VERY Black Beard ... UPDATED Now pooping where he lays

[cath1024]

Hi everyone,

Most of the day today our Max has had this realy dark beard , hes not puffing his beard out or anything but its so dark and almost scary looking as we have never seen this before on him.

He is about 6-7 months old and we were told he is a male.

He usually has a large appetit eating about 30-35 crickets a day along with some greens but yesterday he only ate about 10 crickets and today he ate about 12 this morning and nothing the rest of the day or evening and its his bed time now.

he has had mouth open alot this evening - not sure if that could mean anything but wanted to mention that.

Anyone know what could be the problem or is this completly normal?

Thanks!

 

[Jasper's Mom]

At 6-7 months old, he's hitting adolescence. And you know what teenagers are like! :lol: He's going to be difficult for a little while, but once his "teenage phase" is over, he should go back to being sweet and friendly. Keep an eye on his food intake and his weight. Weigh him weekly if possible. As long as he's not losing weight, I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[cath1024]

Thanks for your reply ... im hoping this is nothing ... we just gave him a bath and now his beard is pitch black ... its been dark all day but now its super black.

he also would not eat anything this morning for breakfast where he would usually eat about 15 crickets ... and just now he would only eat about 4 and hasnt touched his greens.

The past couple days he is also now doing his business on his basking rock where he lays ... he used to always leave the rock and go to the other side of the tank to poop and nver where he would lay.

Like i said we are first time beardie owners and have realy come to love this little guy and now we are terrified something maybe wrong.

Anymore thoughts?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Can you give more information about his setup such as his lighting, etc?
What are his temperatures in his tank?
What have his stools looked like, are the urates hard or soft? Are they white or off colored?
Is his beard still black, & what do his eyes look like?
Could he be impacted from something possibly?

Tracie

 

[cath1024]

Hi Tracie,
Thanks for replying ... i have been sitting here waiting for someone who might be able to help us out ... he has 2 lights on top - one heat lamp with a a round UVB on the outside of the heat bulb ... we also have longer UVB which has 2 coiled lights ... we did this so he would get the light from anywhere in the viv - also keeps it nice and bright.

The temp on his rock ledge is in the range of 100-112 depending on where the probe is ( sometimes he moves the probe)
the cooler side is 80

His poops are always formed and his pee is white it is mostly a formed white clump and comes out the same time the poop does. Im concerned why he isnt coming down to do his business like he always does instead he is going right where he lays.

his beard has been black most of the night - we brought him out for awhile and he ran around the floor for abit but would rather be sitting on my husbands shoulder. he was calm and not acting any different other then the not eating.

His eyes look fine other then he has been keeping one eye open and one closed when he goes to sleep ... right now his lights have been off for a couple hours and he is flattened out and still has one eye open. The temp goes down to about 70 at night (is that ok)

still didnt eat anything tonight ... we tried some green and crickets but he backs away and turns his head.
he usually loves his crickets.

 

[cath1024]

Here is a few pictures of Max before he stopped eating and having the black beard

 

[beardie parents]

I do have a question about your uvb bulb. It sound like you have a coil uvb. Is it like a energy saver light bulb? or is it a long fluorescent tube?

 

[Jasper's Mom]

Max is very cute! I second the question about the UV bulb. If you have coil bulbs, then that could be the source of the problem. Ideally you would want to get a ReptiSun 10.0 tube style light, or better yet, an MVB such as the Megaray (http://reptileuv.com).

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The UVB combo bulb, that is an R-Zilla light with a halogen in the middle correct? If so, I just can't recommend the Zilla lights yet. We have had so many reports of eye trouble & health problems with the Zilla lights that until I see the final reports & analysis on them after extensive testing, I really recommend that you get another light.
How long have you been using that combo bulb?
The best flourescent tube UVB that you can get is the Reptisun 10. Just use a halogen bulb & place that directly beside the Reptisun for the basking light. What are the temps getting to now?
I agree, the best UVB light you can get is the Megaray which is a mercury vapor bulb. You can use it if you have a 30-40 gallon tank, or larger.
Is his beard still black?

Tracie

 

[cath1024]

Hi,
this morning he would not eat a thing not even 1 cricket

I have just took away his combo uvb/heat lamp ... we started using that one about 3 weeks ago.
Prior to that we were using a heat lamp and the uvb seperately.

The uvb set up is a holder with 2 coil bulbs this is what were have been using since we got him 3 months ago.

The only thing we changed 3 weeks ago was taking away the heat lamp and adding the dual heat/uvb lamp.

i have just taken some pictures of what we were using and what i have changed back to.

this one shows the light set up we had for the first 2.5 months - we had the heat lamp by itself and the uvb beside it ... we were afraid he wasnt getting enough of the uvb because he always liked to be under the heat lamp - so that is why we added the combo and took away the single heat lamp.

this next is showing the inside of the combo lights

this one shows the heat light that was used for the combo

this is close up of the coil bulbs inside the seperate uvb holder

this one is what we had in the beginning first 2.5 months and what i have just switched back to

he is still a little black in the beard but not as black as it was yesterday and the day before. I am going to try and feed him and see if he will eat now that i have changed the lights back.

Its funny that someone said about eye problems with the combo lights because he has been keep his left eye closed alot and now im wondering if it is because of the light ? The left eye is the eye that would be on the side of where the light was coming down.

 

[beardie parents]

I'm sorry to say, both of your uvb lights are not good. What you need to do is get a long fluorescent tube holder and order a reptisun 10 in the same length as the holder you get, then use a hallogen flood light in the wattage that gets the heat in his tank up to the correct temps. Don't use the red bulb as they need bright white light.

I'm not sure what size your tanks is, I saw a picture of it but it's hard to tell the size. If it's large enough (40 breeder or larger) you could get a ceramic dome light fixture that's rated for 250 to 300 watts and get a mega ray from here: http://www.reptileuv.com. They cost around $40 for the 100 watt and they are the best uvb's you can get. With these, you don't need an extra heat bulb as they put out uvb AND heat, unless your tanks don't get hot enough then you might need a small 40 watt light bulb in addition. But if your tank is a 40 breeder, all you'll probably need is just the mega ray.

 

[cath1024]

since i have changed his heat lamp back to his old one 75W he seems to have perked up a bit - he just ate 8 crickets

so are you saying i have to change the uvb lights i have to the long tube ones?
Can i still keep the heat lamp im currently using now?

We have spent so much money with different lights and holders and this is out 3rd tank in the 3 months we have had him.

The person at the reptile store said this tank was equal to about a 40 -45 gallon but its tall and wide rather then long.

One thing i am concerned about it does the uvb light have to be directly over him?
He always lays on his rock to bask and the uvb is not over him there.

 

[beardie parents]

Yes, you can use the heat bulb you have now and get the fluorescent reptisun 10 long tube. The beardies, however, need to be between 6 to 8 inches from the uvb bulb for the best absorbtion of the uvb. The mega ray's need to be anywhere between 12" and 18" depending on the wattage of the bulb you get.

I always wonder about your question regarding the placement of the uvb. I am not really sure, but as long as he's between 6 to 8 inches of the fluorescent tube, I'm sure he'll get the benefits of the uvb if he's close enough to it. You could, also, take him outside for real sun for an hour every day if it's warm enough where you are. The real sun is good but they still need extra uvb if all you give them is one hour of real sun ever day.

 

[cath1024]

well we are in fall now coming into winter here in Ontario Canada so he wont be going outside anytime soon but in the summer he will be able to go out alot.

What about bringing him to the kitchen where it gets super hot and lots of sun coming in? Will that be good or does he need to be right out in the real sunlight

 

[beardie parents]

Unfortunately, the uvb doesn't come through the glass. I live in Southern AZ and it's still fairly warm. I open our living room window and put them in the window sill so they get the uvb through the screen. That does work as I can get stuff done and they still can get anywhere from2 to 5 hours of sun every day.