Beardie with swollen beard

Question
QUESTION: Hello, I have a beardie who is about 9 years old and has always been in good
health.  Recently it appears that his beard is swelling.  He is eating and
digesting normally, walks around the cage, and response as ever to my
attention.  I feed him vegetables, fruit and worms.  Why is his beard
continuing to swell up?  (He is alone in the cage so there is no aggression).  
Thank you for any knowledge you can share.

ANSWER: Hello Junie,

Well, 9 years is great first off.
Can you tell me about his tank setup.  What type & brand of UVB light are you using, is it a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light?  How old is it?
What are his basking temps & how do you measure them?  
What type of supplementation are you giving & how often do you give them to him?  I need the specific brand.
What type of worms are you giving & how many feeders weekly do you give him?
Swelling sometimes can be attributed to oversupplementation, or metabolic bone disease, or other underlying diseases.  Have you considered getting a blood test lately?

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Thanks for your response, Tracie.
Lyle is in a 36-gallon tank.  I don't know the brands of the bulbs, but he's got the full set up with one heat bulb at night, and 3 different bulbs during the day.  I'm sorry that I don't know the brands, but I've been assured by different lizard folk in different pet shops that these are the correct bulbs.  I actually don't measure his basking temps (am I a horrible mom??? Yikes.)  I put a pinch of calcium with vit. D ultra-fine powder about 2x a week on his vegetables and fruits. He usually eats 3 (very occasionally 4) superworms about 3 times a week.  Please tell me what are "feeders."  Up until now, Lyle has been great, and actually his mood is still the same, it is just the swelling that worries me.  I am bringing him to a vet who knows lizards tomorrow and will keep you posted.    Thank you for your compliment that 9 years is great.  I love this guy!  I take him out of the cage at least 4 times a week.  The other night he was on my chest as I was reading, my cat (who sleeps by his cage) came onto my chest, too and they both slept next to one another (I kept a watchful eye on both.)  It was one of those "Peace in the Animal Kingdom" moments!

ANSWER: Hello Junie,

Can you try to find the name of the brands of UVB lights please?  There are some that are not very good.  Look on the base of the bulbs as they normally do have the name stamped on the bulb.  Alot of times, the people at the petstores are not always informed on lights.  Just make sure for me, ok?  I would feel better.  Also, how old are the light?  What type of basking light, a bright white one?  
A 36 gallon tank is rather small but if you take him out of the tank often he should have enough room.  The smaller tanks hold heat really well.  
You definitely need to know the temps, hon.  If they are not kept at proper temps, they have a hard time digesting.  Though, he is 9, we want to see him live longer!!  So, try to find a digital probe or a temp gun to make sure that his basking temps are 95-105 & he has a cooler side of around 78-82.
Feeders are superworms, crickets, silkworms, etc.  So you feed him about 12 or so supers weekly, along with greens & veggies?  I would give calcium about 3 times per week.  
Can you send me a picture of your setup at  Drache613@tampabay.rr.com
The swelling worries me too.  Let's get your husbandry tweaked.  It could be some nutritional deficiency or a metabolic problem.  If he is not getting adequate UVB exposure, his body cannot properly absorb calcium.  Can he fully support his weight on all fours?  
Yeah, on ocassion, animals can be peaceful towards each other.  

Let me know how things are going.

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Thanks for this great info, Tracie.  I just replaced the long florescent tube to a Reptisum 5.0 UVB, and the light is actually bluer than the bulb I changed.  So maybe it DID lose its efficacy!  I had not idea bulbs weaked after time.

One of the white day light bulbs is "100W ESU BrightLight" and the second white bulb is an "EXA TERRA SUN GLO."

I feed Lyle about 9 superworms a week, and vegetables and/or fruit chopped up with a dash of the calcium powder once a week.  I'll go to three times per week on that.

Will also get a ditial probe or temp gun.  The room he is in gets warm during the day, and with the lights I think his cage must get to the high 80s.  For a human being, it can get uncomfortably warm in here.

Lyle is definitely able to support himself on all fours, and walks around the cage.  He is just now walking to settle himself in under the log for the night  (adorable!)  He is  curious and alert.  At one point this evening though, he opened his mouth, which he never does (or at least hasn't since he was a feisty youngster.)  He didn't open his mouth in an aggressive manner.  More it seemed like he wanted some air, but wasn't gasping.  

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge.

Answer
Hello Junie,

Can I ask you one more favor??  :-))  The Reptisun 5 flourescent tube bulb is ok, but, it is not quite strong enough especially since he has gone so long without any UVB.  Your tank is large enough for a mercury vapor bulb.  I highly highly recommend getting one soon, which would also help with the temps, too.  Go to:  www.reptileuv.com  
Read all about them.  I think it would do him a world of good.  It is hard when you use a flourescent tube bulb along with a basking light because it never seems bright enough & is sometimes hard to get the temps just right.  The Mercury vapor bulbs emit UVB along with heating & most of the time, you just need a low wattage bulb to use for extra brightness.
You definitely need to be able to measure the temps otherwise he can't digest his food well.  At his age, he should be eating probably 15-20 worms per week with veggies & greens.  The calcium will be good 3 times per week.
The basking temps on one end should be around 95-103 or so.  The cooler end around 78-82.
The ambient temps should not go any higher than around 85 or so.
Good that he can support himself on all fours so hopefully he does not have any metabolic bone issues yet.
Let me know how things are going!!

Tracie