Is my lizard ok?

[moodydf]

I have a 2 year old male bearded dragon lizard named Spike. He has been fine until yesterday. His beard turned almost black & it is still black today. He is usally a good eater, eats veggies, friut & crickets, but he didn't eat anything yesterday or today. He is also not moving much.
Can anyone tell me what might be wrong?
Thanks,
Dona

 

[Jiffy]

Hi.
Sorry your beardie isnt feeling well.
Can you give us some info on your viv setup?

 

[moodydf]

It is a 55 gallon tank, calcium sand, rocks, water, UV light, 1 flood light 65 watt, 1 regular light 100 watt. Lights go on at 7:00am & turn of @ 7:30pm. Temp. right now is 91 under the flood & 86 on one end & 82 under the UV light.
Thanks for your quick response.
Dona

 

[jscott]

hey, nice to meet you.

a couple things; what brand name UV do you have? is it UVA, UVB or both? does it put off heat?

the UV light and heat lights should be next to each other(side by side) on one side of the cage. if the UV stretches the full length thats ok but the heat should only be on one side in conjunction with the UV-B.

a good temp is 100-110 surface temp on the hot side and about 80 air temp on the cool side. i dont think thats whats causing this problem but its worth considering.

i really hate to say but calci sand is a no-no when it comes to bearded dragons(and reptiles really). eatting sand(accidentally or on purpose) can cause impaction, a life threatening condidtion. puting things like calcium and vitamins in their sand make it all the more likely theyll eat their sand. if you must use sand, you can use quartz or silica sand. it doesnt disolve then turn to concrete like the calcisand. but it does cary a contomination risk; if your dragon poops on the sand then eats that dirty sand he may get ill.

has he come in contact with somthing different in the last couple days? could he have walked around somewhere there might have been chemicals?

is his belly firm or soft? tha may be able to tell you if hes impacted.

i hope everything turns out ok. PM me if you have any more questions :wink: .

 

[moodydf]

Thanks so much for responding, I really appreciate it. If it is impaction, what can I do? His belly is soft. Can you suggest a plan of action?
Thanks a bunch,
Dona

 

[jscott]

well first things first, for us to make a diagnosis, we have to know the "patient history".

theres no way at all they could have eatten something they shouldnt have? like a bug or spider or plastic?

how do his eyes look, healthy or are they kind of sunken in?

do you have a reptiGLO or a reptiSUN UV-B bulb.

what kind of thermometer are you using to measure temps? where is the thermometer placed when the temps are taken(side of glass, on ground)?

did you make any major changs in his tank?

ill try to find some more answers bt until then, the light brand info would be a help.

 

[moodydf]

The UV light is a Reptile Sun 10.0. I check his temp. with a Raytech Mini Temp. non contact thermo. I put it inside the tank, not through the glass. No tank changes & no sunken eyes. Only bugs eaten have been crickets that I get at the same place every time. He normaly eats kale, squash blueberries & a variety of fruits, carrots ect. He just started acting funny a day or two ago. Thanks for any advice you can give & I appreciate your taking the time to write to me.
Thanks,
Dona

 

[jscott]

no problem .

it could be nothing. maybe he just got scared, ive seen that happen a couple time with my guys. one moment the were fine and the next thing i knew the were freaking out.

well it sounds like you have all the right gear(your therm is a therm gun it sounds like?), you were well informed :mrgreen: .

id say just post anything new that comes up just ot be safe.

give my regaurds to Spike.

 

[moodydf]

Spike is looking & acting much better today. I replaced the lights & he looked better this morning. He also took a huge poop so I guess he is ok. Thanks for all the advice & I appreciate everyone who answered taking the time to talk to me, especially jscott.
Take care,
Dona

 

[jscott]

good to hear .

that all makes sense; sometimes dragons get constipated, maybe thats what all the dark colors and black bearding was about.

in the future, if you notice that their trying to poop but cant, you can give them a dab of applesauce with a drop or two of extra virgin olive oil. it will get their system moving again, ive had to do this more than once.

anyhow, good to hear things are better :wink: .