wobbling

[crazymum]

i have a month month old beardie and when he is walking around in the open out of his tank he kind of wobbles back and forth it looks like he is weak maby but it seems like he is trying to imitate some thing like a leave or a branch swaying in the breaze do they do that to avoid being noticed or attacked maby its like hi is trying to kida camoflauge him self looks funny

i will try get a video of him doing this

 

[zebraflavencs]

Just out of curiosity, what UVB are you using ? Are you also offering calcium and vitamins ?
Janie.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Please do answer Janies question. Have you gone over your set up with anyone yet?

The wobbling does not sound very good!

Dawn

 

[crazymum]

im using a reptiglow 10.0 all my lights are good and heat it is set up the same as my other beardie is and i have had her since the same age. the baby is not weak it runs around very well in the tank and if its under some sort of cover but only does it in the open like it is trying to sneak around oh and if you make a fast movement near it will tense up and do this kind of wobble thing. goes back and forth like 6 times and slowly stops each wobble is smaller and smaller till it stops its wierd i dont think it is a illness thing it seems like more of a defence thing

 

[crazymum]

oh and yes it gets calcium three days on day vitamin and so on with crickets and i sprinkle both on the salad every day to be safe

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello again,

I am sure it is your UVB source that is causing these problems. Unfortunately the Reptiglo 10.0 is a very bad light. It causes many health issues with beardies, including eye problems. Have you noticed him closing his eyes at all?

I would reccomend getting a Reptisun 10.0 UVB fluorescent tube, you can get them here http://www.petmountain.com/category/286/1/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs.html . I promise you with the correct UVB you will see a noticable difference in your little guy.

What are your temps on basking and cool side?
What are you measuring your temps with? Digital thermometer, Stick on, etc...

Dawn

 

[diamc]

I have to agree with Dawn that the wobbling could very well be from the Repti-Glo bulb. Since your baby is only a month old, it would make him more susceptible to the side effects of it. Is that bulb a strip fluorescent or coil/compact bulb? How far away is it from your baby when he is basking?

Since he is only a month old, you should be dusting his live feed 5 days a wk with calcium with D3 but phosphorus free, one feeding a day and 2 days a wk with vitamins, one feeding a day.

Another thing that can cause wobbling or off balance issues is dehydration and babies can get dehydrated very quickly. How often are you bathing your little guy? If you could answer the rest of Dawn's questions, it would help to rule out any other possibilities for this behavior so we can make sure everything is perfect.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

I also agree!!!!



Lance

 

[crazymum]

ok i will try the light but i dont think it is that but may be like i said if he is running in the cage or beside the couch he runs perfect and strong he only does it in the open
my heat is 105 basking 80 in the cold end and my light is the compact florescent one i have reptisun on one side and reptiglow on the other it is a big tank that is seperated to hold two dragons

 

[crazymum]

oh i do bath him every day and the light is 24 inches away the sun light the basking light is maby 14 but i have a dimmer so i can adjust heat perfectly

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello again,

Glad to hear your going to get the ReptiSUN 10. It is an excellent UVB, I have been using them for years.

How is your little guy doing today? Did you remove the ReptiGlo? Even if that is not the cause of your beardies wobbling, you will more than likely run into problems with it somewhere down the road. They are just not any good for our beardies.

If I am understanding you correctly...your UVB lights are 24 inches from the beardies. They need to be a little closer than that for it to be beneficial to them. They actually need to be within 6-8" of the fluorescent tube UVB.
Your basking light you said is 14" away from your beardie. That seems to be pretty far away, what watt basking bulb are you using? What are you measuring your temps with? Digital Thermometer, Stick On, etc...

That's good that you are bathing them, it doesn't take much for those little ones to get dehydrated.

 

[crazymum]

I check the temps with a laser thermometer and if I put my heat any closer it will be at 130 degrees.

It is an adjustable heat lamp so I can get the perfect temps all the time.

what is the difference between the reptiGLO and the reptiSUN other than company name... We are just curious

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Hello,

Okay...if you're using a laser gun your temps are probably correct. The 14" just seemed rather far away to give temps of 105, that's why I was asking?

As for the UVB's...the ReptiGLO 10 emits a very low wavelength of UVB, it is actually closer in the range of UVC. It does not have favorable wavelength for D3 synthesis, which means your beardie is not able to process his calcium properly. The ReptiGLO is also very hard on their eyes. It has been known to cause so many health issues with beardies...it is just not a safe bulb.

The ReptiSUN is a great bulb and is used by many people on this site. It is the highest reccomended linear fluorescent UVB bulb on the market.

Please switch the ReptiGLO 10 with the ReptiSUN 10 and let us know how your beardie is doing.

I hope this has been helpful.

Dawn

 

[crazymum]

yes this all has been very helpful im having a problem finding a reptisun around here so i will be ordering one and changing it as soon as possible thank you all very much

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

You can get one at a decent price here http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html

Dawn