Bearded Drogan

Question
QUESTION: I have two bearded Dragons one have them seams to have gotten a sore in its mouth and the snout seams a little darker, I do not know whether it is a male or female, the beardie eats if I feed it by hand (one cricket) a day seams to really enjoy more water than normal, keeps mouth open and is staying in the cooler side of the tank most of the time. I took the beardie to may pet store and they said it just looks like a sore the beardie is on Hydro-Life. Is there any thing else I should do

ANSWER: Hello Michelle,

Are you housing them together currently?
What type of lighting are you using, do you use a UVB light?  If so, what type & brand is it, a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light?
What type of thermometer are you using, a stick on, a digital probe or a temp gun?  What are the temps?
What sized tank is he in?
Is he showing any interest in food at all?  Perhaps a cricket bit him?  Do you leave crickets in with him overnight?  They can bite them if left in the tank for too long.  Does he rub his snout on the glass alot trying to get out?  That would cause snout injury.

Tracie

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QUESTION: Hello,
They are together, I have never seen them fight.
I use two different lights a day light and the red light for night time. I can not remember right now who made the bulbs I bought them from a pet stor they are for reptiles they are the big bulbs I would think that is the compact, they are UVB lights. We used a temp gun to make sure the temps were the right temp on both sides of the tank, I keep one side cooler than the other. It is a 55 gallon tank. He will not go chase food but if I hold a cricket up for the him he will it just one a day though for the past 4 days he was also shedding so I cant tell if the snought is hurt or if he his still shedding. I do not leave crickets in there over night I still feed them small ones so they eat them pretty quick. He does not rub his snout on the tank at all.
Thanks for all you help. They are great pets and I wouldnt want anything to happen to him.

ANSWER: Hello Michelle,

How old are they?  You will need to figure out though, if they are two females, a male & a female or two males.  IF they are under 6 months, then you may or may not see aggressive behavior.  However, as they begin
to hit sexual maturity, if you have 2 males, you absolutely will not be able to house them together or they will tear each other apart.
If you have a male & a female it is not recommended to house them together as they will breed entirely too young putting your female at risk for health problems & overbreeding at an early age.
If you have 2 females you may be able to house them without any problems.  Anytime you house 2 dragons you always have to be on the lookout for aggressive behaviors.  They by nature, are solitary creatures & can all of the sudden just snap & turn on their tank mates out of nowhere.  
I need to know the brand of the compact/coil lights.  The brand should be stamped on the base of the base of the bulb.  The compact & coil lights are very poor UVB in their emissions & will not be strong enough to give them the needed exposure of UVB to maintain bone strength & integrity.  Does the light look like this:

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=2183

or this:

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=1667

Is it a heat & UVB all in one?  If so, let me know the brand.  

Great you do not leave the crickets in with them all night!  :-))
Since you are using a temp gun, the temps should be good.  What are the basking temps & what are the cool side temps?  The recommended basking temps are 95-110 & the cooler end around 78-82.  

The red light being used at night can disturb their sleeping patterns unfortunately as they can see that color spectrum.  If you need to use any nighttime heating I suggest using a ceramic heat emitter that only puts out heat but no light.  They can safely go into the upper 50's to 60's temperatures.  

If his snout is shedding, he might have rubbed it on something in the tank trying to get the skin loose.  If it is not healing up like it should be you can get some antibiotic ointment & put that on the area daily until it starts looking better.  

Do you give calcium supplementation 5 times per week since they are under one year?

Tracie

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QUESTION: Those are the temps that I am keeping 105 on the warmer sid and the cooler side is 85. The day light that I am using is the 150w tight beam sun glo Basking spot lamp the red light I do not remember I did not keep the box and everything is wore off the bulb itself, It was what the recommended. So do think at night I can just shut all lights off my house never gets colder than 72 I live in Florida. I keep a heating rock in there also. I do the calcium at least five times a week, whether it be on the crickets, or fruit or vegatables, I also feed them meal wills but the one that doesnt feel well at the moment never seams to care for the meal worms likes cricket and veggies. What kind of ointment do you suggest.

Answer
Hello Michelle,

Ok, well, it doesn't sound like you are using a UVB light then.  The Sun Glo is fine for the basking light, but you need a UVB light to enable them to utilize their calcium properly.
The best UVB tube light you can buy is the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb which you can buy from:
www.petmountain.com
The UVB is very critical for their health.  
The heat rock is a controversial subject.  It can be dangerous as they can get too hot & burn your dragon.  They do not have heat sensors on their bellies & do not know to move before they get burned.  So, either unplug it & just use it as a rock, or cover it with something to where they will not get burned such as a thick towel, etc.  
We live in Florida too.  If your house never gets colder than 72, that is absolutely perfect, they will sleep well at those temps.  They prefer to cool down to sleep.  
However, since your one is not feeling well, you might want to wrap him up in a little blankie to keep him warmer to help his immune system out.
I would not overdo it on the mealworms as they are pretty fatty & tend to cause impactions in the young dragons.  Crickets,  phoenix worms, & occasional mealies are all fine.  
I forgot to suggest the ointment.  You can use neosporin or polysporin antibiotic ointments to put on his little snout.  :-))

Let me know how things are going.

Tracie