EllenD":3n2s8x2w said:He's a nice, big boy, and looks very healthy...but you are using a Reptisun 10.0 Compact UVB bulb? Have you used that for his entire life? I'm asking because typically the 13 watt compact 10.0 UVB bulbs are far too weak for a Dragon to begin with, especially if you have them sitting on top of a mesh lid that is blocking about 40% of the UVB light, which is far too weak to begin with. You'd have to have that bulb unobstructed and within about 4" of him to get him adequate UVB light from that compact UVB bulb. Usually dragons start showing the common signs of a calcium deficiency and MBD within 3-6 months of being under that bulb, and even sooner if it's being obstructed by a mesh lid. So I'm very surprised that he is as large and healthy looking if he's been under that bulb all his life, typically they are small and stunted, and the first signs are a loss of appetite and lethargy...
EllenD":2m5wpte3 said:Okay, this must be a new Reptisun 10.0 bulb because this is the second time I'm heard someone mention it in 2 days, and prior to that I'd never heard anything about it at all...The regular compact (not coiled) Reptisun 10.0 bulb is only a 13 watt bulb, it's not a self-balasted bulb, it's just a regular compact 10.0 UVB bulb and is a very common one for people to buy, and it's only 13 watts and totally inadequate for Dragons and does often cause MBD unfortunately. But all of a sudden people are talking about this 26 watt compact Reptisun 10.0 UVB bulb, and honestly I've never heard anyone mention it in a post in the last 2 years until yesterday and now today. So either it's a fairly new UVb bulb, or just no one buys them, I don't know which it is.
At 26 watts it is competition for the Exo Terra 200 compact UVB bulb, which is also 26 watts, and is fine for dragons, so I'm going to assume that this one from Reptisun is similar, even though I've not read a thing about it or seen any solarmeter readings. But as I said he's a big, healthy looking boy, so it must be a decent UVB bulb. I'm going to have to do some research tonight on it, as apparently people are now starting to buy it.
If this loss of appetite and lethargy just recently appeared, it could just be a winter "slow-down", as there has been a ton of that this year with adult dragons, my own adult female included. She's eating her green/veggies just fine, but she suddenly is refusing all live bugs and is just lazing around. A week isn't really a long time to not have a bowel movement for an adult, I don't usually get excited until at least 10 days goes by. The only thing that's alarming obviously is the "limping". Everything else sounds on-par with the way the winter seems to be effecting them.
Is he limping on one particular leg? Is there any possibility that he fell off of something or hurt himself somehow? Do you see any swollen extremities?
AHBD":29jevhv5 said:Hi Vaulk, she is a beautiful dragon. Definitely has some mobility issues, hopefully can be nipped in the bud. First question, is the bulb in the middle a mercury vapor Powersun ? Powersuns are made by Zoomed + are self ballasted unlike the compact. If you just replaced it then maybe the old one had not been putting out any uvb anymore.
If you live in a warm climate get her out in the sun as much as you can. And the Reptisun 10.0 long tube or Arcadia D3 bulbs can be added to what you already have to give her more uvb. That, along with good calcium and vitamin supplementation should help her. Some people get liquid calcium in case it works more quickly. Best wishes to your baby !
AHBD":k8j4ryvw said:The extra tube can just go along the top, and you can dust her bugs once a day. You can use the calcium with D3 for about a week along with the new bulbs but then switch to cal without D3 after that.
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