(URGENT) I DONT KNOW WHATS WRONG WITH MY BEARDIE (ALL BLACK)

[AriesScales]

Ok, Hello, This may be a wierd first post but hey, im Aiden, and i need some answers about my beardie Aries. im very worried. Because he is constantly having a black beard. and he has been very clingy to his cage, like he will sit on his wood and just get as tight to it as he can, and he will close his eyes.

One thing i have done is offered food, that made the black go away temporarily. but im just really unsure what is going on, Brumation? Sickness? Stress? Dehydration? Im not sure, the only other thing im thinking is he hasnt had a uvb bulb for some time now because it broke and we havent been able to replace it yet sadly. but he hasnt been like this at all so im not to sure its that. its only been going on for today but it hasn't stopped

Here are some pictures of him so you all can see what is wrong with him. (yes the gyazo links are the pictures) by the way the last one is when he is normal (month old pic btw)

Thanks for any help possible...

UPDATE: He just pooped, and it was quite liquidy, not sure if thats part of the problem or not.

https://gyazo.com/26f5d7b31bfaca9733a5759e4813c45e
https://gyazo.com/69d57a742438863eb0ff2e1cb17ef595
https://gyazo.com/11e31dedf3ed7b0617567ab81493df40

 

[EsmeraldasMother]

Hi Aiden.

Can you please provide information on your tank? Lights, size, etc.

Also, how long is "some time"? Days, weeks, months? While I can't claim I know EVERYTHING about bearded dragons, UVB is extremely important.

 

[AriesScales]

Ok so he is in a 20 gallon long currently, because he is still young, he has a reptiglo intense heat basking light (dont know the specifics) and he has also been without uvb for about 2 months. (I know thats not good) my father urgently needs to get him a new one. for substrate he has one of those sand mats, so he cant be impacted, he has a water dish (he does drink from it) A big piece of grapevine i believe it is, and a reptihammock. thanks for replying so quickly, i really need some help. im a bit new to reptile keeping.

 

[AHBD]

Hi Aiden it's good that you've come here for help. There may be several thongs going on but 2 months without uvb is far too long for a growing dragon. Explain to your dad that you may not see right away, but your dragon can't use the calcium in his body without uvb and he can get sick in many ways, one bad thing is MBD [ metabolic bone disease ] that can cause his bones to fracture easily and cause deformities out of the blue. Is he stll getting around O.K if you put him on the floor ? If it's sunny outside, take him out in a plastic tote [ if it's less than 75 + sunny, the plastic tote will heat up nicely, if it's over 75 it can get too hot ]

Liquidy poop can mean parasites but not always. Best to have a poo checked by a reptile vet [ be sure they DO know how to treat reptiles ] Is he eating well, if so what ? You can offer hydration via eyedropper or spray bottle on his snout . You'll need to get a good uvb bulb ASAP. The 2 best are the Arcadia long tube 12% and the Reptisun long tube 10.0 t5.

 

[Esther19]

I'm sorry your dragon is poorly. What are the temperatures in the tank-both basking spot and cool side? How long has he been with you?

 

[AriesScales]

ok, yes he is still running around and acting fine just more depressed if you know what i mean. and his poop looked like it may have had something in it, ill have to check. what do i do if there is something in the poop that isnt normal. cus we cant really afford the vet and my father doesnt understand how important he is.. :?

And Esther, his cool side is currently about 85, and the hot side about 95, and he has been with me since april, and he was only like a month or two old when i got him.

 

[AriesScales]

also, here is a picture of the poop, it looks very discolored, im not sure why, all he has eaten was superworms and mealworms that ive given him

https://gyazo.com/93a481a71483467bc5f390ee9fa2cf9c

 

[EsmeraldasMother]

I don't know how to answer the question about what you do, since it's up to you. My personal suggestion would be to convince your dad to take him to a knowledgeable reptile vet (there really IS a difference between someone who will see reptiles, and someone who KNOWS reptiles), and go from there. I took my little one to the vet yesterday, and with a shot, 2 types of medication administered onsite, the new exam charge AND the fecal test, it was less than $175.00.

Also, please don't give him super worms. Neither type of worm is good for them, especially one so young, and superworms can eat through the internal organs if not chewed up enough.

 

[AHBD]

I can't really make it out, the screen of my computer is sort of dark . BTW, small/medium supers are O.K. in small amounts but better insects are crickets or dubia roaches as well as black soldier fly larva [ BSFL ] AKA Phonix/calci worms. BTW, superworms + mealworms can't eat the insides of a reptile, that was a myth from long ago.

Your basking spot could be about 5 degrees warmer at least, that will help digestion. Will he eat any veggies like green beans, and a variety of greens like turnip, mustard, collard, endive as well as squash ? Those veggies should all be fed to the insects before they are fed to him as well. And use a good calcium supplement like Repashy calcium plus.

 

[AriesScales]

not to sound like a downer but the thing is, my dad will NOT, buy me anything else, or pay 175 to see a vet, let alone drive me to one. i know, *******, amirite?

but i cant just let him sit there, we have to do something, but i just dont know... because my family is very poor and cant even afford to bring him. uhg im really nervous.

thanks again for all the help so far though.

To AHBD, yeah, ive heard they are not very good for them... also, yeah he will eat pretty much any veggie i give him, just have to buy it, but ive heard its best to give mostly insects while they are young. and i do plan on getting repticalcium when possible as well. about the basking spot, the most i could possibly do in this current time is move his hammock closer so he can get a bit higher up towards it, because we cant really buy a new bulb right now or anything.
thanks for the feedback.

 

[AHBD]

Yeah, that's a tough situation to be in. But if he's eating veggies that's great, it will ad a lot of nutrients to his diet. So can you get him out in the sun for a while ? And if you can't get any other insects the worms will have to do, just feed him a few but feed him 2-3X a day, but not too close to bedtime. To increase heat in his tank you can put a thick towel over part of the top, but then be careful it doesn't get TOO hot.

Is there anywhere you can get a part time little job ? Cutting grass, doing leaf raking, etc ? If you earn some money you can get the things you need.

 

[AriesScales]

Yep im going to keep up with the veggies, i would bring him outside, but he is pretty small and he could run off, which would suck. also, where over the top. like under the lamp, next to the lamp?
and if there were any jobs i could get i would, honestly no body around where i live wants that kind of stuff sadly. also he just pooped, (AGAIN, and it was 99.9% liquid) not really sure whats going on, theres so many things is could be!

 

[AHBD]

You could take him out in a tall plastic storage tote. BTW, can you post more pics of him ? It's very hard to see his size in those small pics. Try this :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload pics

 

[AriesScales]

those should be better

and i will try to find one, if not what should i do?

 

[AHBD]

He looks pretty good, you've taken good care of him working with what you have. He looks about 10-12" long ? Do you have relatives or friends to loan you money or that you could do work for ? Sometimes if you really want something you can get it [ work ] Washing cars, etc.

Oh. and just drape the towel over one end, away from the light.

Tell your parents that he can end up very sick ....MBD is terrible and can deform a dragon + cause a lot of pain. Thankfully he's not looking like anything has happened yet, but it can pop up very quickly. Here is what can happen :
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjlpdCkutrWAhXh4IMKHbWTAIwQjB0IBg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.beardeddragonlady.com%2Fmbd.html&psig=AOvVaw1PoZTjVfi6DO_7T3O5r5gL&ust=1507326326727272