What is wrong with my Beardie boy?!

[Coy]

Hey there... I'm new to this site, so while I'm here freaking out I'll take a moment of your time to wave at you and say hi. I'm Coy, and a new Beardie owner. I bought my boy Nozdormu (Noz for short) from PetSmart almost 2 weeks ago, and he's about a month and a half old by the looks of him. He was a vibrant orange, gold, bronze, and copper colour when I first had him. He even stayed that colour for about a week after, but for the past two days I've noticed something strange.
He seems to be losing his colour, as if only his arms, legs, and torso are becoming an awful dull colour.
His head and tail are the only parts of his body that have stayed the same colour as before. Today I noticed that he constantly leans against his rock as if to face upward, using his tail as a balance. Sometimes he will raise his hand up, but not the submissive kind of raise. With this kind of arm movement, he simply holds it there and twitches his fingers a bit. Then it's as if he swallows without opening his mouth, and his beard kind've moves a bit. TODAY, he started opening his mouth slightly when he does it. He ALWAYS has his threat markings on, and it worries me deeply.
There was ONE time about 4 days ago where he shook his head rapidly, for just a moment... and no, not bowing/nodding. I mean back and forth. I looked up what that meant, and it meant that he wasn't getting enough Calcium, but I've been feeding him plenty of meal worms, greens, and crickets all covered in calcium. I even give him calcium BATHS, in which he drinks the water, gets vitamins, heats up, AND gets clean at the same time.
I've noticed a slight decrease in appetite as well, but his setup is perfect.
I had to stop feeding him crickets about 1-2 days ago because they began to die and I was afraid that they would give him disease, since it's not unheard of. He eats about 7 mealworms a day, and 2/7 days of the week he'll eat a full leaf of calcium-dusted Romaine Lettuce.

Here's a little bit of detail on it so you don't have to ask as much:
-20 gallon tank
-Metal mesh top
-Huge dome lamp for heat and light (left side)
-Smaller infrared lamp for UVA+UVB and a lesser amount of heat (middle)
-A small basking/climbing rock (left)
-A medium sized, hollowed-out trunk to explore through and climb/bask on (left)
-A small bush (right)
-A long branch with lots of leaves (right)
-A "hide" made from a halved, hollowed-out tree (right)
- A water dish (right)
-SUPER soft paper towel as flooring to avoid compaction issues

For simplicity's sake, I've included links to what he looked like BEFORE, AFTER, and his tank setup. I'm also going to include a YouTube video showing the strange gulping. I need as much help and information as I can to keep my buddy healthy. I love him to the milky way and back, and I don't want to be ignoring symptoms that could or could not be serious!

Links:

https://imgur.com/a/ytr3u <--- Noz BEFORE the weirdness.

https://imgur.com/ANpC9t0 <--- Noz AFTER the weirdness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVBGKRSiMTA&feature=youtu.be <--- Video of gulping (PLEASE fullscreen it.)

 

[AHBD]

Hi Coy, Noz is a real sweetie and it's easy to get attached to these guys very quickly. First off, the head shaking you described is not the kind that they do as a result of calcium deficiency.....that usually is just a slight twitching/trembling. What you described is more likely to be from a large prey item slightly obstructing his throat and an attempt to vomit. It's probably gone down since then. Aside from that, he does need an actual uvb bulb, an infrared bulb is heat but not uvb. You'll want to get the Reptisun 10.0 t5 or Arcadia 12% long tube [ not coil or compact ] for ideal uvb production.

As for his gulping and slight heavy breathing, that can be related to eating insects that are a bit too large, but it's also a slight possibility of overheating/trouble breathing. A few more Q's....is he pooing regularly and how do you hydrate him ? What exact size were the insects [ be specific ] ....they need to be smaller than the space between his eyes. Cut out the mealworms unless they're freshly shed, they can cause impaction. For now, offer water dripped on his snout for a drink, and if he isn't pooing get some baby food squash or applesauce, add a few drops of veg. oil and offer that to hm.

 

[Coy]

Hi Coy, Noz is a real sweetie and it's easy to get attached to these guys very quickly. First off, the head shaking you described is not the kind that they do as a result of calcium deficiency.....that usually is just a slight twitching/trembling. What you described is more likely to be from a large prey item slightly obstructing his throat and an attempt to vomit. It's probably gone down since then. Aside from that, he does need an actual uvb bulb, an infrared bulb is heat but not uvb. You'll want to get the Reptisun 10.0 t5 or Arcadia 12% long tube [ not coil or compact ] for ideal uvb production.

As for his gulping and slight heavy breathing, that can be related to eating insects that are a bit too large, but it's also a slight possibility of overheating/trouble breathing. A few more Q's....is he pooing regularly and how do you hydrate him ? What exact size were the insects [ be specific ] ....they need to be smaller than the space between his eyes. Cut out the mealworms unless they're freshly shed, they can cause impaction. For now, offer water dripped on his snout for a drink, and if he isn't pooing get some baby food squash or applesauce, add a few drops of veg. oil and offer that to hm.

AHBD! Thanks so much for replying. I'll set a few things straight to be more clear, sorry that I wasn't in the first place!

First, concerning the head twitch! He wasn't eating at the time. He was sitting on my hand, then his head jerked rather violently like the end of a spring door-stopper. Twice in a row, but only for a second each. I know not to feed the lil' Beardies food that they can't fit between their eyes because of the pressure it can put on both the spine and the innards, not to mention it being a choking hazard.

Second, my Infrared bulb gives off both UVA and UVB. I made sure of it before I bought it. The reptile specialist made sure I'd have everything Noz would need to have a happy life; given that she owns a few Beardies herself, I figured she'd have it straight.

Third... insect sizes! I am feeding him meal worms that are about half the size of my last digit of my thumb. That's about 3/4 of an inch. They're softer than most, and I often dust them with calcium to make up for the crickets that he doesn't eat.

Fourth, he voids every day, and it's normal looking. He'll void once or twice a day, and it isn't unknown for him to go even a third time.

Fifth, I hydrate him when I bathe him. Clean water, sometimes a pinch of calcium so he can drink his calcium as well as eat it regularly on his food. I don't do that often because I don't want to have him running around with a dry calcium coating on him, ahha. Anyway. He drinks his bath water. Luckily for me AND him, he never voids in water, only on his paper towel. I make sure he drinks first before I start to rub down his scales with a Q-Tip (gently, of course).

Hope that helps!

 

[Gormagon]

Wow, Petsmart's "clueless" employees have killed a lot of dragons with their "EXPERT" advice!!!
I can assure you that those compact coil bulbs are not good for your dragon!

I am speaking from firsthand experience!!!

 

[AHBD]

Can you post a pic of the infrared uvb bulb ? Is it an actual red bulb ?

 

[Jdawg]

The strange head movement is caused by a lack of UVB light. If you don't correct this very soon he die. Reptisun 10.0 tube is what you need.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He is a cutie. It looks like he is squinting here & there, is that correct?
Which brand of UVB are you using, a compact/coil light & your basking light is a red lamp?
As suggested, red is hard on their eyes & isn't bright enough to emit the proper UVA spectrum. Plus it stresses the eyes not having enough brightness to protect them from UVB rays.
I am glad you are giving appropriately sized insects, too.

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[JessPets]

I also noticed you said you were feeding him mealworms-STOP FEEDING THEM IMMEDIATELY. Change the main insect staple to something else: crickets, dubia, silkworms, small horn worms, BSFL (or black solider fly larvae).

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Just wondering how your boy was doing today? Any improvements & has he eaten as well?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[Coy]

I also noticed you said you were feeding him mealworms-STOP FEEDING THEM IMMEDIATELY. Change the main insect staple to something else: crickets, dubia, silkworms, small horn worms, BSFL (or black solider fly larvae).

When I go into the vet on the 14th I'll make sure to get more crickets and see if they have silkworms. As of right now, I only have greens and freshly-molted mealworms. =/ I live farrrr from a vet or any form of petshop. Thanks for your help!

 

[Coy]

Can you post a pic of the infrared uvb bulb ? Is it an actual red bulb ?

The bulb itself is black.
http://imgur.com/a/utUIg

 

[Coy]

The strange head movement is caused by a lack of UVB light. If you don't correct this very soon he die. Reptisun 10.0 tube is what you need.

Thank you! I will pick that up when I go into the vet's place/PetSmart on the 14th!
I care too much to let my baby die.

 

[Coy]

Hello,

He is a cutie. It looks like he is squinting here & there, is that correct?
Which brand of UVB are you using, a compact/coil light & your basking light is a red lamp?
As suggested, red is hard on their eyes & isn't bright enough to emit the proper UVA spectrum. Plus it stresses the eyes not having enough brightness to protect them from UVB rays.
I am glad you are giving appropriately sized insects, too.

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Hey Tracie! Thanks for helping out.
He squints every here and there, yes. I thought that may have just been a lizard thing, but I guess not! :c The Infrared one is a black bulb that emits UVA, UVB, and some support heat. I don't have crickets anymore, but I'm picking some up on the 14th when I go see the vet and buy a new lamp at PetSmart.

 

[AHBD]

Good , the pics show exactly what bulbs you have. The darker bulb does not produce any beneficial uva or uvb.....it's the other bulb, the Exo terra Solar Glo MVB [ mercury vapor bulb] which produces heat + uvb all in one. That's a decent bulb, but some do lose their strength before 6 months of use. For now it should provide all the uva/uvb that you need but if you want to get the Reptisun 10.0 tube bulb you can get one as well.

 

[Coy]

Good , the pics show exactly what bulbs you have. The darker bulb does not produce any beneficial uva or uvb.....it's the other bulb, the Exo terra Solar Glo MVB [ mercury vapor bulb] which produces heat + uvb all in one. That's a decent bulb, but some do lose their strength before 6 months of use. For now it should provide all the uva/uvb that you need but if you want to get the Reptisun 10.0 tube bulb you can get one as well.

Thanks!

Will the Reptisun 10.0 tube bulb replace my bigger ExoTerra one then?