I wast rearing my bearded dragon for early stage tail rot and I noticed that the fingers on his hind legs seemed to be a little bit dark. I’d this tail rot?
Hi there, if he has a foot injury it would be an unrelated issue. Is he housed alone ? Has he had trouble shedding ? Can you post pics of both his tail as well as his feet ? Here's how :
He’s housed on his own and it is possible that he could have hurt one of his toes when I first got him.
I’ve also been a bit worried about MBD because his feet sometimes drag(like in the picture), but his light should be emitting enough uvb and I dust his crickets regularly. He eats vegetables sometime too.
It depends on the day, but ever since I started using my new light, a 160 watt mvb light power sun, he’s seems to be a little less active when I see him and his appetite has gone down a little. Also, is his tail rotting? I just thought that his tail could just be getting ready for a shed as well as his feet.
What are your Temperatures inside the enclosure? The 160 watt MVB emits a lot of heat, and if he has actually gotten lethargic and lost his appetite since you started using it, you could be actually cooking him, especially if you're not using a digital probe thermometer or a temperature gun to measure the temperatures, but rather a stick-on thermometer.
I’m not sure because I’m using a zoo med thermometer, but it gets up to 120 degrees(max) sometimes when I leave it on the basking spots nf sometimes it’s around 100. And do you mean cooking in a literal sense? Also, when I had my old lights, apparently the uvb wasn’t sufficient and he’s always darker when I use them than when I use the mvb, but he’s always more active and has a much larger appetite l, my old uvb is a 10.0 reprising uvb that still works
How close is the 160watt Powersun to him? It shouldn't be any closer than 12-14 inches because
it could burn him. The basking temperature of 120 is way too hot. He needs more of a range of 95-110 max, with a cooler end of 78-82.
The best thermometer to use is either a digital probe, or a temp gun to get the best accurate
readings.
His tail doesn't appear to be rotting though, no. It looks like it is going to get ready to shed,
too.
If he is too hot, he wont have much of an appetite. Shedding can affect their appetites, also.
Oh my, yes I meant "cooking him" literally, and you are...that's exactly your problem, poor guy...
Those damn ZooMed stick-on thermometers are usually off by up to 20 degrees anyway, so if you're seeing 120 degrees on one of them, which is lethal range, it could be upwards of 140 in reality!!!! I would shut off the lights immediately and go buy a digital probe thermometer right now, they only cost $10 at Petco...adjust the MVB to the correct distance from his basking spot as Tracie mentioned above, and allow the probe on the thermometer to sit on the basking spot for at least 20-30 minutes before reading the temperature (you'll need to leave the light on for about an hour after adjusting it's distance from his basking spot so it can heat up to the temp it will normally be before you place the probe on the basking spot and letting it sit for 20 minutes and reading it). Then move the probe to the floor of the Hot Side, let it sit for 20 minutes again, then read it, then move it to the floor of the opposite cool side, let it sit for 20 minutes, and read it again...
I don't know what size enclosure you have, but I'm going to guess that even if that 160 watt MVB is at the correct distance from his basking spot, it's too much wattage for your enclosure. He's been living in lethal range temps since you got that bulb, I'm very glad he didn't develop heat stroke, though I'd watch him carefully for a while and offer extra hydration by dripping water or unflavored Pedialyte on his snout several times a day, he's gotta be dehydrated...
Basking Spot- between 105-110 degrees (110 degrees is the absolute max for the enclosure)
Hot Side Ambient- between 88-93 degrees max
Cool Side Ambient-between 75-80 degrees max
Nighttime needs no heat source at all, it should drop considerably lower than his daytime temps, down to 65 degrees is fine, and needs to be pitch black...
Please turn the 160 watt off right now if you haven't already, you got very lucky. My guess is you'll either need to buy a much larger enclosure to use that MVB, or drop down to the 100 watt version.
Thank you so much! I turned of my light right when I read the message and put on my old UVB light(emits no heat). My old basking spot was about 6 inches away from the light. Is the cooking going to cause permanent damage? And just to clarify, if I lower the basking spot it should be ok and do I need to start mounting my light under the screen?
He should recover & hopefully hasn't suffered from any neurological damage from being
overheated.
If you are going to continue using the 160 watt MVB Powersun, it needs to be at least 12-14
inches away or maybe further depending on the enclosure. Definitely check the temperatures
before anything, & adjust the basking area accordingly.
Let us know how he is doing.
According to test results I've read, the 160w PowerSun will emit basking levels of UVB between about 10-16'' from the basking spot so I'd keep it within that range, adjusting for surface temperatures under the bulb which should be around 100-105 or so.