Concerns....Please Help!

[ldyminerva]

My baby, izzy, is about 6-7 months old and she's been acting odd lately. I'm hoping it's just winter burmanation, but i'm not sure. Hoping you guys can help me out.

she hasn't shed in almost 2 months. She's tiny, but she was a runt when we got her. Shes only about 16 inches or so. Some days she doesn't leave her cave at all. She will go a few days without eating. then there are days where she goes "crazy" hyper and eats everything in sight. We started using sand (i know the whole debate on it, so lets not get into that) about 3-4 months ago, so i've been making sure she is still pooping, and she is. but it's slowed down till once every 2 days, sometimes 3 days, sometimes every day. When we walk by her she hides herself, so we haven't been picking her up like we use too, we've been letting her have her space. Sometimes i go in there and feed her a cricket or something. She use to be real friendly.

We went to Florida right after Christmas for a week, and i left her with my friend (who is a Zoologist) and she said that one day she just turned white, and then the next day she went back to green......and since we've been back, she hasn't been herself. When my friend told me that i thought she was just going to shed....but she hasn't shed.....

UPDATE: husband now tells me that she is pooping just a little bit every day instead of a lot every other day....and she is about 16 inches, and think she is more like 7-8 months old.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello,

Is your lizard a bearded dragon or an iguana?

Dawn

 

[ldyminerva]

She a bearded dragon......and she has to be older then 6 months......i think....it's hard to tell.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

The reason I asked what kind of lizard she was is that you mentioned she went back to the color green. Bearded Dragons are not green, can you clarify that?

If you could answer some questions about her set up...that has alot to do with their behavior.

What type&brand UVB are you using? Is it a coil,compact or fluorescent tube?
Do you have a basking bulb?
What are the temps on the basking spot and cool side?
What are you measuring the temps with?
Are you using any colored bulbs?

 

[LJean]

It could be something with the enclosure. Sometimes something as simple as the basking spot getting too hot or not hot enough or the UVB no longer being good that can make them cranky. Have you changed her diet?

 

[ldyminerva]

What type&brand UVB are you using? Is it a coil,compact or fluorescent tube? We use a powersun murcury vabor light for basking and heat and then we have a fluorescent UVB light

Do you have a basking bulb? the powersun light

What are the temps on the basking spot and cool side? basking spot is around 100-120 and cool side is around 70-75

What are you measuring the temps with? measure the temps with didgital things

Are you using any colored bulbs? No.

We do have an "emergancy" heat pad under her cave incase the temps get below 60 it turns on since we live in Michigan and it's freezing up here!

She is in a 40 - 45 gallon tank, my husband is in the middle of building her a larger tank right now, but she still fits well in the one she is in, can turn around with ease.

anything else i should add? I thank you for asking! i should of included this info to begin with!

UPDATED: to add that she is the "typical" green/gray/brown color....only her beard and part of her face is turning more and more red.....she's quite beautiful really.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Well your set up looks good. Just a few suggestions: when using a mercury vapor bulb you really don't need the other uvb light. The mvb is both basking(heat) and uvb. Your basking spot should not exceed 110. If you can get your coolside up a tad to about 80, that would be good. If you need extra heat you could get a ceramic heat emitter(it's just heat/no light). The undertank heaters are not highly reccomended, due to bd's not sensing heat on their bellies and a risk of them getting burned. You already know the debate on the sand, but as long as she is going poop...
Is your thermometer a digital with a wire and probe? those ones get the most accurate temps.
What are you feeding her? Like Ljean mentioned has anything changed in her diet?
Do you bathe her for hydration?

If it's not her set up and she looks healthy,is fed properly and hydrated. She could just be going through puberty. Some times they get a little tempermental during this stage.

Dawn

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

You know, I didn't think about it, but if you are not getting accurate temps in her viv she could possibly be getting too hot and could be hiding due to the heat. Just a thought. What brand of thermometer are you using? Is it an Acurite ?

 

[ldyminerva]

To be honest, my husband is in charge of the temps. I know we have a digital with a probe, and i know that he keeps her in "range" which is why i'm not positive on the temps, but we've done our research on that.

Her diet hasn't changed, she's on fresh veggie and crickets. We haven't been bathing her, and we are thinking that might be the problem. We use a sprayer mist bottle, but i think bathing her might be better.

I haven't read up on puberty, maybe i should do that. i now estimate that she is about 9 months old, is that the right time? Great i'll have a dragon and a daughter going through puberty at the same time

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

She could be going through puberty, she is at that age.

She also could be dehydrated. When you mist her does she drink any of the water? When they are dehydrated they can become lethargic. Why don't you try giving her a bathe. Most beardies actually love bath time. You can either fill the sink or rubbermaid type container with warm water, no deeper than your bd's armpits. When she she gets use to the baths, you can put more water in there since she is not a little baby anymore. Let her soak for at least 10 min..longer if she likes it. If she doesn't drink in the bath that's fine, they also take water in thru their vent. Try that and see if you notice a change.

If no change I would reccomend taking her in for a fecal check, just to see if there might be something else going on.

Good Luck,

Dawn