Lethargy in beardies?

[imcallumwbu]

Hi all,

I have a 8-9 month old female bearded dragon. She seems very tired all of the time. She still sits upright and looks when I open her vivarium, but her eyes always look lifeless and half open, and she goes to sleep throughout the day for naps. Does anyone know what this could be?

Her setup:

Vivarium - 4Foot glass front 1.5 foot in height 2 foot deep
Lighting - 70cm UVB 10.0 Arcadia strip bulb on 12 hours off 12 hours
Heating - Black dome w/ ceramic non light heat emmitter kept at 105 underneath, measured with thermomiter
Substrate - Used to have in bark substrate (removed untill I find out she is fine)
Diet - Crickets, occasional pinkies and wax worms, dusted foods every day with vitamin and d3 powders (seperate tubs that are mixed)

Please help she has been like this for almost a month now, thanks

 

[jacody]

Is she eating and pooping normally? Have you ever had a sample of her stool tested?? I know there are reputable sites that you can send a sample to w/ their kit they send to you. I'm not a vet so don't want to give you the wrong advice.. how old is your UVB?? Does she still bask @ all, do you give regular soaks?? Just a couple things to start w/..

 

[imcallumwbu]

Hi there and thanks for yiur reply.
She is eating fine sometimes and then some she inly eats two crickets and turns away from me, I was thinking about fecal tests but im only seventeen and lost my job so it might be a month or so before I can afford one done on her. Her uvb is five months old and came with the vivarium setup from the pet shop. My girlfriend usually bathes her three or four times a week, and there is no basking spot her tank is empty incase she has an infevtion its easier for daily cleaning, but she spends most of her time under the heat lamp... and as for her poo, she is my first beardie so im not sure, although my male that I git after her (hiused seperatley) his poos seem to be similar, lots of watery substance, orange thing with the black poop, and a horrendous smell, but my male seems active... not as active as he used to be, but more active than my girl.

 

[jacody]

One thing I picked up from your last post.... she needs a basking spot.. aim for 6" from the basking bulb.. is it a bright basking light or a heat light (red/blue/black which are not ok for day)?? Even if you have limited $$ if you live in a wooded area cut or find a heavy log/branch to fit in there securely so she has something to lay on and bask.. if you live in a city and don't have access to the woods than find something temporarily around your home.. you can make something out of sturdy cardboard maybe from a shoebox.. I know that sounds dumb, but if she has a spot to bask it may help her digest the food she eats and feel better all around.. hope this helps.. BTW the fecal tests you do @ home are right around $20- US currency..

 

[imcallumwbu]

I have just put a basking spot in now, and her ceramic bulb is a yellowish colour and turns orange when emitting heat, but my male does have a black ceramic bulb, whats wrong with it? & im going to send one off to beardeddragon.co, they test coccidia, pinworm and something else

 

[jacody]

is what you're talking about a ceramic heat emitter?? OK.. you need a basking bulb, you can start out getting a 100 watt regular light bulb if you can't spring for a "reptile basking bulb" and seeing if that itself will get you up to temp.. the ceramic heat emitter is just used for heat.. NOT LIGHT.. ditch that for the daytime and switch it to a bulb that is white.. I use a sylvania 100 watt "kitchen lite" when in a pinch.. that bulb and your UVB should be sufficient.. the ceramic heat emitter is used when the basking bulb isn't a high enough wattage to get you up to temp.. it's not meant for basking.. you should have a tight, localized "beam" of light where they're "lit up" and can bask under light not heat.. not sure if that's what you meant??

 

[jacody]

P.S. the black bulb is only used at night for when your home gets below 65 degrees... not sure where you're from, but in the winter months it may drop lower so that you must use some sort of heat source @ night.. the black bulb is not meant for a basking spot and is not bright enough for your pet..

 

[imcallumwbu]

So if I swap out my ceramics for light emitting ones it would be better fr my beardies? My reptile shop only gave me ceramics when I bought everything from them but now I think of it everyone on youtube has been using light emitting bulbs... hmm & im going to send off a fecal later this week when my beardies have poops

 

[jacody]

Yes, they need LIGHT and heat obviously, but they go hand-in-hand.. the bulb that creates your light will also create your heat..

 

[imcallumwbu]

So if I get a dimming heat emitting light and replace my ceramic with that it should be fine?

 

[jacody]

you should have 2 bulbs.. one should be a UVB and the other should be a bright white basking or plain old kitchen bulb.. see if that works..

 

[imcallumwbu]

Ive took her ceramic bulb out there and put in a plain old household bulb, it doesnt generate much heat even with the reflector, course I cant try it out properly until tomorrow because shes asleep at the minute..

 

[jacody]

What wattage is the household bulb?? It may take a 100 or even a 150 watt depending on your viv size and the temp in your home..

 

[imcallumwbu]

Its only a 60 watt at the moment but im going to run to tescos tomorrow and see if they have any higher wattages, I have a spare bulb fittinf but I have a reflector in so I wouldnt be able to set them close enough to create a basking spot, it would be spread out too much, ive just done a bit reading and people are saying that beardies can become lethargic if they dont have bright bulbs in :/

 

[jacody]

Yes, what you've read is true, try to get a 100 & a 150 to see which one gets your temps to where they should be..