Throw up / canned crickets / doesn't want to eat

[Lexipoobudala]

Hello,

My bearded dragon just threw up and I'm not sure why.. I think it was from the canned crickets I fed him. I normally do not feed him canned crickets but I figured I'd buy them as a back up food if I can't make it to the pet store to buy live crickets. Normally, he eats them and there's no problem. I didn't know the crickets could go bad if you refrigerate them.. so I guess my question is, is this possbily the reason he threw up? Also, how long do those crickets last usually after you open them? I bought the Flucker's brand. This is the only thing I can think of that made him throw up..

I dropped a few crickets and he doesn't seem interested.. maybe he still doesn't feel good?

 

[CooperDragon]

It's possible they upset his stomach in which case I'd go easy on him for a bit. Maybe try offering a little bit of water and see how he handles that.

What are the temperatures in his tank? What kind of UVB lighting do you have in place for him? They rely on proper temperature gradients and UVB exposure for digestion as well as overall health so if something is off with the lighting that could be having an effect too.

 

[Lexipoobudala]

He ended up having parasites and a bacteria infection. The vet gave me meds and he got more sick for a while but I think he's getting better now. I have a dome light with a reptisun 13 watt compact light. I know these aren't ideal, but I am planning on getting him a new terrarium very soon so that was just temporary.

 

[JessPets]

What heat do you have?

 

[Lexipoobudala]

I have his uvb light and his basking spot is a dome light with a 75 watt bulb.

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm glad he seems to be doing better now. I advise upgrading your UVB light as soon as you can. The 13w really isn't powerful enough for a bearded dragon and won't provide enough UVB at any realistic distance. At the very least I suggest swapping that for a 26w (Exo Terra UVB200 is a decent choice) which should sit 6-8'' above the basking area to provide enough UVB for him. It's a critical component for digestion and overall health so I'd get that for now and then when you upgrade to a larger terrarium I would invest in a T5 tube light which should provide excellent UVB levels for years.