General health help

[gatoric]

I forgot to mention, I looked Ith over (under his arms etc. ) and did not see any mites at all. I thought I saw ONE about a month ago. I us a reptisun 10 about 8" from his basking spot. The bulb was only four months old but I put a new one in yesterday to be on the safe side.

 

[gatoric]

I have a cheap UV tester and the old lamp registered at .4 the new one is at .5.

 

[CooperDragon]

The cheap testers aren't usually accurate for measuring UVB so it's best to go off of tested distances for specific bulbs and types. 6-8'' is usually appropriate for a ReptiSun 10.0 T8 bulb and should produce a UVI of around 3 or so (Similar to early-mid morning sunshine).

 

[gatoric]

Thanks, I plan to pick up a better tester, any recommendations ?

 

[gatoric]

I learned from the vet that the eggs he saw could be grain mite eggs. This would make sense because the store I usually get Ith's food from was out and I bought some very bad looking mealworms from eBay. I fed him a few then I decided to feed the rest to the wild birds. I suspect this is where they came from. He is eating a little bit more now, so I hope this thing passes. If not, I will be making a trip to the vet on Monday. Thanks to all, gatoric

 

[DracoMamma]

Hello! This is my 6th day with Draco, my 1 and a half year old beardie. I got him from a friend who couldn't take care of him anymore. He was fine his first 2 days, and we just recently switched him to this new food. Maybe that is the cause? He originally ate some mustard greens, mostly, and fruits, and crickets. We decided not to feed him crickets anymore because we didnt know how. He is now on mustard greens, kale, super worms, and the new dry food that needs to be dripped in water. It's called "Rep-Cal Adult bearded dragon food" and I got it from petco. We feed him that mostly and some veggies when he wants them as treats. He had diarrhea on his 4th day, and it had green on top and everything. We thought because of the food changes. He seemed to like the food, so we're feeding it still. Today, he's been really chill. He didnt eat a lot of his food this morning and just went under his log to sit. he ate maybe a total of 10-11 pieces today. Any help? Is he okay and what should I do?

 

[gatoric]

I have an eleven month old bearded dragon named Ith. He has been having similar eating problems. I took a fecal sample in to his vet to have tested and it came back with possible grain mites. The vet said that these came from one of his food sources. I am going to take some samples in to have tested this week. He said it is very common for dry food to have these grain mites.
It sounds like Draco could have a few things going on from what I have learned. Moving can be stressful for beardies, so that could be a factor. A change of diet could be another factor. Adult beardies should have about 75% salads and 25% bugs/worms. If he likes his crickets, you may want to consider giving them to him. When I feed Ith his crickets, I take all of the furniture out of his habitat and drop them in a couple at a time. I take the furniture out because he is blind in one eye from an accident he had when he was a juvenile. This helps him to see and hunt them better. You may not have to take the furniture out for Draco. Let him hunt for them. Remove any he doesn’t eat after about ten minutes. You do not want to leave them in his habitat, they may bite him. Ith would eat up to thirty at a feeding so let Draco eat as many as he wants in a ten minute period.
Read up on his lighting, I cannot stress enough the importance of the correct lighting and temperatures. This site has some very knowledgeable and helpful folks on it. Another thing I would do is have a fecal test done. My vet only charged $30.00 and it was worth the peace of mind I got from knowing that there was nothing serious going on with Ith. The description you gave of his defecates.
I am fairly sure Ith’s heat was about five degrees too low on his basking spot. He is starting to eat more and has more energy. I had cleaned his habitat and did not recheck the temperature of his basking spot. I do not know the correct temp for an eighteen month old but it should be on this web site. Make sure Draco has a cool down area as well.
I am a beginner as well and have learned a lot here. They are wonderful animals and it is great that Draco is in hands that seem to be very caring. I am sure that some other, more knowledgeable, folks will help you out. It might be a good Idea to take Draco in to the vets for a checkup anyway. Let me know if I can be of any other help to you. I will give you the best I can. Gatoric

 

[DracoMamma]

Hello! today I am posting an update on Draco. He is a ton better today. He did poop today and it looked the same, but less of it and it didn't smell as bad. I picked it up. I then fed him some of his new food, and 2 blueberries. He ate 5 of his new foods, and that was a whole lot better. I then read to him, petted him, and let him be. He seems bright and alert, and he looks happy. I will check him throughout the week and see how he is and see if he is improving. Will update!

 

[gatoric]

Great, glad to hear it and I know you are relived too. Keep an eye on it and I would have the fecal test done. Just to be safe. It is best to catch thing early if you can. It is a lot cheaper too. gatoric

 

[DracoMamma]

Today was weird. First, i fed him normally with his little puff things. His poop hasn't changed, still that gross blob of green. Before he pooped though, we bent ballistic and was scratching to get out and running all round his cage. Then, I picked up his poop after he was done and it looked the same as the others. then he just went into his little den to nap. any ideas of what might be happening? every day he has about 3-6 super worms and veggies as treats. he mostly eats the little puffs though. :?

 

[gatoric]

A lot bearded dragons strongly dislike their own defecates to be in the habitat with them. As I said, I am a beginner myself but, it sounds like he wanted to get out of his habitat to poop. Ith, my beardie is house broke. I take him outside to do his business. He has not defecated in his habitat for several months. However I do not recommend this, I have created a situation that no matter the conditions, rain, heat or any other, I still have to take him out to poop. Ith always has an abundance of energy “after” he goes so I let him run in the yard for about a half hour to burn it off. Draco may be conditioned to be out of his habitat to go. Ask his previous owner what the conditions were when he had him. You may need to have a place for him to exercise and defecate. Have you had the fecal test done yet? If not, you need to consider this. His defecates do not sound right to me. It may just be his diet, but it is not worth taking any chances of Draco being sick. These guys are masters at hiding their illness. In the wild, the sick get eaten first by predators, so it is in their best interest to hide any problems they may have.
It also seems odd that Draco goes to his hide after pooping. Ith does the opposite and is all over his habitat. What is the temperature of his basking spot? Also, what is the temperature of his cool down area? What type of UV light are you using? These are all very important for his health. If there is any imbalance of any of these, it can make him very sick. Ith’s basking spot was off by five degrees and He started to get ill before I discovered the problem. Once I fixed it, he recovered in a couple of days. Gatoric

 

[AHBD]

Dragonmamma, I just wanted to mention that if you start your own thread you can have the symptoms and possible solutions all on Draco's on thread which can be much easier to keep track of and for others to comment on to help if need be.

Gatoric, how is Ith and have you seen any mites at all ?

 

[gatoric]

Ith is doing better and it turned out that it was grain mites in the meal worm bedding . I am still going to take him to the Vet for his one year checkup just to make sure all is ok. Thanks for asking, gatoric

 

[gatoric]

I do not recommend house breaking your Bearded Dragon. He had to go so I just took him out in the hurricane. Not one of our better walks but when a dragon has to go …… On a better note, He went to his vet yesterday and he got an excellent bill of health. It was his one year checkup. I was concerned since he is my first Beardie and wanted to make sure I was doing it right. I want to thank all the folks at Beardeddragon.org for the great support for the past few months. Keep up the good work; people like myself really need this site. Thank you, gatoric

 

[gatoric]

My Beardie Ith, is showing all the signs of brumation, I had a vet look at him yesterday ( the second vet in a week) and I am going to have him x-rayed on Monday to make sure he does not have a blockage. The vet looked at his habitat and we ran down a long list of questions. She said I was doing everything right and that he is very healthy. The problem I have is this. He has not defecated in eleven days. He was eating up until yesterday. He did not eat today either. He has food in his stomach and I am keeping him hydrated by warm baths twice a day. Still he will not defecate. If it is not a blockage, how long can they go before it becomes a serious problem? Have you seen this before, for this length of time? I have read everything I can and this is not addressed as far as I can find. I am very worried, please help. Gatoric