Inbred dragon?

[doch]

PS I'm unable to upload pics. I'll blame the poor cell signal that I have here right now. I'll post some when I can.

 

[Mysty]

It has been mentioned that depth perception can vary between beardies and that they are notorious for having problems with it.

In which case, there may not be an underlying cause. To investigate possible causes, I could only suggest a vet visit.

Unfortunately if beardie has damaged eyes or perhaps some faulty wiring, there is not much advice that can be offered other than what you're probably already doing.

Repetition may help. E.g. food bowl always in the same place. A high sided worm bowl may also help beardie eat at his own speed without them escaping.

 

[doch]

He eats... But not as much as I think he would like to. He gets frustrated and gives up. This is why I offer food steady throughout the day (mostly worms in a bowl that they can't crawl out of, and veggies of course)... He goes back for more along the way. He's a little skinny, but not too bad. Last vet visit she claimed that his fat pads are increasing, so that's good. He's also up 10g or 15g...i don't recall exact.

 

[doch]

Voila!

 

[kingofnobbys]

It has been mentioned that depth perception can vary between beardies and that they are notorious for having problems with it.

In which case, there may not be an underlying cause. To investigate possible causes, I could only suggest a vet visit.

Unfortunately if beardie has damaged eyes or perhaps some faulty wiring, there is not much advice that can be offered other than what you're probably already doing.

Repetition may help. E.g. food bowl always in the same place. A high sided worm bowl may also help beardie eat at his own speed without them escaping. <<< I agree .... best to make eating his bugs as easy as possible through insect selection (slow moving ,soft bodied, soft but nutritious is the way to go, as is keeping to a strict routine and having the feedings in the same place every day.

Handfeeding might be a good solution too.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Voila!

He likes his outdoor pen ....

 

[AHBD]

Great that he has an outdoor pen ! You don't even need a uvb light on inside if he spends hours in the sun.

And from those pics he has a healthy weight. Too many dragons are overweight because of overfeeding and get to the point where they become couch potato dragons, rarely moving or climbing or even being able to climb because of their heft.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Thanks for your help everybody.

EllenD, I feel like you're misinterpreting what I'm saying. I have heard your advice, I've accepted it and I will make those changes once we're back home. They are currently nice and happy in the natural sunlight at the campground.

I am however simply saying that the problems that I'm asking about were present before the colored bulbs. As for my lack of proper thermometer... I have checked mine compared to ambient and it seems to be accurate. It's definitely not out by 15-20 degrees. As mentioned, I have every intention of ordering an IR gun... I just got distracted. I can feel his temp (with 2 basking bulbs) compared to hers (with one) and they feel the same. This is due to the position of the reflectors being different in both cages. I will be extremely surprised if the basking temp is off... But I will keep you posted.

So, if we could, please think of other theories to help him... Or at least diagnose. As mentioned before... Given what we've been through (several vet visits, etc), I'm not sure that he can be helped. I am however very curious as to the root cause. MBD? Handicapped somehow?

Thanks again

The only major cause here is an age difference , as already pointed out.

 

[AHBD]

Like I said, he looks good size-wise so don't worry too much about how much he's eating. But can you possibly post a video of him attempting to eat ?

If he does have slight neurological problems , that can sometimes be from a lack of vit. B in the diet.

 

[doch]

Thanks for the advice and opinions everyone! Much appreciated.

Yes, aside from space in the camper being at a premium, I built the cages for them to get them in the natural sunlight. Can't beat it! Added bonus... Save money on uv bulbs as they're not used very often in the summer.

I feel. Like he's a little skinny... But not too bad. If I remember correctly, he's about 320g.

I ordered up a temp gun. Should have it soon.

I will try to post vids in the next few days. I'm not the best with computers though, so we'll see what happens.

 

[doch]

Ok, so a few days ago I got new regular coloured bulbs from the hardware store, as well as my temp gun.

When I got the temp gun, I measured temps a couple times through his tank. I didn't record exact, but close enough.

With the blue and red bulb
Cold side - 73
Warm side - 86
Basking - 110-120 being in the spot.

Now with the new single 90w halogen bulb
Cold side - 73
Warm side - 86
Basking - 110 up to 130.
The light in the cage now is significantly more bright/intense. I have a hard time understanding how this if better for their eyes... But I'll take your word for it.

Now, I will mention that I only tried the gun a couple times before the bulb switch, and several times after. I seem to get discrepancies depending on what I hit with it. I would have thought that the basking spot would be roughly the same all over, but depending on the angle and material I hit, I'm getting different readings. Not really sure what to think. I can tell you this though... His temp seems to stay at about 90 while basking (he stays just outside of the direct light). My female is the same... But just a touch warmer.

Post parasite treatment, they both had a significant increase in appetite. Now, they both seem to have slowed down significantly on eating. Maybe I'm just paranoid? Or maybe they were starting from not eating for 2 weeks, so they were playing catch up? Hopefully it's nothing.

 

[doch]

Free are my home set ups.

- female

- male

Also, they are closer to the uvb than I thought. It's more like 8-10". (10.0)

 

[doch]

Side note... I just measured the temp with my gun at the same spot as my flukers stick on... They read within 1 degree of each other.