Mouth injury or infection?

[kiv]

Hello there,
we have recently adopted a bearded dragon, not knowing how old or what life he had before.
So far so good, we had a nice lamp (100 watt uva/uvb warming) and a normal bulb in his terrarium, but the 100 watt has been broken, and we haven‘t found a same one, but a 125watt. Since we changed his lamp, he became rather dark and not sunbathing so much. The light is definitely whiter, and probably stronger as well. Should we search for a 100 watt instead? He is also changing his skin, so it’s hard to tell if he has problems because of the lamp or because of the skin…

the other thing. he has a red spot in his mouth. He eats still very well, drinks enough I think, so he might have injured it while eating a worm… or do you think it could be an infection?
here are some pictures Of the mouth..
a vet appointment is coming soon as well, but I wanted to ask already…

Thanks in advance,
Vik

 

[Lobretto]

The uv basking combo bulbs are not adequate for beardies. They need a t5 high output straight tube uv light. Those combo bulbs don't put out enough uv for beardies. What are his temps, cool side, warm side, basking? The chances changing from a 100 to 125 watt bulb causing any issues is slim to none. All that means is you'll get more heat from the bulb.

 

[KarrieRee]

Hello there,
we have recently adopted a bearded dragon, not knowing how old or what life he had before.
So far so good, we had a nice lamp (100 watt uva/uvb warming) and a normal bulb in his terrarium, but the 100 watt has been broken, and we haven‘t found a same one, but a 125watt. Since we changed his lamp, he became rather dark and not sunbathing so much. The light is definitely whiter, and probably stronger as well. Should we search for a 100 watt instead? He is also changing his skin, so it’s hard to tell if he has problems because of the lamp or because of the skin…

the other thing. he has a red spot in his mouth. He eats still very well, drinks enough I think, so he might have injured it while eating a worm… or do you think it could be an infection?
here are some pictures Of the mouth..
a vet appointment is coming soon as well, but I wanted to ask already…

Thanks in advance,
Vik

You want a surface basking temp -- are you using a digital probe thermometer to get that temp - basking bulbs are trial and error - you will increase heat and you want temps 95-100 I am guessing - he looks young -- please get a surface basking temp you dont want to burn him up- good bulbs for basking are Flukers Exo Terra Intense Repti basking or Arcadia--- I would try and find the Flukers if you can - I am going to have AHBD take a look at his mouth she can advice on that -- also CooperDragon
@CooperDragon
@AHBD

 

[kiv]

Hi Lobretto, basking spot is around 37-40 Celsius, warm side is 30-32 celsius, and cold side is around 26-28 Celsius. I reconsider the tube uv light, although these combo bulbs were bought after consulting a specialist.

 

[KarrieRee]

Hi Lobretto, basking spot is around 37-40 Celsius, warm side is 30-32 celsius, and cold side is around 26-28 Celsius. I reconsider the tube uv light, although these combo bulbs were bought after consulting a specialist.

If your using a coil UVB they are not recommended - they are inadequate and will cause all kinds of health issues --- the specialist has not done his homework or testing on the bulbs I am sorry to say --- please reconsider changing out the UVB to a Arcadia Pro T 5 w/ a 12% bulb or a Zoo Med 24" fixture w/ a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 they are some of the best on the market at this time --- your basking temps are good if your using a digital probe thermometer --- they are the most accurate

 

[Lobretto]

A specialist? Most people who work at petco say they are specialist. The issue with the combo bulbs is how close they have to be to get the desired uv output which is typically closer then you'd want as the basking part of the light is gonna make the basking spot to hot. Then you habe to consider exposure, the uv is only at the basking spot, you want 50 to 75% uv coverage in your enclosure which is not possible without a tube or multiple combo bulbs. It's best to stick with what works best for the reptile and in the case of beardies it's hands down a t5 uv and a quality basking light. There are videos online of people using solarmeters to test combo bulbs and they always have issues. The powersun and solarglo need to be far to close to get the desired amount of uv which means your basking spot is way to hot. With megarays it's the opposite, they put out too much uv at the distanced needed to create ideal basking temps. Combos suck because of this, you need them to be a specific distance from the basking spot for uv but that more often then not is not the same distance needed for optimal basking temps.

 

[CooperDragon]

Some of the mercury vapor/combination bulbs are good. Some are not. It really varies a lot between brands. It sounds like your surface temperatures are good, so it's a matter of UVB exposure which depends on the distance from the bulb to the basking surface. Generally speaking, a 100w and 125w bulb has optimal output at around 30cm or so. If you can achieve the proper surface temps with the bulb at that distance, then it should be OK. It's best to be able to measure the output with a Solarmeter, but those are expensive so going by these rough estimates based on average output of these bulbs should be close enough for now. The advantage of the T5 mentioned earlier is that you can set that at an appropriate distance, and then adjust the temperature independently.

As far as the mouth goes, it does look like there is a bit of swelling. It may not turn into a big problem, but it's worth watching closely. If you can get some MaxiGuard gel, you can apply it to the area which should help keep it clean and act as a bit of disinfectant. If it starts to swell more or look worse, I'd consult a vet to treat possible infection.

 

[kiv]

Thank you for the help!
The issue with bulbs will be solved as soon possible. I am going to check if the gel is available nearby.

 

[KarrieRee]

Thank you for the help!
The issue with bulbs will be solved as soon possible. I am going to check if the gel is available nearby.

Sounds good please post back on here w/ the UVB info and I will help you get it placed -- the screen will determine where the UVB goes

 

[AHBD]

Hi Kiv, that's a sweet looking beardie you got there, it's a good sign that he/she is eating well. Along with the maxi guard you can put a drop of raw honey on it but of course your beardie will swallow either product.
As for the mercury vapor uvb bulb you had, do you know the name of it ? Sorry if I missed that.

 

[kiv]

So here are the two bulbs, Hobby was the first and Magellan used to be very pretty almost yellow with it, and the ExoTerra was the second which caused the darkness… both were placed approximately 20-30 cm above the basking surface.

 

[AHBD]

So the Solarglo burned out or you still have it ? I've used those before and my dragons never got MBD but they also had outside time for real sun. The other bulb I've never seen.

 

[kiv]

The solarglo (exoterra) is what we have now, and with that Magellan became dark, and rejects sunbathing.

 

[AHBD]

Well it's hotter than the other bulb you had . You can go with another bulb of course, the t5 along with a different flood lamp for heat.

 

[kiv]

so thanks again For the quick answers we decided that the fastest possibility was to change back to the old type of bulb, which we did and he is happily sunbathing again… he instantly became yellow and energized again. For the near future we are planning to build a bigger terrarium (his is 150*60*60 cm right now) and we are going to change the lamp system for good.

the mouth problem is checked by a vet, and is under treatment.