Is my bearded draGON SICK?

[roockie89]

I have had my lizard for a month and a couple of days and today she just seemed really diffrent. Her name is Lizzy.She had her eyes dimming and was hardley moving.I thought she was about to die.I tried to feed her mustard lettuce and she refused to eat.And im worried because she hasnt eaten since then.If there is anyone that knows what is wrong with my lizard please post me.And i would like to know what im supposed to do to cure my lizard.Oh and by the way she is a baby.Thats why im really worried.So please post me.

 

[diamc]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear that Lizzy is making you concerned. How long has she not been eating? When and what did she last eat? When did she last poop? How long is she from nose to tip of tail?

Could you fill us in on your setup a little to make sure everything is perfect for her? What brand UVB light are you using and is it a coil, compact, strip fluorescent or mercury vapor bulb? How close is this bulb to her? Are you using a bright white or colored basking bulb? What live food are you feeding her, crickets? What substrate do you have on the bottom of her tank? What are her basking and cool side temps, what type of thermometer are you using to check them, a stick-on type, a temperature gun or a digital with a long wire & probe end? How do you keep her hydrated?

Sorry for all the questions, just want to rules some things out so we can try to figure out why she's not eating.

 

[roockie89]

Well she stopped eating today around 4 or 430.And i am using a zilla thermomiter.The last thing i remember what she ate was crickets.We give her 7 everytime she runs out.But she ate i think like 5 today while i was at school.So yeah i dont know whats wrong.Sorry i couldnt awnser all the questions i kinda forgot.But thats all i really know.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Please try to answer Diane's question about your UVB lighting, & basking light, etc. There are some bad UVB lights out there that could be affecting your baby.
The Zilla thermometer, is it a stick on or a digital probe? What are your temperatures measuring right now?


Tracie

 

[roockie89]

All products are from ZIlla, it was originally a kit for a gecko, the uvb balb it's 50w and the white balb it's 100w... the stick on thermomoter reads about 20% humidity and 75 to 78 degress... We keep both balbs on 24/7 ...20 gallon tank and sand on bottom...when basking she's about 5" from it....thanks for your help

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Can you please turn off ANY Zilla lights that are on, which state UVB on them, please. I think that you must have a Zilla T50 series which is a flourescent tube bulb, is this correct? Here is a report stating how dangerous they are:

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm

They have low wavelength UVB which are extremely dangerous to your dragon, & at 5 inches, very bad. They were incorrectly made with the wrong type of phosphor as well. Please turn off the light.

Only leave on the basking light right now. Also, they need only 12 hours of daylight per day & 12 hours of nighttime with no lights on at all. Do you have a timer that you can use? It is easy to set the lights to come on & shut off with a timer, so you don't forget.
The stick on thermometers are not very good for measuring the basking spots. They will measure the ambient temps, the humidty & the temperatures of the glass that they are stuck to but not the basking spot. You will need to get either a digital probe or a temp gun to help you get a more accurate reading of the basking spot. He needs a basking spot of around 95-110 on one end & a 78-82 on the cooler end.
Sand is a controversial issue as far as recommendations for substrates. It is not normally recommended for babies since they are clumsy eaters & like to lick everything & can get impacted very easily. Paper towels, non adhesive shelf liner, butcher's paper, or reptile carpet are better choices.

Tracie

 

[munchkins9802]

tracie--that link is not working--is it right or is there a letter missing at the end?

 

[kenyasmom]

HAS SHE BEEN DRINKING WATER?

 

[roockie89]

I fed her water right now but every time i put it in the next day it is still there

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The link works. Here it is again though for you:

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm

How is your dragon doing today?
She is not going to drink water on her own, most likely. You are going to have to give her water, orally through a plastic dropper or syringe, daily to get her hydrated.

Tracie

 

[roockie89]

Than you for everyones advise, we have turned the uvb off and her white light only until tomorrow.... the temperature remains at 78 degrees and the humidity is now 40%.....she's not drinking water, we will try to force some water ......However she is moving around a bit more and her color has change, she was very lathergic yesturday, basking and sleeping alot... Is there such thing as her over eating? We we're told that she needed about 3 crickets per day, but I think she ate about 4 on Sunday 3 or 4 on Monday, none on Tuesday and 3 Today.... Agian thank you

 

[dobby293]

It sounds like she is not getting warm enough. She should be eating way more crickets than 3 or 4 per day. My BD is about 6 months old and he eats about 45-60 crickets per day and salad.... lots of salad.

 

[roockie89]

If she is not getting enough heat wich heating lamp do we get?And if she is not over eating what do you think could be wrong with her?

 

[munchkins9802]

roockie89--She probably is not getting warm enough as Tracie said. For babies (I have learned a lot here in the last 4 weeks that we have had our baby). The basking side needs to be 95-110 for babies and the cool side should be about 80 (did I remember it right Tracie?)
The people on here highly recommend the Repti Sun 10.0 tube and I was told you could find the bulb inexpensive at petmountain.com but you still need to get the fixture for it as well. At night they can comfortably go to 60 degrees but if your house goes lower than you should get a ceramic heat emitter for the night time
Your baby should be offered as many crickets as they will eat in a 10 min time frame 2-3x a day.He needs crickets dusted with calcium 1x/day for 5 days of the week, he also needst the Herptivite (not reptivite)--it doesn't have vitamin A 1x/week. For example, my baby is 9-11 weeks old and he eats 40-70 crickets A DAY!!!
For hyrdation, give a bath every 2-3days, and it is okay to spritz them with water on their noses daily if they will lick it up just don't overdo it as you want less humidity in the cage.
Hope this helps and Tracie will correct anything I said wrong as well

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

Before you go getting new lights!
You need:
A QUALITY UVB- go for the reptisun 10.0. It's a great bulb and available online at http://www.lllreptile.com for about $20.

AN ACCURATE THERMOMETER- A digital thermometer with a probe will work great! They are around $15.

Without these tools, your beardie risks illness. You will notice a dramatic increase in appetite and energy with the appropriate temps and UVB.

Cold-blooded animals need access to certain temps to get their blood moving and make all their organs function properly. Too much heat and/or no escape from the heat can cause serious dehydration or brain damage. You absolutely must know your temps. So there's not really a point in buying more heating lights until you have a good thermometer.

Babies basically can't over eat. They are just growing too fast!