Hello, I have a 6 month old bearded dragon, for the past 5 and a half months he’s been perfectly fine, eating well, sleeping well and being active however, for the past 2-3 weeks he’s not been eating anything I put in front of him, he’s not been able to shed one spot on his back and his poo is like a light brown colour (it’s never been that colour before) and all he wants to do is sleep or he’s just very inactive even when I get him out of his vivarium. I’m freaking out because I couldn’t lose my dragon it would kill me. Please help, thank you.
Hi Kiera, can you pot pics of him to show his size and the spot on his back ? Also of his enclosure, including the lights ? What exact type + brand of lights do you use ? Here's how to post pics :
Here’s a photo of Rocco, the light patch on his back is the spot that he cant shed. It’s been there for the past 3 weeks, I’ve bathed him to help him but yet no sign. I’ve had that vivarium since I first got him and he’s loved it
Hi there, Rocco is a cutie ! The patch doesn't look worrisome right now, they can get random spots or uneven color patches at times.
I'm concerned with the tank + lights though. Do you have a heat bulb or just that uvb ? That is a very weak uvb source so you are really fortunate that he he does not have MBD , but it could start at any time. Metabolic bone disease starts out with lethargy, sometimes twitching and the deformities, sometimes partial paralysis. He should have a nice climbing log, beardies love to climb and really need good cage decor. If you don't have a heat lamp, get one ASAP. Probably a 60 watt would be fine, put it on one side so there's a heat gradient ....75 F or so on the cool end, 100 F on the hot end.
You'll need a good long tube bulb like Reptisun 10.0 t5 or Arcadia D3 12 -14 %.
Thank you so much, he’s literally my world and I just can’t lose him. I only have that UVB but he’s been okay with it since I got him. I’ve ordered a climbing log for him to make sure he can get more heat. And I’m going to order a heat lamp now. Thank you so much. What about his eating, should I worry? He’s not eating in roughly a week and he’s sleeping ALOT
Right now his condition is almost certainly from the lighting situation. Once that's corrected he could bounce back . Be sure to get the good uvb bulb that I mentioned. In the mean time if it's warm where you live take him out in the sun.
Is the Reptisun the t8 or t5 ? The t5 is stronger. Also, you need to be sure it's the right size, the 36" may be too long to fit in a fixture inside your tank since the fixture will be even longer than 36".
The heat bulb you can actually but at Walmart, it does not need to be a " pet store " bulb. A halogen bulb will work fine. We can get a 4 pack in the U.S. for about $5.00.
They should be mounted on the ceiling next to the basking light. I would keep the basking light about 30cm above the basking area so it's well out of reach. The surface temperature should be between about 38-42C in the basking area and about 24-28C on the cool side with a nice gradient between.
The goal is to simulate natural sunlight so you want the bright white light, heat, and UVB over the basking area while still providing some cooler areas and shade areas so they can choose what they want at a given time.
I’ve put this in instead of the UVB ago provide heat. The temperate has gone way up and he looks like he’s basking a lot more. Can I use this light for his main source of heat? I’m going to put the UVB on the cool side
Hi! Rocco is a cutie for sure Are you giving Rocco Calcium? Beardies need it to digest and a lack of it can result in MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease). It begins with lethargy, twitches, and distortion of limbs. Calcium and Multivitamins are very important. Here are the links to the ones I use:
I’ve put this in instead of the UVB ago provide heat. The temperate has gone way up and he looks like he’s basking a lot more. Can I use this light for his main source of heat? I’m going to put the UVB on the cool side
As long as that is producing an adequate heat gradient, it should work well as a basking light. I suggest putting the UVB light right next to it so the strongest UVB is over the basking area along with the highest temps and brightest light. You want to create a gradient of UVB as you do with the heat. That gives them choices so they can self regulate.