Stained Skin!

[jcooper616]

When our Beardie was old enough to be housed in a sand substrate, we gave it a shot. I must say it was a very poor decision. Not only did it start causing her to act extremely sluggish, but it has stained her skin! She has had one full shed, but still shows remnants of the sands color. should I be concerned about this or will it take care of itself? I was going to show a picture but I don't know how to do it without posting it to photobucket and then making a URL that way....

Thanks,
Jonathan C.

 

[CooperDragon]

You'll want to remove the sand substrate if you haven't already. It sometimes takes quite a while for the stained skin to go back to normal, usually at least a couple of shed cycles. It should fix itself with time though.

 

[jcooper616]

Yeah, it's removed. I did a fair amount of research before we put her in sand. We thought since she wasn't a sloppy eater, loved to dig around, and since sand is "part" of their natural habitat, she would be ok. I didn't realize the staining at first. Thought she was just dusty. We took out the sand cause her behavior changed and she wasn't having regular bowel movements. All that is in check. Except now she sleeps for days on end. I'm thinking, and hoping that it's brumation. It's only plausible explanation. She eats fine when she's awake. Has normal bowel movements. There are no noticeable irregular spots or marks on her. The temp on bask8ng side of tank stays between 100° and 110°, and the cool side stays between 80°-95°. It's been going on like this for two months, though. She's been out of the sand for 2 1/2 months or so. I've read brumation goes on for 2-3 months sometimes. I don't know..... Just worry alot. Want her around for as long as possible. My absolutely adores her lil' buddy.

 

[CooperDragon]

That sounds like brumation to me too. Just keep a close eye on her weight to make sure she roughly maintains. She shouldn't be losing much during brumation.

 

[jcooper616]

I uploaded some pics to photobucket, finally... She has had one full, and one partial shed since we took her out of the sand. I've heard stories of Beardies skin never returning to normal, and that concerns me.....




.

 

[CooperDragon]

She looks pretty healthy based on the photos. I'd just be patient on the hands and give them a few shed cycles to return to normal. The discoloration shouldn't be harmful to her.