My last hope

[SuperNinjaMonkey]

I have post numerous times with problems I have had with my beardie...She is female about 21-22in long and is 520g. I took her to the vt , they said there was nothing wrong with her, other than the fact her belly was very soft. They checked her mouth and said there was some stuff in the back but it was normal...and felt her belly and couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary (besides it being soft)
She blamed it on Husbandry but, my beardie is the most spoiled thing on earth and I know for sure everything is right. here is my setup.

4x2x2 custom build crossfire tank...wood finish/stained (outside only)

Substrate - No substrate...plain floor that has been painted with no acrylic paint (no toxins) then sanded in random spots for a desert like effect It has 3 vents, 2 12x6in vents on the side and one 18x3in vent on the back wall. It has 2 levels with a ramp leading up to the 2nd floor for a nice top view. 3 fake plants in the cage, 1 big hiding hut/basking spot, 3 white sea stones, 2 branches one that stands tall and another that lays flat. 1 shallow water dish which she never drinks and a veggie bowl with 2 temperature gauges on each end ( 1 probe on the hot end)

Temps/UVB - Brand new Reptisun 10.0 24in long centered about 18 inch away. Hot end currently reading 91-93F with the basking spot at around 105-108F cool end at 80-83F Basking balb is a 120W Heat lamp I believe is made for plants (no coils or nothing)

Here is the issues

1. Lethargic: Does not move around the cage much...has been spending most of the day inside her hiding hut closing and opening her eyes.
2. Eating habits: she has been eating she enjoys super worms and never turns them down. I have been feeding 7-10 medium size Supers and 10-15 small-medium roaches (Discoids) she hasn't touched her veggies in days.
3. Bowl movements- She has been going roughly 3x in the past 2 weeks or so.
4. Squeaking- mainly happens when i pick her up or playing with her while giving her a bath
5. Big belly- she looks bloated..the sides of her feel hard (i don't know if this is normal like her ribs or something)
6. Occasional black spot on her nose...it doesn't look like mucus, it usually happens on the days she trying to get out of the cage and glass dancing she rubs her nose hard on the Plexiglas

What I have tried

1. Daily baths- 20-30min baths with a teaspoon or so of sugar in the water
2. Olive oil

Her color is gorgeous she looks as happy most of the time, specially right after bath
Someone said its possible she is a early brumating dragon being she grew so fast

This has been going on for the last 3 weeks or so, and I am out of ideas...the next step the vet said was an x-ray...but i dont know if i trust this vet anymore.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Could you please post a picture of your tank setup for me?
The Reptisun 10 tube bulb is too far away for her to be getting much UVB. Can you move the tube bulb closer to her to be at 6-8 inches in distance? Is there any screen that is between the tube bulb & your dragon?
What type of thermometer are you using, a round stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun? The basking temperatures are going to need to be 95-110 in range, with a cooler end of around 78-82 roughly.
How often do you give calcium supplementation to her?
How old is she currently? Did they do a blood test on her yet?


Tracie

 

[SuperNinjaMonkey]

 

[SuperNinjaMonkey]

Calcium Zoo Med repti calcium done 4x per week

Vitamins- Reptolife plus done 2x per week

No blood tests

(cage has been rearranged due to increase size...her hut is now under the basking light instead of the branch, i also removed a few of the fake plants)

 

[AHBD]

She is almost CERTAINLY going in to brumation. Nothing to worry about. This is the time of year when adults and sub-adults get sleepy and it's totally natural. Is your vet a qualified reptile vet? Because if not, they can get you to try something like force feeding when the dragon's body is telling it to go to sleep. Be sure that the cool side of the cage is below 70 degrees, more like 65, and only bath her if she seems like she's staying awake....like hiding with her eyes open, and then only 1-2 times a week in very shallow lukewarm water, no SUGAR necessary, not good for dragons. The temp. is supposed to be cool for them to brumate...mine are sleeping for 2 months already, at about 63 degrees. Nothing to worry about for that big girl !! By the way....nice cage ! She's in a palace, good job !

 

[SuperNinjaMonkey]

Thanks for the reply and the complement , the cage looks even better after i adjusted it and got rid of some of the plants.

As for the vet...tbh Id disregard taking her there....I have been hearing bad things about this vet after i took her. (like them saying a dog was not pregnant and few days later a liter popped out) They told me the next step was xray for 94$ but if i do anything Iam gonna get a rid a few hours to a recommended vet by my pet shop lady (thats what we all call her)

My only concern really is the lack of bowl movements...when they go into brumation does their bowl movements slow down too? Is there any test I can do to assure this is what is going on?

I will try to move the reptisun down a few inchs, i use to have a mvb that was 7months old so i switch it out for this a few weeks ago and i have been going off of the distance of an mvb so it needs to be 6-12in for the reptisun?

 

[AHBD]

Oh, I re-read your set-up, if the UVB bulb [ repti-sun] is 18 inches away, that's too far, as Tracie mentioned, for it to be effective. It must be about 8" away....she could POSSIBLY have a calcium deficiency brewing, only bloodwork could tell you for sure....but she is still most likely just trying to brumate.

 

[AHBD]

When they FULLY brumate, they don't wake up for 2-4 months to do anything, eat, drink, poop. With a partial brumation, they may wander in and out of sleep on their own, sometimes eating a few bites or having a drink, then going back to being inactive.

 

[SuperNinjaMonkey]

the more i think about it the more it seems like iam just bothering her when i try to get her to do stuff. if she is indeed brumating do i cut off all lights? what is the procedure

 

[AHBD]

You would just keep the light on for about 8 hours instead of 12-13, your enclosure is large enough[ i think] that if you keep her hide on the cool side and let her stay in there, as long as it's no more than 70, she should go to sleep on her own. You actually can turn all lights off, but understandably this makes some owners nervous. Since this would be her first time, try it for 6 -8 weeks and just check occassionally to see if she comes out on her own. If she does, you can turn the light on [ that is if you had turned them off] and see if she wants to eat, or give her a drink. She may then decide to stay awake, or she may go back to sleep. She will choose. After 2 months, try and bring the light cycle back up to normal 12 hours and warmer temps. in cage [ cool side back up to 80F] Many dragons will sleep 3-4 months, that's what mine usually do. The real exception is if a dragon is ill, underweight, or very young, they should be kept from brumating until weight gain or when they are recovered from any illness for a good amount of time.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

She could be brumating yes.
How far has the light been from her in the past? I just want to make sure that she isn't starting to show symptoms of calcium deficiency while going into a brumation phase.
Overall she looks good. Her weight is good. Has it been stable lately, without much if any fluctuation? Does she have problems going to the bathroom?
The Reptisun 10 is best used at 6-10 inches really. What MVB did she have previously?
It is up to you as to whether you feel if you need to get her to a vet for a blood test just to see what her levels are. If you feel that she is not showing any illness or calcium problems, then it is most likely just seasonal slow down. However, most dragons are already in their brumations & already starting to show signs of coming out of this phase pretty soon since the days are going to start lengthening out.

Keep us posted on things & how she is doing.
Tracie

 

[RowenJade]

Reading this post really confuses me...I am sorry to hear that you are worrying about your beardie believe me I know where you're coming from.

Doesn't it have to be at least 8" Away if the Repti-Sun 10 has a screen under it? My lights in the tank were building will be about that far away from my new beardie but it's hardwired inside the tank and is unobscured.

I talked to Tom from TND dragons about my setup before I buy a new pooper cuz I just wanted to make sure the new cage is up to par, and he said it sounded good. Should I raise the basking spot even more?? It's a huge piece of driftwood so I'm sure I could figure a way but I thought less than 20 inches away when not screened out would be okay. :?: :?:

 

[SuperNinjaMonkey]

Hello,

She could be brumating yes.
How far has the light been from her in the past? I just want to make sure that she isn't starting to show symptoms of calcium deficiency while going into a brumation phase.
Overall she looks good. Her weight is good. Has it been stable lately, without much if any fluctuation? Does she have problems going to the bathroom?
The Reptisun 10 is best used at 6-10 inches really. What MVB did she have previously?
It is up to you as to whether you feel if you need to get her to a vet for a blood test just to see what her levels are. If you feel that she is not showing any illness or calcium problems, then it is most likely just seasonal slow down. However, most dragons are already in their brumations & already starting to show signs of coming out of this phase pretty soon since the days are going to start lengthening out.

Keep us posted on things & how she is doing.
Tracie

I had a MVB bulb before (solar glo) that was 18in from her but after hearing the changes made to the bulb i decided to get the reptisun 10.0 which she had for about 2weeks now.

She has been acting like this since the change of season, i have been pulling her out of her hid to try to get her to eat and give baths...2 weeks ago she was barely eating...her eating has now been on and off..some days she eats normal, others maybe a worm or 2 and thats it.

Another problem i should mention is she hasn't shed in quite some time (2months almost I'd say) but she seemed to have grown
She is also Eye bulging more frequently which i thought maybe she was getting ready to shed, but it hasn't happened yet

She refused her worm this mourning and is in her hide closing her eyes, she opens them if i make a noises

 

[AHBD]

The larger a beardie gets, approaching full size, the less frequently it will shed. She's probably fine....just wants to sleep.