Super tired Beardie

[Bunsy44]

Anyone ever experience this?

Ziggy just finished shedding his entire back a few days ago. Yesterday he seemed completely exhausted. When I picked him he was basically limp. He would open his eyes a bit and look at me but quickly close them and just lay there. He's still got great color and he's eating like crazy. lots of crickets and veggies and a few tiny meal worms here and there. I wouldn't think he's dehydrated because he's been eating his veggies and he's got water. I spray his enclosure down at least once a day and I usually see him licking some water off surfaces. He doesn't poo every day but he never has. Last one looked totally normal. He's only 7-8 months old so couldn't be brumation. He did this once before when we first got him. Just seems weird. Do beardies sometimes just get lazy and hardly do anything for a couple days? He's still basking and enclosure temps are ok but he's laying flat on his stomach most of the time and sleeping.

Im currently running a MV bulb but it doesn't seem quite as hot lately. Temps are still ok but slightly less than normal. Only had the bulb going a little over a month so I would hope its not burning out already? Maybe it's not cranking out enough UVB? Im planning on upgrading my setup but don't have money right now. I will be switching to a Reptisun 10.0 T5 and a halogen basking bulb. Im also going to add a ceramic heat bulb on a temperature regulator to help maintain the tank temps.

Not too worried yet. Im chalking it up to exhaustion from the shedding but still a bit worrisome when he shows little to no activity and barely opens his eyes for a day or two. Maybe it's the slightly cooler temps?

 

[KarrieRee]

Anyone ever experience this?

Ziggy just finished shedding his entire back a few days ago. Yesterday he seemed completely exhausted. When I picked him he was basically limp. He would open his eyes a bit and look at me but quickly close them and just lay there. He's still got great color and he's eating like crazy. lots of crickets and veggies and a few tiny meal worms here and there. I wouldn't think he's dehydrated because he's been eating his veggies and he's got water. I spray his enclosure down at least once a day and I usually see him licking some water off surfaces. He doesn't poo every day but he never has. Last one looked totally normal. He's only 7-8 months old so couldn't be brumation. He did this once before when we first got him. Just seems weird. Do beardies sometimes just get lazy and hardly do anything for a couple days? He's still basking and enclosure temps are ok but he's laying flat on his stomach most of the time and sleeping.

Im currently running a MV bulb but it doesn't seem quite as hot lately. Temps are still ok but slightly less than normal. Only had the bulb going a little over a month so I would hope its not burning out already? Maybe it's not cranking out enough UVB? Im planning on upgrading my setup but don't have money right now. I will be switching to a Reptisun 10.0 T5 and a halogen basking bulb. Im also going to add a ceramic heat bulb on a temperature regulator to help maintain the tank temps.

Not too worried yet. Im chalking it up to exhaustion from the shedding but still a bit worrisome when he shows little to no activity and barely opens his eyes for a day or two. Maybe it's the slightly cooler temps?

Hi there 7-8 month old dragons do not brumate - it sounds like your lighting is not up to par - I would get the correct lighting on your priority list since hes started to have signs of the temps and lighting being not up to par - and you are correct MVB do not emit enough UVB so since your going to a good UVB please let us know when you get it so we can help you get it placed for your tank

 

[Bunsy44]

I believe many people use Mercury Vapour bulbs. They are sold as reptile bulbs so I would assume they provide enough UVB? Im still going to upgrade when I have the money though. One thing I'm not sure on is the length of the bulb I should use? I have a 36" wide tank so I was going to use a 24" long bulb but I thought I might just get the 36" bulb and cover the entire tank with UVB light. He has a cave to hide in to get away from the light entirely if he chooses. My tank is only 12" high so I would assume the light will be fine right on top of the screen? I know the screen blocks a bit of the UVB but he will be able to get closer to it on his perches and hammock.

Do Beardies know how to control their own UVB intake? As in, will he know when's he's had enough and go in to his cave to escape it if he feels like he's getting more than he needs? Can they really get too much UVB? Considering the light isn't always on and he has places to hide I would guess that he wont get overloaded with UVB even if the bulb covers the whole tank? Cooper sent me a pic of his setup and he has a 36" UVB T5 across the top of his tank so I think I might do the same.

Zig seems totally fine now. Hes active again and still eating lots. His color is great and he's hydrated. I think he was just exhausted from that shed and had couple down days to sleep it off.

 

[annieandziggy]

Hello, my baby bearded dragon is doing the exact same thing (ironically he is also named Ziggy lol)- i got him a few days ago and he's terrified of me and keeps flattening out and closing his eyes whenever i get near him. he doesn't like to chase his crickets around the cage, he just watches them crawl on him and he will shake them off. I don't think he's lethargic, he's still active and really spunky- he got loose yesterday and ran all around my room while I was trying not to scare him but at the same time make sure he didn't get lost. It sounds like (especially since your Ziggy just got done with shedding) that he is just what you said- a bit exhausted and maybe slightly dehydrated. It sounds like everythings okay but if you're really concerned, take him for a checkup just in case.

 

[Bunsy44]

Hello, my baby bearded dragon is doing the exact same thing (ironically he is also named Ziggy lol)- i got him a few days ago and he's terrified of me and keeps flattening out and closing his eyes whenever i get near him. he doesn't like to chase his crickets around the cage, he just watches them crawl on him and he will shake them off. I don't think he's lethargic, he's still active and really spunky- he got loose yesterday and ran all around my room while I was trying not to scare him but at the same time make sure he didn't get lost. It sounds like (especially since your Ziggy just got done with shedding) that he is just what you said- a bit exhausted and maybe slightly dehydrated. It sounds like everythings okay but if you're really concerned, take him for a checkup just in case.

My Ziggy is all good now. He's shedding his tail again now and a bit of his head. They are such weird little animals. Some days he's all over the place and goes crazy for crickets and eats all his veggies, some days he's super chill and just relaxes in his hammock or under it all day and doesn't really eat much. He's obviously growing because he sheds almost continuously on alternating parts of his body and he's quite a bit bigger even after just having him for 2 months. I still wonder if he's getting enough UVB though. Having just the Reptilglo mercury vapour basking bulb doesn't seem like he would be getting enough because he doesn't spend the whole day under it. I just got my new light setup in the mail so once that is up and going he should be getting all the UVB and heat that he needs.