Vacation from hell

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My beardie is almost a year in September. He used to run around a lot and have energy but recently he just slides on his belly if he even moves. I feed him worms and crickets out of my hand regularly and he hates veggies but I do give him some every morning. Just recently I went on vacation and left Lenard at home with my mom for a week. Well when I got home I took him out and set him down & he took the biggest poop I had ever seen. Needles to say he didn't poop at all the week I was gone. Ever sense I have gotten back he is extremely grumpy. He runs away from me he hissed at my boyfriend which he has never done. He loves his daddy. And his poop has full worms in it. Like he dosent even digest them. Just eats and poops. He's also licking his mouth a lot which is weird because I've only seen him do that when I drop water in his nose.
 

Klub708

Member
What are his temps and lights? Did he have proper lighting over vacation? What is his tank size? I would say to cut out the worms. They are fatty and hard to digest and might have caused some of his problems.
 

juliagulia00

Member
Original Poster
He's in a 60g 75w red night light and a UBV and basking light. It's in the 90s. We just recently lost AC so it was extremely hot in here while I was gone but we got it fixed. When I left for vacations he was looking a little thinner than normal and when I got back he had bulked back up so I was assuming everything was okay but he didn't poop for a week so when he did he basically shrunk back down. Today he's not as pissed at me for leaving him home and we got some cuddles in however I'm just worried about his size. I feed him everyday but he still looks extremely thin to me for being 11 months.
 

Klub708

Member
That looks like severe MBD and Malnourishment. Which would explain him dragging his back legs. Please see a Reptile Vet IMMEDIATELY. He needs help RIGHT NOW!!!
 

Chanza

Hatchling Member
He looks very malnourished. He could be suffering from lack of lighting and/or MBD, hence why he couldn't digest his worms properly and is dragging his back legs and unable to hold him self up. He knows he is sick and feels vulnerable, which is why is probably running/hissing at the two of you. Take him to a specialist reptile veterinarian as soon as possible and make sure his tempatures are raised for the time being.
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
He needs vet treatment, that looks like MBD. He is very sick

That red nightlight does nothing but harm, please remove it.

Can you confirm your UVB/basking bulb? Is it a mercury vapor bulb? Or is it just a heat bulb?
Based on how your dragon is looking something tells me he has been without sufficient UVB for all or most of his life.
 

juliagulia00

Member
Original Poster
He had crushed walnuts the pet store guy said it was the best until I got onto this site and read it is not so I have switched him over to a fake bottom! I have three lights. One basking over his rock that is 75w I believe I just got a bigger one because I got a bigger tank so I could be mistaken. A red light for night and a uvb light. It's the tube kind. I also give him plenty of veggies but he dosent eat them. I've tried many different kinds too. He only likes crickets and worms wich I give him everyday. It was just when I got back that he looked super skinny. My mom said he ate but none of the veggies. And that is a piece of shed his hole head is currently shedding along with his back. Any advise on anything else I can feed him too?
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
Please don't just skirt past everyone telling you he needs a vet.
Please get him to a certified vet ASAP so they can put him on the road to recovery

I also stated that red bulb needs to be removed but that was not acknowledged in your last post. They need complete darkness when sleeping. Dragons see in full color and a red night light can really mess with them. Please remove this as I stated.

The wattage of the basking bulb is not important as long as his temps are fine. What is his basking temperature and how are you measuring it?

What is the make/model/age of your UVB bulb? You stated tube, is it 10.0 or 5.0? Is it T8 or T5? Is it new or is it old?

Your dragon is suffering from MBD as stated, he is not getting the UVB/calcium he needs. Do you dust his crickets with calcium? I would recommend liquid calcium at this point. He is also malnourished and looks dehydrated, and his growth has been stunted.

PLEASE GET HIM TO A VET
 

juliagulia00

Member
Original Poster
I'm not "skirting" anything. I'm asking advice. I'm taking everyone's into consideration,i didn't state that I removed it because that is irrelivent to what someone was asking me. There is no vet in this region that will service bearded dragons I have already tried before I left on vacation to make sure he was okay. The local one we do have i will never bring him to they are terrible. The uvb Is a 10.0 I do not know the name I'm at work its like exo something I think. I have two thermometers one that's the stick on one for the cool side and I have a gage on the basking. The basking is around 106-104. a d he has a water dish in his cage that gets changed every other day that he sits in. I also give him a bath once every two weeks. And he drinks the water I drop on his nose sometimes
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Okay, you've got some serious issues, first with your UVB light. First of all, unless it's a T5 High-Output UVB tube it cannot sit on top of any mesh or glass, he's gotten zero UVB. Also, depending on what exact UVB tube you have, it must not only be mounted inside his enclosure, but it has to be the correct distance from your beardie when he sits on his basking spot, usually between 6-8" unobstructed. And if your UVB tube fixture has any clear plastic cover over the tube, it's also blocking the UVB light from getting through, and needs removed. And if your tube is older than 6 months it no longer emits UVB light and you must replace it immediately. But first, you need to read what is written on the tube itself, it will say the brand and model/wattage. My guess is that it's not an Arcadia or a Reptisun, so it's not an adequate UVB tube for a bearded dragon anyway, and then it's been instructed by the mesh lid and possibly a clear plastic cover on the fixture. So your beardie has gotten no UVB. It's quite obvious that he is suffering from severe MBD, he is badly stunted and half the size he should be, but more importantly his head and bone structure is showing deformities like the severe underbite and the paralysis in his back legs. He needs a proper UVB tube mounted inside his tank at the proper height, unobstructed by anything between him and the tube. This will not only allow him to process his Calcium and increase his bone density, but it will up his appetite. It either needs to be an Arcadia 12% UVB tube, or a Reptisun 10.0 T5 High-Output UVB tube, I'd skip the T8 tube because he needs the stronger UVB right now.

Now the second problem is your temperature gradient. You do not have an adequate thermometer. Those round gauge thermometers are often off by up to 20 degrees, a d you have no way of measuring his basking spot temperature, which is the most important temp. You need to go out and buy a digital thermometer that has a probe on a wire, so that you can place the probe on his basking spot where he sits, let it sit for 20-30 minutes, then read the temperature. Then move the probe off of the basking spot down to the floor surrounding it on that end of the tank, let it sit for 20-30 minutes, and read the temperature. This is his Hot Side. Then move the probe to the entire other end of the tank, lay it on the floor for 20-30 minutes, and read the temperature. This is the Cool Side. The temps inside his tank must be within the following ranges for him to be able to properly digest his food, absorb nutrients, be able to cool down, etc.

Cool Side: 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit maximum

Hot Side: 88-93 degrees Fahrenheit maximum

Basking Spot: 100-105 (at 11 months he will want it cooler than the 105-110 basking spot range that babies and juveniles do, that's why he's mouth gaping, if he's gaping it's too hot)

Remove the red night light, no lights on at night at all, his night temperature must drop like it does in the wild. As long as the temp is at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit he needs no heat source.

He needs Calcium every single day and a multivitamin 5 days a week for now, but honestly he needs to see a certified reptile vet immediately and get a calcium injection, and he should be on liquid Calcium daily for a while. His bone density is non-existent right now, which is both dangerous and effecting every part of his body functions. Until you get a proper UVB tube mounted inside the tank at the correct distance from the basking spot, and you get his temperature gradient correct, he will not be able to absorb any of the Calcium you give him, any nutrition from his food, nor be able to properly digest anything. His appetite is being heavily effected by the lack of UVB light and the incorrect temperatures. He's a very sick little beardie, and whether or not he regains the use of his legs completely or he is able to gain some size and weight is completely dependent on you getting him the proper UVB tube and correct temperatures, and getting them both mounted right alongside each other and the UVB at the correct distance ASAP. The sooner you do this, the better chance he has to survive and maybe reverse some of the effects of the MBD, but it's really pretty bad, I'm sorry.
 

nathb1

Hatchling Member
juliagulia00":1cfgrwsg said:
My beardie is almost a year in September. He used to run around a lot and have energy but recently he just slides on his belly if he even moves. I feed him worms and crickets out of my hand regularly and he hates veggies but I do give him some every morning. Just recently I went on vacation and left Lenard at home with my mom for a week. Well when I got home I took him out and set him down & he took the biggest poop I had ever seen. Needles to say he didn't poop at all the week I was gone. Ever sense I have gotten back he is extremely grumpy. He runs away from me he hissed at my boyfriend which he has never done. He loves his daddy. And his poop has full worms in it. Like he dosent even digest them. Just eats and poops. He's also licking his mouth a lot which is weird because I've only seen him do that when I drop water in his nose.

Hi Julia,

I agree with everyone here that he looks very sick and needs vet attention and needs his lighting/UVB ASAP. You posted in june and thought that he had YF? How is belly looking now?
Also he probably would need some liquids form food if he is not eating..
Nat
 

juliagulia00

Member
Original Poster
Yeah. It turned out to be old shed that wasn't coming off because of the crushed walnut shells. Which are in the trash and I told the local pet store who suggested it that it should never be used. It's all cleared up now. We took baths regularly and he loves the water now so that was another plus. I've changed his lights and re did his cage. He seems to be doing much better. More alert and seems to be processing his food. I took the screen off and got clamps. I went out and got different veggies and different worms he loves okra and garbonza beans. Thanks for all the help and concern. I'll let you know if anything changes ❤️
 
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