I preface this post with the caveat that I have only been a BD owner for the last 5-6 weeks.
I've noticed several posts talking about their BD's health and/or activity (or lack of eating) with responses that noted maybe they were going through "Spring Fever".....the response seemed to get alot of reassuring "ahhh ha's" from caring BD owners.
My girl Dahlila who is 4 years old was acting up too....glass dancing and scratching like crazy in one particular corner of her tank, spending hours upon hours on the cool side of her tank never climbing up onto her basking spot, not eating greens or the pellets her previous owner exclusively fed her, not pooping but every 2nd or 3rd day, basically just looking stressed out one moment alternating with almost "sleeping" for hours in the day.
I've been wanting to get my BDs checked out since I got them so Thursday I took Dahlila to the vet. As a newbie owner all sorts of information gleaned from the internet, books, pet shops, friends....pointed to all sorts of confusing/contradicting information. Was she "gravid" ? Afterall she had been living with her male couterpart for 4 years....Was she suffering from relocation stress ? Unlikely given she lived in the same cage set up the exact way.....Did she miss her mate ? You'll hear a wide variety of "cohabitation" remarks and comments but they started fighting so I separated them....Was she impacted ? They both have lived on playsand for 4 years....this is just a few that crossed my mind.
I looked at temperature almost religously....I have an expensive Klein digital thermometer and checked all areas of the tank and achieved 100-105 degrees at the highest point, 95-100 on a mid level, 85-90 on a 3rd spot, and 75-80 on the bottom of a 24" deep tank. (4' long) I felt comfortable that along with my MVB being the most efficient UV source available I had provided the very best heat gradient I could. Fast forward to my vet trip and almost right off the bat after hearing about Dahlila's "symptoms" my vet suggests its too hot in her Viv.
At 4 years old Dahlila weighs 406 grams and is almost 20" long, the scar on her nose and quite possibly the slight jaw distortion are the result of rubbing her nose incessantly on the glass. I'm told she is not pregnant, appears not to have any calcium deficiencies, and short of getting an X-ray doesn't appear to be impacted. Not eating greens, not eating enough, not pooping daily are concerns that need to be monitored....she was complimented on her demeanor, her healthy appearance, and we were complimented on our desire to provide her amd her mate the best possible care we could.....
The purpose of my long winded post is to tell anyone who is struggling with concerns for their BD is twofold....to let you know that by paying 35 bucks for a vet visit I came away with a priceless feeling that my guys are healthy, piece of mind alone was well worth the money. BUT, when I came home and raised my dual Zoo-Med light fixture containing a Fluker 160w Mercury Vapor Bulb, and a 75w basking light approximately 3" higher now being 22" off the floor of the tank....its made all the difference in the world.
Not having taken a series of temp measurements but we're looking at the highest basking point being 90-95 degrees and I assume dropping down as before across the tank. Sure enough now Dahlila is spending lots of time basking on her driftwood, is considerably more active across the entire day, hasn't glass danced or dug incessantly in the corner(which I now feel was stress not "Spring Fever") and glory be actually ate an entire bowl of greens with some squash, and ate a half dozen calcium dusted Superworms in the evening....I've also been busy scooping out poop.
Check your temperatures this time of year, things are warming up and we're in a tweener time where the heat in your house is off because its not as cold, outside temps are fluxuating from cool to hot back to cool again, a basement for example really changes temps 'cause the AC isn't on keeping things constant....if you're seeing behavior that's got ya scratching your head...."Spring Fever" may actually be temp changes and one thing I know for sure in my extremely limited experience....these BDs are very sensitive to temperatures. If a 3" change of elevation could affect temps in a 24" deep by 4' long tank, imagine the effect on one like a 40 breeder that is 8" shorter and a whole foot less in length - I'm talking about too hot and/or too cold. Its probably worth looking into especially if you have Juveniles or sub-adults...
As always...JMHO
I've noticed several posts talking about their BD's health and/or activity (or lack of eating) with responses that noted maybe they were going through "Spring Fever".....the response seemed to get alot of reassuring "ahhh ha's" from caring BD owners.
My girl Dahlila who is 4 years old was acting up too....glass dancing and scratching like crazy in one particular corner of her tank, spending hours upon hours on the cool side of her tank never climbing up onto her basking spot, not eating greens or the pellets her previous owner exclusively fed her, not pooping but every 2nd or 3rd day, basically just looking stressed out one moment alternating with almost "sleeping" for hours in the day.
I've been wanting to get my BDs checked out since I got them so Thursday I took Dahlila to the vet. As a newbie owner all sorts of information gleaned from the internet, books, pet shops, friends....pointed to all sorts of confusing/contradicting information. Was she "gravid" ? Afterall she had been living with her male couterpart for 4 years....Was she suffering from relocation stress ? Unlikely given she lived in the same cage set up the exact way.....Did she miss her mate ? You'll hear a wide variety of "cohabitation" remarks and comments but they started fighting so I separated them....Was she impacted ? They both have lived on playsand for 4 years....this is just a few that crossed my mind.
I looked at temperature almost religously....I have an expensive Klein digital thermometer and checked all areas of the tank and achieved 100-105 degrees at the highest point, 95-100 on a mid level, 85-90 on a 3rd spot, and 75-80 on the bottom of a 24" deep tank. (4' long) I felt comfortable that along with my MVB being the most efficient UV source available I had provided the very best heat gradient I could. Fast forward to my vet trip and almost right off the bat after hearing about Dahlila's "symptoms" my vet suggests its too hot in her Viv.
At 4 years old Dahlila weighs 406 grams and is almost 20" long, the scar on her nose and quite possibly the slight jaw distortion are the result of rubbing her nose incessantly on the glass. I'm told she is not pregnant, appears not to have any calcium deficiencies, and short of getting an X-ray doesn't appear to be impacted. Not eating greens, not eating enough, not pooping daily are concerns that need to be monitored....she was complimented on her demeanor, her healthy appearance, and we were complimented on our desire to provide her amd her mate the best possible care we could.....
The purpose of my long winded post is to tell anyone who is struggling with concerns for their BD is twofold....to let you know that by paying 35 bucks for a vet visit I came away with a priceless feeling that my guys are healthy, piece of mind alone was well worth the money. BUT, when I came home and raised my dual Zoo-Med light fixture containing a Fluker 160w Mercury Vapor Bulb, and a 75w basking light approximately 3" higher now being 22" off the floor of the tank....its made all the difference in the world.
Not having taken a series of temp measurements but we're looking at the highest basking point being 90-95 degrees and I assume dropping down as before across the tank. Sure enough now Dahlila is spending lots of time basking on her driftwood, is considerably more active across the entire day, hasn't glass danced or dug incessantly in the corner(which I now feel was stress not "Spring Fever") and glory be actually ate an entire bowl of greens with some squash, and ate a half dozen calcium dusted Superworms in the evening....I've also been busy scooping out poop.
Check your temperatures this time of year, things are warming up and we're in a tweener time where the heat in your house is off because its not as cold, outside temps are fluxuating from cool to hot back to cool again, a basement for example really changes temps 'cause the AC isn't on keeping things constant....if you're seeing behavior that's got ya scratching your head...."Spring Fever" may actually be temp changes and one thing I know for sure in my extremely limited experience....these BDs are very sensitive to temperatures. If a 3" change of elevation could affect temps in a 24" deep by 4' long tank, imagine the effect on one like a 40 breeder that is 8" shorter and a whole foot less in length - I'm talking about too hot and/or too cold. Its probably worth looking into especially if you have Juveniles or sub-adults...
As always...JMHO
