Beardie is gone!

[Jo]

I brought turkey baby food and feed Blaze with a syringe. At first he didn't even move or even lick. Then I gently put my finger nail in his mouth until he opened it. (I know that is not the way but I needed him to eat). After I put some of the baby food in his mouth, he started to eat a little. He has no muscle tone at all. He can't even hold his head up. He did eat for a little. I will keep everybody updated.

The UVB bulb is Reptiglo not Reptisun. Is Reptiglo not good?

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

No its not good its very bad.exspecially the 10.0 get rid of it your better off.get arepti-sun or megaray.
This could be why your beardie is ill.

 

[Jo]

I will get another one. I just changed this last weekend and he was sort in the brumation mode. Thanks!

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

What did he have before for a light?Did he start feeling ill after the change?big apple herp repti sun $19.99 or megaray which is uvb & head goes for about $26.00
but then ou also need to get a deepdome ceramic lamp if you go megaray also $19.99.
Try giving him warm soaks so he can get hydrated.maybe after you can wrap him in anice fleece & put him to bed.Also no lights at night if you don't already know this.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What brand of UVB light were you using before you changed it out to the Reptiglo 10 this past weekend? He most likely has had these problems for awhile they have just began to arise. It takes adults longer to show calcium problems than babies because they are not growing as babies are so their calcium demands are much lower.
Right now since he is not doing well, do not let him brumate right now, ok? I highly recommend a Megaray to help pull him out of this. Also, if you could buy some liquid calcium as well, that would really help tremendously.
Please keep us posted on him, I hope he begins to feel better.

Tracie

 

[vickson420]

Hi
I am sorry your beardie isnt doing well.Please answer Tracies questions in regards to the bulb before the reptiglo.I would try to get to the vet to get some blood drawn to test the calcium levels and I do agree the megaray is probably the best bulb on the market today so long as your tank allows you to maintain the distance rquirement of 12-18 inches depending on the wattage.Also I would go slow with protien right now and stick with veggie babyfoods with maybe a small amount of chicken babyfood in it.You said he isnt pooping normally?Do you feel any lumps in his abdomen?Is it possible he is impacted?Also you said you have a probe thermometer in the tank where is the probe located exactly?

 

[KairaandTaz08]

I may have mis-read this, but it sounds like you have the UVB on the cool side only. That's not good. Of course, get rid of the ReptiGlo, immediately, but the UVB needs to be right next to his basking spot (I, personally, have ReptiSun 10.0s that stretch the entire length of my beardies' enclosures. I don't use Megarays due to the size of my enclosures, but would take everyone elses' advice on getting one, which will change how you have to have the basking spot and UVB.)
Do you put the probe directly on the basking spot to measure the temps? If not, then please do, because you aren't getting an accurate basking temp if you're placing the probe on the side of the cage, top of the cage, etc. It needs to be where he basks specifically. If you're using a 100watt typical household bulb, I don't think it's going to heat up a huge enclosure. A 100 watt Halogen bulb might, but I'm not sure. A Megaray will raise the temps, also...so listen to everyone else on the wattage :wink: .
I apologize again if I mis-read something and for adding to the questions and didn't mean to "butt-in" on the conversation...everyone else is a little more experienced than myself, but I didn't see those two things being addressed .
I hope he gets better soon!
Abi
---EDIT---
vickson420 addressed the probe concern of mine. Sorry!

 

[jscott]

to the OP:

dont give up, your doing great! im glad to see your taking the proper steps to try and save him. i kinda skimmed through, has he been getting any moisture aside from the soaks? are his eyes still sunken in?

i really hope this works out, ill be keeping an eye on this thread.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Updates today for us? I hope that he is improving for you. At least he did eat a little bit. I hope he continues to eat a little so he can regain his strength. It will take some time, but stay persistent.

Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

 

[Jo]

I feed Blaze again this morning. He is now opening his mouth a little bit more when I place the syringe near his mouth. He is eating and glares at me and his beard is really black. His eyes are still sunken in. My daughter will give him a bath when she gets home from school. With regards to the UVB bulb, I checked the old bulb I had since I have had him and it is the ReptiGlo 10.0. Like I said earlier, I have had him for 4-5 years with no problem. This just started to happen. I will take everybody's advise and get the ReptiSun 10.0 for his tank. I keep the UVB on his cold side. As for the heat side, I changed to the Halogen 100W bulb. The therometer that is being used is on a long cord and attached to the wall near where he basks on the tree type of thing.

Is it bad to keep feeding him the chicken baby food? I tried baby squash last night and that was a no-no. He didn't even open his mouth. I will buy the liquid calcium tonight to give to him starting tomorrow.

He doesn't have any lumps in his belly. I checked this again last night. He just lays there with his head on the ledge and eyes closed.

Thanks to everybody for their advice and concerns. I will keep every posted.

 

[KairaandTaz08]

He really needs the ReptiSun 10.0 right next to his basking light...I'll let someone else explain why, it has to do with disgestion and some other things. If a ReptiSun 10.0 is what you're going to use, he needs to be within 6"-8" of it. Too close can hurt his eyes and too far away will not benefit him. Can you move the probe to his basking spot? Right on it is fine, actually that's where you want it to get an accurate temp. Attaching it to the wall won't give you the temp of what he is actually basking on (you need to know that for proper digestion too).
Sorry, I can't help with the other questions. I'm glad he's eating something, though! That's great, even if you have to feed him, he's getting something.
Abi

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

chicken baby food isnt too bad for him overtime. But of course you want your BD to move towards "natural BD food" as the strenght improves...

maybe you want to blend some good veggies in there and try to hide it in the baby food? just an idea. Some Baby food may even have different versions of chicekn baby food that may have better "rounded" nutrition??

I dont know, im not too experienced with baby food.

-
for whats is worth.... i have never had a dragon eat squash. 0 for 4. Odd right? but they did like carrot baby food.

 

[zebedeepink]

The Reptisun needs to run pretty much the length of the tank so he gets the benefit of it when he is basking. They need the warm temps to digest their food and the UVB also helps with this. Good luck with him

 

[vickson420]

Hi
Yes I would switch out to the reptisun 10.0 Linear and place it directly next to the basking bulb.Your beardie needs to get within 6-8 inches of it.Whatever you do do not get a coil or compact uvb it needs to be linear and remember it must be changed out every 6 monthhs because flourescent uvb bulbs only emit uvb for that length of time.Also what are you doing in regards to calcium supplement and multivitamins?

 

[Jo]

Update on Blaze. I went to the Pet Store and bought a ReptiSun 5.0 as they didn't have the 10.0. I thought this would be good to start out with. Bought a new temperature with a probe, liquid calcium supplement and a 150w halogen bulb w/uvb. I switched tanks with my other one. I put Snowy into the bigger cage and moved Blaze to the smaller cage so he can get closer to the heat and UVB bulb until I figure out what to do in the bigger cage with repositioning the UVB and heat light. There is only screen on the top of the cage and really nothing to anchor the heat lamp too. I feed him some chicken baby food this morning. Didn't really take that much. Also, sprayed him down with water. When I got back, feed him some calcium supplement with water. Didn't take too much but just glared at me. Seems to be getting a little bit more fiesty when trying to feed him. When I put the temperature probe in, the temperature was only 85 degress. So the other temperature measurement was incorrect. Is it o.k. to replace the bulb with the new bulb and get the temperature up to 100 degress if he is dehydrated? My daughter is against doing that but I think it should be done.

Any other suggestions?