behavior change.

[youheartsme]

Hey guys I just moved my BD from home to college. She hasn't been acting normal lately. She usually runs around in her tank in the afternoonish but now she just sits on her log and she looks like shes sleepy. She also hides a lot for some reason. I raised the tank temp just the other day, so it is about 110ish on the hot side of the tank. She also has a 10.0 UVB light that I got about 2 months ago. She also hasnt pooped in about 5 days and doesnt eat as much as she usually does. But if she is eating SOMETHING should come out right? Now I am giving her a bath and it seems like she likes to be out of the tank and she is either hissing or gasping and puffing out in the tub. She usually poops within a couple of minutes I have her in the tub but its been about 10 and still nothing. She has repticarpet in her tank so I don't think it's a gut impaction. Any ideas?

 

[dechainechel]

How old is yor beardie? What have you been feeding her?
She could be preparing for brumation. Some of it could be relocation stress, but that shouldn't effect her pooing.
Keep giving her warm baths, maybe massage her tummy lightly.
Beardies hate change for the most part. She may be upset about the move. Have you changed her schedule at all?
I need more info in order to give you better advice:
How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
Thanks

 

[youheartsme]

My beardie should be about 11 months and I've had her for about 9 months. She's about 17" in a 40 breeder tank with a 30w florescent UVB (reptisun or reptiglow I dont remember) and 2 heat bulbs on the hot side, one 75w and one 100w (my roommate likes to leave the AC on). She also has a small heating pad underneath. I use a digital probe temp. and the hot side is around 105ish and the cool side is around 85. she can get within i would say 4-5" of the UVB light which is about 2-3 months old. I give her freeze dried circkets and greens with pellets. I soak them with water so they are soft and spray them with vitamin spray. I also give her fresh greens whenever I can. I usually leave the bowl in her tank in the morning and if she looks hungry I'll give her more. I give her live crickets about 2 times a week but she hasnt been too interested in live food lately. I spray her with water daily and a bath probably once a week. I thought that her being so inactive is from the moving stress but its the not pooping part that is worrying me. I massage her belly when I give her a bath to stim her to poop but nothing. I am going to give her another bath later today. She is in the tank by herself and her fav. teddy bear and she had parasites when I first got her but we treated it and the vet said she was healthy and this was around nov. 2008. I am going to wait until monday or tuesday to see if she does any better, if not I will take her to the vet, but i wanna see if anyone else would know whats wrong with her.

 

[dechainechel]

I think your beardie may be dehydrated. You should be bathing her at least every other day, and letting her soak in warm water for 15-30min. Spraying her isn't going to do much good, because bearded dragons obsorb water through thier vents, so a bath is best.
Why are you feeding your beardie freeze dried crickets? They aren't very good for her. She needs to be fed live feeders. If crickets don't work, you should try silkworms or superworms. Also she should be getting her greens every day. Greens and veggies are the staple of an adult bearded dragon, and are very important for them to stay healthy. Greens and veggies will also help your beardie poo on a regular basis. Live feeders should be fed 2-3 times per week, I think, someone correct me if I'm wrong. Check out this site for great Ideas on what to feed your beardie: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/home.html click on nutrition content.

I'd like to request that you remove the under the tank heat mat from your beardie's viv. Heat mats and hot rocks are very harmful to beadies. They need to have their heat come from above, not below, or they can be burned.
I hope your uvb bulb is a tube and not a coil. Coils are harmful to beardies and may cause death. The Repti-sun 10.0 is the best tube to have for her. Just don't forget to change it every 6 months. Hope this helps!

 

[beardie parents]

Also, if you have a reptiglo 10 tube uvb, that could be part of the problem. You mentioned you didn't know whether it was the reptisun or reptiglo. If you look on one end of the tube, it will tell you which one it is. If it's the reptiglo 10, they don't give out good uvb and, in fact, can cause eye problem, not as bad as the coil/compact uvb's do, but in some beardies, they have caused the start of MBD in beardies.

 

[youheartsme]

She has the freeze dried greens in there all the time. I just moved in so I'm still trying to settle everything down. I always keep a can of freeze dried food on the side for when I don't have time to get food. I usually do leave a bowl of fresh greens in the tank for her all the time. Also with crickets she doesnt look too interested in it for some reason. She LOVES wax worms but I dont want to give her too much cause then she'll get fat. None of my bulbs are coil, and the heating pad is on at night cause it's cold in my room she doesnt lay right on top of it tho. Also for the UVB i couldn't read the writing on the end, so I still don't know weather it is reptisun or reptiglo. =( But if the bulb has been in the store for a long time would that lose the UVB lighting? Because not too many people buy a 36" 10.0 UVB from that store. Maybe I should change that fluorescent bulb too?

 

[youheartsme]

Oh yeah she just pooped today and looks A LOT better. Maybe she was constipated? But she still isnt as active as she used to be. Could that just still be the stress? She looks happy when I take her out at least.

 

[beardie parents]

It could be the stress. Are you spending less time with her now that you are in College then before? We have been spending less time with our girls this last week because of a problem that occurred just over 2 weeks ago. Today, they got no time with my husband while I was at work because he had to run a lot of errands when I was at work. Speedy was clinging to my hand and wouldn't let go, even tho I had her on my side while I was trying to nap. It's not easy to fall asleep when you have a beardie clinging to your hand.

 

[dechainechel]

Yes, I would advise replacing the uvb bulb, especially if you don't know the brand or how old it is. Remember to get a Repti-sun 10.0. If you order it online it will be way cheaper than in a store. I get mine through http://www.lllreptile.com
You could look into a different feeder for her. I use superworms, silkworms and butter worms for my 2 beardies and my leopard gecko, and they do great on them. Superworms are easy to deal with, and less stinky than crickets. Here is where I order my feeders: http://www.mulberryfarms.com They are excellent, and always give you more than you order as a bonus. I love them, and so do my beardies. They get bored if I don't change it up sometimes.
I'm glad to hear that she pooped and that she seems better! She most likely just needs a decent meal and time to get used to her home. Good Luck!