Sick Beardie

Question

Beardie   QUESTION: Hi Tracie,

i'm really worried about one of my two bearded dragons. When the winter months approached, she really slowed down and stopped eating as much, which I understand is normal as the weather gets colder. But lately she's really deteriorated. I have really only seen her eat once in the last 6-8 weeks, she doesn't open her eyes anymore, and she's withering away. I have UVB lights on my tank, and whenever I feed them, I dust the crickets with calcium. The temperature in their basking area stays anywhere between 85 and 90. When the weather started to get colder, I bought a heating pad for under the tank in their basking area, and I bought a night light to give some sort of warmth at night. They just have reptile sand as their substrate and I change their water regularly and very lightly mist them every other days. I would normally worry that I'm doing something wrong, but my other bearded dragon is healthy and completely active and eats very regularly. Also, my sick beardie was completely healthy before the weather temperatures dropped. She's really thin, and I'm worried she'll die soon, but I feel like there was nothing I could do to prevent it. She slowed down to the point where she won't do anything. There's no reptile vet in my area to take her to - the closest one is 2 hours away. The vet I did bring her to said I needed to bring her to a specialist. I really don't know what to do. I've attached a picture of her current state. She moves around a bit, but for the most part she just lays in the sand like this. Any advice would be extremely helpful.

Thanks,

Justin

ANSWER: Hello Justin,
How old is she?  
What type of UVB are you using, a tube bulb or a compact/coil light?  How old is the UVB light?
How close is the UVB to them?
The basking temperatures are too low.  They need to be in a range of 95-110 & a cooler end around 78-82.  What type of thermometer do you use to measure the temperatures?
I understand the other one is healthy.  Perhaps she doesn't have as good of genetics as your other one.  Do you house her with a male?  
Since she is not eating, I highly recommend getting her on some baby food daily, such as chicken or turkey baby food, with squash baby food to help her out.  Do you use calcium for her?
Has she ever laid infertile or fertile eggs?
The heating pad in the basking spot area really doesn't need to be used.  They do a lot better with overhead heating sources.  What type of basking light are you using?  Just increase the wattage a little bit to reach the 95-110 range.  You will need to use either a temp gun or a digital probe to measure the temperatures more efficiently.

I would not mist them right now since it is very cold up there right now.  I would hate for her to get a respiratory infection.  Take the water dish out as well, if they don't use it right now.  Just give a bath a couple of times per week for hydration.

Let me know how she is doing.
Tracie

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QUESTION: Hey Tracie,

She's approximately 3 years old. The UVB bulbs i'm using are the compact coil lights (ExoTerra ReptiGlo 2.0 UVB, 26W). The UVB lights are approximately 12 inches from the dragons (the tank is approximately 18 in tall) The UVB is probably getting a little old, I can't even remember the last time I changed it. Can the UVB rays, like, wear away until the bulbs just produce light?

I've tried everything to increase the temperatures in my tank. I measure the temperatures with a digital probe thermometer (for example, as I write this the thermometer fluctuates between 92.5-92.7). I'm not 100% sure if the healthier beardie is male or female. At one point I had three in the tank, two females and one male. I sold one. It's strange because the one that's looking sick is the beardie I've had the longest.

I'll definitely get some baby food - should it be organic, or does that not matter? How should I go about feeding her the food though? Since she doesn't eat by herself I don't really know how to go about doing that.

My basking light is an ExoTerra Intense Basking Spot 150W, I'm not sure how much stronger of a light I should be getting. The next strongest bulbs I saw were ceramic running for about $60 (which also means I'd need a new fixture to hold them), and I don't think I can afford that.

It's really not that cold outside. I live in Ontario, Canada, and we've had days this month in around 55 degrees (Fahrenheit), with the coldest days ranging from 30-35 degrees Farenheit. In other words, it could definitely be colder out. I'll stop misting them though, and if you think the water dish is unnecessary I'll remove that as well.

Thanks,

Justin

ANSWER: Hello Justin,

Yes, the UVB does degrade over time.  However, the Reptiglo 2 coil lights put out virtually zero UVB.  How old is your other dragon who is doing well?  
So, my analysis is that she is developing or has metabolic bone disease from lack of UVB exposure. Since she has been under the light the longest, her calcium stores are most likely depleted now.  Without D3 synthesis through UVB exposure, they are not able to process calcium & vitamins very well.  Over time, they develop metabolic bone disease.
Since you are in Canada, you should be able to find either the Reptisun 10 tube bulb or the Arcadia D3 12% tube bulb, either one.  

When you feed her just use a plastic dropper or syringe to get some food into her.  This should help her get back on her feet, but you definitely need to get a new UVB light.  
It will need to be mounted 6-8 inches from her alongside of a bright white basking light.
She should also be placed on a liquid calcium as well since she is most likely not absorbing the calcium very well right now.
I think right now, since her immune system may be suppressed, that misting her wouldn't be a good idea in case it is too cold for her.  The basking should come up to minimum 95 but to a range of 95-110.
The baby food doesn't necessarily need to be organic, but if you can find that it would be better.  Start with 3-4mls per day.  


You can find these lights at:
www.lightyourreptiles.com

He ships to Canada!
Let me know how she is doing.
Tracie

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

QUESTION: I just went out to get the new UVB bulbs, liquid calcium, and some baby food (chicken and squash). I got some plastic syringes from the drugstore. I mixed a little bit of each baby food into the syringe along with some of the liquid calcium to give to my beardie. The only problem is that she isn't eating it. I don't want to try to "pry" her mouth open because she seems so brittle. I put some on her nose in the hopes she's lick it off but she won't even do that. What am I supposed to be doing to get her to take the mixture?

Justin

Answer
Hello Justin,

Wow, that was really fast!  Did you get the Reptisun 10 tube bulb?
How close is it to her?  
She is so weak that is why she isn't eating.  Try getting a swab & gently opening her mouth from the side & squirt some food into her mouth that way so she gets a taste.  I think if she gets a taste that she will want to try more of it.
Good luck.  
Which liquid calcium did you get?

Tracie