Not thermo regulating

[Elijahsmom]

Hey guys, I have a problem. Elijah doesn't seem to be thermo regulating himself. I feed him and then he goes to the cool side of his cage and stays there all day long. He has a hammock on that side, I moved the hammock under his basking lamp but he will still stay on the cool side. The reason why I am worried is because he has been passing whole butter worms lately. My temps are good, 101.3 on the basking side and 85 to 86 on the cool side. Both measured with a thermometer with a probe. I'm almost afraid to feed him but I know I can't starve him just to keep him from passing whole food. His appetite doesn't seem affected, he is eating well. I did just have to move his cage into another room, could this be doing it? I have a dehumidifier in the room and that is putting out a lot of heat, it makes me hot to sit in here. May be he is just feeling that?
Thanks as always beardie lovers!

 

[GoFast]

What are you using for UV, how old it is, and what side of the tank is that on; the cool side or the hot side?

 

[Elijahsmom]

I have a 36" Repti-glo UVB. I know it's not the recommended brand but it's the UVB light that he has responded the best to. I tried a Repti-sun and he started closing his eyes and hiding all the time. It is almost the length of the tank since he is in a 40-gal breeder. I have the date marked on my UVB light as to when I need to buy a new one (I keep a sticker on the top of the holder) and it's good until December.
Thanks again for the input.

 

[GoFast]

Well, as a test, try shutting the reptiglo off for a few days and see if he starts basking in the hot side.

If he doesn't, I would strongly recommend getting a fecal done.

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

I agree shut off repti glo.Also how old is your beardie?

 

[Elijahsmom]

Ok I'll give that a try with the repti-glo. It's been on there for a while though and this new behavior is only in the past few days. What else can I try for UVB if this is the problem? I'm afraid of MVB bulbs. Elijah I think is around a year. It's hard to tell as he came from a petstore. I will call my vet and see if I can take a fecal into her.

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

i have never herd of repti-SUN damaging beardies eyes...its the best lighht on the market...how close is he getting to the uvb?
If he is a year old he may be trying to brumate/hibernate its that time of year to be safe i would make a vet check if he doesn't get better after ou shut repti-GLO off...but they are really bad lights and can cause all sorts of problems.

 

[GoFast]

Ok I'll give that a try with the repti-glo. It's been on there for a while though and this new behavior is only in the past few days. What else can I try for UVB if this is the problem? I'm afraid of MVB bulbs. Elijah I think is around a year. It's hard to tell as he came from a petstore. I will call my vet and see if I can take a fecal into her.

If it is the repti glo, it may be just be a simple matter of adjusting basking distances and light positions. It could also be the that the bulb is emitting harmful levels of uv, uvc, or an uncomfortable range of light (all 3 are somewhat related)

Let's first figure out if it's the problem before we start trying to fix that. The basic strategy in this trial is that something is bothering him to the point that he doesn't want to go in his basking spot. Now it's a process of elimination to see what the culprit is.

 

[Elijahsmom]

Thank you guys so much for the advice. Elijah right now is about 10" from his UVB as I know he needs the increased distance with the repti-glo. When I had the repti-sun on him he was 6-8" away fro
It when basking. Can his screen be making a difference? But I have turned off the light and we will see what happens.

 

[GoFast]

The only thing the screen would do is filter out the amount of UV, so I don't think that is the issue. Keep us posted over the next few days.

Thank you guys so much for the advice. Elijah right now is about 10" from his UVB as I know he needs the increased distance with the repti-glo. When I had the repti-sun on him he was 6-8" away fro
It when basking. Can his screen be making a difference? But I have turned off the light and we will see what happens.

 

[Elijahsmom]

I sure will and I'll call my vet, unfortunately I won't get a fecal into her until Tuesday since I have to work all weekend and Monday is a holiday...

 

[Elijahsmom]

So I turned off my UVB light for a couple of days, no change with the not wanting to bask. He is still hanging out on the cool side of the tank even after eating. My next step is to get a fecal into the vet tomorrow if I can. *sigh* I always feel like such a beardie hypochondriac...

 

[GoFast]

So I turned off my UVB light for a couple of days, no change with the not wanting to bask. He is still hanging out on the cool side of the tank even after eating. My next step is to get a fecal into the vet tomorrow if I can. *sigh* I always feel like such a beardie hypochondriac...

Eeek! Ive been pretty busy so I forgot about this thread. Any updates? Did you get the fecal results yet??

 

[Elijahsmom]

Thanks for checking on us GoFast. I don't have any fecal results back yet, it's been a bad week. My check card number got stolen and I'm having to deal with bank problems and work had been a problem also, I never thought my job could be in short supply... Just with all of that I have not been able to get to the vet's to drop off a fecal. As soon as I can gt money straightened out it's a top on my priority list. He seems to be doing ok, still not basking much unless I pick him up and set him there. He just seems to be slower. I've been trying to research brumation and I've also realized that I am not prepared for what to do if that's what he is trying to do. He still has an appetite and I can't notice any really foul odor with his poo unless I put my head in his cage to clean it up, then it smells like poo. It's not a room clearing smell though. Anywya, I will let you guys know something as soon as I can get my fecal sample into the vet.
Thanks again.