I have a bearded dragon named Ember who will be seven in August. She is in a 45 gallon tank on carpet, though hopefully she will be getting a bigger tank soon. I recently got a temp gun and found out that her basking spot was about 92-95 degrees and I am working on getting her a new basking spot that is taller so I can get it to 100 degrees. She has a two month old desert UVB bulb. She is fed collard greens daily and gets dusted insects every other day. I recently put her on a diet as I noticed she was overweight. She uses the bathroom once every 1-2 weeks which I was very concerned about, but her vet told me that if it was normal for her then it was ok. She also has a water dish that she can soak herself in, so I don’t often give her baths. I don’t think she soaks herself as often now so I may start giving her baths. I’ve also owned two elderly dragons Ari (11) and Zayne(unknown(rescue) but our vet seemed to believe that he was elderly). They too were more sleepy/droopy by I just wanted to make sure as they were both elderly when I adopted them, Ember I’ve had since she was a baby and have never seen the aging process for older lizards.
I’ve noticed that within the last year or so she has begun to slow down a little. I know that she is getting up there in years and was just wondering if her behavior was normal. She is less adventurous and explorative. She still like to run around some just nowhere near as much as she used too. She’s always been a cuddle bug, but she seems to enjoy napping on my chest even more now. Ember’s posture is also more slack as she doesn’t hold herself as high off of the ground anymore when she runs. Her beard also seems more droopy now too. Her joints also seem a little more stiff and her leg and back muscles twitch sometimes, which really concerns me. The twitching started a few months ago but doesn’t seem to bother her. I am planning on taking Ember to the vet and to ask about the twitching and checking up on her bump on her back, which I was told to keep an eye on as the vet didn’t find it too alarming.
Ember, within the last year and a half has developed an orange bump on her back. It was originally a orangey-red freckle which she has had several since she was born. This one however has grown into a bump. It has grown very, very slowly and even seems to have stopped growing. It isn’t anchored to her ribs or anything as I can still pick up the skin underneath of it and move it around. I don’t want to put her through the stress of an unnecessary surgery. I only want it removed/biopsied if it is malignant or harmful in some other way and was wondering if anybody had any advice or experience with anything like this.
Her bump:
Sleepy girl:
I’ve noticed that within the last year or so she has begun to slow down a little. I know that she is getting up there in years and was just wondering if her behavior was normal. She is less adventurous and explorative. She still like to run around some just nowhere near as much as she used too. She’s always been a cuddle bug, but she seems to enjoy napping on my chest even more now. Ember’s posture is also more slack as she doesn’t hold herself as high off of the ground anymore when she runs. Her beard also seems more droopy now too. Her joints also seem a little more stiff and her leg and back muscles twitch sometimes, which really concerns me. The twitching started a few months ago but doesn’t seem to bother her. I am planning on taking Ember to the vet and to ask about the twitching and checking up on her bump on her back, which I was told to keep an eye on as the vet didn’t find it too alarming.
Ember, within the last year and a half has developed an orange bump on her back. It was originally a orangey-red freckle which she has had several since she was born. This one however has grown into a bump. It has grown very, very slowly and even seems to have stopped growing. It isn’t anchored to her ribs or anything as I can still pick up the skin underneath of it and move it around. I don’t want to put her through the stress of an unnecessary surgery. I only want it removed/biopsied if it is malignant or harmful in some other way and was wondering if anybody had any advice or experience with anything like this.
Her bump:
Sleepy girl: