Help!! Beardie May Be Dieing!! UPDATE!!

[JonnySteele]

Ok, to start my beardie has had some problems with compaction the past month or so. He was really compacted, then finally he passed it. He seemed ok, then a few weeks later he was compacted again, not pooping for days but still eating. Well he finally passed that one a week ago. Again he seemed ok.

Well i finally got him a bigger cage, he was in a 20g and i got him a 50g tank. Lots more room and XL water bowl. When i put him into the tank, he went straight to the water bowl and layed in it all night!!! This made me think he was dehydrated. Well he still has had some problems moving his back legs from the compaction, but he can still run just fine. Well the past few days, he hasnt been eating much and been very lethargic. Not eating greens either. Today i came home to find him like this....

He barley has his eyes open, when he moves his front legs, they twitch back and forth until he finally sets his arms down. He wont eat at all and his beard is puffed up. Ive been spraying him daily, several times a day. Im going to give him another bath tonight.

Here are the tank specs.

150w basking light..100-105 temp
100w regular bulb for overall tank temp
Exo-Terra Repti-Glo 10.0 UV Coil bulb
Night time light to keep tank temp above 65 at night.
Cool side of tank around 75-80.
Collard Greens and broc for greens daily.
Large crickets for meals.
Calcium on the crickets everyother day.
Always has fresh water bowl.

What could be his problem?? What could be cuasing it. Also, not sure if it helps, but he keeps staring up at the UV light sometimes.

Any help would be great, thanks.!!!

UPDATE:!!!! Took him to the vet today, they did a fecal exam and found worms and coccidia!!!! Also he isnt processing calcuim like he shoud "due to my crappy compact UVB bulb".

So he is now on worm medicine, coccidia medicine and liquid calcium!!

He has 2 doeses of worm treatment, one he got at the vet, the other i have to give to him 2 weeks from today. He has to take the coccidia medicine 1 time daily for 10 days, and the calcium daily for 30 days!!!

I ordered a new Reti Sun 10 24" bulb and a new fixture, it will be here monday!

My only problem is, my beardie wont open his mouth for the medicine, the doc had to pull down on his beard hard to get him to open and he freaked out!!! Took 2 of us to hold him still!! Is there an easier way??

 

[coastergirl946]

Get rid of the coil bulb and order him a ReptiSun 10.0 tube from petmountain.com. The RS 10.0 is THE BEST UV bulb available to U.S. residents.
Those coil UV bulbs don't put out even 1/4 of the UV light that a bearded dragon needs. Not only that, but several brands of coil bulbs are bad for their eyes.

Stop feeding him large crickets, and feed him medium or small ones instead.

 

[AHBD]

Hi Johnnny....I don't think he's dying, but he is in some discomfort for sure. From the pics, size and weight look good. I think it may be too hot in there. I might suggest that you get rid of the 100 watt bulb and use only the 150 for light/ heat. Get the UVB bulb that Coastergirl mentioned, too. If your house doesn't go below 67 at night, you don't need a night light. Those can cause problems too, keeping the dragon from sleeping.When you say he was impacted[ not compacted, they sound similar] how long do you mean ? At times, a dragon may not go for 4-5 days, even longer and this does not necessarily mean they are in big trouble. Give a few drops of vegetable oil, and/ or applesauce. Also, put him in about 2-3" of lukewarm water to see if he'll drink, trickle water on his nose [ this often gets them to drink] but stay with him so nothing happens in his weakened state. See if those suggestions help any, and please give an update.

 

[JonnySteele]

Sorry, not sure the diff b/t impacted and compacted. I just know it was a week or so not pooping and he was having trouble moving his legs. I did turn off the 100w bulb, thinking it may be to much. Also, these UV bulbs your talking about, do i have to buy a hood for it? All i have now is just the dome fixtures.

Also, i have been giving him baths, a few times a week to help him out.

 

[AHBD]

The baths are good if he's dehydrated....does he drink much ? And yes, you will need a fixture for the flourescent Zoo med repti-sun bulb. If you can get him in the sun 3-4 times a week, it would be good as well. I wonder about his " shakiness" I hope he doesn't have heat stroke....the shakiness also can be from calcium deficiency.

 

[JonnySteele]

The baths are good if he's dehydrated....does he drink much ? And yes, you will need a fixture for the flourescent Zoo med repti-sun bulb. If you can get him in the sun 3-4 times a week, it would be good as well. I wonder about his " shakiness" I hope he doesn't have heat stroke....the shakiness also can be from calcium deficiency.

Ok, where is a cheap place to buy the fixture i need?? My tank is 36" long x18 wide x18 tall, so what size fixture and bulbs do i need?

The shakiness isnt so much shakiness, its just when he goes to re adjust himself where he is laying, he picks up his arm and it goes up and down really fast a few times before he decides to put it back down. Hard to explain.

 

[AHBD]

If your local pet store doesn't carry the bulb, most people buy it from Pet Mountain. I imagine you can get the fixture there as well [ I've never ordered them on line myself] but if not, the pet stores will carry them. I suppose a hardware store would have a fixture that you could use as well. Just get the 18" or 24" bulb, and a fixture that it fits in.

 

[JonnySteele]

If your local pet store doesn't carry the bulb, most people buy it from Pet Mountain. I imagine you can get the fixture there as well [ I've never ordered them on line myself] but if not, the pet stores will carry them. I suppose a hardware store would have a fixture that you could use as well. Just get the 18" or 24" bulb, and a fixture that it fits in.

So do i need just 1 24" bulb, or should i get a fixture that can hold 2?

 

[AHBD]

One should be fine.

 

[AstridsFam]

Hi! I purchased my fixture from walmart (the hardware section) for about 10 dollars. They carry different sizes. Also don't use the cover that comes with it, it will block uv rays. Hope this helps.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He is probably having some trouble with low calcium right now, combined with eye issues due to the Reptiglo 10 compact/coil light.
Are you using a bright white light right now? It looked very bright in his tank so as suggested, go ahead & turn off the compact/coil light right now until you can get the Reptisun 10 tube bulb.
Make sure the fixture that you do purchase has a reflective backing on it, to help increase the UVB exposure.
How often do you use calcium supplementation?

Tracie

 

[JonnySteele]

Im using a basking bulb i bought at petsmart and the coil uv. I have an old fish tank hood fixture, uses 18" bulbs, im going to use that and go buy the new uv light. Also, so should i keep using calcium or no?

 

[Gail]

Yes, keep using the calcium.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Just wondering how your dragon was doing this evening? Let us know how things are going with him.

Tracie

 

[JonnySteele]

Hello,

Just wondering how your dragon was doing this evening? Let us know how things are going with him.

Tracie

He still isnt moving, only when he has to. When he goes to move, his arms and legs twitch before finally making any good movement. He wont eat crickets, greens, or drink water. He did however eat 2 super worms, i just gave him 2 to see if he would even eat that (there is fav).

I ordered a Repti sun 10.0 24" uv bulb and a hood for it, should be here an a week or so.