Do you think my beardie is sick?

[Bmac60]

My bearded dragon will bask but he will hid underneath his log a lot. Not everyday but it happens multiple times a week. He won't move from there all day. Then he has days where he wants to come out and run around. This morning after I fed him he basked for about 45 minutes then went in his hide and started scratching at the corner. Then he laid down in there. He is only about 6 months old so I don't think he's brumating. He eats crickets and veggies everyday and sometimes some superworms. I also dust his food and his temperatures are all right. And his UVB is only 2 months old so I know it's not any of his husbandry. When I first got him he tested positive with pinworms but the vet said with the right temps he would pass them. That was about three months ago. Could it be that? Should I take him to the vet? I've attached a picture of him when he is normal, and when he is hiding.

When he was scratching this morning

 

[EllenD]

Assuming that you're using either an Infrared Temperature Gun or a Digital Probe Thermometer to measure his temperatures, and all 3 temperature zones are within the correct ranges for a 6 month old dragon (Basking Spot Surface Temp between 105-110 degrees; Hot Side Ambient Temp between 88-93 degrees, and Cool Side Ambient Temp between 75-80 degrees maximum, no higher) and are not any higher than their maximum temp ranges, and you're not using stick-on thermometers, then it could just be that he likes to be inside his cave. This happened to another member on here who had the best husbandry I've every seen, the best of everything and all of it was mounted perfectly, and her male dragon started hiding inside a new cave she had bought him around 3 or 4 months old. He just wouldn't come out, ever. Usually though, there is a reason they are avoiding their lights most of the time, especially a young dragon like yours.

There have been quite a lot of dragons, my adult female included, who have been exhibiting a bit of lethargy, their appetites have slowed down, etc. this winter, so while no, it's not brumation, they can still sense the change in Barometric Pressure outside when winter hits, and this can still cause them to got through a normal "winter slow-down" period.

In addition, most dragons do got through a completely normal "slow-down" period between the ages of 6 months and usually 10 months, it's just something that happens as a result of them growing and developing, and hormonal changes.

It actually sounds like you have a very knowledgeable and experienced Reptile Vet since he didn't choose to medicate him for the pinworms. Most all "exotics" vets and general vets don't have a freaking clue what they're doing, and if they see ANY sign of ANY parasite they medicate them with very harsh, prescription meds that end up making them very sick. Most any Bearded Dragon at any time will show low to moderate counts/loads of pinworms/eggs and/or Coccidia, and they exhibit no symptoms from them at all, and they do no need to be treated. Only when either a Pinworm or Coccidia load/count is moderate to high or "Too numerous to count" do you need to medicate them, and when the loads/counts are that high you can typically tell that they are sick and not feeling well. And with Pinworms, even the prescription medications that they give for them (usually Panacur or something similar) do not kill the pinworms, they simply make the females sterile so that they cannot produce anymore eggs and then "flush" out the pinworms/eggs from their GI Tracts. So your vet knows his stuff, hang on to them, I'm serious, because 99% of the "exotics" vets would have medicated him and made him worse.

There is never anything wrong with getting a fecal test done just to make sure that there aren't any high counts of parasites that do need to be treated, but if he's still eating normally and it's lethargic (just hiding from his lights, that's not really being lethargic) then he is probably fine as far as parasites go. If his appetite suddenly slows down or stops in addition to the hiding from his light, then yes, get him back to the vet for a fecal, because this is a sign of parasites. But it doesn't sound like parasites at all.

Just to make sure everything is good as far as your husbandry, EXACTLY what UVB light do you have, do you have it mounted on top of the mesh lid or underneath the mesh lid, and how many inches is the light away from his basking spot? And how old is your UVB light?

EXACTLY what Basking Bulb do you have (brand, wattage, color of the light)? How far away is the Basking light from his basking spot? How many hours each day do you keep both of his lights on?

And can you list the temperatures of all 3 of his temperature zones, as of right now? (I mean take them right now and list them, and be sure if you are using a Digital Probe Thermometer that you allow the Probe to sit on each of the 3 temperature zones for at least 20-30 minutes before reading the temperature, otherwise it will no be at all accurate).

I will say that in a lot of cases of this happening it is due to either a light that is known to emit harmful light rays that typically cause eye and neurological damage (a lot of the common brands of T8 strength UVB tubes emit very harmful light rays as a byproduct of their cheap manufacturing process in China, including Zilla, All Living Things, ReptileOne, Trixie, and a bunch of others), or a light that is too close to the dragon's eyes/skin, and this can be either the UVB light or the Basking Light.