I think my Beardie needs help?!

[Nathan1995]

I bought a bearded dragon about 2 months ago, she (the owner presumes it's a girl) is relatively young and about 12 inches long. I have a 3 x 2 x 2 vivarium that gets to around 100c warm side and 80c cool side with a basking spot of 105c. She has a repti carpet substrate, 2 heat lamps, 1 coil UVB lamp and a Habba Hut. She is fed crickets 3 times a day and veggies daily.

Now my problem! The first few weeks we had absolutely no trouble. She was eating, pooping, shredding and active. However the past month she has been acting odd. She went to sleep in her hut, and then woke up, but decided to stay there all day. I left her for the first day to see if she was just relaxing, but then she decided not to move the next day either. I took out her hut and she was fine, went and basked and ate and pooped. But as soon as her house goes back in, she goes and lays under that all day long until it's removed.

Last night I decided to see what happens if I didn't put her hut back in. I left it out and at about 8pm she crawled to the corner and curled up and went to sleep. I woke up, at 8am and she was still there (this was regular even when she was active), however I came back from school at 2:40pm and she is still sat in the corner, not moved a muscle, but awake...

Is there something wrong? What can I do?

Thanks in advance,
Nathan.

 

[Irwinshealth]

I have read different places on this site the UVB coil bulbs aren't as well. Maybe you could start be replacing it with a Reptisun 10.0 tubular. It seems to be doing wonders for my two little ones.
Keep us posted please,
Carrie ( Cooper & Palmer's mom)

 

[Spikey07]

Yes I would deffinitely change the UVB to a Repti-SUN 10.0 tube bulb or Arcaids D3 12% UVB tube bulb as a starter. The UVB tube needs to be mounted inside the tank, there should be no plastic between the UVB tube and your beardie. And she should be able to get within 6-8" from it at the closest point.

The coil bulbs are known to cause eye issues and lethargy in bearded dragons. I would switch the coil bulb off for now.

Those temps sound great, what type of thermometer are you using to measure them? Is it a digital or dial type?
What veggies are you feeding her?
Are you dusting the crickets with calcium or vitamin supplement? If so how often?

 

[Nathan1995]

Thank you for the feedback, I will definitely be changing the UVB bulb as soon as possible.
I currently feed her kale and occasional carrots. I am trying to find her a better staple green but cannot find dandelion or collared greens at any shops near me?
I dust her crickets at every meal, so 3 times a day.
I'll get that new UVB tube as soon as possible and give you an update.
Thanks a lot!

 

[Spikey07]

Have a look at this site for what is good and not good to feed your beardie http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html. Anything that can be fed as a staple is Green.

Kale can be fed occasionally but should not be fed as a staple as I think it binds calcium and stops your beardie from absorbing it.

Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Endive, Escarole and grated Butternut Squash are all good staple veg.

Be careful with carrot, it is high in vitamin A and too much is bad for them.

Many pet shops do not stock the Repti-SUN 10.0 tube or Arcaida D3 12% UVB tube so you may have to order online.

 

[CaptainVimes]

Hello,

First thing I need to know, is if you are in UK or not.

IF you are, then a good green to feed, that's not on the beautiful dragons list, (as it's American) is GREENS, often called just greens, or sometimes spring greens. They are widely available in the UK, and a lot of UK people feed them every day, with a mix of other veg too! they look a tinsy bit like a leafy cabbage, they are of the cabbage family.

Dexter gets greens and butternut squash every day, then a variation of other veg and a small amount of fruit I use the nutrition page that spikey gave you.

Dexter loves butternut squash, I tried him with Organix butternut squash baby food to try with a different texture, there was evidence that he did try some as it was around his mouth, but he didn't have much because there was very little gone. However, some Beardies are known to absolutely love baby food. The organix butternut squash has other root vegetables in it, but I don't know off-hand what they are.

EDIT - Simon finely chops Dexter's veg into 3mm chunks, including his butternut squash, you DON'T have to grate it.

The best supermarket we've found for choice of veg so far, is Sainsburys, we don't know about Asda, Aldi, Netto, Morrisons, Lidl or any other supermarket as we've only tried Tesco or Sainsburys. Tesco rarely have a decent choice, that might improve when they've expanded though, it's not a massive store, they kicked out our local Co-op. :lol:

IF you are in America, then the veg such as collard greens, chard etc should be available if you shop around, can't suggest where, as i'm in UK.

If you need any further help with veg, I'm all ears!

 

[CaptainVimes]

Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Endive, Escarole and grated Butternut Squash are all good staple veg.

Spikey, where do you get collard greens, mustard greens, endive and escarole from?

We can't find any of them in Tesco or Sainsburys.

Just to say, you don't have to grate the butternut squash either, you can just chop it finely, (Simon chops all Dexter's veg apart from greens, (they are usually chopped into 6mm squares- still small compared to Dexter's 1" gap between his eyes) into 3mm chunks) it depends what your dragon prefers.

 

[Nathan1995]

Oh okay thanks a lot everyone for the advice on veggies!
Tomorrow after school I'll be going to Salisbury's (UK!) to find some better veggies, and also hopefully pick up her new tube light.
Thanks for all the help guys, I'll let you know how she goes. :lol:

 

[Spikey07]

Ahhh, you are in the UK... Sorry I presumed you were in US!

Collard greens are known as Spring Greens in Tesco - that's where I get mine. You can get endive in some bagged salads but will have to pick out the other leaves as they're no good. I have yet to find mustard greens and escarole in UK supermarkets.

I use collard greens and butternut squash as staple veg. To this I add... Depending on what I have bought... Sugar snap peas, finely chopped peppers, pak choi (same as bok choi) water cress, sometimes kale and chopped grapes. All these things I find in tesco. I summer I get dandelion leaves from my garden and also feed these (dandelion greens).

 

[dragonlover3]

You only need to dust 1 feeder meal a day with calcium. 3 times a day is waaaay to much and can cause health issues. Most set a schedule for calcium and vitamins then you don't have to try to remember what you gave them and when. Dragons don't process some vitamins well so they are not given as often. Many use a 5:2 plan. 5 days a week, Monday thru Friday dust 1 feeder meal a day with calcium. 2 days a week, Saturday and Sunday dust 1 feeder meal a day with multivits.
Some use plain calcium others use calcium with D3. Some will use both on a schedule. Some say if you have the proper UVB which aids your dragon in synthesizing his own natural D3 you only need plain calcium. Others say why take a chance your UVB isn't adequate and they use calcium with D3. I've read articles that say it is "unclear and inconclusive" if your dragon can even process supplemental D3. You will have to read and educate yourself coming to your own conclusion.
This is what I do. Monday thru Friday I dust 1 feeder meal a day with plain calcium. 1 day a week on Saturdays I use Calcium with D3, and 1 day a week on Sunday I use vitamins. My Dragons get a very proper diets following the nutrition chart at beautifuldragon so I feel confident giving them vits once a week instead of twice. I use calcium with D3 once a week in case the added D3 is of some benefit. I use the recommended UVB. The whole point of UBV is to help synthesize the natural vitamin D3 in your dragon. I hope this helps!
Amanda

 

[Nathan1995]

Thanks for all the information on supplements ect, definitely will be changing this.
I came home from school today, still with no luck regarding the movement even after turning off her coil UVB bulb, hopefully today/tomorrow I'll be getting a Reptisun tube to replace it with.

However I removed her house once more and she's currently basking, but she looks a lot thinner suddenly, I can't decide if this is the way she is laying or if she's abnormally thin, please inform me:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/651/dsc0577me.jpg/

Thanks a lot guys, I'm really trying to help her!

 

[Spikey07]

it looks on that picture like she is flattening herself out. They so this sometimes whilst basking to absorb more heat.

Please update us when you have the new bulb, hopefully she will pick up.

 

[Nathan1995]

Bulbs now been off for 2 days and we have minimal movement.
Woke her up at about 9am and put her on her log, she's still basking so that's a good sign.

Update will be when I get the new Reptisun bulb, fingers crossed! :roll:

 

[Nathan1995]

New UVB is in place and Sandy looks happy as ever. She's eating properly already after having that coil bulb off for 2 days and a new fluorescent tube as a replacement.

She's also still awake, which is a first for the past 2 weeks!

Thanks a lot for everyones help and input, definitley recommend getting rid of any coil bulb :lol:

 

[AtlasStrike]

I'm glad she is doing better. In the future, be careful with your temps, make sure you note whether you are measuring in Fahrenheit or Celsius. I read your temps, saw 100c and almost died before realizing they were accurate, but you meant 100F. Sorry to be nitpicky, but that kind of thing is important.

Best of luck.