I don't know whats wrong with my baby beardie Nala!!!

[baneakira]

I just got 2 baby beardies...I looovvvee them, but as of yesterday things were not looking good for my female, she's running all around the cage and bobbing her head like crazy she looks like she is just all lopsided...she keeps putting her head down and wont eat, she tries to climb her little branch and falls right off, she doesn't want me to hold her and when I do she just falls asleep, before she would be really active and eat whenever I would offer food and I keep greens and fruit in the enclosure all day and mist it with water. She just looks really tired and scared and is just acting weird. I started to think that because I've been feeding them mealworms that maybe she has impaction from too many of them....would this cause all the weird behavior, what can I do to help her? I have my basking area at about 110 and the cooler area at about 100 or so, I dust the mealworms with "ReptoCal" vitamin supplement, I don't know if I'm doing something wrong and if I am I want to fix it immediatley!!! I would be heartbroken if I lost her...Any help is greatly appreciated!!! Thanks

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Sorry to hear your little beardie is not doing well.
Impaction would not cause that type of behavior. Your coolside temp is a bit high... it could possibly be a dehydration problem. If you could fill us in on your set up, it would help tremendously.

What brand and type UVB are you using? coil, fluorescent tube, mvb?
How close can your beardie get to the UVB?
What type and watt basking bulb?
What type thermometer are you using? digital w/probe, stick-on, temp gun?
Where are you taking the temps?
Are you bathing your beardie for hydration? If so, how often?

 

[baneakira]

I'm using a "ZooMed" Repti Basking Spot lamp 150W, a "ZooMed nighlight red light 60W, and a "Zoomed" 110W UV light, the basking area is about 10in from the heat, the dimentions of the enclosure are 21" tall X 15" deep X 30" across, I'm not using any coil or tube lamps but dome lamps, (is this not good?) also I'm taking the temp from the top middle of the tank and the bottom right (where the light is farthest from) I have not given them any baths yet but they do like to soak in the very little water I give them. I don't leave water in the tank with them however I do give them a shallow drinking bowl and let them hang out in it and drink for a few minutes and take it out. How often should I give them baths? and do I just use water?

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Okay.. from what I can gather you are using a 150W basking/heat bulb, a 60W infrared light and possibly a 100W Zoo Med Powersun mercury vapor bulb, is this correct? That is an extreme amount of heat for that size enclosure.
If this is what you are using, it could either be the Powersun MVB and/or too much heat that is causing this behavior in your beardie. I would suggest removing the red infrared lightbulb and the Powersun MVB. Just stick with the basking/heat bulb for now. If it is indeed the Powersun that you have, these bulbs have been known to cause some health issues among beardies. Is your beardie keeping his eyes closed at all?
I would suggest you get a ReptiSUN 10.0 fluorescent tube UVB. They are about the safest UVB's on the market. If you cannot find one locally you can get them here for a very reasonable price http://www.petmountain.com. Please do not get any compact/coil bulbs, just the ReptiSUN 10 fluorescent TUBE.
You might want to give your beardie some warm water soaks. Just enough water in a sink or small container, so that the water comes up to his armpits. He could be suffering from dehydration, due to being overheated. If you can get some Pedialyte as well, you can put some of that in the bath and also try giving him some (diluted with water)orally with a dropper or (needleless) syringe for extra hydration.
Could you tell us what type of thermometer you are using. Unless it is a digital thermometer with a wire and probe or a temp gun that you are using, your temps could be way off. The stick on type have been known to be as much as 20 degrees off. The temps are extremely important. Please let us know what thermometer you have. When taking the temps for the basking side, you need to take them directly from the basking spot(under the light).
As far as supplements go.. how often are you giving the calcium and/or multivitamin?
Do you have both beardies in the same enclosure? If so, is the other one showing any odd signs?
You mentioned mealworms.. You might want to stay away from those, they can cause impaction in the younger beardies, due to their hard exoskeleton.

 

[baneakira]

So I took the infrared light out, and put a ReptiSun 10.0 UVB light in the enclosure...it did get cooler since then, I'm using an "All living things" round thermometer and crystal strip at the cool spot, I'll move the therm to under the basking spot and see how it is then, and also fed them some dusted crickets, and gave them baths, they are both doing great she seems ALOT happier!!! Thanks for all advice!!!!

 

[LilStinkpot]

So far, so good, but you REALLY need a better thermometer. Those crystal strips and stick-on dial gages are no good. Go down to Walmart or Lowes and get an Accurite dual probe thermometer. It also comes with a humidity gage, all for just about $12. Put one probe right on the surface Nala basks on, and the other over in the cool end.

Depending on her age the basking spot should be between 115-110 or 110-100. The younger they are, the hotter they like it. Remember that the probe must be ON the rock, other wise you're just measuring air.

 

[baneakira]

Ok I'll go and get new thermometers right away and keep that brand in mind when I go...thanks so much for all the feedback!!! This was great info!!!

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello again!
That's great that you got the ReptiSun 10! That was quick :shock: I assume they sell them at your local pet store, huh? So many of them don't, this is why I had provided that link for you.
So let's go over your set up now. You removed the red light, that's good. What about the Powersun mvb.. was that the other bulb you had? Did you remove that one as well?
The 150W basking bulb "may" still be too much heat for your enclosure, this is why the correct thermometer is very important.
As the above poster mentioned.. the AcuRite digital thermometer with a long wire and probe is a great thermometer for the money. I am not sure about the dual probe(I have never seen or used one).
This is the one that I use

It is also at Walmart or Lowes for $12.
With this thermometer you put the housing part of it in the coolside of the tank. Then stretch the wire over to your basking side and set the probe end on top of your basking spot directly under the basking bulb. Wait about 45 minutes for best reading. The top temp will be your basking temp.. the second temp will be your coolside temp and the last reading is the humidity level in the tank. A good humidity level for beardies is between 30%-40%.
Basking temps should be between 95-110 and coolside should be between 78-82. With a baby beardie the temps should be at the higher ends of those temps.
How is your beardie doing today? Were you able to bathe him at all? How was his behavior after the bath?

 

[LilStinkpot]

The "dual probe" was my mistake. I was running on half batteries yesterday. The Accurite doesn't have two probes, it has one probe and one internal thermometer.

I also managed to get my basking temps wrong.

Don't mind me, just listen to Dawn! :lol:

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

No harm done LilStinkpot :wink: We all have those half battery days, LOL