About our 2 yr. old Bearded Dragon

Question
QUESTION: This is our first time having a bearded dragon, she is 2 yrs. old. We purchashed her at a pet store in November of 2008. She has been eating very well, she eats crickets every other day, Romaine Lettuce and carrots everyday. Oh we offer her 8-12 pellets of Bearded Dragon Diet(Flukers) on the days she doesn't have crickets, the pellets are cricket fortified....she loves them. I spray her veggies with a Liquid Vitamin made by Flukers for all reptiles.
OK, so just a few days ago when my husband feed her crickets (they were dusted, this is the first time we have fed her dusted crickets) about an hour or so later she threw them up, it was awful! He put about 6-8 of them in her tank. What would have caused her to throw them up? She has never done this before, she did it again 2 days later. We still have the same crickets, I'm afraid to give her anymore. What should we do?
We purchased the crickets at a well known pet shop in our town.
She hasn't been eating much either. We don't have sand in her tank, its green turf. So I don't think she is impacted.
Thank you sooo much for your time, I look forward to hearing back from you.
THANKS A MILLION!!

ANSWER: Hello Melissa,

What is your setup like?  What type of basking light are you using, is it a bright white light or a colored light?
What type & brand of UVB light are you using?  Is it a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light?  
What are the temps in the tank, & what do you use to measure the temps with, a stick on thermometer, a digital probe or a temp gun?
Are you supplementing straight calcium?  If not, you do need to be several times per week to keep her bones strong.  
She only needs vitamins once a week, or she might be getting too much of the vitamins.  
The best brand for calcium is Repcal calcium with D3 or without D3.  
It is possible that the crickets were bad, that does happen sometimes.  
Was she too cold when she ate them perhaps?
Were the crickets too large for her?  They should not be any larger than the space between the eyes, to avoid impaction & other digestive problems.

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Hi Tracie,
Thank you soo much for getting back to  me so soon! Our setup is a 50 gallon fish tank. We have a bright white light for her basking and the UVB is flourescent tube bulbs they are 10.0 Repti-glo(we have 2 of those, one in each hood, there are 2 hoods). The temp in the tank during the day is between 95 and 100 and at night its between 65 and 70. We have a stick on thermometer as well.
Another form of heat we have too is a small heating pad under the tank on just one of the sides, we have a rock over that area in the tank, sometimes she will lay on the rock, its a flat rock.(I personally don't think that we need the heating pad, but my husband insists? What do u think?)
About the calcium, so we do need to buy the calcium stuff correct? She doesn't get that in the crickets? Like I said we are new to this, the guy that sold us her filled our buggy with what we needed for her so I assumed we had all the right things, I guess we don't.We asked a lot of questions too. We even bought a book about bearded draogons, I have read it all.
When she ate the crickets I don't think she was cold.
Thank you so much for writing me back I would like to stay in contact with you if that's possible? I'm hoping that she will be OK she is like one of our family members.
Should I send you a picture of her? I'm just really worried about her, we all are. Thanks again for your continuing help.
I hope I answered all your questions.
Thanks again,
Melissa

ANSWER: Hello Melissa,

Oh I hate to have to tell you about your UVB light but, the Reptiglo 10 flourescent tube bulb is not very good.  Is it the long tube or a mini tube/coil or compact type of light?  Since I have not seen the final testing analysis from the UVB meter testing I cannot recommend those lights yet.  They produce low wavelength UVB which is borderline to UVC.  It is not a favorable wavelength for D3 synthesis & overall, is not a very strong light.  
Can you exchange them?  The better light would be the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube light.  You can get them for $20 a piece at:  www.petmountain.com
For now, keep the UVB light at 10 inches from her to protect her eyes.  Just when you can, change the UVB light to the Reptisun 10 long flourescent tube bulb.  I realize this is a huge pain, but for her long term health it would be better.   

Good that you have a bright white light right now, because that will help protect her eyes.  Do you have it placed directly beside the Reptiglo 10 then?  
No, they do not need underbelly heating.  It sounds like it is safely installed to where she wont get burned but it isn't necessary.  They do prefer their heating to come from above.  Is it on the side where the basking light is?  If so, she can get overheated with underbelly & overhead heating combined.  
I think it would be better if you got a calcium only supplement.  The trouble with calcium & vitamin supplements that combine them both sometimes do not contain enough calcium & too much vitamins.  So you can get either the Repcal calcium with D3 & use that 3 times per week, or Jurassical plain calcium is fine as well.    
No, the crickets don't really contain enough calcium, even if they are gutloaded.  Insects are naturally high in phosphorus, so dusting helps to balance the ratio out.  

Unfortunately, the stick on thermometers only measure the ambient temps & the temperature of the glass.  They do not measure the basking spot, so you will need to get either a digital probe or a temp gun to ensure the basking spot is within range.  You can get a digital probe at  www.reptilesupply.com  or at walmart & it is the acurite brand there.  You might find it in the plants section.
Or you can get a temp gun from   www.reptileuv.com

For a great feeding chart, go check this site out:  www.beautifuldragons.com   Romaine lettuce is too watery to be fed as a sole staple.  She needs dark greens such as mustard or collard greens.  Carrots are ok, but should not be fed everyday really.  They are high in oxalates which can bind calcium absorption.  

I am still trying to figure out why she threw up.  I do think that her temps are probably off & she is having a little trouble digesting her food.   

You can send me pictures at my home email & we can stay in touch that way if you would like.  :-))
It is:  Drache613@cfl.rr.com

I am happy that you are enjoying your first bearded dragon.  She must be a little sweetie pie.  

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Thank you so much for all the great information!! I appreciate everything. I think we have figured out her problem, we just noticed yesterday that she is shedding between her toes and on her tail. My husband looked up shedding on the internet so we figure that's part of her not eating part and not wanting to be held. Now the throwing up part is still a mystery? Maybe that's how she gets when she sheds? What do u think?
I will most definately be changing up her diet based on what you said. And her calcium intake we will be buying some of that too. The bulbs we will be exchanging those very soon.
She is very much so a sweetie, when she's not shedding that is.LOL:)
Thanks for all your help!! I put her in a warm shallow bath in the kitchen sink today she loved it! I was reading where they like that, she seems to be acting a lot better.
Thanks for all the advice! :)

Melissa

Answer
Hello Melissa,

That is true, shedding makes them a little grouchy.  They normally don't eat a whole lot during this time either just because the skin is irritating to them.
Great that she loved her bath so much.  That is sweet.  
Well, the throwing up I feel is maybe just the temps are off just a little bit so when you get a new thermometer, double check the temps.  Also, perhaps she was not basking as much due to her shedding which would affect how warm she was getting as well.
Let me know how things are going!

Tracie