Whats wrong with my baby beardie? UPDATED WITH PICS

[kinky]

I got home from work today and he was lying on the floor of the viv, kinda pancaked but with his head down and his chin touching the floor. he didn't eat this morning, last night he had around 20 small dusted crickets. he's pooed everyday since i got him (friday). its been quite hot here over the last couple of days and when i come home his temps are around 110 basking and today 87 cool.

i use arcadia 12 at around 12 inches with reflectors
80w floodlight
60w bulb for heat in cool end
che at night (70 degrees floor and 75 higher up)
temps are taken with digital /w probe
viv is 4x2x2

he's been good since i got him on friday, he ate 10 crix friday, none saturday, 10 sunday, and around 20 last night. he's been great since i got him, a little flighty but i put it down to him settling in. I've been trying not to handle him too much, havent bathed him, maybe he's dehydrated?

please help

 

[bjvolk2]

If the temps are at 110* then yes, he may be dehydrated. Are you measuring directly under the bulb? I know that my temps were 109* and my little girl was somewhat lethargic then I walked in one day and they were at 114* so I switched bulbs and she seems much happier. She's eating better and more active. Just a thought, as I keep getting told it's experimentation to find the temp your beardie wants. If you do switch bulbs, save the one you have for the winter.
Sara

 

[Tigg]

Sounds like your set up is spot on... What is your light cycle like? (what time on-off?)

Water would definitely be a good idea especially if it's been hot lately and he has not been bathed in a while, you can drip it on his nose from your finger and let him lick it up, or you can use a medicine dropper.

A bath would be a good idea tonight too, but you will need to stay right there with him the whole time in case he is too weak to hold his head up. Nice warm water for 20 min, up to his arm pits.

Is it possible he was just napping? Did he get up to walk around at all later in the night, and if so was he able to raise his head??

Sounds like he has a good appetite so that rules out a lot of the obvious... I am trying to dig for the not so obvious now.

 

[kinky]

his lights are off now so no bath tonight. first thing tomorrow though.

i've been dripping water on his nose last few days but tonight he's not responding. he'll run away from me but he stays flat with his chin flat to the floor. he was great on sunday, even lashed his tail a couple of times before he went for a cricket.

 

[diamc]

Hi, it does sound like he is dehydrated. Please be sure to give him a bath first thing tomorrow. Your Arcadia bulb is actually a little too far away, if you could move it 6 to 8", that would be more beneficial. What type of substrate is on the bottom of the tank? Is your beardie housed alone? Also, how old is he/she?

 

[kinky]

Hi, it does sound like he is dehydrated. Please be sure to give him a bath first thing tomorrow. Your Arcadia bulb is actually a little too far away, if you could move it 6 to 8", that would be more beneficial. What type of substrate is on the bottom of the tank? Is your beardie housed alone? Also, how old is he/she?

my beardie is housed alone, he's just a few weeks old, not sure exactly. the viv has a tiled floor. i gave him a short bath this morning (the water got cold really quickly) and he had a drink. he still has his head to the floor and wont bask. he does seem alert though. i'm really worried. he didnt eat yesterday and if he doesnt improve today then he wont eat. i'll give him another bath later.

 

[kinky]

Here's a couple of pics. he's just lying on the floor in his warm side. the temp where he is is 82.6 and climbing as it warms. his lights have been on for 4 hours now. basking spot is 103 but he's not interested. he barely moves. breathing is strong when i disturb him. he just drank some more water from my finger.

 

[Buggsy]

Are there any herp vets on the isle? (im from the UK mainland lol) I would just persist with the baths, 2 or more a day. i find if i put the heating on to keep the room warm, and change the water with some fresh hotter water (not too hot mind) you can let him soak for 20 min or so.

Has anything happened (new bulb/particularly hot day/new food) or did this literally happen over night??

A few of us in the Uk have had problems with the temps this week, i found my 'cool'side was 89 at around 3pm! Far too hot! but the basking temp was a nice 107. (gizmo like it a little hotter) I have found if you swap to a 40 watt and raise the basking spot it helps alot ( it will also help him get closer to the UVB). I find an R63 bulb works perfectly! (just wilkos or homebase)

 

[kinky]

Are there any herp vets on the isle? (im from the UK mainland lol) I would just persist with the baths, 2 or more a day. i find if i put the heating on to keep the room warm, and change the water with some fresh hotter water (not too hot mind) you can let him soak for 20 min or so.

Has anything happened (new bulb/particularly hot day/new food) or did this literally happen over night??

A few of us in the Uk have had problems with the temps this week, i found my 'cool'side was 89 at around 3pm! Far too hot! but the basking temp was a nice 107. (gizmo like it a little hotter) I have found if you swap to a 40 watt and raise the basking spot it helps alot ( it will also help him get closer to the UVB). I find an R63 bulb works perfectly! (just wilkos or homebase)

I came home from work last night and the b/s was at a 111/2 degree maximum and the cool side was 87. the same happened the day before but he just moved to his vine although his beard was quite black. it hasn't been black since then though.

i just bathed him and he had a drink. when i took him out he was twisting and squirming and burying his nose into my hand.

 

[Tigg]

What time do your turn his light on in the morning? And what time off at night?

 

[kinky]

they come on at 8am and off at 10pm.

 

[spike046]

my money is the little guy been dehydrated

 

[spurlee01]

He looks dehydrated. Give him 2-3 baths a day. Change the bath water when it gets cold and put him back in for 10-20 minutes. Do you have Pedialyte (child supplement) in the UK? You can mix a little bit of that (clear, not colored) in his bath water to give him extra electrolytes.
Sara (who realized she used her boyfriend's name to post earlier)

 

[diamc]

How long has it been since he's eaten? Babies can't go very long without protein. Do you have any chicken baby food and squash baby food on hand? I do agree that he looks dehydrated, I would increase the baths, even holding him in the palm of your hand with his vent area down in the water will help hydrate him. You could even use the kitchen sink and that way you could add warm water as it starts to cool. He doesn't look strong enough to lay on a basking area. I'm wondering if the crickets are unhealthy, do they look good? Have many died? How often have you been dusting the crickets with calcium and vitamins?

Flood bulbs throw out a lot of heat. Just want to make sure that when you check the temps, you are laying the probe right on the basking surface then waiting 45 min for the temp to stop rising before getting the final reading and that you are waiting the same time frame with the probe laying right on the cool side.

 

[kinky]

How long has it been since he's eaten? Babies can't go very long without protein. Do you have any chicken baby food and squash baby food on hand? I do agree that he looks dehydrated, I would increase the baths, even holding him in the palm of your hand with his vent area down in the water will help hydrate him. You could even use the kitchen sink and that way you could add warm water as it starts to cool. He doesn't look strong enough to lay on a basking area. I'm wondering if the crickets are unhealthy, do they look good? Have many died? How often have you been dusting the crickets with calcium and vitamins?

Flood bulbs throw out a lot of heat. Just want to make sure that when you check the temps, you are laying the probe right on the basking surface then waiting 45 min for the temp to stop rising before getting the final reading and that you are waiting the same time frame with the probe laying right on the cool side.

I've PM'd you with the full story from the start. Hope you don't mind, bet you get tonnes.

Not many crix have died, they're gutloaded and watered. I only dusted the crix once cos the delivery was late. He's had around 6 PW's and a crickey today.

I'm checking temps correctly.

When i put him up to bask he crawls around the rock, almost upside down sometimes. He doesn't take the easy route down. He just seems to hate to bask. he's moving around quite well today though.