Bearding & Shaking/Jerking??? Edit - W/VIDEO

[xJaZx]

In the morning I notice Turbo do this atleast a few times, as of the last probably 2 weeks or so. He beards (sometimes its black, well, blackish) and then he shakes his head, and his body a little bit. It ALMOST looks like he is in pain and that is why he is doing it. It is really quick, and he does it maybe 2-3 times.

I know he isn't impacted, he eats a ton and poops daily. He is healthy. Has the proper temps/lighting. He gets calcium and multivitamin supplememts on a schedule atleast 5 days a week.

Is he just stretching out? And the little wiggle/jerk he does is just getting used to bearding and maybe helping him stretch out?

He is just about 4 months old. He has only bearded 1-2 times prior to this and that was back when I first got him and because my cat startled him. Other than that he has never bearded and is the sweetest of dragons. He is also not doing this because he has mad or anything, because I've gotten worried while he was doing it and pet his head/nose and he did his usual closing of the eyes and relaxing when I do it...

Any ideas on what this little dance is that he does while bearding? Basically as soon as he puffs it up he jerks a little bit then the beard goes down, than he puffs it back up and shakes, and repeat a few times.

 

[xJaZx]

Plz, anyone have any ideas?

I'm thinking it was because he was shedding because he finished yesterday and he didnt do it this morning. I just wanted to be sure there wasn't something wrong.

 

[xJaZx]

Ok he did it again this morning and he has no loose shed on him or isn't going to be shedding anytime soon.

Annnnnnny ideas...

 

[EclpsPrinc]

Gosh... wish I could help. My beardies have never experienced that. My vet wrote an article on shaking/tremors. Perhaps it may shed some light...
http://www.modbee.com/2082/story/389540.html

 

[xJaZx]

Here is a video of him doing this a little bit, it was hard to catch on camera, hes camera shy I guess. Don't bother watching the second half of the video, I just don't have a video-editor, but he doesn't do anything during the second half or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ_DM096eOE

 

[EclpsPrinc]

Hhhhmmmm... It's kind of hard to see real well in the video but it appears he is simply puffing/stretching his beard? My juvi male does this periodically and I believe it's quite normal. Is his body shaking or tremoring? If so, I would be concerned but with just the puffing, I would not. Hopefully, one of the more experienced members will give some insight.

 

[fluffynme]

hi, my male and my female do this! i think they are just showing off or stretching it is quit funny to watch though. sometimes they look like they are trying to shoo something away with their beard!

 

[ryun-26]

Oh is that what that is, i always used to get worried when jazper done that, i thought he was trying to be sick.

 

[KairaandTaz08]

I agree with the morning stretches...my two do it also. However, his beard did get pretty black when he was doing it and he looked light he was trying to "push" something out...besides his beard. The video is a bit blurry though, so I couldn't see for sure. I just know that when Kaira and Taz do it, their beards don't get black. Is it only in the morning (sorry if I missed that info)?
Abi

 

[leann]

Brock does this too but w/o black bearding & only in the morning, almost like he is either trying to get something to come up or go down.....I figured it was some kind of stretching. 8)

 

[valcash]

He is a cute Dragon. The video was helpful to understand what you are saying. I highly recommend that you get a fecal on him and get him a bigger cage. Can you tell me his cage temps on both sides and his diet ?

 

[lococonut]

Can beardies be afraid of the dark? Cause mine freaks out whenever I yurn the light off...

 

[xJaZx]

Thanks for the responces. Sorry the video sucked, it was from my 30$ digi cam from walmart. My good camera doesn't take video, lol.

I don't think he needs a bigger cage anytime soon, he is in a 55 gallon. It is 4 ft long, just a lil more narrow/tall than shorter and wider but he has plenty of room to run around. Which he doesn't do anyways, lol. He is VERY lazy and laidback but once I take him out he is a spazz. He has always been this way.

He is under a 100w MVB and a 60w household bulb for extra heat. The far side of his tank is gnereally in the mid-high 70s (he rarely ventures over there unless he is hunting, lol). His basking spot ranges from 100-115 (varying on room temp) I monitor it a few times a day and if I notice its off at all, like if it is a really warm day, I will shut off the household bulb and make sure his temps are always in the range of 110-115 in the basking spot.

His diet consists of crix in the morning (as much as he wants) a big salad at lunch time (always mustard greens, sometimes topped with other veggies or fruit) and more crix at night time, as much as he wants. His nighttime criz are dusted with calcium, and about 2 days a week i substitute the calcium dust with a multivitamin dust (w/cal). He is very healthy and plump.

His beard isn't that black in the video, I think it is MOSTLY the lighting/bad camera. He is always a bit darker when he wakes up, but he was not black bearding.

I saw his first gorgeous black beard today when he saw his new lil girl friend when i let him look at her through the glass this morning. (they have seperate tanks, she is on the first level of the stand, below him so they can't see eachother.) Just got her this morning.

Does this answer everything? lol

 

[KairaandTaz08]

If he's not bearding when he's doing it, he is most likely stretching. I saw one of mine doing the same head movements just the other day, so I think that's pretty normal, too. After actually seeing it myself, I think it's just their way of "pushing" their beards out more.
I think that a 55 gallon would be large enough for right now. When he's full grown and a "big" beardie, I'd get a bigger tank, still. Personally, I have my 6 month old in a 75 gallon and my 4 month old in a 40 gallon (which he is going to out-grow soon). The more room the better, though.
I don't know much about MVB's, so I can't help there, but I think his basking temp maybe a little high for his age. Kaira likes it around 102-103F and Taz (the same age as your guy) likes it at 104-105F or they don't want to bask/gap a lot. 110-115F is a little higher than I personally recommend. It's good for really young babies, but I find that at 4 months, most say 100-110F (tops) is good. It depends on the beardie too. The cool side is a bit too cool, though. It should run between 78-82F during the day. I understand the lazy beardie, Kaira is quite lazy lol (she waits for her crickets to come to her now, instead of chasing them around in her feeding tub), but Taz is always running around, so his temps may be just a bit off. I'd move the 60watt light to the cool side, honestly. That's what I do with the 75gallon to make sure it's warm enough on the cool side, because occasionally it does drop to 72F or so and that's just not warm enough during the day (even on the cool side).
I'd offer fresh greens all day (that's just me though). How many crickets, on average, is he eating? What multi-vitamin are you using?
He's darker when he wakes up? Is he dark throughout the night? My two are very relaxed throughout the night, Kaira's colors are super visible, and neither one has any stress marks. What are your night temps?
At 4 months old, I wouldn't show him another beardie, especially if you're having concerns. It may have actually scared him. I know Taz has seen Kaira (on accident, he ran across the room quickly and we didn't stop him in time, he froze in his tracks and then clung to me for dear life :roll: , or when we are giving baths and don't "shield" Kaira well enough when walking out of the room) and it just scares him.
I do recommend getting a fecal done (though, I'm more conservative about meds). It's just good to know if they are having any problems with parasites. I wouldn't normally treat them for parasites unless their counts are extremely high or they are showing signs/symptoms. Plus, it's a good idea to have a good vet, experienced with beardies, to just have a quick look over them.
Ok, sorry, this turned into a whole bunch of questions. If you're concerned about something, though, it's always best to be safe than sorry. It never hurts to have others take a look at everything either .
Abi

 

[xJaZx]

I will work with the lighting a bit more, its kinda on hold till I get the 2nd MVB. If I see his temps go over 110 I usually will lower them (by moving the 60w a little ways away or w/e) so they are pretty close to accurate.

I showed them to each other this evening and they were fine. They even bathed happily together and both were more calm. The little girl freaked out when I bathed her this morning (I wanted to warm her up, her heat packs were not putting off any heat when I got her and she was really cold). They both seemed MUCH more relaxed in the tub. Usually Turbo is a spazz but they both kinda just layed there next to eachother rather than trying to get out. Play time supervision is all they will see of eachother varying on how it goes as they get older..

The little one seems much more active than Turbo. I hope that doesn't mean he could have a parasite. Are there any other more specific things I should look for? He just overall seems to be a very laid-back calm lil man unless hes out of his tank he likes to run around.