Sick Beardie?

[Ethan118]

Hey everyone,

I'm having some problems with Carth, my 3 yr. old beardie. He just doesn't seem to be himself. Lately, he sleeps a lot and doesn't move around too much. His color is a lot lighter than it used to be as well. He prefers the cold side of his tank, as opposed to the warmer side. Also, he hasn't pooped for a day or two. But there are a few factors involved. First, I was forced to move him out of my room into the hall because the sand was making my allergies act up a lot. Second, he hasn't been getting much attention lately due to the fact that I have water polo every day. So, basically, the attention he normally gets is down a lot. And last, I haven't been able to change his sand for quite a while. I clean it very often, but I haven't actually gone and gotten brand new sand for his cage any time soon (5 or 6 months).

I feed him lots of vegetables (carrots, celery, lettuce) and he gets crickets once a week which stay with him in his cage for about 5-6 days until they are all eaten by him. He has a UVB light and a heat lamp, in a 10 gallon tank. No other beardies in the tank with him. Water dish is nearby, and I spray him with water every day or two just to make sure he isn't dehydrated. He gets a bath once a month, and whenever possible I'll take him out of his cage and let him lay with me, or just let him wander around my room.

Is it possible he is just sad because of the lack of attention, or does it sound more like he is sick? I am going to schedule a vet checkup ASAP, but I just wanted to get other opinions.

Thanks,
Ethan

 

[zebraflavencs]

I'll bet it is the lack of attention ! Dragons need to be around activity ! And I am quite sure that he misses you ! He watched you a lot I'm guessing, so toss out that sand and move him back in with you !
Does he normally poo daily for you ? If so, then offer a snack of unsweetened applesauce with a drop or two of mineral oil, warm it up a tad. Then when he eats that ( it's gonna be meeeeesssy) offer a nice warm bath.

That should get things moving if he is impacted.
Hope this helps out.
Janie.

 

[maze1216]

I agree. Toss out the sand. Tile the cage.. Use newspaper.. Something. Seriously, your dragon can starve itself to death if it feels neglected. We rescued a water dragon a couple years ago and it fell in love with my wife. A couple months later after making a miraculous recovery, my wife got a job where she was gone 8 to 10 hours during the day and he stopped eating. and sulked all the time. Even when she did spend time with him it didn't make up for the lack of daily cuddling and rides around the condo on her shoulder. He ended up starving himself to death, I tried everything I could, force feeding him and everything but he didn't recover that time. I'm sure he died of depression... It was so sad. SO. Don't sacrifice your beardie because you like the pretty deserty look of sand. Especially if it isn't the children plan sand, all other sands get gunked up in the beardies eyes and cause impaction. Tile I think is the best, any time they make a mess you can wipe it up with no problem.

 

[Ethan118]

Okay, I'll try to replace that sand with something else like tile ASAP. And I feel so bad that I haven't been able to spend as much time with him as usual, but it's something I can't help. I'll start dedicating all my free time to him from now on, because I really don't want anything bad to happen.

Thanks so much,
Ethan

 

[NeedleDragon]

Hmmm in my expirences when they get older they seem to move less inless their hunting and colors im having a little of the same prob im worried he might have mouth awry u should bring him to the local vet and ask for a '' Gram Scale''

 

[H31d1]

hi can you answer the following questions for us please

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?

one thing that i have noticed is that you said your beardy is in a ten gallon tank at 3 years old? i could be mistaken but that sounds quite small for the age of your dragon plus im guessing it makes it more difficult to get the correct temps for both cool side and basking side. if your could answer the questions the best you can it could help us find the possible cause of your problems.
Also i noticed you said you leave the crickets in the tank untill they are all gone? never leave the crickets in if your dragon has had enough, crickets can bite your beardy which can cause serious harm.

good luck and i hope things improve!

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

Let me see if i read right?you have a 3 year old beardie in a 10 gallon tank??How can there be a cool side?

 

[Ethan118]

Let me see if i read right?you have a 3 year old beardie in a 10 gallon tank??How can there be a cool side?

Sorry, that was a BIG mistake. It is more like a 40 gallon. 4 ft.Long x 1.5 ft.Wide x 1.5 ft.Tall.

And to answer the questions...

How old is your dragon?
-About 3 1/2 yrs.
How long have you had your dragon?
-About 2 yrs.
How long is your dragon?
-From head to tail about 1'4"
What is the sex of your dragon?
-Male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
-A 4ft x 1.5 ft x 1.5 ft reptile tank
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
-Sand (Bought at the local Reptile Shop, recommended by the owner)
Do you use UVB lights?
-Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
-No clue
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
-Don't remember
How old is your UVB bulb?
-About 3 months old
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
-Within 4 inches
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
-Yes, and not sure
What are the basking temps?
-About 90-100 degrees
What is the cool side temp?
-About 80-85 degrees
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
-I get the temperatures from a thermometer I bought at the reptile store, it sticks to the inside of the tank.
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
-Near where he likes to bask, and near his cool spot.
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
-He has a seperate heat pad underneath the tank that he likes turned on at night.
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
-Carrots, Lettuce, sometimes fruits (apples, pears, etc), crickets, and a pinkey once every few months.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
-A certain type of veggie once a day, usually afternoon, and crickets once a week that stay with him for about 5-6 days.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
-They are pre gutloaded at the reptile store.
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
-Yes, Repti-Vite every time he gets veggies and fruits and Miner-All on his crickets.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
-Yes, but he hasn't pooped lately.
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
-About once a month.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
-He gets misted once or twice every two days and there is a shallow water bowl in his tank.
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
-No, but he used to.
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
-He was checked about a year ago, not sure if we got a fecal.

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

phew....40 gal is bettter.Maybe you can figure out what typ of uvb bulb your using that will help.
If i were you i would remove the sand n replace it w/ non adhesive shelf liner or tile is cheap to then he can be in your room w/ no allergy issues.Heat pads are not good for them.you shouldn't need one unless your place gets below 65 farenheight at night i would try putting a squashy pillow n a fleece in there if he needs to stay cozy.Also as some one else pointed out cricks should not be left in viv...they bite.

 

[Ethan118]

That's what I heard, about the crickets. I usually leave some extra carrot pieces and slices of celery or lettuce in there for them to nibble on. Usually if I do that he doesn't have a problem with it. Most of the time, I will put in an estimated amount of how much Carth will eat and then keep the rest in the cricket keeper. The only problem I have with that is the crickets refuse to eat what I put in the cricket keeper and cannibalize eachother. Then it just makes everything really gross and they don't last much longer than a few days.

About my allergies... I'm buying him a new tank ASAP (One that will, preferably, open from the side) because the one we have right now is fairly old and I would rather him have a taller one so I can put more driftwood in there. He likes to climb but there just isn't room to make it high. He will crawl out if he gets the chance.

And just an update: I took him out for a really long time today, just to be able to hang out and give him the freedom to move around. He seems like he enjoys it a lot, and it almost makes me think that this whole ordeal is due to the lack of attention. Also, I noticed his colors lighten a lot near the end of the day or when he is warm, and darken when he is cold (mornings, or after he wakes up).

Thanks!
Ethan Smith