Concerned About Baby Dragon

[DevilsLittleSister]

Hello everyone, I wanted to post under better circumstances and make an introduction post, but am having a bit of a beardie crisis. I am new to the forums, I have one Bearded Dragon named Saber, he is 15 weeks today, and I haven't had him for very long, he is my first.

Yesterday he began exhibiting unusual behavior, I was giving him a bath, his second ever (at least with me) and he began breathing heavy and closing his eyes. I thought maybe he was just stressed as it is still a new experience for him, and he still doesn't know me very well. I also thought maybe he got water in his eyes, though I was trying hard to avoid that. Anyway, as he was going to sleep last night, he was digging under his hide-which he never does.

Today he was not basking as high on his rock, would not go for his crickets-which he loves, though did eat his supers. Spent a lot more time than usual in his water dish. Kept gaping, closing his eyes, and gulping. There was a bit of redness in his stool, but it did not look bloody. His 'stress' lines that are usually dark, were on and off today.

I lowered his basking lamp, and that seemed to reduce his gaping. But he has still been lethargic, and opening and closing his eyes. No more stools and still no interest in crickets. He is sleeping now and his breathing appears faster than normal.

Can anyone tell me what might be going on with my Dragon?

 

[CooperDragon]

Can you give us a rundown of his setup? Size, substrate, lighting details, temperatures and how you measure them are key. If his head is down during a bath, you can try folding up a washcloth and put it under his chin to keep the head up.

 

[DevilsLittleSister]

He is in a 20 gallon, I am in the process of upgraded him to a bigger enclosure.

His substrate is child's play sand.

Lighting he has: Reptisun 10.0 UVB and a 100w basking bulb. His temperatures vary from 107-113 under his basking spot during the day, still have not figured out the fluctuation. And then around 85 on the cool side.

I measure it with the indoor/outdoor thermometer carried by Wal-Mart.

He keeps his head out of the water, I did not put in very much. I had just been sprinkling a little on his back to get it wet.

 

[CooperDragon]

Is the Reptisun the tube style? The temp fluctuation through the day is normal and it sounds like you're in a good range. I definitely suggest removing the sand and putting in a solid substrate like non adhesive shelf liner. The sand is difficult to keep sanitary and can cause impaction.

 

[DevilsLittleSister]

It is the tube style. Glad to know that the fluctuation is normal.

I was informed by the breeder that child's play sand wouldn't cause an impaction. I have changed out his sand since I got him, and try my best to scoop it out everyday.

Could any of this be the cause of his symptoms?

 

[Esther19]

The sand also has a fair amount of dust in it. I agree with Cooper on a different substrate. You can use newspaper if you want.

 

[CooperDragon]

Sand gets EVERYWHERE. and it's hard to scoop out the liquid portion of feces. I'm working with a rescue who has impaction from sand and it's no fun for either of us. Just not worth it.

 

[DevilsLittleSister]

I hope I am not out of line for quoting this, but this is what I was told:

SUBSTRATE – AN IMPORTANT ISSUE
One of the main problems with health can be derived from substrate, (flooring in the cage). We do not recommend anything other than natural sand that can be purchased as “Pre-washed play sand” for children and can be bought any place lumber is sold. In the past several years we have discovered that some Children’s play sand has been crushed to a fine powder or crushed white rock is now called play sand. Check the bag of sand before purchasing to make sure that what is being purchased is plain tan sand. A lot of the expensive sands sold in pet stores could cause sand impaction since most of them are man made and crushed to a fine powder with calcium added. It is quite natural for the dragon to want to dig and eat sand. Keep in mind that these animals live on sand and soil in their natural environment. Our earth is made up of dead matter with lots of calcium in the soil and sand. Reptile carpet must be kept extremely clean or a parasite issue can occur. They do borough into the earth for as long as 8 weeks. Replicating how any animal lives in the natural world is always best.

I am new to all of this, so could be ignorant either way, obviously. This had just made sense to me, but I am open to opinions, and just want to do right by my Dragon.

 

[CooperDragon]

You're definitely not out of line, this is a discussion forum. It totally makes sense and I had my first dragon on sand to begin with too. When I picked up my rescue I was handed an instruction book and I flipped through it (right before I tossed in the trash)to the substrate section in which they swore that in 40 years of housing dragons they never had an issue with sand. I wanted to mail them a copy of the x-ray of my poor guy taken this week. Big old sand clump on the lower right side. Sand irritating his infected eyes and mouth. This is such a new thing compared to dogs/cats that mistakes are bound to happen. Sand kind of makes sense but isn't right. They are savanna critters and are known to dig themselves into the soil sometimes but they don't run around on loose sand naturally. Based on the experience of several folks on here, myself included, ceramic tile, non-adhesive shelf liner, or another solid substrate is the way to go for now.

 

[DevilsLittleSister]

He does keep opening and closing his eyes, so that does seem like the sand could be a logical factor in that, though he hasn't had a problem up to this point with that.

Could that be contributing to his heavy breathing-because of ingestion? Or his lethargy and loss of appetite?

 

[DevilsLittleSister]

He is still the same as yesterday, only slightly more alert. I am very concerned, should I take him to the vet?

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm not one to hesitate on a vet visit if something seems off. Have you tried giving him another bath? Sometimes being outside in the sunlight for a while can help perk them up.

 

[DevilsLittleSister]

Okay I will have to see if I can get him in.

I haven't tried giving him another bath. Since it is sort of what sparked all of this, I was afraid of making it worse.

 

[CooperDragon]

I was thinking of some things that may change his mood to see how he reacts. If you're uncomfortable with a bath at the moment that's no problem. A vet visit may be a good idea to get a better idea of what's going on.

 

[DevilsLittleSister]

He seems to be breathing with his beard, I have never seen him do that before.