White Body, Black Beard

[sluedu09]

Hello-
I've owned Tommy for four or five years now. When I bought him, he was in an very small cage with another adult beardie. He has always been a little tempermental and a little jumpy. When I got home Sunday afternoon, I checked on him and his body was very very light-basically white. And his beard was black. I've been keeping a very close eye on him for the last couple of days. I kinda thought he might be dehydrated because his tongue also appears to be very light-even though I keep water in his cage and I know he drinks from the dish. I've seen him do it. He won't eat now-which before he was always pretty eager to do so, especially when I bring crickets or meal worms home. I tried to feed some too him today and he didn't even show any interest. He just laid there. I don't know what this could be. I've been spraying him and keeping him out of the basking area. His cage is usually between 92 and 95 degrees, and he has a cool place at the other end of his cage. I've been feeding him turnip greens, a beardie staple, along with the usual crickets and meal worms every now and then. Do you guys have any idea what this is? Have you're beardies done this? I have a female as well, who has been eating the same food, and she is perfectly healthy. Any advice?

 

[Seven65]

Has he been pooping regularly? What kinda of UVB light do you use (brand and model)? Is he still showing a black beard? Is it constant?

 

[diamc]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear that your beardie isn't acting right. If you could answer Seven65's questions, that would be very helpful. Also, how old is the UVB bulb and how close is it to him? Are you using calcium and vitamin supplements, how often? When did he last eat and what exactly and how much? What substrate do you have on the bottom of his tank? How often do you bathe him? What type of thermometer are you using to check the temps, a type of stick-on like a strip or round gauge, a temperature gun or a digital thermometer with a long wire & probe end? Is he housed with the female? How is he acting now? Please answer the questions as soon as you can so we can try to help further.

[I moved this to here rather than the General Discussion forum so it can get the attention it needs.]

 

[sluedu09]

I have one of those strip thermometers at the hot end of the cage. I mostly feed them greens. Right now I've got the calcium gut loaded crickets, but he doesn't show any interest. I believe the brand of light is reptisun and is 100w. I bought it a while ago in a two pack so I can't really remember. The light is at least 12 inches away from him. I don't bathe them very often, but I keep water in their cage and I have been misting him. The beard constantly stays black. I know this is very controversial, and I don't want to be criticized over it, but my male and female are housed together. They have been since I got Tommy. They get along very well, however, my female has started acting weird. I keep them separated most of the time since I'm home full time. They haven't had any problems before this.

 

[diamc]

HI again. thanks for answering the questions. That's not a good sign that his beard is constantly black, something must be going on. Is he lethargic? Has he had a poop lately? It would be a good idea to give him a bath making sure that the water is warm and that it covers his front legs. Place a washcloth down in the bottom. A 15 to 20 min bath helps with proper hydration and it may help perk him up a little bit. When and what did he last eat? Hope we can get it figured out. Unfortunately, the stick-on thermometers can be as much as 20 degrees off. The only 2 ways to get accurate readings are with either a temp gun or digital thermometer that has a long wire & probe on the end. Are you using 2 bulbs, a 100 watt basking bulb and a coil, compact or strip fluorescent UVB light? If the basking bulb came in a 2 pack, then I don't think you have a UVB light and that is a necessity to prevent metabolic bone disease and lots of other health issues. Could you be more specific on your lighting for us? We really want to help.

 

[sluedu09]

this is the light that I use...it just came in a two pack. I bought it at Petco.
http://www.petco.com/product/4969/Zoo-Med-Repti-Basking-Spot-Lamps.aspx?CoreCat=LN_Shopping_ReptileSupplies_BeardedDragons_Lighting

He pooped today, but it was only a little. He ate greens at the end of last week.

 

[diamc]

I just looked at that link, that's a regular basking bulb that supplies UVA but not UVB. You need to get them a UVB light and this fluorescent bulb is the best found in the U.S. http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=553 This is a very reasonable price and at a petstore you will pay at least twice as much. Don't get any coil or compact bulbs as those are very dangerous. Did you say that the female was acting differently too? How old are they?

You mentioned that you usually just feed them greens. Adults need protein from live feeders too and we recommend 80% greens and 20% live feeders for adults which means they can have as many as 50 small feeders (like crickets) or 35 large feeders (like superworms or hornworms) a wk. I suggest you increase their protein intake. Here's a site that shows the best greens/veggies to feed: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

I also suggest you try the baths as I recommended in my other post and see if he improves at all. Beardies are great at masking illnesses and when they do show signs of being sick by having a constant black beard, lethargy and not eating, it could be very serious. It's possible that he could be impacted and dehydrated, so frequent baths should help that. Let him soak for a while, then hold him in the palm of your hand and massage gently on the right side from his armpit to vent area. If you feel any hard lumps, massage gently in a circular motion trying to move it closer to his vent so he can pass it.

How long has it been since he's eaten some protein? So, all he has eaten in about a wk is a little bit of greens? It would be a good idea to pick up some chicken baby food as well as some squash baby food. Mix a little chicken with a larger amt of squash and add a little water or Pedialyte to thin it. Heat in the microwave to take the chill off and put drops on his nose for him to hopefully lick off.

I recommend you get a good thermometer, Walmart has the digital with probe end for about $12.00, the Acurite brand and it is in the area where the outdoor plastic thermometers are sold.

Have you been giving them calcium and vitamins, if so, how often? You also need to invest in a UVB light, that's also very important.

I don't want to scare you but you really need to make these changes quickly. One of my beardies passed in only 2 days of acting sick, so I know how fast it can happen. Please answer the other questions so we can help further.

 

[sluedu09]

Okay...I went to that website and I ordered two bulbs...I had to get the regular bulbs because my cage doesn't have the set up for the tube light. This makes me feel really bad. I thought I had all of this right. He was doing wonderful until this weekend. He's got some more color this morning, but he still won't eat. I normally give them crickets once a week. I'll be honest, I've been slacking here some lately because I was doing a full-time internship and finishing up college. Extremely stressful...but that's no excuse. These guys are my babies. I thought the turnip greens was a good staple and would provide them with a good amount of calcium. When I feed them crickets I do put calcium powder on them. I'm going to take him out in some natural sunlight today...if the sun comes out.

 

[diamc]

Hi, you mentioned that you ordered "regular bulbs because the cage doesn't have the setup for the tube light." I'll bet this is what you got then http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=423. The reason I mentioned not to get the coil or compact bulbs is because there has been all sorts of serious health issues with them which you can read about here: [ Invalid URL Removed / p= t=65424 f=1 ] The link to the Repti-Sun 10.0 fluorescent tube that I gave you is actually the safest and best bulb supplying the right amount of ultra violet rays to be very beneficial. Perhaps you can contact them and see if you can get the fluorescent tubes instead. When we find out that owners are using the coil/compacts bulbs, we recommend turning them off immediately because beardies have died from them. Also, when we hear about eye problems, lethargy, avoiding sitting under the lights, just about every single time, a coil or compact bulb is being used. When caught in time, the owners can't believe the change in their beardies when the bulb is turned off and replaced with a good UVB light. As far as the holder for the fluorescent tubes, you can actually get them very cheaply from Walmart, Lowe's or Home Depot. You just buy a standard fluorescent light like you would use over a kitchen sink, in a basement or garage. Remove the plastic cover, pop out the bulb and put the knew one in LEAVING the plastic cover off. With this good UVB, it should be 6 to 8" from your beardie when in the basking spot and a bright white basking bulb should be placed right alongside it.

That's good that he has more color today, is his beard still dark all the time? So, he didn't eat anything at all today? Were you going to start feeding him the baby food? You had been using the calcium on the crickets once a wk then? That perhaps helped a little as well as feeding turnip greens that have a good calcium content BUT doesn't replace the need of a good UVB light. You can read more about metabolic bone disease here: http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/reptilesgeneral/a/metabolicbd.htm Sunshine will help but please be sure to put a leash on them as we wouldn't want them to run off which has happened far too many times, especially if they see a bird. It's amazing how fast they can run when they are scared. Since your beardies are adults, they should be getting calcium 3 times a wk and vitamins, 1 to 2 times a wk.

If you need a picture of a digital thermometer with probe end, let me know and I can post a picture here of the one I got at Walmart for about $12.00.

If you have any questions, let me know.

 

[sluedu09]

After I ordered the coil bulbs, I was reading on here more and saw that they were bad news. I called and canceled my order. I found that megaray bulb that you guys rave about and ordered one of those. Those are very good ones right? I hope so. The website didn't have a lot of info on shipping, so I hope I get it soon. Do you know anything about how long it takes them to arrive?

 

[diamc]

Oh good, I'm glad you read about the dangerous of those bulbs and cancelled your order. Yes, the Megarays are very good bulbs as well as the T-Rex. Your tank is larger than 40 gallons, right? Since the MVB's throw off a lot of heat and give out lots of UV rays, you should have a minimum of a 40 gallon. What wattage megaray did you order? With the MVB's, you need a deep dome because otherwise the bulb will stick out from the bottom preventing it to sit flat on the screen and using it that way would be too hot. I would think it should arrive in about a wk.

 

[sluedu09]

I actually have a cage that my fiancee made for me a few years back. It's pretty big. I don't have a screen that the light would be sitting on. The light fixture is kind of built into the cage. Do I still need to get a bigger dome?

 

[diamc]

If it's going to be inside the tank, you don't necessarily need a deep dome then but you will need to get one with a ceramic top since the bulbs get very hot. You also have to remember that the MVB's can't be angled, they need to be pointing straight down because otherwise it will damage the filaments in the bulb causing it to burn out prematurely. Another reason for it not to be angled is because it is too hard on the beardies and humans eyes when used that way. What wattage MVB did you get? I ask because the distance to the basking site varies for the different wattages. You will also need to get a good thermometer because the stick-ons aren't accurate at all & can be as much as 20 degrees off. With a MVB, it's critical that you know what the true temps are.

 

[dna14]

Welcome. I just wanted to say that I hope your beardie gets better! And will be waiting for news. Also wanted to tell you that my beardie was very ill and I took Diane's advice and believed it saved her life. The moderators here and so many of the members are awesome. I'm so glad you're reading and wanting to learn. I must say I am still learning, have only had beardies for 5 months (one for 4, and a second a month ago) and I'm still kicking myself when I learn something I've been doing wrong. This website is a goldmine of information... best of luck to you and your babies!

 

[diamc]

Welcome. I just wanted to say that I hope your beardie gets better! And will be waiting for news. Also wanted to tell you that my beardie was very ill and I took Diane's advice and believed it saved her life. The moderators here and so many of the members are awesome. I'm so glad you're reading and wanting to learn. I must say I am still learning, have only had beardies for 5 months (one for 4, and a second a month ago) and I'm still kicking myself when I learn something I've been doing wrong. This website is a goldmine of information... best of luck to you and your babies!

Thank you for sharing that. Our goal is to help all the owners that we can so their beardies can become healthy & strong. Hearing of improvements is well worth the effort and makes us feel great.