stress marks

[frog]

my dragon has stress marks a lot, especially when i am handling him. his belly always seems to have stress marks on them ( not literally, but often) and i dont know why.. he lives in my bedroom and isnt in a high traffic area. he doesnt have view of the hallway, he faces my bed. so i dont see how it could be things walking by all the time scaring him.

does anybody know why this could be?

 

[beardie parents]

I really don't like to think of them as "stress" marks. There seems to be a LOT of posts where people are concerned that they are doing something wrong because their beardies have "stress" marks on their chest/stomach area. Redrock knew she was loved but had those marks on her chest. Sometimes Speedy (one current beardie) has them on her stomach area, but usually they are there in the am after she wakes up and hasn't warmed up very much. Her's stay there longer than Zoom Zoom's does. Zoom Zoom is, I think, about 4 months old, more or less, and her marks go away faster than Speedy's do. I think that's part of her coloring.

The reason for your's having those marks is could be because he's po'd because he's not with you a lot. Does he like being with you, like on your shoulder? Because when they bond with you, they will prefer to stay on your shoulder 24/7 as Redrock did. She used to feel left out of things when she was in her basking area and not with us.

 

[Ethelia]

Please dont worry too much.
Stress marks are just a dramatic name for them which worry people as soon as they read it.

Stress marks are very tempermental, and Dexter will get them when she is given a bath (how DARE I???) or if I put her back in her viv before she has decided she wants to go in.
Stress marks are the very dark patterns on your little ones tummies. On Dex you can nearly always make out fain grey lines. These are nothing to worry about. The dark marks are just your lizard telling you she is cranky.

Stress marks are only something to worry about if they persist constantly for days.

 

[frog]

ok. I'm not sure if he exactly enjoys handling BECAUSE i dont handle him as much as i should or if he just tolerates it, because he doesnt try to get away. im only over there half the week so he doesnt get handled every day. sometimes my dad and brother (when im gone) dont get to feeding him every day and when i come home maybe hes just really hungry so that could be part of it, because after i feed water or bathe him his color gets very bright orange

thanks guys

 

[threecupsofcoffee]

looks like you might already have some idea about the stress marks... i can visualise spyro now if she didn't get her food on demand.... lol.. it might be its just that he prefers more food and your not being a good beardie slave :lol:

 

[frog]

looks like you might already have some idea about the stress marks... i can visualise spyro now if she didn't get her food on demand.... lol.. it might be its just that he prefers more food and your not being a good beardie slave :lol:

NO NO NO!!!!! i wont let you fill my head with these LIES!!!!!! if im so bad why did he sleep on my shoulder today?!

just kidding :lol: but he really did sleep with me today

 

[threecupsofcoffee]

LOL your no bad person your beardy loves you......... Just hungry thats all

 

[frog]

i know you were just kidding around.. i just need to re train my dad

 

[Johnnyboy]

Please dont worry too much.
Stress marks are just a dramatic name for them which worry people as soon as they read it.

Stress marks are very tempermental, and Dexter will get them when she is given a bath (how DARE I???) or if I put her back in her viv before she has decided she wants to go in.
Stress marks are the very dark patterns on your little ones tummies. On Dex you can nearly always make out fain grey lines. These are nothing to worry about. The dark marks are just your lizard telling you she is cranky.

Stress marks are only something to worry about if they persist constantly for days.

My bearded dragon has stress marks ALL the time while in the tank basking, but loses them when I take them out and looks sexy. Does this mean something bad? Without going into detail about my enclosure, i use the optimal settings in accordance to the forum (even use of tile). He eats probably once every other day (this is his choice!!) and is about 7 months old.

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,
Well if they are constant there might be something bothering him.
Could you tell me what your temperatures are and how you are measuring them?
Also what lighting you are using.
When he is eating every other day what is he eating an how much?

Holly

 

[Johnnyboy]

Hi there,
Well if they are constant there might be something bothering him.
Could you tell me what your temperatures are and how you are measuring them?
Also what lighting you are using.
When he is eating every other day what is he eating an how much?

Holly

Hello! Thanks for the reply!
The temperature at the basking spot is fluctuates from 99 to 105 depending on the room temperature, the cold end's temperature reading is 70-76. I got these numbers using a digital thermometer. I'm currently using a single Solar Glo 125watt mercury vapor bulb. I leave a plate of bok choy in there daily but he doesn't eat a lot of it but he does eats about 2-3 superworms every other day. I tried using jump start from zilla a couple times but it didn't increase his appetite.

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,

Hmmm that certainly isnt alot of food.
How old is your dragon? Have you noticed a decrease in activity recently? Perhaps he is napping more often during the day?
Have you tried other veggies and feeders?

I cant say Ive heard anything about the solarglow, its certainly not a UK brand so hopefully another member can help out here. How close can your dragon get to this bulb? (measuring from the tip of the bulb to the place where your dragon would hold itself up to. Please try to be precise)

 

[Johnnyboy]

Hi there,

Hmmm that certainly isnt alot of food.
How old is your dragon? Have you noticed a decrease in activity recently? Perhaps he is napping more often during the day?
Have you tried other veggies and feeders?

I cant say Ive heard anything about the solarglow, its certainly not a UK brand so hopefully another member can help out here. How close can your dragon get to this bulb? (measuring from the tip of the bulb to the place where your dragon would hold itself up to. Please try to be precise)

hi!! thanks for asking!
The box says it is to be put a recommended 12 inches but i put it about 11 inches (i hope this isn't a problem). The temperature is getting cold now where i live, so i have to use a regular basking bulb in conjunction with the Solar Glo to keep the temperature at around 100 where he basks. He is about 7 1/2 months old. To be honest, my boy isn't really active, i mean once in a while he would run around the tank but most of the time he sits at the basking spot, taking in the sun. He used to eat crickets but won't go near them now even when i hand feed them and i stopped the occasional wax worm because i don't want him to be addicted. Because i don't want crickets nibbling on him at night, i have a dish of superworms so he has access to food whenever he wants it. I give also him carrots every once in a while and sometimes turnip greens.

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,

Well all that sounds great aswell.
I think the best thing for you is to get a faecal done to make sure your little one doesnt have paracites. (Paracites would explain the drop in activity, appetite and stress marks).
You wont need to find an exotics vet, just call up a couple of local vets and ask if you can bring in a faecal sample for a paracites screen. Try to make sure the sample is as fresh as possible.
A faecal only costs around £12 and could give you the answer to your worries about your little one.

Keep us updated.

Holly