Muscle spasms! So worried!!!

[laineyhowe]

You want a basking bulb like the one you have and the UVB that you ordered - that is all the lighting you need --- if your tank is ever not staying warm enough at night like if it drops below 65 then you want a ceramic heat emitter or CHE- that would sit in a dome on top of the tank center it emits heat NO light --

Ok. Thank you. Yeah I bought the same basking light as the one I had but at 100W. Here is the temp now. Should I go get a 150W? Or does that look ok? That’s usually where he basks all the time which his why I put his thermometer at that level. His light just went off so I’ll keep an eye on the temps at night to see how far it drops. It’s 71 in our house now. We don’t keep it below 65 in here but I’ll keep a lookout.

 

[KarrieRee]

Ok. Thank you. Yeah I bought the same basking light as the one I had but at 100W. Here is the temp now. Should I go get a 150W? Or does that look ok? That’s usually where he basks all the time which his why I put his thermometer at that level. His light just went off so I’ll keep an eye on the temps at night to see how far it drops. It’s 71 in our house now. We don’t keep it below 65 in here but I’ll keep a lookout.

Is there a probe on the digital probe thermometer-? Also the green hammocks are notorious for causing sprains hurt nails they get caught - I would change it out for a cloth or fleece- check etsy.com or pampered beardies.com

 

[laineyhowe]

Is there a probe on the digital probe thermometer-? Also the green hammocks are notorious for causing sprains hurt nails they get caught - I would change it out for a cloth or fleece- check etsy.com or pampered beardies.com

No it’s just one that sticks to the side. Is there one you can recommend?

Oh shoot really? I’m doing everything wrong. I’ll order him one right now. He absolutely loves hammocks. Thanks for the links.

 

[KarrieRee]

No it’s just one that sticks to the side. Is there one you can recommend?

Oh shoot really? I’m doing everything wrong. I’ll order him one right now. He absolutely loves hammocks. Thanks for the links.

Zoo Med digital probe -- found at Pet Smart or Petco --

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He looks really good in that picture. I'm glad you got an Arcadia ordered, that should do really well for him.
The screen top can be the wider mesh type if you want to place it on top, so the UVB isn't blocked from
going through it too much.
You can keep the stick on thermometer, but go ahead & get a digital probe also so you can be sure to get
accurate readings of the basking area, etc. The stick on can be helpful for the overall ambient temperature
or air temperature as well as humidity levels, to some degree.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[auratkachakkar]

Karrie is right, that is a 150 coil by Exo terra pictured, not a Mercury vapor bulb. The exo terra MVB is a 160 and is a big thick bulb. Lainey, can you show your heat bulb ?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How are things going, have you gotten the new light in yet? Please keep us posted on how
things are progressing. We all hope for a full recovery for him!

Tracie

 

[laineyhowe]

Hello,

How are things going, have you gotten the new light in yet? Please keep us posted on how
things are progressing. We all hope for a full recovery for him!

Tracie

Hi all!!! The new Arcadia bulb kit just arrived today!!!! I was so anxious waiting for it!

He has a higher watt basking bulb in and his temps have been reading around 94/97. I’ll buy a probe thermometer this weekend.

His cloth hammocks have been ordered and they’ll be here this weekend.

Does anyone know how long I should give this to see improvements in the twitching?

Here’s how it looks right now with the new bulb. Is this ok?

I’ve been giving him calcium every couple of days but he’s slowed down right now with brumating but he really enjoys the new basking bulb.

Thank you for everyone’s input and help. I thought I was doing well. But apparently not. I hope I didn’t hurt my sweet boy.

 

[KarrieRee]

Hi all!!! The new Arcadia bulb kit just arrived today!!!! I was so anxious waiting for it!

He has a higher watt basking bulb in and his temps have been reading around 94/97. I’ll buy a probe thermometer this weekend.

His cloth hammocks have been ordered and they’ll be here this weekend.

Does anyone know how long I should give this to see improvements in the twitching?

Here’s how it looks right now with the new bulb. Is this ok?

I’ve been giving him calcium every couple of days but he’s slowed down right now with brumating but he really enjoys the new basking bulb.

Thank you for everyone’s input and help. I thought I was doing well. But apparently not. I hope I didn’t hurt my sweet boy.

Ok you want him to be able to sit directly under that UVB 8-10 inches --- watch his behavior and the twitching hopefully this is going to take care of this issue -

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That looks great, overall. As Karrie suggested, maybe try to get his tube bulb over him a little more.
It sounds like he is enjoying it though! Hopefully this will fix the issues for him. The tank looks nice
& bright for him. It is hard when they decide to slow down & try to brumate. Keep encouraging him
to bask daily if even for half a day or so. You purchased the T8 or the T5 high output tube bulb?
Depending on how low his levels may be, & how often he sits under his UVB will dictate how quickly
his twitching will go away. They all seem to respond in slightly different ways.
We are all pulling for a full recovery for him!

Tracie

 

[laineyhowe]

Ok you want him to be able to sit directly under that UVB 8-10 inches --- watch his behavior and the twitching hopefully this is going to take care of this issue -

Great thank you so much! I just measured and he’s about 8 inches from the light.

Hello,

That looks great, overall. As Karrie suggested, maybe try to get his tube bulb over him a little more.
It sounds like he is enjoying it though! Hopefully this will fix the issues for him. The tank looks nice
& bright for him. It is hard when they decide to slow down & try to brumate. Keep encouraging him
to bask daily if even for half a day or so. You purchased the T8 or the T5 high output tube bulb?
Depending on how low his levels may be, & how often he sits under his UVB will dictate how quickly
his twitching will go away. They all seem to respond in slightly different ways.
We are all pulling for a full recovery for him!

Tracie

thank you! So he basks pretty much all day right now. He loves his hammock so much he doesn’t go under his rock much at all. I have the bulb right next to the heat dome and have both as much directly over him as possible. Per Karrie’s suggestion it’s the T5 bulb. Right now he just is sleeping in his hammock all day. Like I mentioned before even when he’s not trying to brúmate he only goes to the cool side to poop. So thankfully getting him all day exposure to the bulb will not be an issue

So the more I think about it I think that this all timed when I got rid of his long bulb when it broke. He’s 4.5 and never done this. I can’t remember why I switched to the dome and coil bulb…so it’s been a gradual change. It’s hard to piece together the time frame. I thought I was doing the right thing. I suppose my lesson here is education. I had no idea I was doing something wrong. I feel confident I probably looked it up but there’s lots of wrong info out there. Anyway I’ll never switch back and now I know thanks to you all. I hope this takes care of it quickly and he’s back to himself in no time.

I’ll update you all soon!!

Elaine

 

[Drache613]

Hello Elaine,

That sounds good, since it is on top of the screen top.
Unfortunately, there is so much bad information out there that you have no idea sometimes what is
up to par or not. Hopefully he will be on the mend with the stronger UVB lighting!
Let us know how he is doing!

Tracie

 

[laineyhowe]

Yeah there really is a lot of bad info. The stores don’t help either.

His new hammock came in. Bigger than I expected so I had to do some modifications but he’s enjoying it! Giving me the judgmental eye this morning for not doing this sooner! Haha!

I’ll update again soon!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That sounds good, he is looking very happy there! It is better for the hammock to be bigger than
smaller so he has plenty of lounging room. I hope that he has a great weekend!

Tracie

 

[laineyhowe]

Hi All -

Just wanted to give an update. Spike is better but he does still twitch. He went back to the vet for a follow up in January, he didn’t twitch for her and she said he was in good health with no parasites. She recommended just to monitor his twitching and adjust his calcium if he starts again. He has a pro T5 bulb that he basks often under, he has a ramp directly underneath that puts him in close range. He eats well-dubias, rephashy, greens every day with good color and mood. He gets calcium every day with D3 twice a week per vet recommendation.

My thing is he still twitches. Not all the time. I’ve noticed it’s when he’s “excited” like when I take him out of his enclosure. When he’s resting calmly he won’t which is an improvement. When he does twitch it stops when he calms back down. Could this be just him? I’ve read other places that other people have experienced their beardies twitch when stimulated. Idk if that’s true or not. I’m just still worried. I’ve done everything everyone has recommended here plus what the vet recommended. She didn’t want to do any other bloodwork bc he looked good and didn’t ask for any kind of follow-up appointment. He’ll be 5 next week and I just wanted to touch base and see what else I can do.

Thanks.