stress???!!!

[leftshoulderangel111]

my bd has turned damn near solid black in the course of a day and i dont know what the hell

 

[Freeie]

How long have you had your beardie? Can you post a picture?

 

[leftshoulderangel111]

ive had him about going on 4 months and he was 3 months when i got him...this morning he feels cold to the touch and hes still as dark as he can get

 

[chancellor91]

try putting him in his basking spot to get him warmer, make sure your tank temps are good?

maybe tracy can help you more ill pm her

 

[munchkins9802]

Answer the following questions so we can help you better
how long have you had your dragon
how old
substrate (sand, carpet,tile)
what do you feed it? how often?
do you use a UVB bulb--if so brand and type (compact, flourescent,mvb?)
how often and what do you feed it
how do you take the temps (digital, probe, stick on?)
What is the basking side temps?
Cool side temps?
do you give it a bath and how often?

 

[leftshoulderangel111]

Answer the following questions so we can help you better
ive had him since the end of december and he was 3 months when i got him so guess around 7 months old...i still have him on carpet and i try to feed him crickets about three times a day and ive been putting asparagus and collard greens in with him for a salad
the uvb is a repti glow 10.0 26w compact bulb
the thermometer is just a probe and his temps as of right now are 89 and the closest point that i can get the probe to his basking site....(about 6 inches)
i do not bath him but i mist him once or twice a day and i dont have enough room in the tank for a cool side yet....i have a bigger tank but i dont have the bulbs for it yet
yesterday was the first day ive seen this happen and then this morning i put a heater in the room where his tank is and fed him and he really brightened up but after i put his stuff back in his cage and he got under his basking light he darkened up again
his cage sits under a window that usually gets alot of sun but its been raining these past few days and that is the only change except that i started ordering the crickets from a different site....premiumcrickets.com he doesnt seem to be ill hes always been a little grumpy but hes never been this damn dark

 

[munchkins9802]

Okay, you need to order the repti sun 10.0 flourescent bulb--can get it at petmountain.com for about $20. (petstores charge 35 -40), the compact bulb is NOT GOOD for them.
Premium crickets is a reliable source. Do you have a separate basking bulb in addition to the UVB bulb? Great that you have carpet!!!
Are you making sure the crickets are NO BIGGER than the space between his eyes? Baths are better for them 2-4 times a week, everyday if you like. When is the last time he pooped?

 

[Pleaides]

hello
i agree with munchkins on the bathing, please do not mist him or his viv and this can raise the humidity too much and can give him an RI, so stick to bathing in lukewarm water to keep him hydrated.
you may want to set up his new bigger viv then, your going to have to get a new UV anyway so id get the reptiSUN 10.0 thats the best bulb you can get, in conjunction with the UV you need a white basking light to protect his eyes, a normal household bulb will be fine and its cheaper.
the temperatures are not hot enough at 89f, cool end around 80-85f, warm end around 90-95 and basking area needs to be around 100-110f, so this is why he may not want to eat.
hope this helps.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Definitely, as suggested, please take the Reptiglo 10 coil light out right now. It does not have very good quality UVB emissions, & it is very hard on their eyes, also. Try to get a Reptisun 10 flourescent tube light. You can find it here for a good price:

http://www.petmountain.com

He is dark most likely due to him trying to absorb as much heat as possible with the temps being insufficient for basking. Is he also lethargic?
He will not have much if any of an appetite with being too cold, or if he does eat anything, he wont be able to digest properly either.
What sized tank are you using for him? If you have at least a 30 gallon, I would get a halogen flood light for the basking light, as it is nice & bright white light & it gets hot too so it is easy to get the basking temps within range. That will need to be placed directly beside the UVB tube bulb when you do get it. Please go ahead & get that ordered as soon as you can.

Tracie

 

[leftshoulderangel111]

hes eating fine and im am working on his set up as i can but the economy has taken its toll...ive got his temps up to 90 but thats about as high as i can get it i think with what i have right now...he pooped thismorning after i fed him and what exactly is this RI he can catch....any advice please im in a tight spot and i really wanna keep this little dinasouar alive

 

[leftshoulderangel111]

since ive been informed to remove his uvb i was wondering if i could put his red night bulb in its place to help raise the tempuratures...and another thing he keeps runs up against the walls of the aquarium every now and again where the sunlight usually shines in and i dont know if maybe hes fighting his reflection or looking for that source of light...but as it stands now if i leave the room for a few hours when i first come back in hes pretty bright and he tends to brighten up when he eats but as soon as there gets to be a little bit of traffic in here he darkens and there has been more traffic than lately for the past 3 days because my 7 year old ishere

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What type of light are you using for his basking light? You can use a regular household light bulb for a basking light. He absolutely needs a higher temperature than 90 degrees. He runs a very high risk of getting a respiratory infection which can make him very ill.
He is probably trying to get light if he is running towards it. You really need to get some light in there for him, it is crucial for his overall health.
Does the noise of your 7 year old bothering him perhaps as well? They tend not to like a lot of screaming, & fast movements.
Do you have a clamp light fixture that you could put a household light bulb in for him?

Tracie

 

[chancellor91]

-also on top of what tracie suggested, i would get the that reptisun 10.0 it only 20 bucks form pet mountain, look around the link is somewhere, and seems like your bd needs to be warmer that why it going for the sun, and maybe try taking your beardie out more often, and get him used to movement and people, mine seems much better since i take her out at least 4 hours a day, off and on gotta let her warm up =) so that might help with some of his anixety that it sounds like he having with people trafic

hope he gets better
-chancellor

 

[leftshoulderangel111]

ok i took the uvb bulb out and i have had a basking bulb on top of his aquarium and like i said the warmest i can get it by that thermometer is 90 but when i came back home he was in the shadow up under his little log fixture like he was trying to hide and hes really warm to the touch

 

[diamc]

Well, if he was hiding like that, it's possible that your thermometer isn't giving you a good reading. You mentioned that it has a probe, does it have a long wire with the probe at the end? If so, are you laying the probe right on the basking log, then waiting about 45 min for the temp to stop rising before getting the final reading? What size tank is it and what is the wattage of the basking bulb?