Hello All,
It's been a while since I have been on here so as a refresher I have a rankins dragon (pretty much the same as a beardie just a smaller breed).
Bowtie has been pretty healthy the past year or so but the last two weeks he has had some strange behavior that I have been keeping an eye on. I wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts, maybe hes just brumatting? maybe something more?
Behaviors:
- VERY lathargic
- falls asleep in weird places (like weird positions on his basking rock or one time in his water dish)
- poops more than used to. He will eat and be very excited for crickets but in the course of 1 week there will be multiple small droppings vs. the one or two larger ones. For the most part they aren't runny. I have noticed that occasionally it seems like the food isn't digested / you can still make out the food in the stool (mostly prominant with wax worms and occasionally with crickets)
Really thats basically it. he eats every other day like normal (about 50 crickets a week) and drinks water and gives himself baths. the lights are both relatively new. the only other thing i can think of is I have been buying crickets from pet supplies plus vs. petco....not sure if pet supplies plus doesn't have great crickets?
basking spot is probably a litttle high at 118 and hiding spot is 80 which i am in the process of lowering.
I would definitely try lowering the basking temperatures, he may be getting too hot.
What type of thermometer do you use for him?
What is his age, estimated? It is possible he could be trying to brumate, but let's review
your setup first to be sure everything is all correct.
Which UVB light are you using, a tube bulb or a compact/coil light?
You can post pictures of him & the tank setup so we can see his condition & environment.
Has he exhibited a black beard lately?
Hello All,
It's been a while since I have been on here so as a refresher I have a rankins dragon (pretty much the same as a beardie just a smaller breed).
Bowtie has been pretty healthy the past year or so but the last two weeks he has had some strange behavior that I have been keeping an eye on. I wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts, maybe hes just brumatting? maybe something more?
Behaviors:
- VERY lathargic
- falls asleep in weird places (like weird positions on his basking rock or one time in his water dish)
- poops more than used to. He will eat and be very excited for crickets but in the course of 1 week there will be multiple small droppings vs. the one or two larger ones. For the most part they aren't runny. I have noticed that occasionally it seems like the food isn't digested / you can still make out the food in the stool (mostly prominant with wax worms and occasionally with crickets)
Really thats basically it. he eats every other day like normal (about 50 crickets a week) and drinks water and gives himself baths. the lights are both relatively new. the only other thing i can think of is I have been buying crickets from pet supplies plus vs. petco....not sure if pet supplies plus doesn't have great crickets?
basking spot is probably a litttle high at 118 and hiding spot is 80 which i am in the process of lowering.
48 degrees C (118 F) is well into the lethal range for a beardied dragon, he will be lethargic because he has lost the ability to move to thermoregulate and will die unless the temperature is reduced IMMEDIATELY to under 43 degrees C.
Thermometer: zoo med probe
age: roughly 3
rankins dragons don't have a typical beard like a beardie so no black beard
uvb: hood tube light 120volt 15 watt
basking light: single dome (pretty new as my old dome stopped working so i got a totally new dome) with a 75 watt bulb which is what I usually had, its possible this new dome reflects the light/heat more then my old one
Pictures of the set up --> 20 gallon tank (correct size for a rankins dragon as he is about 6 inches long)