Head Dragging

[Novkia]

Well I have a sorta new Bearded dragon not sure how old he is but he/she is about 5 inches in length.
I was just wondering if it is normal for a baby beardie to sorta drag his head while he walks and when he just sits their his head is on the floor.
He just began doing this today so im not too worried.
He is in a temporary 10 gallon tank
10.0 repti-glo coil from Exo Terra working on changing it to a Repti Sun 10.0 because i heard the coils arent very good
Have a 75 Watt Zoomed Basking light and infrared heat lamp.
Paper Towels as Substrate, and umm basking temps are around 103 hot end and 84 cool side
he hasn't bin eating much lately.
Thanks in advance to anyone.

 

[Beardednoob]

When are you getting the Reptisun 10.0? This is not normal behavior in dragons. To me sounds like a sign of being in a weakened state. What are his eating habits? What are you feeding? Are you dusting per the schedule on this nutritional page?
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
Another possibility is that the red light is bothering him, and making him want to keep his head down or lower to avoid this light. Bearded dragons and iguanas both can see this light and it is not recommended (by me at least) to use for them. Beardies love well light areas, if you are using the light as a heat source I would switch it for an ordinary house hold bulb, no coils though. 50-75 watt. This will lighten the tank up and produce heat as well. This can be something you can try if you have a spare or take a bulb from an existing fixture.

 

[Seiryu]

Sounds as though he is being affected by the coil UVB bulb to me. They are really not worth it to use. They cause way more issues than they are worth. I know some people have used them with no problems (or so they say). But there ARE problems with them.

I would honestly turn it off/take it out and see if you see any improvements. You might not right away. But I would definitely get a reptisun 10.0 tube light ASAP.

Someone recently on the forum here lost a beardy, likely because they decided not to remove the coiled uvb bulb. Even though many people recommended them to remove it. They decided to wait.

It might not be the bulb, but its worth a shot.

How long have you had them? What does he eat? For a 5 incher, he should be eating pinhead crickets or small phoenix worms. Something like those. Mealworms and Superworms at that age/size are not good. Mealworms are not good at any size, Supers are OK when they are bigger.

 

[Novkia]

Well I'll be getting a Repti-Sun 10.0 in about a week at the most I have to come upon some money.
I've bin feeding him pins heads dusting them twice a week and he doesnt seem interested, I even tried feeding him in a different enclosure. when I try to hold him he squirms more than usual though, Iv'e had him for about...3 weeks.
If you guys like I could post a picture of him

 

[Beardednoob]

Well I'll be getting a Repti-Sun 10.0 in about a week at the most I have to come upon some money.
I've bin feeding him pins heads dusting them twice a week and he doesnt seem interested, I even tried feeding him in a different enclosure. when I try to hold him he squirms more than usual though, Iv'e had him for about...3 weeks.
If you guys like I could post a picture of him

I would love a picture.
When I got my very first dragon, Des. I had gotten the starter kit, comes with a tank lights this and that. It was a Zilla one, had the Zilla Slimline UV light in it. Anywho, Des's appetite was horrible. I got on this forum as I was a concerned new owner at the time. Posted what was going on, and got advice to change out the light, in my head I was like "what? really? are they not all the same?" Well I did change it out, and 20 minutes after I did so he was eating more, then a few days later he was eating like a champ. The coil lights are not a good UV source. I knew you were changing it though. But, like Seiryu said, I would turn off the coil. They will be fine without UV for a short time, meaning 1-2 weeks. Not great but, fine mind you. Make sure you are dusting with a calcium plus D3 5 times a week, on one feeding per day and 2 times with a multivitamin supplement. They are feed 3 times a day, each time for approximately 15 minutes, and should eat as much as they want during that 15 minute period. One of those 15 minute periods should receive a dusting supplement. It is vital to dust, especially if you are going to be without a UV source. Also like I suggested, do away with the Infrared too.

After you turn off the UV and change the infrared he might even pick his head up. This is what we are looking for.

 

[Novkia]

Well at the moment im not able to post a picture, sorry.
But I hope you can imagine a wee little beardie's head on the floor nose first well I've done what you said.
turned of the Infrared and the coil.
Im worried that he wont eat but I will keep you guys posted
Till Tomorrow
Much thanks to you all.
-Novkia

 

[Beardednoob]

One of my dragons have an eye issue, it was recommended for me to turn off his UV to see if his eye gets better, he was without UV for almost 2 weeks. During this time he ate very well. Eating 50-80 pin heads a day, and sometimes more. If the lights are what is bothering him then he should eat just fine. You should see his appetite increase. Just remember the dusting though, it is very important to a dragons health and crucial if you are gonna be without a UV source.

 

[TwistedCrayon]

How's the weather there? If it's not raining put his scaly butt outside, in a container of course, with a beardie that small you could use just about anything. I have a small kiddie pool that I use for mine. So long as it's escape proof. On colder days you can and should put thier basking light out with them to keep him warm. UVB bulbs are great and as you can imagine I have quite a few of them, but mother nature is best, Even if you don't put him outside get rid of that friggin coil bulb ASAP. In fact if you haven't removed it by the time you read this go do it now I'll wait........

(humming)

(tapping fingers)

(humming some more)

(wondering if you got lost)

Oh there you are....., you'll be so glad you did that. Now the trick is time. It took my baby about a week to a week and a half to get back to normal after a bad bulb. Another thing to take I to serious consideration is hydration especially for a baby that small. Make sure you are giving him daily baths, and that you hold his head outta the water for him so he won't drown, till he can hold his own head up. Ya might wanna try some chicken and squash baby food as well. Healthy babies eat a lot, and at only 5 inches I'm not sure how long he can go without eating. Using your finger just put a tiny bit on his nose and let him lick it off. Replace it when he does. Be careful not to cover up his air holes on his nose.

Good luck and keep us posted.....

 

[Seiryu]

The only thing I disagree with so far is the vitamin d3 supplement 5 times a week.

A couple of things about it.

1. d3 is fat soluble, meaning that it is stored in the body, and if too much is stored it becomes toxic.

2. You only need a d3 supplement if you are not providing UVB or are using the Tubes for UVB. If you are going to use the reptisun 10.0, I would use the d3 supplement once or twice a week maximum. It's not needed at all if they get weekly sun or a MVB. In your case for now, since you have no lights on. I would do 2 times a week.

3. There have been tests to show that some reptiles cannot fully utilize the manufactured d3 that are made as supplements.

You want a Vitamin supplement 2-4 times a week and then calcium 4-5 times a week.

One recommendation for feeding is to get a jar of squash baby food and put a bit on their nose to see if they'll eat. Babyfood is just water and squash (if that's the kind you get).

 

[Novkia]

The thing is he won't eat the crickets I have for him.
He won't even eat in a different enclosure.
I turned off the Coil light Getting the Repti sun soon.
One more thing i just caught him running around in circles...in that normal?

 

[Beardednoob]

The only thing I disagree with so far is the vitamin d3 supplement 5 times a week.

A couple of things about it.

1. d3 is fat soluble, meaning that it is stored in the body, and if too much is stored it becomes toxic.

2. You only need a d3 supplement if you are not providing UVB or are using the Tubes for UVB. If you are going to use the reptisun 10.0, I would use the d3 supplement once or twice a week maximum. It's not needed at all if they get weekly sun or a MVB. In your case for now, since you have no lights on. I would do 2 times a week.

3. There have been tests to show that some reptiles cannot fully utilize the manufactured d3 that are made as supplements.

You want a Vitamin supplement 2-4 times a week and then calcium 4-5 times a week.

One recommendation for feeding is to get a jar of squash baby food and put a bit on their nose to see if they'll eat. Babyfood is just water and squash (if that's the kind you get).

We have suggested he turned off the coil UV light, he needs to replace the D3 which the dragon cannot make with out UVB.? So why don't you agree? :roll:

 

[Seiryu]

I was one of the ones who said for him to stop using the coiled bulb.

However, the part I disagreed with was HOW much to use the d3 supplement. 5 times a week is a lot to take in. Too much, is what I was saying.

 

[Novkia]

Maybe their might be something stressing him out.
I have other animals in my room such as Hamsters, A BP, and a Leopard Gecko.
Think that may be a part of the problem, he wont eat or why he has his head down.

 

[Novkia]

I took him out today because it wan't very cold fairly sunny and let him get some rays
He lifted his head but every so often he would squirm, run around and do a dead roll like crocs do
He still refuses to eat..
Any idea why?