Juvenile Beardie Ill?

[NewBeardieFamily]

We are a new beardie family. We got our girl about 3 weeks ago at Petsmart and we think she is about 2 months old. We have been feeding her crickets and greens and juvenile beardie food also giving calcium powner and vitamin powder. She was doing well, though she hasn't really been a big eater. However last week she started sleeping more and not eating. She looked like she was getting dehydrated, so we have been bathing her a couple times a day. She also has not been basking. Is she too young to be Brumating? What could it be? We feel like we have done everything by the book. Worried. Also we don't have any vets nearby that see reptiles.

 

[inspiritedmama]

I'm pretty new at all this too, but what's your tank setup like? Temps, humidity, lighting, substrate, etc?

 

[NewBeardieFamily]

We have the reptile rug as a substrate. We have a warm side, with a basking spot that gets around 100 degrees. And the cooler side is around 75 to 80. She has a couple places where she can take cover, though she never really has. She us usually just basking. At night we cover the tank with a blanket so it will stay warmer it gets down to 60ish. Oh we also have a warming pad under the cooler side of the tank that turns on at night when it's cooler. She usually stays up on tree and sleeps. Did I cover everything?

 

[inspiritedmama]

I've heard heating pads under the tanks are no-nos because it can burn their bellies. From what I've read they sense temperatures top-down. From what I understand little beardies need it a bit warmer. 110f in the basking down to 85f in the cooler. (but you'll definitely want someone else to weight in as this is all from research, no experience yet)

Are you temps from a digital or analog thermometer? The analogs can be off by up to 20 degrees!

Are you using a UVB light?

 

[NewBeardieFamily]

Was wondering about the temp being high enough. I will look at that.. we do have a UVB bulb. I was wondering if we need to have a UVB bulb that goes the length of the tank? The one we have now is just a single light bulb. The heating pad is under the tank, under the glass. We made sure it wouldn't burn her. That does make sense about her not feeling the heat though.

 

[inspiritedmama]

I know the preference is not to use the bulb uvbs. My sister put her heating pad on the side of the tank for her snake, as opposed to user, to help raise the overall temp.

I'm sorry I'm not much help, but hopefully with the additional info some of the more knowledgeable people can give you some tips.

 

[NewBeardieFamily]

Thank you for your thoughts and help. I will look into a tube style UVB. Hope we can get some more help.

 

[Phoenix76]

So Sorry to hear of your problems so far. I Doubt that brumation would be the issue as I just recently read that most dragons will only try to bromate in their second year and after. That is the way my 2-year old female is acting now. My on-year male is very active. But my female still eats.

My dragons rarely drink from a dish often enough and sometimes don't even drink during soaking. I have taught them how to drink from a glass medicine dropper. You just place drops of water on their nose or forehead and they usually start licking the drops.

If you are certain that the basking temperatures are between 95f and 105f I think that is good. My breeder just keeps hers at 95. In the 60's at night is okay, atleast for adults. I only use a laser-type temperature gun for measuring basking temperature as that is the most accurate way.

 

[NewBeardieFamily]

We do have a laser to measure the temperature with. We added amother bulb a little bit ago to add some heat. We are watching the temp to make sure it doesn't get too hot. We mist the enclosure a few times a day, and also our beardie. We noticed she wasn't drinking much. When she was eating we added water to the greens to get more fluid in her. She doesn't seem to be gaining wait which is also a concern.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....can you post pics of the tank + the dragon [ a close up ] as well ? Here is the info on how to do so :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/
You've answered all the important questions already but what exact type + brand of uvb bulb do you have ?

 

[Cassieo8]

I heard it's actually not good to mist the enclosures. It can cause high humidity which can cause breathing problems. Instead of misting the tank, bathe her often and put her in her water dish every once in a while. Also misting her nose is good so she'll lick it off her nose herself.

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. You definitely want to get a reptisun 10.0 Tube. The uvb you are using does cause appetite, lethargy and eye problems. Also are you taking the temps on the basking spot? For hydration I use a syringe to give my beardies water. You definitely don't want to mist the tank as that can raise the humidity and give him a respiratory infection. More than likely if you get the correct lights and temps he'll improve.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

You are using a compact/coil type of UVB Light right now?
If so & it seems to be causing some problems, go ahead & turn the light off for now & just use the basking bulb until you can get a replacement UVB. The best ones are either the Reptisun 10 tube bulb or the Arcadia D3 12% tube bulb.
At 2 months old, brumation is out of the question, absolutely. He wont brumate until at least 6-8 months of age, maybe older.
For nighttime heating, you can use a ceramic heat emitter to keep the tank around 80 right now if he isn't feeling well.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[NewBeardieFamily]

Thank you so much for all the advice and tips. I don't know the exact name of the bulb we have for UVB. It is just a spotlight one, it came in a box with the basking bulb. We will get the tube kind. Also we have a hygrometer in the tank to watch the humidity, we wont mist the tank unless the humidity is too low. Will try and get pictures some time today and will let you know how she is doing. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great, that sounds good. Pictures would be nice when you can get to them.
Let us know how she is doing. I hope she is feeling better soon. Changing out the UVB light I think will help immensely, too.

Tracie