New bearded dragon moving jerkily

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Beansbanana

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Hello, I got a bearded dragon 2 days ago. I have a repti sun t8 10 uvb bulb sitting on top of a zen habitat. There are two basking spots, one is 17 inches from the uvb and one is 13 inches. I realize now that that is probably too far away end it needs to be inside of the enclosure. I definitely am going to change that tomorrow and put it inside of the enclosure. But my question is the bearded dragon is now seems to be moving and kind of shaky jerky fashion and I can’t tell if that’s just him being nervous of me or if he already is having some affects from me not having the UVB light close enough to him for the last 2 days? Do you think he will be okay if I move the bulb closer in the morning?
 
Solution
So I had been talking to Karrie The other day about how he was having some watery poop. Today he had watery poop again and I got a picture that I have attached. I went ahead and ordered one of those fecal test at home kits that you send off. He has a really good appetite and does not seem to be feeling bad at all but what do you think?
He had eaten some squash collards asparagus and black soldier fly larva this morning. He really will eat a lot of salad and I have been watering the salad down some. Maybe I should stop doing that?

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hi there,

If he is suffering from lack of proper uv exposure, it wouldn't have happened in the two days you've had him. That being said, it's still important to get your lighting setup. If you are going to stick with the T8, you need to move it inside the tank so that the screen isn't reducing the uvb bulbs effectiveness. And more so, you need to get the bulb to be about 8 inches away from the basking site.

Or you can switch to the T5 HO bulb, which would afford you a bit greater of a distance. Either bulb will work, you just have to make them work.

-Brandon
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Do you have pictures of your tank setup so we can see how the UVB lights are set up for distance, etc you could post?
It does sound like he is having some trouble with his mobility. If you have pictures of your dragon also, we all love to see
them, too.
How often do you give calcium for him?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

Beansbanana

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Hello,

Do you have pictures of your tank setup so we can see how the UVB lights are set up for distance, etc you could post?
It does sound like he is having some trouble with his mobility. If you have pictures of your dragon also, we all love to see
them, too.
How often do you give calcium for him?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
Hi Tracie,
As soon as I got his UVB moved inside his enclosure he stopped moving around like that. I just got him last week, but I have been dusting the bugs (other than bsfl) with calcium when I feed him those. This has been a real learning experience, I did a lot of research but there is so much to learn. He is my first reptile. Now the thing I am wondering about is that yesterday, he basked a lot on the decor that is right under the uvb. Today, he has basked mostly on the other thing that is further from the uvb. Is that normal, or should I move things around. Do they know which light they need or am I doing something wrong? Thanks so much for your help!
 

Beansbanana

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Hello,

Do you have pictures of your tank setup so we can see how the UVB lights are set up for distance, etc you could post?
It does sound like he is having some trouble with his mobility. If you have pictures of your dragon also, we all love to see
them, too.
How often do you give calcium for him?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
KarrieRee helped me set up the uvb. It is a reptisun t8 10. I put it 8 inches from the tallest decor. I added a 50-watt basking bulb with a dimmer yesterday because the 150-watt bulb was only getting the warm side up to about 86. That did get it up to 90, but I am realizing that the temperature in the enclosure changes quite a bit due to the weather and the temp in the house. How do people deal with that? I had this past week off work, but I am not sure how I will monitor the temp while at work?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

You can always get a rhiastat which helps to control the temperature, overall to keep it at a more steady temperature.
When cold weather hits it does make it a bit harder to maintain the temperatures. I think there might be a phone app you
could use possibly to let you see the temperatures, but not sure.

Tracie
 

Beansbanana

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Hello,

You can always get a rhiastat which helps to control the temperature, overall to keep it at a more steady temperature.
When cold weather hits it does make it a bit harder to maintain the temperatures. I think there might be a phone app you
could use possibly to let you see the temperatures, but not sure.

Tracie
Thanks so much for your help Tracie! I appreciate you and Karrie helping me figure all this out.
 

Beansbanana

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Hello,

We are always happy to help out here, Karrie & others are terrific.
Let us know how things are going!

Tracie
So I had been talking to Karrie The other day about how he was having some watery poop. Today he had watery poop again and I got a picture that I have attached. I went ahead and ordered one of those fecal test at home kits that you send off. He has a really good appetite and does not seem to be feeling bad at all but what do you think?
 

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Beansbanana

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
So I had been talking to Karrie The other day about how he was having some watery poop. Today he had watery poop again and I got a picture that I have attached. I went ahead and ordered one of those fecal test at home kits that you send off. He has a really good appetite and does not seem to be feeling bad at all but what do you think?
He had eaten some squash collards asparagus and black soldier fly larva this morning. He really will eat a lot of salad and I have been watering the salad down some. Maybe I should stop doing that?
 
Solution

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
He had eaten some squash collards asparagus and black soldier fly larva this morning. He really will eat a lot of salad and I have been watering the salad down some. Maybe I should stop doing that?
Cut back on the watering it every feeding and see what that does --- they will excrete extra water --- if his poop is really smelling bad and real loose that can be a sign of parasites ---
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Yes, too much fluids can be just as bad on them as too little. Strike up a balance & just monitor the hardness of his urates to determine
how much fluids he needs.

Tracie
 
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Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

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