Is she sick?

[flnatv]

I am fairly new to beardies, got Wizard this past November as a baby.

Anyway, I don't know if she is sick or if it is 'normal' behaviour???

Here goes....
Over the past few weeks, she has been staying VERY dark in her house.... black throat, body, etc.... she either hides in her cave or hangs on the walls. When I get her out she will turn back to her normal light belly/throat coloring, or to darken up again when I put her up. She has been in this house since January and the temps have been correct. She has heat and a Reptisun 10.0 UVB.

I live in Tennessee and we have all those horrible storms, but it hasn't rained in about 4 days and she is still doing this...

Is something wrong with her?

I don't like to see her so unhappy and I teach school so I can't be home with her all day. I am used to her being at her house doors scratching to get out to see me in the afternoons.... now she is hiding

 

[kazaaa]

Usually the black beard is a sign of domanance and the black body is a sign of aggression. Has she got a black pattern on her stomach?

 

[flnatv]

Not the typical "stress" marks... it is all black...

 

[flnatv]

Went to get her out just now and she hissed at me for the first time EVER!!!!
She only did it one and has now calmed down and turned back her normal color... but of course she is out.

Could it be an age thing? She would be about 7 months now.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Well it could be age related. They can be a bit hormonal at this age.
It sounds though like something is bothering her. If she is turning black and hiding in her viv, but she is okay outside the viv... something might be upsetting her in her home.
Have you changed anything in her viv recently?
What are her temps on basking and coolside? How are you measuring them?
How old is her UVB?
Is she eating and pooping normally?

 

[flnatv]

Basking 101
Cool side 80
Measuring with digital thermometers (pretty sure they are accurate as I am a biology teacher and they are laboratory grade)
Her viv is 4x2x2 and her bulb is fairly new... started with the bulb type UVB/UVB/Heat then changed to the strip... so I would say been using the Reptisun 10.0 for about 2 months.

Should I try the UVB bulb style (was UVB, UVA and heat in one) again and see if she gets better?

Starting to make me think she doesn't like the strip light.... but it is better for her, right?

 

[kazaaa]

It might be something frustrating her in the tank. Is the dragon in on its own?

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Right now the ReptiSUN 10's are the best UVB out there, so I would not recommend changing that. There have been far too many issues with the mvb's as of late to go that route.
Her temps sound good. How close can she get to the UVB?
I know you guys had some pretty nasty weather there in TN, so I can understand her being frightened by that. Is this when she started turning black and hiding... from the storms?
Is she eating and pooping as normal?

 

[flnatv]

Yes, she is on her own... we have another dragon, but he is in a different part of the house (my son's room)...
During the day we lock out the cats and dogs just as a precaution, so they aren't harassing her while we are gone...

This happened I guess a week before all the storms... so maybe it is related.

So, do all of you think it is behavior and not illness?
Seems like it all comes back to light and stress, not necessarily sick....
Maybe she knows if she hides and turns black I will get her out...

Yes, she can get within 18" of her UVB and I agree that I have been hearing the Reptisun 10.0 is the best and I don't want to switch back to the other...
All poop looks fine and normal as well as eating habits....

Ohhhh myyyy... now that I said that... we changed the place we get our crickets from.... could that cause this?
I will go back to the old place and get their crickets today and see if it makes a difference as well.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Well, a black beard can be a sign of many things. This is why all the questions being asked... to try and narrow down what might be bothering your beardie. A blackbeard that comes and goes, especially this time of year and your beardie's age, could be from hormones. If the blackbeard is a constant occurance and is staying for long periods of time, then you have to look at whether it's the environment or an illness. Beardie's are very good at hiding an illness and sometimes you don't see it until they start acting odd, such as yours with the constant blackbeard.
There is the possibilty that the change in where you get your crickets could be the problem. You may have picked up a bad batch. Maybe just stop feeding those crickets and go back to the other place you were purchasing them.
The other thing I noticed is that your UVB is quite far from your beardie. With the Fluorescent tube UVB's such as yours... the beardie should be able to get within 6-8" for optimum exposure.

 

[flnatv]

Wow... didn't know she needed to be THAT close... I will see what I can do about lowering it... I may have to hang it somehow... I can come up with that solution.

Her beard does turn back normal, usually when I am holding her or she is being fed.

Going to town in a few and am going back to the old crickets.... it that doesn't help then I can start getting them again from the place that is MUCH closer. But I love her enough to take the 20 minute drive

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Well I hope she gets to doing better and it was just a case of bad crickets that maybe just upset her stomach.
Keep us updated on how she is doing.