NEW BEARDIE IS THROWING UP!

[cupcake143]

I just bought a new beardie about a week ago..hes 8 months old. The first day I bought him, he was examined by a vet that works at the pet store (they specialize in reptiles) and she told me he was a healthy beardie. The first day I brought him home, i fed him about 20 small crickets and he threw them up 2 hours later. Now, 5 days later, he threw up again today. This time it was squash and greens that he ate this morning. Both times the food looked semi-digested. The weird thing is that hes acting perfectly fine, hes really active, has lots of energy, and LOOKS healthy...he has been pooping every day, it looks normal and not too watery. I had this issue with my other beardie puking, and he passed away 4 days later- im scared right now! I feel like a bad beardie owner =( but i put a lot into taking care of them and i dont know what im doing wrong. This is my enitre set-up and whatnot....
40 gallon tank (i clean it literally almost every day, it never gets dirty inside)
reptisun 10.0 foot long UVB (tube not coil)
150 watt white daylight bulb
papertowels- no sand or anything that he might ingest
digital thermomemter for temps
105-110* basking/hot side, 80* cool side
he has a tree/log in the basking spot where he can get about 7 inches away from his heat light/UVB- (he basks almost all day)

I am feeding him..
crickets, small/medium size, no bigger then space between eyes
squash, mustards, collards (he has no interest in veggies really besides the squash)
*my sister fed him mealworms the other day but i know theyre not too good so he wont be eating them again..

I give him a bath OR mist him daily so he stays hydrated......im very very confused right now, what could be the problem? hes not acting sick and is still eating even though hes throwing it up. could it be parasites? I have a medication called Albon Liquid that i got for my other beardie from a vet, if he does have parasites can i use this? Also I was thinking if hes too hot would he vomit? but then again why would he stay in the basking spot where its 110 degrees if hes too hot..

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

I'm guessing you fully sterilised the tank and contents before you moved the dragon in, so we can rule that out.

Did you get them from the same place?
How far apart were your dragons bought timewise? Weeks, months etc?

Try smaller amounts and keep your dragon hydrated, baths are always good.
The fact that he kept it down for a while is good - at least some nutrients will be absorbed, but get a fecal sample to the vet to check for parasites.

 

[cupcake143]

I did sterilize and clean the tank very well before moving him in. They both came from the same place- my other dragon who passed away 2 weeks ago, was bought there 2 years ago. They are really good with the beardies at this place and im pretty sure they keep them healthy.
If it was parasites would he be throwing up? Im just not sure if i should be extremely worried right now, hes acting normal so im conufused :?: would he throw up if the temps were too hot? (not sure why it would be too hot though..)
We're having a blizzard right now so i wont be able to get a fecal to the vet until monday =/

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

Monday's better than not.
What did you sterilise the tank with, just as a thought? (And did you clean all the toys, everything?)
Chances are if you bought the first two years ago, it's not likely to be a shop fault. Do drop by the shop and warn them that yours is ill - they'll keep a close eye on the remaining dragons then. Remember to wash your hands VERY well before and after handling an ill dragon or any of it's surroundings and food.
Too hot is unlikely - is he sitting there gaping? He's got a cool end, so that shouldn't be a problem. Vomiting through temp is usually from too cold - the food isn't digested properly.

Dragons are very good at acting normal when ill - it helps them survive in the wild.
Keep encouraging him to eat small amounts every couple of hours, get that sample in, and don't feed for two hours before lights out - I feed mine about 6 in the evening, and the heat is on until about 10. Some people feed theirs in the morning just to be on the safe side.

 

[cupcake143]

I used a tiny tiny bit of dawn with lots of water to clean out the tank, then after rinsing that i used a little bleach with mostly water. The woman who sold my beardie to me told me to do this. was that ok or did i do it wrong? i made sure all soap and bleach was rinsed out completey before putting him in there. I notified the place and they said since i have had him for under 15 days and already having problems, they will give me 2 options- to bring him back and choose another one (which id feel horrible doing =( ...) or they will cover a vet visit, since they have a part timer who is a vet there and visits twice a week...
About basking, he gapes every now and then but not so much that he seems TOO hot, just a few times a day for like 5 seconds.

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

Let them cover the vets bills! (Sorry, I'm half Jewish, I know a good potential offer when I see one)

Seems like the heating should be fine then, make sure he's got a good basking platform, a peice of wood is good because it retains a little heat so he can hop an inch or few closer to the light than on the floor.

Hopefully someone else will give some input too, but keep up the good work, get him into the vet and keep us updated.

 

[cupcake143]

trust me i will take advantage of their offer and let them pay!
now i just baked his logs in the oven at about 350* for almost 20 minutes. is that good for sterilizing them? i didnt do it before because i bought them new from the store, my previous dragon did not use them, but stupid me i should have baked them anyways.
does the bleach do the trick for sterilizing the tank though? or should i do it again with something else just to be on the safe side?
thanks for your help

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

Bleach is fine, you need thin bleach, let it soak a couple of hours and then rinse off very very well, preferably repeatedly over a couple of days to let any ammoniac residue leach off. 350 is a good temp, could have done with a couple of hours, but it was over 140C, so that kills most but the most stubborn bug. Parasites should be well dead.

 

[cupcake143]

Thanks for your help =) I'll let you know how the vet goes..

 

[K9KidsLove]

Hi...I was wondering what you are using for taking temps...stick on, temp gun, digital thermometer with a probe at the end of a wire. If you are using a digital with probe, how long are you leaving it on the basking spot to get your temp?

As far as cleaning the tank, use 5% bleach with 95% water. Totally spray all the tank & let it sit about 15 minutes. Dry all the blech solution out and use a different hand towel cloth with fresh water and rewash it. Rinse the cloth a couple times and rewash it so all the bleach residue is gone. If you can still smell the bleach, keep rinsing it. The caulking absorbs the bleach. It is possible that he is getting fumes from the bleach.
Good luck
Patsy