New family to Lia the 4 year old beardie needs help

[Wellovelizards]

We got our new girl (formerly Buddy) Lia 2 weeks ago. She was being fed iceberg everyday, crickets a couple times a month. Lived in a 55 gallon tank with one small UVB bulb. We got her and tried to do it right, got long UVB bulb for tank began feeding the right lettuce (collard) crickets, mil worms, bananas, cauliflower, kale. Figured out we needed better basking light (75-80degrees only) now its 100-107 basking 75 or better in other areas of tank. She has had diarhea for 2 days. I got confused and had her UVB off thinking basking was enough...ok better now. She loves cauliflower now I find she shouldn't have it or bananas everyday. She loves kale hates greens. I'm afraid she has been overwhelmed by the right food and too much of others. Oh yeah he aid 20 infertile eggs on the second night we had her. She had never done that before. I want to do the bet for her we all fell in love with her so fast. By the way before her I hated everything reptile now 'i'm hooked...I stop by just to talk to her cage..please help me figure this out...there is so much contradictory ino out there.

 

[Germ]

Here is a good nutrition list on what is good & not so good to feed & how often Nutrition List

Have you been giving her lots of calcium after she laid? If she has not had UVB prior to now she couldn't process it anyway. The diarrhea will dehydrate her, be sure to give frequent warm soaks & mistings to aid hydration. Stick to feeding the collards (High Calcium/Phosphorus ratio) & Prey for a while, check the nutrition list provided & feed as much as is available that is highlighted in green. Fruit is not a necessary food & should only be a treat.

What brand & strength UVB are you using? How far away from the basking spot is it. What are you measuring your temps with & exactly where are you measuring them. Cool side should be bumped up 5-10*F & while she is not feeling well I would also bump the basking up to 110F.

Pictures of your setup help a great deal to pinpoint potential problems.

Good luck

 

[Wellovelizards]

How do you bump the temp? Have 2 75 watt reptisuns for basking (1 6-8 inches away, 1 12 inches away) UVB is a full length tropic sun 5500k

 

[Germ]

The Tropic Sun 5500k is not a UVB bulb, is more for plants or aquariums, does not provide UVB. Again I ask where are you taking your temps & with what? 6-8" from a 75W should bring you in the ball park. Raise the basking spot to bump up the temps if you are taking the temps directly at the basking spot with an accurate thermometer. Please post pics & get a proper UVB bulb on her ASAP. She will have used up her calcium stores on the eggs and will have been unable to replenish them. Please answer all of the questions asked if you want to be helped.

 

[Aleena]

We got our new girl (formerly Buddy) Lia 2 weeks ago. She was being fed iceberg everyday, crickets a couple times a month. Lived in a 55 gallon tank with one small UVB bulb. We got her and tried to do it right, got long UVB bulb for tank began feeding the right lettuce (collard) crickets, mil worms, bananas, cauliflower, kale. Figured out we needed better basking light (75-80degrees only) now its 100-107 basking 75 or better in other areas of tank. She has had diarhea for 2 days. I got confused and had her UVB off thinking basking was enough...ok better now. She loves cauliflower now I find she shouldn't have it or bananas everyday. She loves kale hates greens. I'm afraid she has been overwhelmed by the right food and too much of others. Oh yeah he aid 20 infertile eggs on the second night we had her. She had never done that before. I want to do the bet for her we all fell in love with her so fast. By the way before her I hated everything reptile now 'i'm hooked...I stop by just to talk to her cage..please help me figure this out...there is so much contradictory ino out there.

Oh my! It breaks my heart to hear about this! We'll do everything we can to help you get her back in good health. Germ's awesome, listen to his advice if he gives it! He knows what he's doing and has been very helpful straightening out wayward lizard owners that have been misled. Offer the correct greens, don't offer the treats for now until she gets use to eating the correct ones. Survival instinct will kick in and she'll eat them whether she likes them or not, as long as she's being kept warm enough to digest properly. The diarrhea could be caused from eating too much ice berg lettuce and fruit. Hehe sweet bell peppers will do it to them as well . Good luck and welcome to the forum! I hope your Lia gets feeling better!

 

[Wellovelizards]

Trying very hard to answer all. Trying to upload pics...it just freezes. The "lizard guy" at the pet store said this bulb was the best for our size tank. What should I get for 48 inch light or a small ceramic light to help her?

 

[Wellovelizards]

The temp is with the stick on thermometers and a glass thermometer. Do the basking lights have any UVB? I can't seem to load pics from my iPad. It's the only computer I have access to til Monday unless hubby fixes ours tonight. Any other way to get pics up?

 

[Aleena]

The temp is with the stick on thermometers and a glass thermometer. Do the basking lights have any UVB? I can't seem to load pics from my iPad. It's the only computer I have access to til Monday unless hubby fixes ours tonight. Any other way to get pics up?

basking lights don't have any UVB. They have UVA... which is not the same thing.

 

[Aleena]

The temp is with the stick on thermometers and a glass thermometer. Do the basking lights have any UVB? I can't seem to load pics from my iPad. It's the only computer I have access to til Monday unless hubby fixes ours tonight. Any other way to get pics up?

Load them on to photobucket first.

 

[Germ]

An 18"-24" ReptiSun 10.0 or ReptiGlo 10.0, preferably the ReptiSun if available, as it seems to have better reviews, but either will do the trick. I've found that it is usually cheaper to purchase the bulb then just go to Walmart or something & pick up a cheaper under the cabinet fixture to fit, or vice versa. If the thermometer is stuck to the glass & not resting on the basking spot, then you are taking the temps in the wrong place. A digital thermometer with a sensor or an Infrared thermometer (Temp Gun) is highly recommended. Indoor/Outdoor thermometers work well and are generally fairly cheap at most larger hardware stores.

 

[Wellovelizards]

Thank you so much for all of your help.
Here is the link to photobucket. I'm moving the stick on one now. Can't get new UVB bulb til am is there anything else I can do?

The link didn't work so I found your Photobucket account & posted them for you. - Germ

 

[Germ]

I kinda like the set up other than the lack of UVB & proper thermometers. Is that play sand or Calci-sand? Those stick on tape thermometers are decent for aquariums but are useless in this application. They give the temp of the glass, which is affected as much by the ambient room temps as the enclosure environment. The glass thermometer could be placed on the brick directly under the closest heat lamp to give a reasonable idea of the Basking temp after being there for a half hour or so after the lights have been on for a few hours.. I understand now why you asked about a 48" bulb. That would be hard to find & quite expensive & would only be effective at the basking spot, the floor is too far away for the rest of it to be effective & it basically is only needed at the basking spot. Morning will have to do as far as UVB goes. Have you been providing it with calcium? Let us know the basking temp directly under one of the lights. I also suggest you get a multi-vitamin for her such as Herptivite or Reptivite.

 

[Wellovelizards]

Sorry it took so long. Got 30" UVB light repti sun. temp at basking spot following Germs directions was 111. I have been doing calcium and vitamin dust on live crickets and spray calcium on veggies. She is doing great today had good poop...Thank you so much for your help and advice

 

[Wellovelizards]

Sorry forgot one answer it is washed play sand.

 

[Wellovelizards]

Thank you so much for all of your help.
Here is the link to photobucket. I'm moving the stick on one now. Can't get new UVB bulb til am is there anything else I can do?

The link didn't work so I found your Photobucket account & posted them for you. - Germ

Thank you. Guess I need to figure that out.

 

[Aleena]

Sorry, I guess I didn't give you very detailed instructions on how to post a photobucket pic! My fault. You go to photobucket and copy the img code for that picture, then paste the code into the text box where you would write a reply.

 

[Wellovelizards]

Thank u

 

[Aleena]

Thank u

You're welcome