HELP!

[LovableBeardie23]

I had my bearded dragon 1 month ago and he seemed fine but then about 4 days ago he developed a grey soft patch of skin on his back. He hasn't ate any vegetables since i got him and he doesn't drink so i tried misting him but he still takes no notice. He also didn't poop for about 5 days until yesterday when i gave him a bath,is this normal ? He has lots of stress marks under his belly but he dosnt get angry when i pick him up :? Also do you think he looks thin ? Why does he have wrinkles? Please help i am very worried!

 

[DTRM30]

Have you reviewed your set up on here with the list of questions ? If not, that would help a lot so others can suggest improvements if needed and try to sort out what may be wrong. His suggested feeding depends on his age (if it should be more bugs or vegies). Temps and lighting play a huge roll in eating and metabolism as well. Beautiful Dragons has a great listing of things to feed your dragon along with a lot of other helpful information. http://www.beautifuldragons.com

Good veggies and insects such as crickets, dubia roaches, silk worms and phoenix worms are all good choices. Don't feed mealworms. My vet, this site, and breeders will pretty much feel the same on this issue. He may be too young yet to have much interest in veggies. When juveniles they eat 90% insects to about 10% veggies, and that generally reverses when adults to be 90% veggies and 10% insects.

He could just be starting to shed. They often shed in just patches, not always their whole body all at once.

If he's young, baths daily to every 2-3 days at most is recommended. This helps keep then hydrated as well as encourages them to poo. It is not unusual for an adult dragon to go a few days between poos. Adults should have a bath 2-3x per week.

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?

 

[LovableBeardie23]

How old is your dragon? 7 months
How long have you had your dragon? 1 month
How long is your dragon? 16 inches
What is the sex of your dragon? We think male but not 100%
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 4 ft by 2 ft
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Tile
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Fluorescent tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? Repti glo 10.0, 25 watt
How old is your UVB bulb? 1month
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? 4 inches away
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb? Yes, 75 watt, white
What are the basking temps? 105
What is the cool side temp? 75
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Stick on thermometer
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? None
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Small to medium locust about 18 a day i also give his vegetables but he does not eat them
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? Twice a day morning and night
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? No
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Yes pro rep cali dust 6 days a week and nutrobal 1 day a week
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? No he doesn't go that often i usually have to give him a bath for him to go
Do you bath your dragon? How often? Yes depending on his bowel movements usually twice a week
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? Yes
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? No
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No

 

[Spikey92]

Alright so you need to bath him more often. The wrinkles are from being dehydrated.
As already said the grey patch is just old skin getting ready to shed.

I suggest you switch the repti glo tube to a repti SUN 10 tube.

You definitely need to get a digital thermometer with probe (for example from walmart for like 8 bucks) or a temp gun. The stick ons are useless as they can be up to 30 degrees off! It is possible that the basking temp is too low, he cant digest his food so he cant poop. And if theyre not warm enough they dont normally eat(much) so cheking the temps with an accurate thermometer is very important!

At this age you should be feeding him at least 2x a day and offer as many crickets as he wants to eat within 10 minutes.

 

[DTRM30]

Thanks for answering the questions - I'm sure you'll have some good suggestions soon

I'm not familiar with locusts as feeders - so not sure if 18 is a good amount or not. I know for crickets and worms, at 7 months they can eat 50-100 per day. Do you offer as much as he will eat in 10-15 minutes ? If you are limiting how much he eats you can try offering as much as he wants in 10-15 minutes 2x daily. It is recommended that the feeders not be larger than the space between their eyes. You may already know, but just tossing that out there as well.

You may want to double check your temps with a digital probe thermometer - they are pretty cheap - around $5 - $7 or a temp gun. The stick on ones can be pretty inaccurate sometimes. If the stress marks are there pretty much continually that can be a signal that something is not correct with his enclosure or diet and it's placing stress on him. I wouldn't think it should still be relocation stress after a month, but you never know. Correct temps are important for proper appetite and metabolism.

The only other thing I see that you'll likely be recommended to change is his UVB bulb. Many on here have not had positive results with the Repti Glo and most will recommend you change that to either the ReptiSun 10 or the Arcadia 12. People who have had trouble with their dragon's appetite and activity level have seen great improvements by just changing their UVB bulb brand.

Not wanting to poo in their enclosure and waiting until bath time seems to be fairly common - I don't think I'd worry too much about that unless it's really stinky - really bad smell is an indicator of parasites/pinworms.

As for the grey area, it honestly looks to me like he's starting to shed there. Mine goes in a cycle of tail, legs, body - then repeat.
Maybe someone will have more suggestions for you on what it could be if it's not shedding.

The wrinkles could just be his normal skin, or he could be dehydrated. Kinda like if you flex your wrist up, you'll see wrinkles and folds of skin.

 

[LovableBeardie23]

I am glad to know his skin is just a normal shed I will be changing the uvb and thermometers then and i hope he perks up abit. But when i bought him the shop said only 16 to 18 locust a day, i have to admit on the sites i have looked at they said 50-100 but they where for crickets. Thats why i have been a little confused as to how much he should eat. Yes i think he is dehydrated beacuse he wont drink i do mist and bath but he still looks wrinkley can you suggest anything else to hydrate him? Also can you suggest anything to get him use to vegetables as he doesn't eat any of them either? Thanks

 

[Spikey92]

Especially the new correct uvb will definitely perk him up!

As for the veggis, what have you tried so far? Spikey absolutely loves her dandelion and a lot of beardies love squash. I know that Spikey goes CRAZY for the yellow dandelion flower. If you have dandelion in your yard and youre sure theyre not sprayed with pesticides just give it a try

Offer him as many feeders as he can eat in 10 mins. Youll then find out how much he needs/wants

You can drip some water on his snout a few times a day and see if he licks it off. Once he starts eating his greens he will also get some water in him from the greens.

 

[LovableBeardie23]

For the veggies I have tried cabbage, broccoli, bell pepper, carrot, romaine lettuce i also put a little water at the bottom for hydration. I do actually have dandelion in my garden which isn't sprayed so i will try that and i will try some squash. Lets see if i can tempt him some more I've tried dripping water on his snout aswel yet he still wont take any notice Hopefully he will take to it soon could shredding effect his appetite ?

 

[Spikey92]

Im not sure if someone already mentioned that to you but www.beautifuldragons.com has a very helpful nutrion chart.

Yes,some beardies actually stop eating when they shed. They get grumpy cause theyre itchy and i think it just doesnt feel nice to shed . But every beardie is different.

Spikey didnt open her mouth when i dripped water on it for the longest time.She didnt care.the water was running down her chin /throat and spikey just starred at me In the last few weeks she actually started licking it off but she doesnt do it all the time.

Good luck with the dandelion
You can also give hand feeding a try.but be careful they get spoiled very easily