I really wish I wasn’t writing this right now... I feel like I already know the answer but I need advice.
I got Benny - my rankins dragon on October 29, 2019.
I bought him from a local pet store that set me up with everything I needed for him. He’s a baby, roughly 3 months old.
I’m trying so hard not to put blame on myself but I feel absolutely awful about this. I just realized, almost a month later that the bulb they gave me is the reptisun 5.0 T8 instead of the 10.0 and I know that it’s not strong enough for him...
His tank is 100-107 on the warm side and 86 on the cool side.
I have him in a 40 gallon tank.
A sand mat for substrate
I feed him crickets everyday, it really ranges how many he eats. I dust at least 4-5 of them with repti cal + D3. I also sprinkle some on his veggies, which consist of mainly butternut squash, collard greens, yellow pepper, carrots, and the occasional fruit.
Oh, and his lights are on everyday for 13-14 hours due to my work schedule.
Now on to the issue...
I noticed a slight change in his mood about a week ago, he was still eating normally, having at least one bowel movement every day, totally okay with me picking him up and holding him, but he wasn’t moving around as much. Definitely slightly lethargic but nothing too alarming.
Fast forward to last night, I went to pick him up and give him a bath as he’s shedding a bit. When i got him in my hand he started to shake violently. His head was vibrating back and forth. Looked it up, saw all kinds of posts on MBD and lack of calcium which made me double check my bulb... and that’s when my heart sank.
Now today, after I got home from work. Same thing except his whole body was shaking, not just his head. I put him down on the floor and he wouldn’t move at all, not even when I slightly nudged him which would normally send him away. Eventually he started to walk and kept tipping over to his left side because it seemed like his foot wouldn’t come out all the way. I left him out for a little, put him on the couch because I figured maybe the floor is too slippery for him (he does have a hard time walking on it sometimes but now I’m paranoid and it seemed strange)
Anyways, he was walking fine on the couch. I put some dusted crickets in front of him and he had 0 interest. Eventually he just crawled under the covers and went to bed. Benny is my first dragon and I feel absolutely terrible about this. I don’t want to be completely dramatic but I feel like I’ve failed him. I spent a lot of time doing my research & I’m disappointed in myself for not. doubling. checking. his. bulb.
I ordered the 10.0 on amazon last night and it should be here anywhere from the 23-27. I don’t live in a town that would have these bulbs in stock unfortunately. But I did find coil bulbs. I bought 2 reptile uvb200 26W from exo terra and a canopy top, I’ve heard that these can be hard on his eyes but whats more important until I get the reptisun 10.0??
I’m so incredibly stressed out right now. I need all the advice I can get please.
Is it hard for them to come back from lack of calcium and MBD?
Thanks in advance for reading this post I know it’s long.
I got Benny - my rankins dragon on October 29, 2019.
I bought him from a local pet store that set me up with everything I needed for him. He’s a baby, roughly 3 months old.
I’m trying so hard not to put blame on myself but I feel absolutely awful about this. I just realized, almost a month later that the bulb they gave me is the reptisun 5.0 T8 instead of the 10.0 and I know that it’s not strong enough for him...
His tank is 100-107 on the warm side and 86 on the cool side.
I have him in a 40 gallon tank.
A sand mat for substrate
I feed him crickets everyday, it really ranges how many he eats. I dust at least 4-5 of them with repti cal + D3. I also sprinkle some on his veggies, which consist of mainly butternut squash, collard greens, yellow pepper, carrots, and the occasional fruit.
Oh, and his lights are on everyday for 13-14 hours due to my work schedule.
Now on to the issue...
I noticed a slight change in his mood about a week ago, he was still eating normally, having at least one bowel movement every day, totally okay with me picking him up and holding him, but he wasn’t moving around as much. Definitely slightly lethargic but nothing too alarming.
Fast forward to last night, I went to pick him up and give him a bath as he’s shedding a bit. When i got him in my hand he started to shake violently. His head was vibrating back and forth. Looked it up, saw all kinds of posts on MBD and lack of calcium which made me double check my bulb... and that’s when my heart sank.
Now today, after I got home from work. Same thing except his whole body was shaking, not just his head. I put him down on the floor and he wouldn’t move at all, not even when I slightly nudged him which would normally send him away. Eventually he started to walk and kept tipping over to his left side because it seemed like his foot wouldn’t come out all the way. I left him out for a little, put him on the couch because I figured maybe the floor is too slippery for him (he does have a hard time walking on it sometimes but now I’m paranoid and it seemed strange)
Anyways, he was walking fine on the couch. I put some dusted crickets in front of him and he had 0 interest. Eventually he just crawled under the covers and went to bed. Benny is my first dragon and I feel absolutely terrible about this. I don’t want to be completely dramatic but I feel like I’ve failed him. I spent a lot of time doing my research & I’m disappointed in myself for not. doubling. checking. his. bulb.
I ordered the 10.0 on amazon last night and it should be here anywhere from the 23-27. I don’t live in a town that would have these bulbs in stock unfortunately. But I did find coil bulbs. I bought 2 reptile uvb200 26W from exo terra and a canopy top, I’ve heard that these can be hard on his eyes but whats more important until I get the reptisun 10.0??
I’m so incredibly stressed out right now. I need all the advice I can get please.
Is it hard for them to come back from lack of calcium and MBD?
Thanks in advance for reading this post I know it’s long.