FALLING OVER AND STAYING DARK

[Aquastar09]

My beardie Drake is around 14 years old. Different people in my family have passed him around for years. The last people who got him had him for about 2 years and they didnt care for him the right way. When i went to their house he didnt have food or uvb/heat. His water was dirty and he slept all the time. I finally got them to give him to me after a while. Now ive had him for about 3 weeks. I have him in a 55 gal tank, he has UVB/heat, clean water (and i mist him every day and every other day soak him for 15-20 min), He wakes up at 11:30AM and goes to sleep at 11PM, I give him greens and veggies 1 to 2 times a day depending on how much he eats and i put calcium and vitamins in it. He gets crickets/superworms/ or Dubaia roaches once or twice a week. He is active and loves to be around people. When he is with people he is usually a light color but in his cage or even just in the room if its quiet he turns black. He scratches on his cage quite a bit and he flips over on his back while trying to climb or run. sometimes his back legs curl up under him. I covered his rocks with a towel because his nails grip better and he dont fall climbing it but he still flips while running around his cage. Ive seen a lot of improvement in his falling over the last 3 weeks. He was flipping up to 5 times a day and now its once ever 2 or 3 days. But he still stays very dark. Can anyone help give me any suggestions on how to improve his recovery and relieve stress (if thats whats causing him to be so dark). I love him SOOOO much and I just want him to live the rest of his days happy and healthy! Thanks in advance for any help you may give!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Thank you so much for taking him in. I'm so sorry he wasn't well taken care of the last 2 years.

The flipping isn't a good sign and can damage his lungs as they don't have a diaphram. So I'm glad he's not flipping over as much. You should take everything out of his tank that he can climb on (I had an 9 yr old beardie that had the same problem with flipping over, he lost the use of his right lung and that caused him to not live as long as he could have, he passed away at 11 1/2).

So that's what I did for Lonzo, I took out everything that was over 2" high and put blankets all along the bottom of his tank. He had 2 logs and a smooth rock. Nothing to climb & that stopped the flipping completely. Had to lower his basking light (I use mercury vapour lights on lamp stands that I can lower if needed and don't use tank tops). What brand of UVB tube are you using, it should be inside his tank, not on top of the tank top. Also you need something to measure his basking temps as he should be at 100F, he might be getting too dark because his temps aren't hot enough for him.

As an older beardie (and 13 is a great age for a dragon), he should be getting bugs 3x a week with calcium and 1x a week with vit/min. That's all he needs. So if you don't want to dust his bugs, then that's how often you should be sprinkling onto his salads, not more than that, it's too much for him.

I'm glad you're soaking him but you can stop misting him, it's not good for him, can cause lung infections. So soaking him every 2nd day is perfect and all he needs.

So other than putting his UVB inside his tank (check the Enclosure section to find out how to do that) I can't think of anything else that you aren't doing.

I hope he lives much longer. If you can afford it, would be a good idea to have a wellness check at a reptile vet.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Drake sounds so sweet, very lovable! Do you have any pictures of him we could see? That is great, 13 years old. Just based on your description, his condition is most likely due to improper UVB or lack of UVB as well as lack of food & calcium supplementation.
Which UVB light are you using, what type & brand is it?
How many insects does he eat weekly, estimated? Is he eating any greens or veggies right now?
Definitely be sure he gets a good amount of calcium 3 times per week or so.
He has slowly improved though since you brought him home with you?
I agree, try to keep things in his tank lower so that he doesn't flip himself over as much.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[Aquastar09]

Im using reptisun 10.0 UVB and its on top of his cage. I had planned on buying a couple of light stands as soon as i get the money and removing his cage top. I have something to check the temps and his cage stays between 90 and 100F. Im glad you told me that about the misting. I was watching someone on youtube who said dragons don't drink standing water and he misted his so it could lick the water off the walls. I will stop misting Drake now though. A lung infection is the last thing he needs. He eats the powder better on his salad than he does on bugs for some reason so I i will narrow it down from once a day to 3 times a weeks like you said and increase the bugs from 2 to 3 times. Thanks again for the help I have been so worried about him!

 

[sweetiepie9]

He`s doing so well for his age, honest. I`m glad you can change things around, but you need to get the UVB into the tank and lower so he`s about 8 inches away from it. That`s the most important thing to change right now. Put a post in Enclosures to ask how to do taht, you`ll get an answer very quickly. I know it can be done easily, as I have alot of friends who have done this already in different ways.

Yes, that`s great that he eats his salads, so 3x a week with calcium sprinkled and 1x a week with vit and mineral. That`s all he needs.

Do you have an exotic vet in your area.

 

[Aquastar09]

I'm going to try to get the light stands tonight or tomorrow and sadly no I don't have an exotic vet near by. I have called around and no one near me sees them which is strange because we have exotic pet stores.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Where are you located, let me know and I'll check on a data base on another site. Either way, he seems to be doing much better so that's good.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It sounds like he is doing very well & is improving for you also! That is great news.
I am glad to hear he is eating his greens & veggies, too.
A light stand is fine if you can rig up the Reptisun 10 tube that way. Or you can use the 3M command hooks to mount the tube UVB underneath of the screen so that he can get maximum UVB exposure.
How did he do today?

Tracie

 

[Aquastar09]

Money is tight at the moment so I can't afford to buy a lot of different lights and such right now. I've got no choice but to try and rig what I have until some cash comes along ya know? But he did well today he went to the pet store with me and loved it. He turned a very light color there. He ate all his veggies and some crickets and only fell once.
i discovered he loves a bit of unsweetened applesauce from a syringe lol I also found out there is a vet who sees bearded dragons about 2 and a half hours from where I live so he may be taking a trip there sometime soon.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I'm glad you found a vet, but it can wait until you have the $. I know what it's like to be cash poor, my Leo has fatty liver disease and the vet bill is piling up, have to cash in a savings bond on Jan 4 to pay it as I'm on disability right now. But you do what you have to do.

I don't think it's much $ to rig the light to be inside the tank, think you need command hooks but really, post in Enclosures to ask & you'll get an answer pretty quick. I have a friend who has her light hanging with string so it's inside the tank and it works fine. There are methods that don't cost huge, but it's important for your boy.

Either way, he's improving so the light he's getting is better than no light like before!

I'm glad he's with you, he's doing really well for a 13 year old. It's amazing how well he is doing for his age, as he's considered a senior citizen at this point. Along with all the problems that come with old age.

I'm glad he enjoyed his trip the pet store, yeah him and you!

 

[Varalidaine]

It seems you really care for him, which is fabulous. The only thing that caught my attention was you said his tank is 90-100 degrees. The bask spot itself, meaning the rock or branch or etc, should be a steady 100 degrees. They need at least 95 to even digest food. The air/tank should be around 80. Mine prefers a cool side of 80. An overall tank temperature of 90-100 is going to be much too hot. How are you measuring temperature? You'll need a temp gun or digital thermometer with probe to measure the bask spot. Those stick on dials are useless.

 

[Aquastar09]

I do! He deserves all the love and care in the world! Im using an exo Terra thermometer that sticks inside his cage on the side closest to his basking spot. One side of his cage has a heat lamp and the other side has a UVB with another basking spot and a tunnel. He goes back and forth between them. Should I get another thermometer for the UVB side? It seems to stay prettry cool. I keep his food and water on that side too.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Those are the thermostats that just measure the air temp. You need an Accurite guage with probe tha t you can get at any garden centre, just ask. They don't cost much. You put the probe on the basking spot and it measure that spot only & that's how you know what the basking temp is. It shouldn't be more than 100F. It might be too high if you're using those temperature guages, they can be up to 20 degrees off.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....it really is great to see a 13 year old dragon. Most do not live that long. In your pics you have him outside, are those current ? If so, he will get a good deal of uvb in 30-40 minutes, probably all he needs.

Misting is not a good idea, as was mentioned, but dripping water on his snout and or a direct gentle stream from a spray bottle on his snout may get him to drink. My adults drink like that about every 5-7 days. And I would watch him very carefully if you bathe him or else cut the baths out. Flipping over can be caused by ear infection, and that can be brought on by water in the ear, possibly from the bathing. If he drinks while in the bath, then let him drink his fill + then take him out ASAP, but if he doesn't drink then I would quit the baths. If he's eating greens just offer them after you wash them so they contain a good amount of moisture, that will help hydrate him as well. Best wishes to your little old man dragon.

 

[Aquastar09]

In that case I will make my way to the garden center up the road today. Is it still a good idea to keep the thermometer in there too though or should I just throw it out?