weird behavior- health related?

[beckerette]

Hey anyone out there. My bearded dragon has been with me for just over a month. At first he ate like crazy (about 10 mealworms a day), then 3 weeks ago he quit eating. He's spending a lot of time in his water dish (I have one because when I brought him home from the store he wouldn't leave the water). His eyes also seem crusted over. I've irrigated with saline thinking it might be sand in his eyes but it's only gotten slightly better. And he is rarely around his basking light. Please help!

 

[renich]

hi and welcome! i hope you find this forum will help you.

mealworms are not recommended for beardies. they are difficult for the bearded dragon to break down and can lead to impaction, which is fatal.

as far as the crusty eyes, can you post a picture? without seeing it, it is difficult to comment.

i do have a couple of additional questions:
1. what lighting are you using?
2. what are your temps on the cool and hot side?
3. what are you using to take the temp?
4. how old is your beardie?
5. what do you feed your beadie daily?
6. what kind of sand are you using?
7. when was the last time he pooped?
8. how often do you bathe your beardie?

 

[beckerette]

My dragon has improved since the last post, he's eating and his eyes temp cleared. I don't understand the eye thing. Here's a pic.

 

[BeardedBob]

Wow, I would still take him to a herp vet. If nothing else it might prevent it leading to anything more.

I have also read that mealworms aren't the greatest, so I would stick to some greens and make sure he gets some calcium.

I remember this early stage with mine and it was frightening from time to time, but it turned out okay. I know there is a care sheet on this site somewhere, I remember reading it, so review that like a hawk and get that beardie better!!

BTW, you can't see the pic until you log in - I thought I was going crazy for a minute!

 

[renich]

thanks for the pic. unfortunately, it is blurry on my end, so it is difficult to assess the seriousness of your eye concerns.

i'm glad that he is eating again. i agree with bearded bob, it never hurts to take any new pet to a vet to get them checked out. although, it is difficult for most herp vets to assess beardies this young, they are prone to many diseases and parasites at this age.

check out herpvetconnection.com for a vet in your area.

i'd also like to ensure your beardie has the proper setup. can you take a minute to answer my questions? here they are:

1. what lighting are you using?
2. what are your temps on the cool and hot side?
3. what are you using to take the temp?
4. how old is your beardie?
5. what do you feed your beadie daily?
6. what kind of sand are you using?
7. when was the last time he pooped?
8. how often do you bathe your beardie?

Thanks!

 

[beckerette]

1) the lighting is the exoterra 10 and 5 believe (the desert one and one for brightness) and also a 50 watt heat bulb about 5 in. from top of basking spot
2) temps on cool side 73 at night to 85 in day- hot side 95 (I know it should be warmer, I'm fixing that)
3) a digital thermometer on screen of tank (was inside but fell off and my poor lizard got completely suck to it, it was bad)
4)no clue how old, he is tiny though and I've had him for almost 2 months now
5) was feeding him mealworms but now I'm feeding him small crickets until I can get my hands on some silkworms (I heard those are good)
6) repti sand
7)not positive, maybe a few days
8) he has a water dish he spends a lot of time in, I just put warm water in everyday I see him in there.

Hope this is good stuff. I'll have to see when I can take him to the vet. My local vet for herps is 45 min away in good weather, and the weather is pretty bad now.

 

[renich]

Hmm...couple of thoughts.

your beardie should be pooping daily if he/she is under a year old. A warm bath should be offered at least every other day. This can be done in a rubber made container where enough water should be available to soak your dragon. But not too much water, where he can't hold his head above water.

exo terra is the name of the manufacturer of the repti-glo 10.0. If this is the uvb lighting that you have, it has been known to cause issues for bearded dragons. And may be the reason behind your eye issues. The repti-sun 10.0 by zoo med is highly recommended.

How close is your beardie to the light from his basking spot?

also, repti sand is not ideal for baby beardies. It is a bit of a controversial subject. We had our in playground sand after he was 1 year old. We used reptile carpet when he was under a year old. Babies can eat the sand, which will cause impaction, which can be fatal.

 

[beckerette]

Why does the exo-terra brand have problems? I don't quite understand how it could be the cause... He has a dish that he eats out of, he still doesn't like the crickets, so I don't see where the chance of him eating the sand would come from. I'm more worried that the sand is what's causing the eye problem.

 

[renich]

Honestly, I think you have a couple of issues regarding your dragon's habitat that need to be addressed. There is a lot to consider when caring for these little guys and there are so many pet stores out there who give incorrect information. It really is sad.

The Repti-Glo 10.0 emits low wavelength of UVB. It also has less UVA emissions than it should making it harder on the eyes than the other UVB flourescent tube bulbs. It also does not have favorable wavelength which allows proper D3 synthesis which over time will affect the calcium absorption. I have heard about quite a few cases in which people had been using this particular bulb for awhile & their dragons were not doing as well as they should have been. There were also some whose dragons ended up having bone issues such as metabolic bone disease.

For these reasons, I don't recommend this light right now.

 

[beardielover]

Oh my. Repti Glo 10.0 is a big no-no. As Renee pointed out, there are known issues with it. As far as I know, the repti-sun 10.0 is the best uvb bulb out there. It reaches distances farther than any of them. I noticed a difference going from a mercury bulb to the repti sun 10.0 when it came out a couple of years ago!

 

[BeardedBob]

Yeah, just chiming in but adding nothing new (as usual ;D), everyone here is right on the money. As a matter of fact you can goto ZooMed's site, they detail the different bulbs and tell you the proper use for each. ReptiGlo tends to be for other reptiles such as snakes. It tends to get hotter.

The beardies are a bit more sensitive, one of the same reasons they can't have heat rocks.

 

[brasshandle]

hi ,im now worried weve had repti glo 10.0 for 1 year now,why is it a no no ,love brasshandle :-\ :-\

 

[BeardedBob]

I dont know that it is directly a no, no, just public opinion from a lot of forums from experience.

I think there is a lot of confusion and something we need to collectively research I guess.

One of the main things is the rating. ReptiGlo 2.0 (not what you are using) is what I had gotten a little confused on because I had purchased that before and it was absolutely the wrong bulb. 2.0 if higher light and less UVB more gearded toward snakes - sorry for that confusion.

In doing a little research it is just a difference in maker. ReptiGlo (by ExoTerra) does now have a 10.0 (what you are using) that is in fact geared towards desert animals. ReptiSun is ZooMed's brand of the same type of bulb.

I think where the public opinion comes from is what Renee mentioned above in the distance (through thorough testing) at which it still has suitable effect of its UVB. That is going to depend on the size of your terrarium in how you might have a negative experience as opposed to a positive one. The ReptiSun is supposed to have a high percentage of effect even at distances of 12"-18" which take you up to a 75 gallon terrarium.

To complicate things worse, this also depends on what is between your bulb and your beardie. If a screen is there you may have less effect overall and be limited to 12" (distance between your basking beardie and the bulb) or even 8". Now the ReptiWhatever 5.0 would be even less distance, 2.0 less etc.

So maybe not a no, no, but maybe a nahhhh

 

[brasshandle]

thanks bob, marleys viv is 4footby2ft by3ft,his favorite spot is to lie on top of his log about 10 inches from his uv bulb ,he can lazz there all day and soak it up,thanks for reply,brasshandle

 

[renich]

Well said Bob! I have heard of counts from others that the Repti-glo 10.0 has not produced enough uvb, therefore not getting the beardie enough vitamin D. This could lead to some diseases, such as Metabolic bone disease.

However, if it is kept 10 inches above the basking spot, you should be ok. This all pertains to the tube and not the coil. Coil florescants are all bad for bearded dragons.

 

[renich]

Beckerette, I wanted to follow up to see if your dragon has improved or is he still having issues around the eye and not eating?

 

[BeardedBob]

Hey beckerette, any update you can share?