BLACK BEARD

[lauraisnotagiraffe]

Came home from college to find my beardie (Marcus) with a discoloured beard, usually bright orange, it is now black! What's wrong with him? He is just under a year old, I've heard this colouration may be due to him going into adolescence. Is this true? Do I need to adjust his feeding? Any advice would help so much! Thank you!

 

[Spikey07]

Is he active? Is he eating and pooping normally? Has he been well recently?

What substrate are you using?
What type and brand of UVB are you using? Is it a tube or coil bulb?
What temperature is the basking spot? What type of thermometer are you using to measure this, digital or dial type?
How long have you had him? How old is he?
What are you feeding and how often?
Are you using calcium and vitamin supplements? If so how often?

Do you have any pictures of him like this?

 

[lauraisnotagiraffe]

I haven't seen any huge difference in his active behaviour, he seems to be moving around the same amount. He eats and poo's the same and healthy amount as usual, I usually feed him about 5-8 4th hoppers daily as well as a constant supply of fresh veg. He is on a bark and sand substrate. I'm not sure what branded light it is, but it was one that was recommended by a friend, and the heat is the correct temp. I got him last June, when he was about 1 month old. He has calcium and occasional other supplement on his hoppers at least 4 times a week. I'm not sure how you add a picture But he is a tiger beardie, but his complete beard has turned black if that helps!

 

[Spikey07]

Any loose saubstrate has a risk of impaction, but especially wood chips. This can get lodged in his intestine and cause impaction as he would not be able to pass it. As you said he is pooping normally he probably is not impacted at the moment, however something to keep in mind for the future. I would recommend removing the loose substrate completely and instead use lino, tile, reptile carpet or kitchen roll. If you really must use sand, make sure it is washed and sifted childrens play sand as calci sand can also cause impaction.

The brand and type of UVB tube is really important. It should be written on the side of the bulb. Is it a tube bulb or coil type? Also how old is the bulb?
Are you using a digital thermometer or dial type? The basking spot should be about 105 degrees.
What veg do you feed him?

You can upload pics to this site by creating an account with photobucket.com (its free) and then copy the IMG code into here.

Black beards can mean your beardie is unwell or unhappy with something, but not always.

 

[AHBD]

If he's not ill in any way, acting normally and having regular b.m,s, it's probably his growing in to a manly beardie. But, as was mentioned by Spikey, it could be something else.

 

[CaptainVimes]

Beardies can "black beard" for a number of reasons.

1. If they are gravely ill, their beard will often be REALLY black. You would probably notice other signs if it were this, because being gravelly ill means "near death". A beardie can go downhill in a matter of hours, but you will usually know before the very seriously ill, that there is something wrong.

I am not saying that your beardie is dying, i'm just saying WHY they black beard heheh, it's probably a completely innocent reason!

2. Hormones. Their hormones can play havoc with them when they go from juvenile to adult, this can be them black bearing to boast to other dragons that they are bigger, better, stronger etc than them. A lot of throwing themselves around their enclosure, displaying, head bobbing etc goes on too. Often this happens with males when they come out of brumation.

3. He isn't happy with something that has changed either inside his house, or in the room that he is in. This CAN BE ANYTHING.

4. He's just not happy about something.