New BD..not quite active..eyes closed

[Ldeltoro23]

Hello to everyone! My name is Lissette..I'm new here. I just purchased a baby beardie not even two weeks ago and he/she is acting a bit strange the last two days. Appetite has diminished and he/she just stays in the basking area most of the day with one or both eyes closed. Now I read a post about the eyes and honestly can't tell you what UVB lighting I have. I definitely don't have a zoo med 5.0 (my chameleon has that one). Would that be ok for spike? I noticed when I took (I'm just gonna say he for now) him out and bathed him, his eyes opened and was acting normal..so I think it def has something to do with the lighting. Any suggestions other than changing the uvb? And again is zoo med ok? Thanks!

Sand is being changed today to reptile carpet..lol

 

[ErinMeetsMachine]

If he perked up when in the bath tub, he was probably dehydrated. As a little reassurance, relocation stress can cause your little dragon to eat less. This can last up to 2 weeks.. it's stressful I know. When he gets on an eating schedule he'll probably blow you away with his appetite! The best florescent tube uvb you can get is the repti-sun 10.0. Make sure it's the reptisun not reptiglo, they don't give off enough uvb that doesn't allow for proper digestion. One thing I can see from the picture that you can change (other than the sand you said you were going to change - good idea ) is the temperature gauges. The stick on ones measures the temperatures in the are and can be up to 20 degrees off! I would suggest getting a digital thermometer with wire probe to measure your heat. At wal-mart they sell one with two gauges ($12) so you can measure the cool side as well as the basking spot. To measure temps, place the wire probe DIRECTLY ON THE MAIN BASKING SPOT and leave there fro 45 minutes to get an accurate reading. If you really want to go all out, you can get a temperature gun to measure the heat which will read the correct temperatures immediately. Since your baby is so young, your basking temps should be between 105 and 110 for proper digestion and whatnot. The cools side should be around 80.

If you answer these questions, it'd be easier to help figure out if there are any changes that will help your little one.

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?

Hope things go well!

 

[Tigg]

By the looks of the bulb you have there, I would suggest that it is eye irritation... Those "coil" style bulbs are well known for this, and have even been known to do long term and permanent damage to BD eye's. Not to mention they don't put out anywhere near the amount of UVB your little guy actually needs. If you are able to get out over the next day or so and get a new UVB light, I would recommend turning that one completely off until you do so.

A good light to look into right now for a hatchling enclosure would be a 24" reptisun 10.0, you will also need the fluorescent tub fixture to go along with this.

Your UVB light should be place on the top, with no glass or screen between the light and your beardie. (these can filter out over 50% of the UVB)

As for the active part, I also noticed that you had the stick on dial gauges, these can be inaccurate by up to 20* most of the time, and they only measure ambient air temperatures, when you also need a basking surface temperature. I would also recommend buying a digital thermometer with a wired probe, this will allow you to get both ambient, and surface temps (Accurately) and ensure your pet is being given the right temps... 100-110 basking surface temp, mid to upper 90's in the "hot end" with a gradual temp gradient to the cool end being in the mid 80's. not knowing the exact temps could very well be why your beardie is not very active!

On another note, And please don't think I am attacking you.... I also noticed that you were using coloured calcisand for your substrate... This stuff can be very dangerous to beardies, especially hatchlings like yours. I would urge you to read this article about all of the dangers being faced, and hope that you will make the right decision! http://www.herpcenter.com/reptile-diseases/calcium-sand-dangers.html

Looks like you also fell victim to "Pet Shop Advice" like 90% of us had when we were first getting involved in this hobby, you will be glad you found this site!

Welcome to the site, you (And your beardie) will be glad you signed up and found this world of useful information and tons of people willing to help you out!

 

[chancellor91]

yup, all great advise, get rid of the bulb you have now and get the reptisun 10.0 tube or a mercury vapor bulb those are good too

chancellor

 

[Tigg]

Most people don't have any luck using MVB bulbs in smaller enclosures... They heat up the tank too much, and it's very hard to get the right distance from the bulb being hung so far outside the tank.

I think they call for a minimum 40g enclosure before recommending a MVB, but they are, by far the best artificial UVB source available.

 

[ErinMeetsMachine]

Most people don't have any luck using MVB bulbs in smaller enclosures... They heat up the tank too much, and it's very hard to get the right distance from the bulb being hung so far outside the tank.

I think they call for a minimum 40g enclosure before recommending a MVB, but they are, by far the best artificial UVB source available.

Very true! You can get a good gradient heat with mvb in a small enclosure. For now I would stick with the reptisun 10.0

 

[LeopardsLizards]

Hey,

Their poop can also be a great indication, all the other members are spot on with their suggestions on lighting/substrate. Sometimes the stress of relocation can occasionally trigger higher levels of certain parasites or oranisms in the gutlining.

Even the worlds healthiest dragon has nothing to loose from a fecal check (pop a voo into a reputable local reptile vet) i shouldn't cost to much at all and can be great at discovering any possible problems in that area at an early stage.

Pro-biotics can also be helpful in encouraging the good bacteria in our little beardie friends while they'regetting used to their new homes. Just an idea from a different angle !
All the very best im sure you and your beardie will have many happy years ahead.

 

[ErinMeetsMachine]

Pro-biotics can also be helpful in encouraging the good bacteria in our little beardie friends while they'regetting used to their new homes. Just an idea from a different angle !
All the very best im sure you and your beardie will have many happy years ahead.

FYI, reptiles don't usually react well at all to dairy product. So when/if you use a probiotic make sure it's a soy product. Such as soy yogurt. Can be found at a local health food store.

 

[Ldeltoro23]

I really appreciate all the feedback. As far as not having the screen under the uvb lighting...how do you guys (who have a seperate basking lamp) accomplish this?

 

[Tigg]

If you have one of those tanks with the sliding screen lid, you can just leave the screen top open about 3-4" and rest the light fixture above the opening (in this case try to get a fixture to fit the same length of your cage. this way there is no openings left uncovered)

Or some people opt to cut out the screen, they cut as much as possible away, but leave just enough that the light fixture will still be supported.

 

[ErinMeetsMachine]

there are also some who use long l-brackets to suspend it in the tank. I personally couldn't keep mine open because of other pets, that's why I used that method. i believe the one who told me about he l-bracket method was diamc. You can PM her, she'd love to help.

 

[Ldeltoro23]

OK well I only have Pet Smart and Petco in my area and neither had the reptisun 10.0 fixture with the bulb. Any websites you guys can recommend that are reasonable?

And before I forget...theres nothing wrong with my basking bulb, right? That one is just the heat lamp..no uvb. (I think some come with both) I'm good, right?

Thanks again...

 

[Tigg]

What city do you live in? I will try to find a pet store local to you that carries the bulb...

Your basking bulb is fine, it just puts out UVA light and heat.. Any houshold bulb or flood light will do the trick... It's just a matter of finding the right wattage for your size of tank to get the basking temps up to 100-110*

In your case the UVB bulb will be seperate from your basking bulb, the lights that put out heat and UVB are called Mercury Vapour Bulbs (MVB's for short) and were mentioned by a couple of us above, You will have to wait until you upgrade your enclosure before you can use one of those since there is a minimum distance they need to be from the reptile, and they put out A LOT of heat which is hard to deal with in a small tank.

OH! one other thing, when you do find the reptisun 10.0, Remember that they need to be replaced every 6 months! Do not listen to the pet store employee, or what the box says when they try to tell you every 12 months. After 6 months of use the UVB output is significantly reduced, even though it still lights up!

 

[Ldeltoro23]

OK...I found the name of the UVB lamp I have. It's a SlimLine (ESU Reptile) Desert lamp with 7% UVB. Now...since this is for desert animals...what could be hurting his eyes? Or you guys think the brand just stinks and reptisun is the real deal?

 

[Tigg]

It's not really anything to do with the brand... It's the style of bulb. The coil lights that look like ome of those energy saving regular houshold light bulbs are very harsh on reptiles eyes. You want to be using a single long flourescent tube instead.

In case I have explained it right, I added some pics.

BAD = http://www.naturecanada.ca/media/images/CF%20light%20bulb.jpg
GOOD = http://lightingpro.com.au/catalog/images/18w_t8_fluorescent_tube.jpg