Please Help

[JaffaCake]

My baby beardie doesnt seem well all of a sudden and im scared he wont make it. Usually hes hyper, running everywhere, window surfing and alert but today he keeps closing his eyes, hes gone a lighter colour (he looks yellow to me) and even if he does walk he moves slowly. Ive also noticed his tail darkening about half of his tail and when he runs his body is usually above the ground but now he keeps it low. Whenever i pick him up he runs for the hills but now he just lets me I found what seems to be parts of locust stuck to the side of his tank, im guessing they threw them up since i didnt see that yesterday. I fed him 1 Wax worm and he ate 4 baby locusts for me yesterday.
If you have read my last post ive only had Jaffa for about 3 weeks.
I used one of those stick on tempretures but the pet shop said they were no good and wont have a prob thermometer till tomorrow.
I use a 60w white bulb and a Repti Glo 10.0 UVB tube
his flooring is a green grass reptile carpet
His diet is mostly lettuce, grapes, squash sometimes, Bearded Dragon Juvenile soft pellets, baby locusts coated in calcium powder, 1 or 2 wax worms on a weekend for a treat.
He shares his tank with another baby bearded dragon that is smaller than him.
He was fine yesterday but theres just something wrong. Is it impaction? i gave him a warm bath to help.
Update!
Im panicking now guys I gave him a warm soak and he drank some water for me but then he started shaking his head and the 2nd time he did it he fell of my hand cause he shook is so violently. His poo seems runny and i think hes choking.
I put him in his tank he he moved his head in a slow circular motion then kept opening his mouth is quickly as if to try and throw something up. He did tho then he just kept poking his tongue out and has closed his eyes. I really worried now hes never done this before.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, sorry your baby is sick ! It does sound like he must have thrown up, and it is probably from temps. being too low for his body to digest, or else the bugs may have been too large. What size tank are they in ? If you don't know, could you post a picture ? A 60 Watt bulb may be too weak in anything over 10 gal. Try a 75 -100 watt if your tank is 20 gal. or more. The other thing is that the insects must be no larger than the space between the babies eyes.

Beardies can easily recover from vomiting that is due to the things I mentioned if you correct the problem right away. They may seem very lethargic for a day or two and then bounce back. Offer water dripped on his nose, he's probably very thirsty. One more thing, is the UVB a tube or compact/coil ? The latter may not give off the right amount of UVB, compounding the problem. You may need to get a Reptisun 10.0 or Arcadia tube UVB. If you fix these things he should recuperate quickly.

 

[zackbeardieowner]

get yourself a zoo med t5 ho uvb fixture and tube

 

[JaffaCake]

Thanks so much for reply okay i just took some pics to help you. I havent use photobucket before and posted it on here so bare with me :/

http://s1265.photobucket.com/user/JaffaCakez/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps2163cdbd.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
This is him now he isnt usually like that if he is laying down his eyes are wide open
His colour is usually dark brown aswell.

http://s1265.photobucket.com/user/JaffaCakez/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps64663599.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2
This is his and his roomates tank i cant remember its exact size ill ask my brother for it when hes home, is there anything wrong with the setup?

http://s1265.photobucket.com/user/JaffaCakez/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps64663599.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2
This is the tail which is turning black half way

http://s1265.photobucket.com/user/JaffaCakez/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsd5fe877a.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1
These are the sized locust that i dust with calcium powder then feed them to jaffa and (nameless)

http://s1265.photobucket.com/user/JaffaCakez/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps06d0ae87.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
This is part of the locust im guessing he threw up, theres not alot and i didnt see him do it.

 

[AHBD]

I can't make out the size of the locusts for sure, but they look much too large for a baby. Can you get a close up pic of a locust in your hand ? If the other baby dragon is even smaller, he will also get sick if he eats them, [ if they are too large ] Remember, the bugs must be no longer than the gap between the beardie's eyes. That doesn't apply to large dragons, but with babies it's pretty critical. His tail looks fine.....his viv is nice + big but I highly doubt that a 60 watt can warm them enough. Try a higher watt bulb and raise it a little higher so the tank is brighter + warmer all over. Then get a good UVB bulb that was mentioned and position it so that the dragons can get at least within 10 inches. But I think it's a combination of the things I mentioned and the locusts are too large.

 

[JaffaCake]

I totally agree with you that the locusts were too big when the pet store handed them to me, he also fed them the locusts when i was checking them out in the pet shop :/ i wanted to get crickets but they suggested locusts there are 2 in the container i showed you that are half the size of a full grown adult too big for my little guy.
my smaller one didnt eat any of the locust it was his second day home but he ate 2 wax worms for me (had to feed seperate cause the first wax worm got eaten by jaffa the gutsy thing xD ) but i think he knew he wouldnt be able to eat them cause they were 2 big. call me crazy.
So i should get a reptisun 10.0 and a higher watt bulb and raise it a little higher.....what watt would you recommend?
Is there anyway i can help soothe him or should i let him be for a few days?
i had a baby beardie the same time i got jaffa and it wouldnt moved for 2 days, half of his tail turned black then died the next day (the pet shop sold it to me too young and small) So its kind of panicked me when he kept closing his eyes and didnt run around like he use 2

 

[AHBD]

He should be O.K. if he's not impacted. Try a 75 -100 watt bulb. Put a shallow plastic bowl in his tank with about 1/4 inch warm [ but not too warm ] water. Put him in, but support his head , make sure he doesn't slump down in it, then dribble water over his snout. He should drink + he may try to poo. Then take him out of the water, pat him dry very gently and put him under the heat bulb. Take the water bowl back out of the tank.

 

[JaffaCake]

Thank you so much it seems to be only me who can see the illness in beardies in my house people just walk past jaffa and be like "hes fine stop worrying" etc :/ Ill do exactly what you said tomorrow (its 1 in the morning here so i cant yet) and see how we gets on i hope he gets better.
I will order the Reptisun 10.0 and a higher watt bulb ASAP
Since the locusts are too big should i just feed him veggies with the Juvenile Soft pellets until i get some locusts? I dunno how long that will be tho since i can't drive and the pet shop is a 30 min drive from where i live.
Can you suggest what kinds of food to feed them i hear different things i feed him lettuce, grapes and squash when i can. are tinned food okay like peas? I heard lettuce can make them choke.
Your a great help thanks so much

 

[AHBD]

You're welcome ! I hope I can help. I would not use the locusts, you might call the pet shop + tell them what happened. If they would let you return the locusts for small crickets that would be good. Fruits in general aren't a good staple food, they need leafy dark greens....if you're in the U.K, there is rocket. A website called beautifuldragons.org has a list of foods that are good....peas are O.K., but not many. The soft beardie food is O.K., but they do need live feeders. See if you can find Phoenix or repti worms [ soldier fly larva ] If you could find members from the U.K. they should be able to help you out....I can't think of anyone off the top of my head.

 

[JaffaCake]

The pet shop i go to is really kind when my baby beardie died they took him in and gave me another free and were sorry for what happened plus my bro is friends with them next time i go ill get some little crickets and a cricket feeder which i saw last time i was there. And the other live food i give them are Wax worms but just 1 or 2 as a treat on weekends. ill do what you said and keep you posted of what happens and if he improves. The other keeps closing his eyes but is still alert and runs when i try to pick him up ive only had him 3 days so i guess hes just settling in. For now ill mix some greens and the soft pellets until i get crickets for them. Can you dust the veggies with calcium? some people do some dont.
you really have been a massive help i wouldnt have known what to do.

 

[AHBD]

Sorry to hear about the baby that died....hopefully this baby doesn't have an illness that the other one may have possibly had.

 

[JaffaCake]

Okay I did what you said i put a little plastic tub (couldnt get a bowl) with warm water and put him in, he didnt react at all but did drink some water but he kept shaking his head, he shook it once so i took him out and stroked him and then was about to put him back in he shook his head so violently he fell out of my hands (lucky i held my hands over my bed so he landed safely) whats up with his head shaking? is the bath too warm for him? Do i need to see a vet? He is still lighter than usual and keeps closing his eyes and walking slowly.
Ive now noticed the bottom of his beard is black
EDIT: He just ran at his normal pace right now but went back to walking slow and when i hold him he closes his eyes and (i think) goes to sleep :/

 

[AHBD]

There's not much a vet can do for a baby with upset tummy. A VERY experienced reptile vet might help in some way, but an inexperienced vet could easily kill him. Just give him time, he may still feel sick, but drinking is a good thing. If you can mush up some soft beardie food or get some baby food like chicken/greenbeans or squash he might take a bit mixed with water via syringe. And instead of throwing the locusts out, you might cut the heads off, remove the legs and squeeze the back of the abdomen so the babies can lick the guts [ gross I know ! ] so they at least get a bit of nutrition from that. But do NOT give the whole large locusts to them at all. For his daily soak, just 1/4 inch of water, so he drinks. To keep him warmer can you put a higher watt house bulb in the viv ? Either that or drape a blanket across a portion of it to keep heat in better [ Be sure it can't start a fire being on any heat elements ]

 

[JaffaCake]

Okay i will keep a close eye on him over night, Ill get some baby food for him and see if he will eat. Ill try to do what you said about the locusts knowing me ill prob fail. ill see if i can get a higher watt house bulb and ive ordered a Reptisun 10.0 it will come on monday thank god. is the head Shaking i mentioned earlier part of him have a tummy ache? and he seemed like he was about to throw up but then swallowed it again hes hiding under his rock now.

 

[AHBD]

It may be that he still has more to throw up, they do shake their head from side to side.....I hope he will be O.K. If you could find an experienced reptile vet, they might be able to help, but if there's undigested food in his tummy he might just get throw up in the next day or two. Offer him the watered down baby food dripped on his snout and maybe just a drop of veg. oil in it as well. Poor lil' guy !