Brand new beardie owner that is very concerned!!!!

[NathanU1]

Okay, so I have owned my bearded dragon for only 2 days now. I got her from a woman I work with it was her brothers and he passed away and she couldn’t keep it. She was going to just toss it outside but I told her I would take it. When it came to me it’s tank was filthy and needed to be cleaned very badly. It’s water dish was a paint tray the kind for paint rollers. And it’s substrate was this very thick mound of pellets that had not been changed in a very long time. She said it had gone a few days without a light cause they couldn’t find it. And she said it wouldn’t move from it’s water bowl and was just sitting in the water. But the day I got it I went out and bought the appropriate lights one for basking and one for imitated sun.
Then today I deep cleaned the tank tossed all the pellets and the dead crickets. Got the terrarium liner,fresh crickets, an actual water dish. Some rocks, and a piece of ceramic tile to bask on and a log. Everything seemed fine but, then my boyfriend noticed her beard was completely black. And it’s been that way for a few hours now. She hasn’t really moved and it seems like she doesn’t want to open her eyes. I feed her some super worms an hour ago so she is eating but still won’t open her eyes. I’m very worried I might have done something wrong. Please help.

 

[SHBailey]

It would be a good idea if you could get her to an experienced reptile vet as soon as possible. It sounds like you're doing everything you can to take good care of her, but she has apparently been living under less than ideal conditions (to put it mildly) for some time. The black beard is an indication that she's probably in pain, so it would be good to find out if there's anything serious going on that may need treatment.

 

[3magpie3]

I think the black beard can also be a sign of stress, which she's undergone a lot of lately.

I agree getting to a reptile vet would be ideal and get a fecal done to check for parasites.

Have you read the info in here re: lighting and temperatures, etc? What is her setup like now that you've gotten it all cleaned up? Good for you for taking this poor thing on.

 

[EllenD]

First of all, thank you for taking her in, it sounds like her life has not been good at all up to this point. Do you know how old she is? And what size of tank is she in, in either gallons or dimensions? Is it a glass tank with a mesh lid, or is it a wooden enclosure?

Dragons are Desert Reptiles, and as such they have extremely specific lighting and temperature needs, and yes, the black beard is a sign of either discomfort, pain, or stress. Without an adequate, long UVB tube inside a matching length, flurescent tube fixture with a metal reflector inside it that is behind the bulb to reflect the UVB and UVA light from the UVb tube throughout the tank (at least 18" long, no compact or coil UVB bulb that fits into a normal lightbulb socket/lamp is adequate for a Bearded Dragon) and a bright-white colored Basking Bulb that is the correct wattage to keep all 3 temperature zones inside the tank within the correct temperature ranges, his body cannot make any vitamin D3 on it's own, thus cannot absorb any nutrition from the food or the calcium and multivitamin powders you should be dusting his live bugs in, and cannot process or use any nutrition from his food or supplements.

He also cannot properly digest any food or supplements that he eats if his temperature zones are not within the correct ranges, which often results in a bowel impaction or obstruction, and feeding him Superworms in improper temperature zones will certainly cause a bad impaction. When is the last time he pooped?

Can you please tell us what UVB light you have (brand, wattage or strength, and type, meaning long flurescent tube or a compact or coil bulb), what Basking bulb you have (color and wattage), and how do you have them mounted/set-up? Is your UVb light obstructed by the mesh lid to the tank? How far away in inches is the UVB light from his basking spot?

What type of thermometer are you using to measure his 3 temperature zones? Is it just a stick-on thermometer, or did you get a Digital Probe Thermometer or Infrared Gun? You must have at least a $10 Digital Probe Thermometer because you cannot measure his Basking Spot Temperature at all with a stick-on thermometer, they only measure Ambient (air) Temps, and they are also very, very inaccurate, often off by between 10-20 degrees when tested.

BASKING SPOT SURFACE TEMPERATURE (within the Hot Side of the tank, should be directly under both the UVB light and the bright-white colored Basking Bulb so he gets both lights at the same time, and is where he should want to go to bask directly after eating): Needs to be between 105-110 degrees F for a baby or juvenile Dragon that is under a year old; between 100-105 degrees F for an adult dragon that is a year old and older; absolute maximum temperature anywhere inside the tank anywhere should be 110 degrees F and no hotter!.

HOT SIDE AMBIENT (AIR) TEMPERATURE (The Side of the tank that both the UVb and the bright-white colored Basking Bulb should be over top of and that contains the Basking Spot/Platform within it): Needs to be between 88-93 degrees F maximum.

COOL SIDE AMBIENT (AIR) TEMPERATURE (The side of the tank opposite the Hot Side, that has either no lights over it at all, or at most a very low-wattage, secondary bright-white colored basking bulb to keep the Cool Side Ambient Temp in the correct range if the main, higher wattage basking bulb that is over the Hot Side of the tank isn't enough to do so): Needs to be between 75-80 degrees maximum.

Please try to post some photos of your dragon and then his entire enclosure/tank and lighting set-up, and then answer the questions about his lights and temps. Chances are that his temperature ranges and/or lighting are not quite right or that his UVb light is not adequate, and this is what is causing the lack of movement and black beard, he may be impacted due to improper temps and lighting, etc.

 

[NathanU1]

She is in a 40 gallon glass tank 4ft long 12in wide 16in tall. It has a metal mesh hood. I don’t know how old she is but the person I got her from said her brother had her for years. She is a decent size. And I’ve also noticed while she is eating she hasn’t gone to the bathroom at all other then once the day I got her. There is also something on her left eye it looks like a piece of skin but I’m not sure. It won’t let her completely close her eye though. The temperature is a constant at 96 in the basking area then the other side is at 82.

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

Personally i dont like tanks that are only 12 inches wide as it doesn't give much floor space which is what is usually recommended to have. I wouldn't go any lower than 18 inches for width in a enclosure for a beardie.

Generally you want the basking spot to be between 100-110, usually 105 is good though some adults do prefer to bask at lower temps however no lower than 95.

Can you post pictures of her and her setup?
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ go here and upload a picture, once done when you go to post to select your picture hit the tab that says XIMG