Pudgy. . . I'm concerned

[PudgysMom]

My boyfriend called me at the office and the first words out of his mouth were, "Pudgy is okay...but..."

O
M
G
:shock:

My heart sank. Pudgy is EVERYTHING to me, and I know you all understand.

He said he was walking out to the living room, and heard a weird noise. Looked over at Pudgy's terrarium and Pudgy was on his back. He said he waited a few seconds to see if he'd try to turn himself over, but he didn't even try.

He turned him back over and Pudgy seems perfectly fine. SO he brought him to my office, because I am waiting on my vet to get out of surgery and call me to go in. He doesn't want to be in his carrier (he is totally active), but he tipped over. It's like a little balance problem. He did wave his little arms and legs when he tipped over on his blanket after struggling to get out of his carrier.

I do notice he is starting to molt around his mouth, and I know this can cause some stress. A year ago or so I took him to the vet and his calcium levels were high and his protein levels were low. The vet did a fecal, kept him for a day and looked him over thoroughly and couldn't find a thing wrong with my Pudgy.

He is about 5 years old now. My one concern is that his terrarium temperatures are off, and I am going to the reptile store here in a few minutes to talk to them (they have a guy there who's been breeding beardies for 15 years).

Does anyone know what else it could be? He is on my lap right now at my desk and has been chillin' out, but he is very curious and is trying to crawl down so he can go explore.

What do you all think? I'm just beside myself that anything might be wrong with him!

 

[minipumpkin]

sorry to hear hes not too well. well a few boring things that we need to know... and im sure its all ok as you have had him for ages but no harm in checking.

How old is your dragon?
How long is your dragon from nose tip to tail tip?
How much does your dragon weigh?
Enclosure Size?
Substrate?
UV source type/brand?
How old is the UV source?
How close can your dragon get to the UV source?
What is the basking temperature?
What is the cool side temperature?
How are you measuring the temperatures?
What are the humidity levels?
What live feeders do you feed?
How small/large are they?
What greens are being fed/provided?
Do you dust the food?
If so what is you dusting schedule?
Do you provide water?
Do you bathe your dragon?
If so how often and for how long?
Do you mist your dragon?

Any other information you wish to provide?

 

[PudgysMom]

sorry to hear hes not too well. well a few boring things that we need to know... and im sure its all ok as you have had him for ages but no harm in checking.

Thank you.

How old is your dragon?
About five

How long is your dragon from nose tip to tail tip?
16"

How much does your dragon weigh?
At this time I am unsure. Will check today.

Enclosure Size?
He has a 50 gallon terrarium

Substrate?
play sand as per his vet

UV source type/brand?
It's either Exo-Terra or Zoo-Med. I've bought both, and have to check. It's a combined UV/heat bulb.

How old is the UV source?
About 6 months (I replace once a year)

How close can your dragon get to the UV source?
Somewhat close. I am worried it may not be high enough for him, but I am afraid of him falling. I am also going to have this looked at today.

What is the basking temperature?
I like to keep it at 90-100, but lately I feel it's too cold. I think his light source may be off, so I am going to get it looked at today. The thermometer reads 80, and that is too cold!

What is the cool side temperature?
75 (I live in San Diego)

How are you measuring the temperatures?
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752430

What are the humidity levels?
Unknown

What live feeders do you feed?
Kingworms, horn worms, meal worms-rarely

How small/large are they?
couple inches

What greens are being fed/provided?
Dandelion greens, collard greens, broccoli (sometimes), kale (rarely), peas

Do you dust the food?
Yes

If so what is you dusting schedule?
3 x a week

Do you provide water?
Yes

Do you bathe your dragon?
Yes

If so how often and for how long?
1 - 2 x a week for 10 to 20 minutes

Do you mist your dragon?
No. I've heard not to do that.

Any other information you wish to provide?

 

[Vacren]

Your vet is an *****. The sand needs to go. Replace it with newspaper or paper towels until you can get some tile cut for him.

The bulb you mentioned sounds like a "daylight" bulb. It doesn't provide UVB for your dragon. The balance problem you described sounds neurological, but could also be MBD caused by a complete lack of UVB. You need to get some rays on him. Best non-zoo light you can get (for now) is the ZooMed ReptiSUN 10.0, or the Arcadia 12 if you're in the UK. This bulb will need to be replaced every six months.

The thermometer you have makes for a fantastic decoration in your terrarium, but does nothing for accurate temperature measurement. A digital thermometer with probe or infrared "temp gun" will give you more accurate readings. "Accurite" from walmart or Ryobi Tek4 from Lowes/home depot.

Kingworms and mealworms are the same thing, and have a 1:25 Ca ratio. Hornworms are about 1:3. The goal for Pudgy's diet should be ~2:1. Collard greens and dandelion greens are great. Your dusting schedule is great, but unless the collard/dandelion greens make up a significant portion of Pudgy's intake you have an animal at serious risk to MBD. Correcting the lack of Ca and UVB should be your main focus.

 

[PudgysMom]

Thank you.

First, this vet is so the so-called #1 herp vet in the nation. He's very well known. When I left Florida for California, he came highly recommended. I waited all day for him to return my call.

WELL. . .

My boyfriend called the locally owned pet store we go to. There is a guy there (the manager) who has been breeding beardies for fifteen years. I brought my Pudgy in and learned A LOT. I also learned that what you wrote is true. . . go to a different vet. And so he recommended one to me, much further away, but I don't care. I'm taking Pudgy to him.

What I have is the 100W PowerSun UV bulb by ZooMed. It says that it gives essential UVA, UVB, Light and Heat all in one lamp. Is this inaccurate? The guy at the pet store explained to me that because the temperature in San Diego is so much milder than in Florida, I probably need to get a 160W bulb instead. He also recommended the infrared "temp gun" you've written about here, and I am getting that too.

I'm actually about to leave for the store to get the new bulb and "temp gun". Do you recommend a different protein source? (I had been told King Worms are different than meal worms due to their shells not being as hard to digest).

I really appreciate all of the information you've provided. Thank you.

 

[PudgysMom]

Would you elaborate a bit more on having tile cut for him? I've never heard of this being done.

Thanks again.

 

[Vacren]

Your light is good, just make sure that he's 18-20" away from it. If you need more heat, look in to getting an under-tank heater. DO NOT put it under the tank, stick it to a side. Getting the higher watt bulb will just make it necessary to have it further away, 160w bulb needs to be around three feet away.

I was mistake about the king worm. They are superworms. Still not a good staple food, 1:18. Look into silkworms or repti/calci/phoenix worms. I use reptiworms.

Go to Lowes and pick out some tile that you like, or you think Pudgy will like. It should be rough to the touch. Get enough of it to cover the floor of the tank. You will probably need to cut or trim it, Lowes can do that for you if you ask real nice. Put down foam shelf liner, then tile. Don't grout it, you'll want to be able to take it out to clean at least once a week. Probably not a bad idea to stock up on clorox wipes, for spot cleaning.

 

[shifty43]

A lot of people use tile or slate for substrate that you can get at Lowes or Home depot and have it cut to fit in the enclosure. I use paper towels myself because it is eaiser to clean. As far as a good protein source...dubia roaches (which are easy to breed and dont smell like crickets do), Silk worms, Horn worms (which since you live in California you can get them from Mulberry Farms online), and Phenoix worms. Those are just a few that are better. I live in VA and order my worms from Mulberry Farms and they are always well packaged. I spend a lot more on shipping but its been worth it. You are closer to them so your shipping costs won't be that bad, they are in California also. With you uvb light i would be careful with the power sun because it may not be putting out the proper uvb for him. I would read some of the posts on here that are related to the power sun and other uvb sources that are out there. As someone already stated, the Repti-sun 10.0 strip light seems to be one of the best out there right now. I think you can order them from Pet Mountain online for a really good price. I hope he feels better soon!

 

[PudgysMom]

Thank you all again.

I do get the hornworms from Mulberry Farms. They're just up the road from here. One question - how do you keep silkworms? I had them and they lasted all of a few days. I have to order them from the farm, as I can't find them anywhere in stores. I'll get some more right away.

shifty43 does the strip light provide both heat and UV rays?

I have had Pudgy for three years, and I am finding that listening to the vet I had seems to have been really wrong. I feel just awful. I know there's no point in getting upset over it. Onward and upward.

I sound like a broken record, but again, THANK YOU for all of this information.

 

[Vacren]

The tube light provides a negligible amount of heat but the perfect amount of UVB. You'll still need a daylight bulb, UVA and heat. You'll need to set up the light so Pudgy can get within 6".

 

[Gail]

The strip light only provides UVB, you would need a seperate light for heat. The all in one bulbs used to be pretty good but they've changed some over the years and the quality is lacking. I know having 2 bulbs is more of a hassle but the reptisun 10.0 really is the best on the market.

Silkworms are kept much like hornworms, you can buy them in the deli cups with food. Superworms are ok as a staple for some dragons, others will get too fat on them. Personally I like to use dubia, once you get a colony going you have free food.

You said you dust three times a week. Is that calcium or vitamins? He should be getting calcium 3 x a week and vitamin 1-2 x week.

 

[minipumpkin]

looks like everyone beat me too it. i agree with what has been said about the uvb light and getting rid of the sand. hope he gets better soon and keep us updated

 

[PudgysMom]

You said you dust three times a week. Is that calcium or vitamins? He should be getting calcium 3 x a week and vitamin 1-2 x week.

It's both. I'll start trimming down the vitamins.

I've been spending upwards of $70 on bulbs/ceramic bulbs/all-in-ones, etc. etc. to find that a $30 bulb is the best on the market!

I should have come in here and asked questions A LONG TIME AGO!

 

[Vacren]

Yeah, we're kind of awesome.

 

[PudgysMom]

COMPLETELY agree. :wink: