I thnk my sons bearded dragon is sick..

Question
QUESTION: Hi.. this morning I woke to find my son's beardie flat on his back and his breathing seemed really spratic..like he was gasping for air. I immediately gave him a bath and let him drink from the kitchen faucet. He hasn't been eating very well lately and I hardly see him drink, unless I hold him under the faucet. We bought him last year around the middle of August last year at local pet store, so I believe he may be at least a year old. I gave him some Flukers Reta Aid " Herbivore Emergency aid and that seemed to help. However, he does have at least 4 inches of dark discoloration on the middle section of his tail and the back side of his neck. I'm embarrassed to admit that I purchased "Tommy" without any real education him. But I'm quite found on him and would appreciate any suggestions that I could get. Oh and his face is a little pale as well. My is 14 and still learning the responsibilities of caring for animals.. I'm afraid something may be seriously wrong. Could you possibly help please.
Thanks,
Eileen

ANSWER: Hello Eileen,

Sorry to hear your son's bearded dragon is not doing well.
What type & brand of UVB light are you using, is it a fluorescent tube bulb, or a compact/coil bulb?  What type of basking light are you using, is it a bright white light?
What are the temperatures in the tank, & what type of thermometer do you use currently?  A stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun?
Are you supplementing calcium regularly?  What types of foods do you feed him?
Well, the tail being half dark is a sign of stress, & or pain or both.  Do you have a picture of him?

Is he losing weight?  If so, we need to try to get him eating something for some nutrition.  You can get some chicken or turkey baby food, & some squash baby food to feed to him with a plastic syringe or plastic dropper.

What type of substrate are you using, sand, tiles, paper towels?
Continue to use the Repta aid & the Herbivore emergency.  You can just mix the baby food in with that too.
How do his stools look?
It could be a high worm or parasite level, impaction, or metabolic bone disease.  It is dangerous for them to be on their backs for too long as they can't breathe well on their backs.
Can he support himself on all fours & climb without any problems?  

Let me know how he is doing.
Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


Tommy's Pic's   QUESTION: Thank you so much for responding so quickly.. In response to your questions:Desert 50 UVB T8 Fluorescent 12hrs on 12hrs off. (but to be very honest I just started using it because I wasn't aware that I needed it I was told that a basking light during the day and a red blub for night time was enough) basking light was clear not white. Substrate is green tile. Its' a stick on: during the day is ranges anywhere from 40 to 60 and at night about the same since the weather change he does have two in the tank one for the warmer side and one for the cooler side becasue that was what was suggested). Yes, we are using calcium when we feed him the crickets. His eating habits have changed drastically within the last week...so he dosen't appear to be loosing weight..yet. We've been feeding him greens such as: lettuce,zuchini and carrots. He doesn't support himself very well on all fours and he hasn't climbed his rocks for quite sometime and i failed to mention the yellow on his neck and his belly. I took him back to the pet store where I purchased him( the young man who sold him to me always seemed very knowlegeable he did mention that Tommy appeared to have metabolic bone disease. I was devasted! I've grown to really have an attachment to Tommy as if he were one of the kids :) I know that may sound a silly but I can't help it.
As far as his stools: he's been "poopin" regularly. I've continued to feed him 3'x a day with suringe with the emergency aid.
I'm attaching pictures of him and his tank as well. I would really hate to see him pass ...do you think think we can nurse him back to health?
Thank you again,
Eileen

Answer
Hello Eileen,

I honestly hate to have to tell you this but the Zilla Desert 50 tube UVB light is not a good light unfortunately.  Can you return it?  The UVB emissions are not very good at all, & some have been known to be emitting hazardous UVB wavelength.
The best UVB tube bulb you can get is the Reptisun 10 tube bulb.  You can get it for a good price here:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-rept
It will need to be placed 6-8 inches from him, directly beside the basking light on one end of the tank.  Good the basking light is a bright white light.  
The stick on type of thermometers are only good at measuring the ambient temperatures & humidity but not the basking temperatures.  So, try to get a digital probe or a temp gun for better readings of your basking temperatures.  He will need a basking temperature of a range of 95-110 with a cooler end of 78-82 or so.
Great you are using tile, so that rules out impaction problems with substrate then.  
The yellow on his neck & belly could be yellow fungus possibly, but I am not positive.  Have you bathed him to see if it comes off?  We will need to address that if it is fungal, immediately.  
What type of lettuce are you using?  The best choices are mustard greens, collard greens, dandelion greens, endive & escarole are all good.  The squash is fine, too.  Try butternut squash as well.
I understand the attachment, it is a very special bond you can develop with them.  So definitely don't feel silly about feeling that way.
If he is not eating feeders, then, he does need some protein.  So I recommend getting some chicken or turkey baby food to add in with the supplementation/emergency aid foods you are feeding daily.
Right now, even though you are using powdered calcium, I would recommend using some liquid calcium for awhile to help with rapid calcium absorption.  I agree, especially he can't support himself & he hasn't had any UVB lighting he most likely has metabolic bone disease.  You will need to act very quickly to get him back within reasonable limits of regaining some bone mass.  This takes time, but, is possible to get him stable.  Once they have metabolic bone disease, they always are prone to calcium problems, but, you can stop the progression of it & reverse some of the damage.  If there are any bone deviations or deformities, they will  probably be permanent since the bone has grown like that.
I sell liquid calcium, if you want to take a look.  Here is my site:
http://www.bug-de-lite.com/

Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie