Head twitching

[Reptar777]

I have had Reptar for about 7 months now. He has a 60 gallon tank. During the day it stays 80-95 at night it stays 75-80 degrees. He eats meal worms and vegetables daily with a calcium supplement. The past few days he's been twitching, mostly it the head neck area. It's not so much a twitch you can see but more one I feel when I'm holding him. You can kinda tell by looking at him when he does this. I've read multiple articles saying it's just a calcium efficiency or not enough vegetables but he has both.

 

[diamc]

Hi, I noticed from a few of your other threads that it was recommended to use more nutritious feeders and mentioned that mealworms are an impaction risk. He hasn't been getting the protein his body needs by just feeding mealworms. Have you ever offered any other feeders?

A temp of only 95 seems kinda low for a 7 month old. What type of thermometer are you using to check the temps and where exactly did you get the 95 degree reading?

How many days a week are you dusting with calcium and vitamins? What brand & type of UVB do you have and how old is that bulb? What is the distance of the UVB to your beardie when in the basking spot?

 

[Reptar777]

Yes I know multiple people have told me to switch him off tje meal worms however when I tried to give him calcium worms, wax worms or anything other than the meal worms he won't eat it. When I tried to switch him all he would eat was his veggies. He got bad diarrhea I ended up taking him to a vet and they told me to start giving them again. I give him supplements daily with his food. I have two thermometers in hos tank both with those readings as I was told by multiple people that what his tank should be at. What should his tank be at? I have a zoo med digital thermometer and then just a temperature cage that came in a kit I purchased whem I got him. He has a exp terra UVB 150 26w bulb and a day time buld 120w and a night time bulb 125w. All his lamps also have adjustable switchs so on hotter day I have been turning them down to keep it at the 95 mark.

 

[diamc]

It sounds like he is hooked on the unnutritious mealworms, that's not good. Is he over 16" long? If so, you could get some superworms, similar to mealworms but more meaty and nutritious. Have you tried those or silkwoms or hornworms, what about dubia roaches or crickets? Even though one day a beardie won't eat a particular feeder, it doesn't mean that he won't ever it as their tastes change. What greens/veggies do you feed him?

Where exactly do you get the 95 degree reading? The round gauge (dial) thermometers are very inacurate, can be at least 20 degrees off.

A temp of only 95 is the absolute minimum that a tank should be. Have to tried raising the basking SURFACE temp over 100 to see if it makes a difference in his appetite? Where does he spend most of his time when in his tank?

How many days a week are you dusting with calcium and vitamins, how many days do you use each one? Do you know the brands of the supplements?

The twitching sounds like the beginnings of metabolic bone disease. The compact bulb you're using only puts out UV rays in a very small area and declines very rapidly. How old is the UVB bulb? It would be a good idea to purchase a Repti-Sun 10.0 fluorescent tube. Without a good UVB light, your beardie's body isn't able to absorb the calcium sufficiently which is a concern.

Using a 120 watt during the day and a 125 watt night bulb isn't good because then the tank would be hotter at night than during the day. It's VERY important that they have a cool place to sleep. You would only need night heating if the tank temp drops to 60 to 65 degrees, if so, then a low wattage ceramic heat emitter would be best so that he can get restful sleep with it cooler and without the light bothering him as they can see colored bulbs.

Can you post some pictures of his setup? This link will guide you and then post the XIMG link here. https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/

 

[Reptar777]

He is 15" long. I've read multiple articles and spoken to multiple people. I don't really have experience he the person I got him off of didn't want him because he was the runt of his litter and I thought I'd be able to figure this out.
I have tried every type of worm and cricket the pet store sells I offered him some everyday for quite sometime. He just stares at the crickets hopping around him completely unconcerned that they are in his cage. The worms he'll walk over to the dish lick one and just go to his vegetables. However because he was only eating vegetables the vet recommended I just continue with meal worms.
His vegetables are peas, carrots, roman lettuce, broccoli, watermelon, strawberries,he has a vegetables mix the pet srore sold to me that contains a mixture of vegetables. I remove what ever he doesn't eat at night and put fresh in the morning.
He has a "hot" side and a "cooler" side. On the hot side is the 95 reading the digital thermometers is under the basking lamp on this side. The dial thermometer is on the cooler side which is about 85. Should I not be doing this either??
Depending on the temperature out side his tank has reached 100 and as I posted concerned about in a recent previous post he opens his mouth and puffs his chin up and whips hos head around and starts walking really strange. Someone told me it meant he was too hot. Is this not true??
Most of the time he is in his water bowl. Or he hodes between his log and the glass.
I started out only giving the supplements 2-3 times a week then was told to try 5-6 and have been doing that. The brand is Flucker which was also shown to me by the pet store.
All his bulbs are a month old I replace them about ever month if I can.
Even with the bigger bulb at night his tank is always about 60-70 mistyped it the first time sorry. If it's warmer out I turn it down to keep ot about this temperature. And do you mean just a regular ceramic heater or do they sell like special ones?
Again sorry I'm trying my best to get this right using all the resources I have to keep him happy and healthy. I just couldn't let someone throw him out just because he was a little bit small. Thank you so much for spending the time to help me and I will try to get pictures uploaded.