Help my Iggy please

[Vinnie223]

Hello I am new to this site and trying to get some help as to why my Beardie Iggy has diarrhea and barely eating. He does not want to eat to crickets really, maybe like once or twice a week. I put them in his tank, I am also feeding him collard greens and spinnach as veggies with shredded carrots, also with the "Adult Bearded Dragon Food" pellets, from the compny Rep-Cal. I have Vita-Sand from zoo med also have there solar glo bulb 160 watts, with his basking area at an estimate 95-110 F during the day and around 78F at night. I ahve not tried feeding him crickets sice he wont eat much. I adopted him off my brother because he was fighting another male beardie. Have had him for about about 6 months and his problems have just started like 3 days or so.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The first thing that should be done is a fecal needs to be run on him to rule out worms, parasites or other problems.
I would stop feeding spinach though as that is high in oxalates & will interfere with calcium absorption. The collard & mustard greens are fine though. Do you feed him very much fruit?
What other veggies are you feeding?
At the moment, I would remove the vita sand as that can contribute to impaction as well as encourage parasitic outbreaks from unsanitary conditions. It is difficult to keep the sand free of bacteria which they can get sick from.
Replace the sand with paper towels or non adhesive shelf liner for now.
How close is the Solar Glo 160 watt to him? How large is your tank?
What type of thermometer are you using to measure the temperatures, a stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun?

Tracie

 

[Dragoon]

Yes, you have to get rid of the sand. It's the worst floor for a beardie possible. It can kill them.

 

[Vinnie223]

I am replacing the sand now, thank you for that info and also the basking lamp is about 5in away from his tank and he is in a 75 gallon aquarium. I have a digital probe that sticks to the glass. I feed him shredded carrots also with once a week strawberrys.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Good you are replacing the sand now. The digital probe, does it have a probe sensor at the end of a wire, or is it one without a probe?
Also, the Solar Glo MVB 160 watt, is that placed 5 inches from him? If so, that is entirely too close. The recommended distance for that bulb is 18 inches.
How long have you had the Solar Glo 160 watts bulb for?
How often do you give calcium supplementation?
A 75 gallon is a good sized tank for him, so it will easily support 160 watts but it needs to be further away from him.
I do have a bit of information that is still being researched. I just posted a thread in the Enclosures area, that refers to the Solar Glo MVB's both the 125 & the 160 watts. There have been some preliminary tests done on this bulb, & the UVB output was quite low. So, when did you purchase this bulb? If you bought it before november of 2009, then you should have a good bulb for awhile longer. However, if you bought it after november 2009 then there is a good chance you have a low output bulb. They have changed their specs on the bulbs which greatly diminished the UVB output.
So, you may need to consider getting another light.

Tracie

 

[Vinnie223]

My apologies not 5 in from him but from the screen top I have so about 14in away from him, and I bought the bulb in february. So I will buy another bulb then, I was effy bout it at the time but it beat buying so many bulbs. No it has a probe at the end of the wire that sticks to the inside of the glass. I have to say so many people here have great knowledge and have bene reading other peoples post. I have learned so much in such little time. what is another brand bulb I should use then? What other bulb do I have to buy since I am changing the solar glo?