Darwin

[NickAVD]

Darwin had a pretty good visit from Santa this year. I removed the tile from his enclosure and replaced it with shelf liner since his nails don't grow. He doesn't really use his enclosure except to sleep, but I figured it wouldn't hurt. Gave me an excuse to deep clean the whole thing anyway.

He got a container of hornworms and some BSFL too. The BSFL got delayed in transit so I wound up throwing a bunch of them out since they were mushy and stinky. Was able to save the rest though. Hornworms are fine and growing to edible size now. He also got a hand knit blanket =)

For lighting he got a replacement lamp stand as well as a 100w PowerSun (mostly so I can test it's output) and the european Arcadia 100w MVB with a step up converter which is his new kitchen light. I haven't done much testing yet, but initial observation is that UVB output from both of them is strong with a nice wide beam from both of them. The PowerSun isn't as bright as the Arcadia or MegaRay. It puts out a nice spread of heat though. The Arcadia is incredibly powerful in terms of UVB output, but it doesn't produce much heat. It doesn't get the basking surface warm enough on it's own without putting it close enough to produce 14UVI which is ovbiously no go. I'll wind up installing a second lamp next to it for him, but will wait a few weeks to see how it goes after burn-in. He seems to enjoy basking under all of them so far. I'll have some time to do more detailed output testing soon, which will give UVI and temperature details for the PowerSun and Arcadia MVBs.

You have done a great job choosing a MVB lamp!
Can you advise who lamp is better to chose?
I have a basking place in my room and my beardie uses it, but now a Deep Heat Arcadia (80W) is installed there, so I would like to buy MVB and he can spend more time outside the terrarium.
I was planning to buy Arcadia D3 Basking lamp (100W), but after reading your review about insufficient heat at high UVB, I decided to ask you for advice first.

 

[NickAVD]

UPDATE:
I bought Arcadia D3 UV Basking Lamp (160W) and had a chance to try it with UVB meter.
As a result, I have 150uW/cm2 at a distance of 18" from the basking zone. In this case, the temperature in the basking zone does not exceed 81F. If I lower the lamp to a distance of 16", then the level of UVB is too big - 215uW/cm2, but the temperature is still low.
I am very pleased with the level of UVB at a distance of 18", but I do not know how to increase the temperature.
Right now I see 3 ways:
- lower the lamp and get too much UVB (I think it is not good idea)
- add a deep heating lamp
- add the mesh lid on the light dome that will delay part of the UVB (and then lower the lamp)
What did you do with your 100w bulb?

 

[xp29]

You could give a perch with a couple different heights and your dragon will choose where he's happy.

 

[NickAVD]

You could give a perch with a couple different heights and your dragon will choose where he's happy.

Today I tried to make a mountain out of everything I had at the moment.
Foxy climbed to the very top (this is 12") and it seems that he is not going to go down and change his position.
I measured UVB - 320-330uW/cm2. The color in the photo goes crazy with this UVB
I think something needs to be changed. What is your opinion?

 

[xp29]

I would let him stay that close, he should move on his own if the exposure gets to high

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree. Since the lighting in an open room allows them to move about much more easily, there is a lot more flexibility regarding temps and UVB exposure. I've also found it helpful to set up a plain basking light near the MVB. That way they can just bask under heat if they want to. Darwin seems to enjoy just the incandescent bulb heat someitmes rather than the MVB and moves back and forth as he wishes.

 

[NickAVD]

I agree. Since the lighting in an open room allows them to move about much more easily, there is a lot more flexibility regarding temps and UVB exposure. I've also found it helpful to set up a plain basking light near the MVB. That way they can just bask under heat if they want to. Darwin seems to enjoy just the incandescent bulb heat someitmes rather than the MVB and moves back and forth as he wishes.

I think I have found a solution to this problem.
I installed the lamp inside the Arcadia Ceramic Reflector Clamp Lamp (RARM160X), which is recommended by Arcadia for MVB 160W.
It has a mesh that reduces UVB radiation and transmits heat well. The UVB level is now 170 µW/cm2 at temperature is 99F.
Everything turned out to be simple - it was necessary to take the recommended dome.
PS: After UV basking Foxy loves to go down and eat his salad. This is a big win!

 

[xp29]

I'm glad you got it worked out, time outside their enclosure is great enrichment for them.

 

[NickAVD]

I'm glad you got it worked out, time outside their enclosure is great enrichment for them.

Thank you!
Yes, now I don't have to put another lamp for heating.
And You are absolutely right! All the dragons are very freedom-loving and they just need to walk and explore everything around. This whole thread is dedicated to this very fact!
And so that they do not cold as could be, a big man should help them and make a basking zone!

 

[CooperDragon]

Not much to report on Darwin lately. He is still a sleepyhead, but is starting to wake up a bit during the day and even roamed around for a little while over the weekend. This is a pretty long brumation for him. He has been asleep all summer and still isn't eating any food. He will take water though, which is good. I don't like the look of his sunken fat pads on his head but hopefully those will fill back in after he starts to wake up and eat more. His weight is remaining steady around 520g which tells me he is OK but just doing an extended brumation for some reason. Hopefully he'll wake up soon, I miss having him dart all over the house doing important investigations.

 

[xp29]

Ruby is the only one of mine that actually goes down (so far)
I thought my girlfriend (Ruby is actually her pet) was going to go bonkers. I just about had to stand guard to keep her from trying to wake her up lol. My others tend to just get really lazy and nap a lot.

 

[AHBD]

Not much to report on Darwin lately. He is still a sleepyhead, but is starting to wake up a bit during the day and even roamed around for a little while over the weekend. This is a pretty long brumation for him. He has been asleep all summer and still isn't eating any food. He will take water though, which is good. I don't like the look of his sunken fat pads on his head but hopefully those will fill back in after he starts to wake up and eat more. His weight is remaining steady around 520g which tells me he is OK but just doing an extended brumation for some reason. Hopefully he'll wake up soon, I miss having him dart all over the house doing important investigations.

How long has he been sleeping and has it been pretty solid ?

 

[CooperDragon]

He got sleepier around the end of May and went into a full brumation from mid July until the end of August. He woke up a bit for a trip at the beginning of September, but was still sleepy. Went back to sleep when we got home and since the beginning of October he is waking up during the day and roaming around a bit, but not eating (he drinks water most days). His weight is stable but hopefully he'll gain some energy and start eating again soon. His good eye still seems to be focusing normally so I think he can see. When he wakes up fully I'll bring him back to the vet for a followup on the eyes to see if the cataracts have progressed or not.

 

[CooperDragon]

Darwin just came home from a stay in the hospital. His eating kept declining after brumation and while I was able to stabilize his weight with some omnivore care syringe feeding, I wanted to find out if there was an underlying problem aside from his blindness. It looks like his cataracts are getting slightly worse and there was some damage to his retina and a crystalline buildup within his bad left eye. He has been pretty much completely blind on that side for a while now. His right side is getting worse but not completely done for yet, which is good. He is probably perceiving shadows more than anything. Going to start giving him some vitamin a drops and some ketorolac to help with the irritation and hopefully that will make him more comfortable. If eye discomfort was the source of his appetite drop, i'll take it since that can be addressed.

He had a CT and blood work done. That showed some swelling in his gall bladder and liver. Not quite sure what to make of this yet because it may be due to his weight loss and insufficient nutrient intake. Organ function looked normal via the bloodwork which was good. They installed a feeding tube for him so we can hopefully get the onmivore care into him more efficiently (syringe feeding wound up with a lot on the floor as he resisted it. Going to keep that up for a few weeks and then check back. Hopefully his weight will trend back up and the inflammation will go down. So far he is still his energetic and active self for the most part, so I'm hopeful he can fight through whatever is causing him trouble.

 

[NickAVD]

Poor boy, I hope Darwin can overcome all his problems.