Please help my bearded dragon spike

[BraydensMomma]

Okay to start off. I would love some help on taking care of him. I've had my bearded dragon for like 4 years now and when I first got him I was like only 14. So I didn't know to do research on him. Right now I have him in a 30 gallon tank if I'm not mistaken with two lamps at 75 watts each. I have the white sand with the calcium in it. I also have 2 logs close to the bottom for him to lay on and one going along the side for him to climb up. By the research I have been doing I need a lot more stuff for his tank and I could really use some help and have some tips on what to do. Also what brought me to this site is my concern for him right now. I have had everything I told you about in his tank for the last 4 years and thankfully he's not dead which I why I need help to decided what else I need for his tank. Also right now his right eye is not functional and its really starting to scare me. At first at the crease of his eye it looked like blood. But than I brought him some brand new sand yesterday and he got some of it on his eye and it looks like that helped a little. But I'm wondering if he's going to lose his eye forever or not. I know my bearded dragon needs more things than what I have for him so please help me. I want him to have the best habitat ever Thank you.

 

[ocrage]

First thing you should do is take him off the sand, use paper towels or news paper for now and you can switch to slate tile/repti carpet when you can afford to.
Next you need to get him a bigger tank, 30 gallons is much too small for an adult beardy, you need at LEAST a 40 gallon breeder, not long but breeder so he has enough room to turn around and stuff without any problems.
Next up is you probably have a bad UVB bulb, you need to get a repti-sun 10.0 t5 bulb, its a long tube.
Next, what is the temp in his basking spot? it should be around 100 degree's now that he's fully grown, cool side should be around 75/80.

I would take him to a reptile vet to get him checked out, him living in those poor conditions for years has probably done some harm to him, especially with his eye problem. Its good that you are finally doing some research, but if i were you i would ask whoever got you it why they didnt research the animal at all, its straight up animal cruelty/abuse imo.

 

[BraydensMomma]

Well the only reason why I haven't changed up his tank yet is cause he's not that big. He's maybe half the size of his tank from head to toe. And where can I get those bulbs?? The ones I have are from exo terra and I got them at PetsMart. Their neodymium daylight bulbs. And what's wrong with the sand?? I've heard plenty of people use the sand. As far as his basking stop. I know its not high enough. I mean I have a branch kind of thing going up by his light but he doesn't like climbing up it. So what should I do about that?? And I also heard for night I should put an under tank heater cause I don't have a night heat lamp. Would you recommend that?? Also it was my next door neighbor at my old house who gave him to me. She didn't really care about him to begin with. Would never turn his lights on or feed him so I went over there everyday to do it. That's why she gave him to me. Also what about his eating situation. How often should he be eating?? And what kind of greens and stuff should I be feeding him?? I want to know everything I can to help him get better. I feel so bad that all these years he hasn't had the right things in his tank.

 

[BraydensMomma]

I meant from head to tail. Lol.

 

[ocrage]

1) doesn't matter if he's "half the size of the tank head to toe" , thats WAY to little room, what do you expect him to not move at all? bearded dragons need a 40 gallon at least after like 10/12 inches, hell my guy is only 8.5 inches and i would feel bad having him in a 20/30 gallon.

2) like i said, you need to get a new bulb, reptisun 10.0, its the most recommended/best bulb right now, it needs to give off good UVB so your dragon can be healthy(which he obviously is not)

3) whats wrong with sand? it can cause impaction, especially the calcium sand because they can't digest it. they can also grow to like the taste and just eat the sand as it is.

4) your basking problem only you can solve, i dont have your tank and what materials you have available to fix it for you. why don't you stop and think for a second and see what you can use to raise his basking area? go get a digi thermometer that has a probe on the end and take the temps.

5) you only need to add warmth if your room gets below 65 degrees at night, so if its does, yes get an OUT of tank pad and stick it on the side of the tank, not under and just at night.

6) feed him at least once a day, common greens are Collard Greens and Mustard Greens, can give them squash, blueberries etc. here's a list of the good and bad stuff for beardies, i have this favorited, i suggest you do the same. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
also give him some worms like hornworms/silkworms/butter/waxworms from time to time.

there's also this helpful link up top that says CARESHEET, i dont know if you thought about click that, it shows you how to CARE for a dragon. heres another link too in case you cant find it...http://beardeddragoncaresheet.weebly.com/index.html

really hope that helps

 

[cmclay]

1) doesn't matter if he's "half the size of the tank head to toe" , thats WAY to little room, what do you expect him to not move at all? bearded dragons need a 40 gallon at least after like 10/12 inches, hell my guy is only 8.5 inches and i would feel bad having him in a 20/30 gallon.

2) like i said, you need to get a new bulb, reptisun 10.0, its the most recommended/best bulb right now, it needs to give off good UVB so your dragon can be healthy(which he obviously is not)

3) whats wrong with sand? it can cause impaction, especially the calcium sand because they can't digest it. they can also grow to like the taste and just eat the sand as it is.

4) your basking problem only you can solve, i dont have your tank and what materials you have available to fix it for you. why don't you stop and think for a second and see what you can use to raise his basking area? go get a digi thermometer that has a probe on the end and take the temps.

5) you only need to add warmth if your room gets below 65 degrees at night, so if its does, yes get an OUT of tank pad and stick it on the side of the tank, not under and just at night.

6) feed him at least once a day, common greens are Collard Greens and Mustard Greens, can give them squash, blueberries etc. here's a list of the good and bad stuff for beardies, i have this favorited, i suggest you do the same. http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html
also give him some worms like hornworms/silkworms/butter/waxworms from time to time.

there's also this helpful link up top that says CARESHEET, i dont know if you thought about click that, it shows you how to CARE for a dragon. heres another link too in case you cant find it...http://beardeddragoncaresheet.weebly.com/index.html

really hope that helps

I would definitely do what ocrage said. If you get him a 55 gallon tank and do everything ocrage said you should notice a tremendous change in your beardie health, best of luck to you.

 

[Jess]

Hi there!

Eek, it doesn't sound like your little one is in too good of shape! You said he got sand in his eye? I'm wondering if he got an infestion from it. I rescued a beardie with an abscess/infection in his eye, that was caused by that.

As for why sand is bad, here is a post I wrote about it. It has a good link about calcium sand that you need to read, and some more about my beardie with the eye infection. viewtopic.php?f=34&t=132151

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't sound like you even have a UVB light. You really need one, it already sounds like your beardie might have metabolic bone disease because he is so small.
Like the above poster mentioned, ReptiSun 10.0 (the flourescent tube, not the compact!) is an excellent light. You can order it for $30 shipped at www.amazon.com, www.petmountain.com, or www.lllreptile.com. You can get a 24" fixture at Walmart for $9. While you're at Walmart, get an Acurite digital thermometer too, so you can make sure his basking temperatures are hot enough.

And UTHs and colored "night lights" are bad for them. Order a ceramic heat emitter, they are wonderful.

Are you giving him any calcium supplements?

 

[dragonz]

Stores actully sell up to 40g most of the time. So unless u want to pay a bunch of money plus shipping i would not go up to 55g (unless its available). My beardie is pretty large and hes in a 40g and he has enough room to roam around.

 

[ocrage]

thats the bare min for an adult beardy. they are much happier in a bigger space.

 

[coastergirl946]

My boyfriend's beardie died from calcium sand impaction.
It is not digestible, and it is not safe.
It hardens inside their bodies and causes them not to be able to poop.. when they do poop, it hurts them badly because the sand rips up their intestines.
His beardie got to the point where he couldn't poop without assistance, and was throwing up his food because the sand in his system had messed up his intestines so much that he could no longer digest. He died last month from choking on his own vomit.. he was only 3 years old.

Don't take chances. You need to remove the sand before it kills your dragon.

 

[BraydensMomma]

Thank you everyone!!! I am going to get him a bigger tank and change his lights to the UVB lights. Question about that though. Can I get the wire topping for the tank and place the lights on top of that?? Cause I don't know of another way to hang the lights. And does anyone know a price rang on the bulbs and the lamps for it?? Right now I don't have the money for all of this but I'm hoping I will soon cause I really don't want him dying. Its honestly my dad that I have to convince. He's the one that supports me and my son. He doesn't want me getting a job so I don't have the money. I will talk to him about it thought and show him this posting. Also what is the other thing other than the sand?? I can't think of it. And can you find all of this stuff at petsmart or walmart or what?? I know I'm asking a lot of questions and I'm sorry. I'm just trying to get everything straight.

Also he didn't get his eye infection from the sand. He had it before the sand got on his eye. But now it kinda looks like there is some drainage coming out of his eye. I really can't tell. Does anyone know of any reptile vets in houston, tx??

 

[Jess]

Well, the kind of light that goes on top of the screen will cost you a good $50, so I have a feeling you don't want to do that LOL.

You can get an under-the-counter fixture for your light, and hang it in your viv with Command hooks that stick on smooth surfaces. I used the kind that hold 1/2 lb each, and they work great.
Here is a pic of mine. You see how it is mounted right inside the tank, about 8" above the basking platform? That is exactly how you want yours. I use non-adhesive shelf liner for substrate, you can get it for $5.

So here is what you want at Walmart:

- 24" flourescent light fixture ($9)
- Command hooks ($3)
- Acurite digital thermometer ($12)
- Non-adhesive shelf liner, the solid kind with out holes. ($5)

To order online:

- ReptiSun 10.0 24" flourescent tube ($20)
- 100 watt CHE, if you need heat at night ($17)
- Rep-Cal w/ D3 and Herpivite, if you don't already have it ($15)
(Plus S & H)

 

[BraydensMomma]

OMG!!! I absolutely love you right now (Jess4921)!!!! You just told me straight up everything that I need and what I need from Walmart. You just made it so much easier. I've been on here for hours already trying to find everything. Lol. You are amazing and thank you so much!!! One more question though. Where do you recommended me get the Reptisun 10.0 24" inch fluorescent tube light??? Like which store online cause I've only been finding them for like $30. Actually one more question too. You told me I need the Rep-Cal w/ D3 and Herpivite.... Well I have the ReptoCal which includes the Calcium and Vitamin D3 in it. Its the powdered kind. I usually just powder it over his crickets. Is that enough?? And if not where do you think I should get the Rep-Cal w/ D3 and Herpivite at??? Thank you so very much though. You made everything so easy for me and I appreciate it so much. Everyone else was telling me what to get and just confusing me but you gave me a list!!! So thank you. You just don't know how much I appreciate that

 

[BraydensMomma]

Actually one more question too. If I get the 40-55 gallon tank should I put two light fixtures in there to make the whole tank hot?? Or would one be good enough??

 

[ocrage]

how old are you? you seem to not be able to do/find anything on your own...maybe you should find another more experienced beardy owner to take it over if you can't afford to take care of it on a daily/weekly basis. beardies arent just dragons you can do a quick set up for and leave on their own, they need a lot of effort and attention, and with you already having a baby and not being able to work or provide for yourself i just dont see how you can give this beardy all what he needs. i mean, its great you took him in and are trying to help, but doing to bare min and stuff isn't going to cut it.