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mountain horned dragon

22 14:32:33

Question
QUESTION: Hello Tracie, I had recently perchased a mhd. it is a male baby. when i  had perchased it, it was the only dark one in the tank. The others where green. i guess my first question  is is he ok. The other question is, Ihad noticed the there is a little bit of a white crusty substance in the corner oh his mouth. do you know what this may be. by the way he is a acanthosaura capra.  And he has green patches on his neck.          Thanks alote for your time and effort.          Adam

ANSWER: Hello Adam,

What type of setup is he in?  What sized tank is he in?  They need enclosures that are taller more than enclosures that are long but not tall.  I would say it needs to be 3-4 feet tall, 2-3 feet long & 1-2 feet deep (wide) for comfortable housing.
So, do you have tall branches for him to perch on right now?  
What are the temps in the tank?  
What is the humidity in the tank, & do you measure it?  
Do you have an adequate watering system in the tank for him?  They need moving water in order for him to drink properly.
Is he wild caught or captive bred?  Or, do you know?
White crusty substances in the corner of his mouth?  How long has he had that for?  Does he have any mucous in his mouth or nose?  
That could indicate a respiratory issue if the temps are not correct.
Do you use UVB lighting, & if so is it a flourescent tube bulb, a compact or a coil light?  What type of basking light are you using?  
Do you use calcium supplementation?  
Is he an overall dark color?  That is an indication of stress from relocation most likely.  
Does he spend a good amount of time on the bottom of the tank?

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Hello Tracie,
         I guess there is a little more info you need eh. Sorry. Any ways he is in a 35 gallon (tall) tank. he has lots of  vines, sticks, logs, moving water, fake plants. The substrate that I use is a mixture of coconut husk, and and repti bark. I do have a 5.0 uvb/uva COIL bulb. No heat. I was told that heat is not a needed due to the origin of the lizard.(which I thought was odd)he is just under 7" long. And the enclosure is just temporary. About the captive bred im not sure at all. The temps in the tank are 75, falling to around 65 at night. No basking area. the humidity is at 60% i mist 3-4 times daily, and the moving water helps. I do use calcium every day for know and vitamin twice weekly. The color as I said is very dark, and it is all of the body. Some green around neck and ear area. He does spend more time at the bottom of the tank but does go in the tree or logs. He eats about 6-7 crickets a day. that I see. I have seen him in the water bowl a couple of times. The crusty substances have been there since I have purchased him. It does seem that it is going away. its only on the one side of the mouth know. as far as mucous I have looked and it seams no different than  my bearded dragon or chameleons mouth. A little clear saliva looking substance but all my lizards seem to have that. And I just had my chameleon looked at. I hope that I have covered all the info that you need. I apologize for not having it all the first time. lol
Thanks again
   Adam

Answer
Hello Adam,

Ok, a 35 gallon is not bad.  Is it tall though?  It needs to be tall though, as they need high perches to sit on.  
The substrate is fine for him no problem  The humidity should run 70-80%.  Could you put in a fogger to help out?  That is great you have a good watering system all setup for him then so he is drinking well on his own??  
Ok, I think I know what the problem is.  He should not be spending so much time on the bottom of the tank.  The coil UVB light is not a good one, ok?  They are somewhat dangerous, really.  What brand is it?  They can emit low wavelength UVB which is close to UVC & the quality of the UVB is poor.  
The best type of UVB you can use is a Reptisun 10 flourescent tube UVB. That will need to be used along with the Sun Glo & placed directly beside the UVB.  Ok?  
He needs a basking area of around 78-85 but NO higher.   
The dark color is most likely stress.  He is not quite warm enough & the lighting & humidity need to be adjusted a bit.

Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie