get a Reptisun 10, ok?
You are welcome. I think you will see a huge improvement when his tank is nice & bright. I will wait for your picture.

Tracie

 

[bboston]

Ok here are a couple of pics. The first one is of just his basking spot, with the light on. The color of the light does have a reddish look to it, not that bright white you talked about earlier. The second pic is all his old lights. I had 2 4ft tube, I think they maybe zoomed, I am going to be lazy and not verify that. I am going to give him another bath tonight, I had not yet started the hydration regime you recommended. Would you still suggest recommend it after seeing the pics? Thanks

Brandon

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

So, the long flourescent tube bulb, which brand was that? If it is a Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb then that light is perfectly fine like that for now. You will just need a bright white light placed where the reddish looking basking light is. I think that is the major problem there, it is way too dim for him.
A halogen will fix that right up in conjunction with the flourescent tube bulb.
Since he has probably been a little stressed I would give some extra fluids for a few days, yes.
How was his appetite today?

Tracie