Ill dragon?

[DrScales]

Dr. Scales hasn't been doing a whole lot lately... she sits under her plastic plant in the corner all day and night. She refuses to eat or drink from her bowls, as far as I know - I never see her do it anymore. Every once in awhile I'll see her eat two or three crickets but otherwise she just sits there all day and night. She is very cold when I try and take her out and when she is in these states she looks like she's not breathing. I thought maybe she needed a new uvb so I bought her one, but the one she had I couldn't replace for quite awhile. Shortly after I bought the new one she looked normal again but now she's back to her motionless self. This morning when I saw her I thought she was dead! What could I be doing wrong? Could it be that the lights in the room she's in are on until like midnight? I'm up late alot and she lives in my room.... maybe its her night bulb? It's one of those red ones and I've heard some stuff about those..... please help, thanks in advance.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Doubt it that the room lighting is an issue if he has a good hide to retire into at night.

night bulb ? do you mean CHE ?

Temperatures in tank ? o/night ? during the day ?

I suspect if the room gets very cool overnight this will be the problem, I never let my beardies' tanks get cooler than 24oC overnight and all my beardies have 7W heatpads controlled by thermostats set to hold at 37oC and run 24/7 under them.



I'd set up a heatpad under the spot you mention and put it on a digital thermostat set to hold the pad at 37oC, and maybe bump up the tank temperatures so the tank IS NEVER COOLER THAN 28oC.

Investment in new high UVB tube or bulb will likely help. Is the new UV light a 10% UVB rated light ?

 

[DrScales]

I have no idea what you mean with my night bulb. It's one of those ones meant to keep it warm but dark at night. And I have no clue what you mean with 10%.... I'm confused. Anyway though, It's never colder than 80~85 F which is around the same as what I imagine you to be talking about, 28 C. (Celsius right?) Also I thought heat pads are bad.... but how much do they go for? I'll do anything for her to be okay .-.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

Your temps are perfectly fine as long as they stay at or above 65F and don't stay consistently too warm.
Get rid of your bulb, any bulbs that produce light, especially red ones, are a detriment to your beardie trying to sleep.
What kind of UVB bulb are you using? Be very specific about it, such as if its a tube light or not, as well as the brand and any other labeling.
Heatpads are fine as long as you take the necessary precautions to make sure your beardie doesn't get burned by it.

 

[DrScales]

I can't afford a ceramic bulb, but should one of those dark purple ones be okay?
And as for the UVB, it is a 13 watt Exo Terra "Reptile UVB 150" desert UVB bulb. It is not a tube light, they are really expensive but i have a fixture, if you think it is really necessary... I'll do whatever I can.

 

[Rampagingraptor]

No, those purple lights are just as bad for beardies. Are you sure your temps are dropping that low? How low do they drop? I seriously doubt you need a heat lamp at night.
Tube lights are far and away the best. They provide a much better range of uvb light as well as natural light. If you can afford it, I highly suggest it. Some of the best ones include Repitsun 10.0 and Aracadia 13%.
The bulb you have isn't that great, but if you keep it about 6-8 inches away from your beardies basking spot, that should be good for uvb.

 

[diamc]

How old is Dr. Scales? She shouldn't be wanting to sit under her plastic plant all the time unless the temps are off or she doesn't like the UVB light. What type of thermometer are you using, digital strip, round gauge (dial), temp gun or digital with long wire & probe end? What is the basking SURFACE temp, ambient & the bottom of the cool side?

She probably isn't moving much when in that position because she is too cold. That also slows down their breathing.

The ceramic heat emitters really aren't very expensive and last for years. Here's a link to one: http://www.amazon.com/Aiicioo-Ceramic-Emitter-Reptiles-Amphibians/dp/B0183PGF20/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1458262302&sr=8-4&keywords=60+watt+ceramic+heat+emitter

If you have a hood already for the tube lights, would be a good idea to get one. I imagine the hood is for a T8 bulb. Here's a link to a 24" bulb: http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-ReptiSun%C2%AE-Fluorescent-24-Inch/dp/B0009YHSWK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458262481&sr=8-1&keywords=t8+repti-sun+bulb

The 150 watt desert bulbs can be very rough on their eyes so they tend to avoid sitting under them. They also don't put UV rays in a very big area so really won't prevent metabolic bone disease. Would be a good idea getting a tube light as soon as you can to help her out.

Are you bathing her and encouraging her to drink? They can act sluggish & want to sleep a lot when they are dehydrated.

 

[kingofnobbys]

I have no idea what you mean with my night bulb. It's one of those ones meant to keep it warm but dark at night. And I have no clue what you mean with 10%.... I'm confused. Anyway though, It's never colder than 80~85 F which is around the same as what I imagine you to be talking about, 28 C. (Celsius right?) Also I thought heat pads are bad.... but how much do they go for? I'll do anything for her to be okay .-.

She needs a globe to give off heat and white light , and UV tube or globe (to produce very intense UVA (about 30% of light produced) and UVB (about 10 - 12% of the light produced) , or a MVB (does all in one unit) for during the day.

Ditch the purple light. It's useless.

 

[syoung27]

Could she be brumating??
Unless you leave your window open or it gets very drafty in your room, you shouldn't require heat at night. Probably better on the cold side than your beardie trying to sleep with the light on.
Try and get some better details of your tank setup..

 

[syoung27]

I have no idea what you mean with my night bulb. It's one of those ones meant to keep it warm but dark at night. And I have no clue what you mean with 10%.... I'm confused. Anyway though, It's never colder than 80~85 F which is around the same as what I imagine you to be talking about, 28 C. (Celsius right?) Also I thought heat pads are bad.... but how much do they go for? I'll do anything for her to be okay .-.

She needs a globe to give off heat and white light , and UV tube or globe (to produce very intense UVA (about 30% of light produced) and UVB (about 10 - 12% of the light produced) , or a MVB (does all in one unit) for during the day.

Ditch the purple light. It's useless.

I would be cautious purchasing an mvb and do some heavy research, many of them have been related to eyeball issues