Lethargic

[Squashiez]

he is about 3-4 years old and he isnt moving out of under his basking spot all day from 8:20am (before i leave for school) and is still in the same place but facing a diff way when i get back at 4pm. hes my first ever beardie and he also has very droopy eyes. any suggestions or ideas before i take him to a vet?

 

[KarrieRee]

he is about 3-4 years old and he isnt moving out of under his basking spot all day from 8:20am (before i leave for school) and is still in the same place but facing a diff way when i get back at 4pm. hes my first ever beardie and he also has very droopy eyes. any suggestions or ideas before i take him to a vet?

Please tell me what the surface basking temps are and how your taking them? No analogs they are inaccurate - uvb coil or long tube fixture? What size tank?

 

[Squashiez]

Please tell me what the surface basking temps are and how your taking them? No analogs they are inaccurate - uvb coil or long tube fixture? What size tank?

about 39 degrees Celsius taken by thermometer and thermostat. uvb coil i think and a 90cmX45cmX45cm

 

[Chris.]

The temperature seems a little high for an adult, they usually like it closer to 36-37 isch.

The coil UVB is really bad, you want that switched out for a long tube ASAP! @KarrieRee knows the best ones I believe.

Also the tank is waaay to small. You want a 120x60x60 cm at the bare minimum. If your dragon is an average size you would be breaking the law with an enclosure this small.

 

[KarrieRee]

about 39 degrees Celsius taken by thermometer and thermostat. uvb coil i think and a 90cmX45cmX45cm

Your thermometer is a digital ? Please get rid of the coil as soon as possible -- if your in the UK I will post a website to order from - Arcadia Pro T5 UVB Kit - Desert 12% or if you can find this fixture and bulb where you live -- it looks like your using a 45 gallon tank - I would upgrade to a 4x2x2 as mentioned earlier- there are other fixtures and bulbs if you need links to them but I am not sure if you can get them in the UK - -- this bulb will also work in the Pro T 5 fixture Zoo Med ReptiSun T5 HO 10.0 UVB 24w-39w
I see they arent carrying Zoo Med fixtures - look on this website for the digital probe thermometers if you need them - I would also get a digital probe hygrometer- single not a combo one w/ the thermometer - the probe would need to go on the back center wall of the tank -

 

[J4ckdaw-]

he is about 3-4 years old and he isnt moving out of under his basking spot all day from 8:20am (before i leave for school) and is still in the same place but facing a diff way when i get back at 4pm. hes my first ever beardie and he also has very droopy eyes. any suggestions or ideas before i take him to a vet?

Hi there

Can you post a picture? Droopy eyes can be a sign of dehydrated but also genetics. How is he getting his water? Your temps are fine, but what is the humidity. Shouldn’t be below 25%, but honestly I’d suggest around 30%.

Also, unfortunately, coil bulbs need to be replaced immediately. They are wildly inefficient and don’t provide near enough UV for a reptile, what you need is either an Arcadia or Reptisun tube lamp.

Also, be aware that when getting a bulb, it is a T5 (if you get Arcadia) or 10.0 (if you get Reptisun). 12% if placed inside and 14% if placed on the mesh. Other inferior brands such as Zilla or Thrive aren’t recommended.

A little known fact is that calcium with D3 is not recommended, especially if you have correct UVB. Beardies have a hard time digesting the supplements in such large amounts, and can easily overdose on it.

What’s his diet? At 3-4 years he should generally be eating insects 2-3x a week, in smaller quantities. Good staples are crickets, roaches, silkworms, superworms, mealworms, and Phoenix worms/BSFL.

Salad should be offered daily. Good staple greens are collards, mustard greens, turnip greens, cauliflower greens (not the heads), dandelions, kale, endive, escarole, alfalfa, etc… don’t use calcium binders.

Do you give pellet foods? If you do, please get rid of them asap. They can be harmful, and over all are just yuck. Please no pellets. I second what KarrieRee said about digital probes, don’t use temp guns or stick-ons.

 

[Squashiez]

The temperature seems a little high for an adult, they usually like it closer to 36-37 isch.

The coil UVB is really bad, you want that switched out for a long tube ASAP! @KarrieRee knows the best ones I believe.

Also the tank is waaay to small. You want a 120x60x60 cm at the bare minimum. If your dragon is an average size you would be breaking the law with an enclosure this small.

I’ll change his thermostat and I used to have a larger one but got a smaller one because I didn’t have enough room in my old bedroom but I’ll be able to get a larger one soon as I’m moving bedrooms and I’ll make sure to change the coil for a tube

 

[Squashiez]

Your thermometer is a digital ? Please get rid of the coil as soon as possible -- if your in the UK I will post a website to order from - Arcadia Pro T5 UVB Kit - Desert 12% or if you can find this fixture and bulb where you live -- it looks like your using a 45 gallon tank - I would upgrade to a 4x2x2 as mentioned earlier- there are other fixtures and bulbs if you need links to them but I am not sure if you can get them in the UK - -- this bulb will also work in the Pro T 5 fixture Zoo Med ReptiSun T5 HO 10.0 UVB 24w-39w
I see they arent carrying Zoo Med fixtures - look on this website for the digital probe thermometers if you need them - I would also get a digital probe hygrometer- single not a combo one w/ the thermometer - the probe would need to go on the back center wall of the tank -

Yeah it has a probe on it

Your thermometer is a digital ? Please get rid of the coil as soon as possible -- if your in the UK I will post a website to order from - Arcadia Pro T5 UVB Kit - Desert 12% or if you can find this fixture and bulb where you live -- it looks like your using a 45 gallon tank - I would upgrade to a 4x2x2 as mentioned earlier- there are other fixtures and bulbs if you need links to them but I am not sure if you can get them in the UK - -- this bulb will also work in the Pro T 5 fixture Zoo Med ReptiSun T5 HO 10.0 UVB 24w-39w
I see they arent carrying Zoo Med fixtures - look on this website for the digital probe thermometers if you need them - I would also get a digital probe hygrometer- single not a combo one w/ the thermometer - the probe would need to go on the back center wall of the tank -

yeah the thermometer has a probe and yeah I’ll change it for a tube and get a bigger cage I just downgraded a couple years ago because of space

 

[KarrieRee]

I’ll change his thermostat and I used to have a larger one but got a smaller one because I didn’t have enough room in my old bedroom but I’ll be able to get a larger one soon as I’m moving bedrooms and I’ll make sure to change the coil for a tube

Please get one of the ones I posted above please as soon as possible

 

[Squashiez]

Hi there

Can you post a picture? Droopy eyes can be a sign of dehydrated but also genetics. How is he getting his water? Your temps are fine, but what is the humidity. Shouldn’t be below 25%, but honestly I’d suggest around 30%.

Also, unfortunately, coil bulbs need to be replaced immediately. They are wildly inefficient and don’t provide near enough UV for a reptile, what you need is either an Arcadia or Reptisun tube lamp.

Also, be aware that when getting a bulb, it is a T5 (if you get Arcadia) or 10.0 (if you get Reptisun). 12% if placed inside and 14% if placed on the mesh. Other inferior brands such as Zilla or Thrive aren’t recommended.

A little known fact is that calcium with D3 is not recommended, especially if you have correct UVB. Beardies have a hard time digesting the supplements in such large amounts, and can easily overdose on it.

What’s his diet? At 3-4 years he should generally be eating insects 2-3x a week, in smaller quantities. Good staples are crickets, roaches, silkworms, superworms, mealworms, and Phoenix worms/BSFL.

Salad should be offered daily. Good staple greens are collards, mustard greens, turnip greens, cauliflower greens (not the heads), dandelions, kale, endive, escarole, alfalfa, etc… don’t use calcium binders.

Do you give pellet foods? If you do, please get rid of them asap. They can be harmful, and over all are just yuck. Please no pellets. I second what KarrieRee said about digital probes, don’t use temp guns or stick-ons.

He usually drinks his water when he has baths as he doesn’t tend to bother with his water bowl and I’ll make sure to get a tube bulb KarrieRee suggests. He eats dubia roaches, superworms and on occasion waxworms. And no he doesn’t eat pellets also eats mainly collard greens

 

[Chris.]

Most do not drink from a bowl and a lot of people don't even put one in.
Sounds good, keep us posted about your boys progress, I'm sure he will be up and running in no time

 

[Squashiez]

Most do not drink from a bowl and a lot of people don't even put one in.
Sounds good, keep us posted about your boys progress, I'm sure he will be up and running in no time

thank you. i tried giving him water with a syringe a couple hours ago and he took it well so i might do that for a few nights then see if he will drink out the bath again because hes stopped but ill keep u all updated

 

[KarrieRee]

thank you. i tried giving him water with a syringe a couple hours ago and he took it well so i might do that for a few nights then see if he will drink out the bath again because hes stopped but ill keep u all updated

Please no baths - keep w/ the syringe - go slow so he doesn't aspirate- bathing is going to stress- him out

 

[Squashiez]

Please no baths - keep w/ the syringe - go slow so he doesn't aspirate- bathing is going to stress- him out

ah ok thanks

 

[Squashiez]

He seems to be more active today but he's not ate in the last 2-3 days.