dragon appears dead, then slowly snaps out of it

[bsargis]

Hey all. Another day, and Zeus seems to be back to normal. Chasing crickets and basking. I gave him a bath this morning, just high enough to soak his underbelly. I made sure his "area" was under water. We'll see how that works. I'm taking him to the vet today for a checkup. I was wondering if you could direct me to some sites that have bearded dragon supplies, such as lights, temperature gauges, and grass carpet bedding. I'm trying to do everything I can to avoid him getting impacted. I think that is the cause, cause he hasn't pooped since the 14th that I can tell. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[bsargis]

Well I went back to the pet store and got a whole new lighting fixture. It has a flourescent bulb that has the required UVB rays. I got two of them, one is 5.0 and the other a 10.0, I am starting with the 5.0 because it is a 20 gallon tank. It also has a spot for two bulbs max. 75w ea. I got a blue 60watt bulb and a nighttime red 60watt bulb that I will only have on a night, cause the nights are getting cold here, and he does seem to bury himself under his wood piece. I also got spray to coat the crickets with vitamins with vitamin c. But when I came home from the pet store, I found him face down in the water, twisted up with a cricket in his mouth. I got him out of the water, took the cricket out of his mouth, and fortunately was able to revive him by petting and coaxing him. I also gave him a tepid bath in the bathroom sink. That seemed to snap him out of his paralysis daze. He is now up on his stick close to the top, and seems completely normal. I noticed he has pooped since this morning. I'm afraid to put crickets in because everytime he goes for them, it's like he trips up and then goes into paralysis mode. Please don't tell me I need to get another cage!

 

[wizbee]

Maybe take the water out of his cage? That must have been terrifying!

 

[kski]

Rule of thumb is not to have water in their cage unless they're pretty much adults. They can drown in practically nothing.

And I could be wrong about this but I don't think the red "night" light is a good idea. It's my understanding that beardies need as close to absolute darkness as possible or else they have restless sleep. Most people just fill a sock with rice and nuke it for a little bit to get it warm and the beardie snuggles against that for the night. And wasn't it recommended that you ditch the blue light? I don't think that's doing him any good either. Beardies like to have bright white lights, they thrive in it. Seriously.

Also, are you keeping crickets in his cage with him? That's not a good idea either. Live food, crickets especially, need to be removed from the tank when feeding is done. Crickets can cause massive damage to a dragon, like actually eating it. Besides that, they could be annoying the crap out of him and that can make a beardie not want to eat that kind of feeder.

What are the brand names of the uvb lights you got? There are bad ones and good ones.

And did you get the Calcium supplement? That's a necessity. A beardie will not live healthily without it.

 

[bsargis]

It's a water dispenser with a very small round dish. It's what the pet store recommended for automatice watering. (Mind you we change it daily) But I think he was going after a cricket who was in it. I don't know. How else is he supposed to drink if he doesn't have a small water dish? As for the lights, the only basking one was a bulb too big to fit the light fixture I've got. I got Reptisun 5.0 UVB. I also got a 10.0 UVB, but since it's a smaller tank I'm starting with the lower UVB. The guy at the pet store said that they use the blue lights for their dragons. (I didn't check). The vet said to only put in three crickets at a time, and to see by the days end if he ate them all. If so, that's a good sign. If not, I'll have to bring him back on Monday for antibiotics as a precaution. He pulled the paralysis trick on the vet when he picked him up, and the vet said it looked like something was stuck in his throat, but when he took him in the back he snapped out of it, closed his mouth and they couldn't get him to open it. He said it could just be swelling tissues in his throat. He's breathing normally. I just checked on him, and he seems to be trying hard to get out of the cage. Jumping up on the sides of it. It's all a guessing game for me. I just keep checking him every half hour or so and make sure he's okay. The three crickets I put in there are either gone, or hiding now. I'm not sure what you mean by "white" light. The guy at the pet store said don't use a regular bulb from home. Is he wrong? I hope I don't sound testy or upset with anyone. I appreciate all the input.

 

[kski]

Pet store people are almost always wrong about beardies. A normal spot light from lowes will work as a basking light. We use a Phillips Director 75 watt light bulb mounted in a modified clip lamp. Beardies want bright white lights during the day. That can't be stressed enough. Bright. They come from the desert. I've said this in just about every post I've put down on this thread as have others but for some reason you still don't have white light in your cage. We're trying to help you and your dragon.

Pet store people are normal every day joes that put in an application for a job in retail. They are not animal experts despite what their stupid little name tag says. (Yeah, at my Petsmart a "Reptile Expert", as her name tag says, keeps her full grown Bearded Dragon in a 20 gallon tank in her bedroom with heat rocks and heat pads.)

An expert (Tracie? ) might want to comment on this but I say get those blue and red lights out asap. I've only ever read about using white lights.

Beardies technically don't have to drink water. They have to take in water but not technically drink it. Some can be taught but most people don't. Misting with a water bottle twice a day and/or bathing at least 3-5 times a week will give him the water he needs. Especially if he likes veggies but otherwise the other two will do fine. They absorb water through their skin and take it in through their vent (where their feces comes out) when they're getting a bath.

But yes, live feeders can annoy a dragon and make them irritable and make them not want to eat if left in their habitat. Plus, beardies will sleep deeply at night and a cricket can and will eat at a bearded dragon in it's sleep. And it can be extremely harmful to them because crickets are disease carriers. All crickets must be out of the cage at night.

And I would be using the Repti-Sun 10 anyway. It's supposed to be the best no matter what. I saw a huge difference in Slevin when we switched to it.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Right now, please take the water dish out until he can right himself better. He could drown next time. You can try getting a plastic dropper to train him to drink from that, it is very easy. They are quick learners with the droppers.
Yes, bright white light is very important. They have a parietal eye or otherwise known as a light sensor, on top of their heads. If no bright light is detected, it will look like dusk to them & it greatly affects their activity level as well as eating behavior.
At 5 months he should be eating at least 50 crickets per day along with greens.
Have you ordered the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb yet?
Please do change out those colored lights, they are not doing him any good at all. Replace with a regular household lightbulb, or a halogen lightbulb, either one is fine.


Tracie

 

[bsargis]

Okay. I changed the lightbulb to a regular housebulb 75w. I already have the 10.0 uvb bulb. I am using the 5.0 bulb. 20 gallon tank. I took the water out. I did get the chance to give him a decent soak yesterday for about five minutes. I do have a vitamin enriched misting spray to spray him with. The vet said to use that once or twice a week, but mist him with regular water every other day or so, and not to let the sand get soaked. I'm away for the next two days, but have neighbors checking on him hourly. Hope this is what it takes. My neighbor wondered if he was having mini strokes. Anything to that? Thanks tracie, for all your kind help.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

When you mist him, be sure to take him out of the tank, so everything doesn't get too wet. That can cause mold issues which may encourage respiratory infections as well.
The vitamin spray is ok, & if you want to use it a couple of times per week that is fine. It wont hurt him. However, he would get more benefit from ingesting vitamins than being sprayed with them. Remember, he really only needs vitamins 2 times per week, ok? The calcium is very important, as he needs that 5 times per week being young.
That is fine, using the Reptisun 5 flourescent tube bulb is a decent bulb. Make sure it is 6-8 inches from him, & placed directly beside the basking light to ensure he gets heat & UVB at the same location which will encourage basking behavior. You could use the Reptisun 10 in the 20 gallon tank if you want to. It is the mercury vapor bulbs that are too intense for the smaller tanks. So, it is entirely up to you.
The flourescent tube UVB lights need to be replaced every 5 or so months, for optimum exposure on emissions.
As far as having a mini stroke, what he was having was seizures, & or muscular twitches due to hypocalcemia. His body had tremors because it could not control muscular functions with little to no calcium reserves in the muscle fibers to help them fire properly.
Let us know how things are going.

Tracie

 

[kski]

I guess my help isn't appreciated. :lol:

Oh well, I tried. :roll:

Good luck with him.

 

[bsargis]

I thank everyone for their advice, it's just that some were more gracious and gentle than others. Thank you all for your help. Zeus has been fine over the last day or so. We were out of town, but had somebody checking on him every couple of hours. I took the wood out today and put five crickets in, he ate them right away. I put a couple more in but he was done and ignored them. These are medium to large crickets. I'm glad to see he's seems back to his old self. The vet did give him a vitamin shot as a boost. Will keep you updated on his progress. He actually seems thankful to me for helping him. When i put the wood back in he hopped up on the branch closest to me and just stared at me for a couple of minutes. He watches every move I make. I think we're bonding.

 

[wizbee]

Ahhh that is so sweet. Glad he is doing good.