Does my beardie has tail rot?

[NewbieLizard43]

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/18010/full
I'm worried that my beardie ( Rocky ) has a broken tail or tail rot.
He hasn't done any jumps that may harm him.
He is healthy, his poop is normal ( daily poops ).
He is active, and is currently shedding.
The tank temperatures are exactly in the 90s (basking spot) and 80s (cooler area), and the humidity is in the 30s.
He has been eating normally.
Currently, he is basking.
He is 2 years old.
I got him one week ago.
Is he suffering from tail rot? Or is it normal for him to have his tail like that?

 

[Claudiusx]

Hi there,

The tail doesn't look like tail rot, but it looks like it's kinking/bending which is a potential sign of MBD (past or present).

90 is a bit cool for the basking surface temp. What are you using to measure your temps?
And what are you using for UVB?

A full body picture of Rocky and his setup would help

-Brandon

 

[NewbieLizard43]

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/18019/full
https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/18011/full
https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/18006/full
https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/18008/full
srry if it seems a little bit diy, i just don't have a lot of money.
Im removing the sand next time I clean the tank (read that it is no good for beardies)
A fellow beardie owner on this site told me about the bulb in a forum I posted, but I don't remember what it is.
He is still basking btw

 

[Claudiusx]

Hi there,

Thanks for the extra pictures.

His tail does seem to be kinking a bit. But he looks generally ok besides that.

However if your UVB bulb is one that screws into a socket like your heatbulb does, it really isn't suitable.
You'll want to get the reptisun 10.0 fluorescent tube. Not the CFL version that you most likely have right now.

I would replace the sand like you mentioned, but it's not related to this issue really

Are you using a digital thermometer with probe end to measure temps? Or a dial thermometer? I only ask because it's just important to know the basking surface temp. And for that the dial thermometers just don't cut it.

What does his daily diet and supplementation schedule look like?
Based on the fact that his tail is starting to kink, I'd really make an effort to upgrade his husbandry so that you can stop the MBD before it develops any worse.

-Brandon

 

[NewbieLizard43]

His diet compromised of:
5 mealworms on the first day
4 mealworms on the second, with veggies
3 mealworms on the third day with veggies
No mealworms, only veggies on the fourth day
2 mealworms on the fifth day with veggies
7 mealworms on the sixth day with veggies
4 mealworms on the seventh day with veggies
He doesn't eat much of his veggies, but I do serve them fresh.
Now that I got crickets and a calcium powder which comes with vitamin v3, im planning on giving him 10 crickets every two days, with five doused in powder.
But how much should I douse the crickets in terms of the powder? I don't want to go overkill, but i don't want MBD either. And is he suffering from MBD? What can I do to help fight it?

 

[KarrieRee]

The tank you have him in is a tall tank and not alot of floor space? As mentioned by Brandon please get rid of the sand if you have not done so already --- dragons need floor space not height and if he has MBD he really shouldnt be doing a lot of climbing--- what is going to help him is a good UVB -- you need the Reptisun 10.0 T 5 - or an Arcadia bulb 12% which is like the Retpisun both are really good bulbs--- distance plays a good role for this bulb as they both need to be 12-15 inches from him inside the tank or 6-8 if its sitting on top of the screen --- the screen is going to block 30% of the rays- I would start feeding him crickets or dubias dusted w/ the D3 every couple of days and I would feed him as many as he will eat not limit them - you can dust his vegies as well -- I am glad hes eating some -- I would not be feeding him on the sand if its still in the tank -- put him in a separate container to feed - risk of impaction when eating - you can use paper towels in there for now and feed out of tank because crickets have a tendency to hide and you dont want any left in the tank as well --- dubias are fine to be left as they dont bite like crickets do - I would dust all the insects but dont over do it - dont dust them like a powdered donut you can use a ziploc bag to put the crickets in or a small plastic dish for the roaches and shake -- you can use the meal worms or super worms to lure him to the salad bowl - and another good source of calcium is BSFL you can order them from here and order large ones if you do https://symtonbsf.com/ they are another great staple feeder and do not need to be dusted - they can be put on top of his salad as many as you want -- I would use a glass dish one that worms cannot get out of --
Karrie

 

[AHBD]

Hi there , your beardie does not look to have MBD other than the very minor tail kink so don't worry about that. Is he moving + climbing well ? He looks quite healthy as far as body structure. Feed him other insects like you are planning, mealworms are O.K as part of the diet but you do need other bugs for better nutrition. Dust the insect lightly with calcium powder. As was mentioned his tank dimensions should be longer to give him more room to move around. The sand is always controversial, as long as the heat in the tank is high enough for proper digestion you will almost never have a problem with impaction. But there are pros + cons to any substrate.

 

[NewbieLizard43]

Thanks for the advices!
Rocky just ate some crickets with the new calcium powder I bought him. He still has his salad there.
I got worried now because his poop came with half a mealworm unprocessed.

 

[KarrieRee]

Check your basking temps--- they should be 95-110 --- too cool of basking temps could be a sign of not hot enough---- or he could of eaten too many too fast --
Karrie

 

[AHBD]

I agree, basking temp. should be at least 95. It's great that he's eaten some crickets though ! BTW, what type of bulb is in the pic where it says 660 watts ? Can you take a pic of the entire bulb ? And one more thing, are you sure that Rocky is a male ? Head shape looks like female, although that's not always an accurate way to tell. You can look under the tail like in this article, scroll down to the pics :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/sexing/

If you're not sure see if you can get a couple pics like that to post here.

 

[NewbieLizard43]

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/18016/full
Here are pics of the lightbulb
https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/18017/full
Also, I couldn't take a picture of its under tail, but it has one bump. Does that mean Rocky is female?

 

[AHBD]

Yes it would be a female if there's just one rounded small lump in the middle, is it like in the picture from the link ? And is that bulb a basking heat bulb , if so what is the other bulb. When you turn the lights out + the bulbs cool off can you unscrew them and take pics of the name on the bulb ?