Lifeless and not eating bearded dragon

[brucebeardeddrag]

5 Days ago (Monday) I noticed my bearded dragon was just laying on its stomach and not moving. Searched the internet and came up with MBD (calcium deficiency). Realised the lights hadn't been changed in over 12 months and that he hadn't received any calcium supplement in approx a month. Changed the lights the following day. Brought some crickets and ordered in some liquid calcium. Seemed to pickup a little once the new lights went in, was eating lots of crickets coated in Repti-cal powder. Next day (Wednesday) his stomach bloated up really bad and he stopped eating. Did more research and found impaction. Proceeded with warm baths and belly rubs. The following day (yesterday) he did a poo of totally undigested crickets. He has not eaten since and just lays on his stomach and doesn't move. His poo today was very runny and he is looking very skinny. I have also noticed since the new lights were installed that he tries to hide and has his eyes closed all the time. I'm sure that my old bulbs were only 5.0 each making a total of 10.0 but the pet shop told me to buy 2 x 10.0 making a total of 20.0. Are these to bright and hurting his eyes?
The details of his enclosure are as follows:

New lights installed - Reptile One tubes 10.0 x 2
Temp - 32degrees
Substrate - reptile carpet
Usual foods - moths, crickets, carrot, cucumber, dandelion flowers & leaves

Please help as he is my 4 years old sons pet and i'm scared he is going to die. Oh yeah he would be approx 2 years old. Has been receiving the liquid calcium twice daily since yesterday.

 

[Wally]

Up the temp at basking spot to 40 -45 deg. He's not getting hot enough. Calcium supplement is important, make sure this is supplied every second feed. UV tube of 10.0 is fine, make sure he can get within 100mm of it.

 

[brucebeardeddrag]

thanks for the quick reply. He can usually get within 100mm of light but since getting sick he cant climb his log and is trying to hide from light. I have 2 x 10.0 bulbs so the total is 20.0 - i will turn one bulb off tomorrow and see if that helps. any ideas on how to get him to eat. I have read that you can give them baby food - is this ok?

 

[Teamsherman]

You could even up the temp to about 45-55C.

I used to have a big oz-bright in my enclosure that would get a log about a foot below it to 60 degrees, my guys loved it! If they got too hot, they would move to the other end of the enclosure then back again and so forth.

Beardies are naturally in direct sunlight most of the time upwards of 35C. Then they lay on hot logs and rocks that are upwards of 60C.

Give him heat, and heaps of it but make sure he can escape it if he needs to and that includes supplying him a large enough water bowl to submerge in.

 

[Teamsherman]

thanks for the quick reply. He can usually get within 100mm of light but since getting sick he cant climb his log and is trying to hide from light. I have 2 x 10.0 bulbs so the total is 20.0 - i will turn one bulb off tomorrow and see if that helps. any ideas on how to get him to eat. I have read that you can give them baby food - is this ok?

Get some bearded dragon pellets from the herpshop or similar quicksmart. Crush them up into a past with apple juice and use a syringe to feed him about 10-20mls a few times a day.

This used to bring my runt hatchies up to speed within a couple of days.

 

[Wally]

A trip to the vet for a check up wouldn't hurt by the sounds of it either.

 

[brucebeardeddrag]

have already looked into it but can't find a vet on the sunshine coast that deals with reptiles. Lady next door is a vet and spoke to the uni for me and ordered in the liquid calcium for me. Guess i will have to drive to Brisbane if i can't get him to eat tomorrow.

 

[Wally]

Sort out the heat problem first and you may find his appetite will return anyway, get his environment right and the rest usually follows on from that.

 

[brucebeardeddrag]

Get some bearded dragon pellets from the herpshop or similar quicksmart. Crush them up into a past with apple juice and use a syringe to feed him about 10-20mls a few times a day.

This used to bring my runt hatchies up to speed within a couple of days.

I will give this a try tomorrow. Don't think i'll be able to get him to eat that much. i'm flat out getting the 1ml of calcium into him but will give him as much as i can

 

[David275]

I know this is quite far fetched but i noticed that moths are part of your lizards diet, and moths have been commonly known to carry worms which could explain the diahrohea and loss of weight.

Again it is a very far fetched theory.

 

[Lollypop]

How's the beardie doing this morning??
If he can't get up to the uv & heat via the log, build the base of the cage up using fine sand e.g. 2x10.0 will be way too much, the one is ample. What are u using for heat?? - u definitely need to increase the basking spot temp so it's 40C+ as said. Depending on the size of the enclosure is what size bulb u use. 4ft = 100-150W, 5ft=150W, 2ft=60-75W. You can either buy the bulbs from the petstore or the spotlights from bunnings, but make sure it's a white, bright light. Investing in a digital thermometer (around $16 from petstores) will enable u to perfect that basking temp. If u haven't been using anything for heat or not getting it hot enuf, then the possibilities of mbd are high.
I'd sort out his heat first & foremost before u begin forcefeeding, especially with the sloppy poo!!
If u have the availability of getting him out in the sun everyday all day for the next wk (just bring him in of a nightime), that would be the ultimate treatment u could give him atm. A birdcage/guineapig cage, anything to get him out in the sun!!!!

 

[shylock1]

Is the beardie dehidrated? (If you can see the bones clearly at the base of his tail he is probebly dehidrated) And I would still take him to a normal yet anyway, because vets in australia are required to help wild native animals so most vets should have some knowledge of retiles even if it isn't much. Also does his poo smell worse than normal??

 

[gregcranston]

Natural UV outside is way better than UV globes, so if the weather is ok, get him out in that for an hour or so a few times a week. Yes keep the calcium up on his food too. But I would say a vet visit is still in order.
About the lights, most UVb 10.0 are fine, but it's not unheard of for some to hurt their eyes. I had a globe last year that was hurting my beardies eyes so much they were closing their eyes all the time, so I replaced it after a couple of weeks.

 

[1issie]

I agree with the others and don't feed cucumber ,i made that mistake,it is not nuritional so it makes their poos all runny.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Get it checked for protozoan parasites & cryptosporidium - runny diarrhoea is often idicative of these things. Any vet can do a faecal exam for these things, you don't need a herp vet.
ASAP.

Jamie

 

[brucebeardeddrag]

How's the beardie doing this morning??
If he can't get up to the uv & heat via the log, build the base of the cage up using fine sand e.g. 2x10.0 will be way too much, the one is ample. What are u using for heat?? - u definitely need to increase the basking spot temp so it's 40C+ as said. Depending on the size of the enclosure is what size bulb u use. 4ft = 100-150W, 5ft=150W, 2ft=60-75W. You can either buy the bulbs from the petstore or the spotlights from bunnings, but make sure it's a white, bright light. Investing in a digital thermometer (around $16 from petstores) will enable u to perfect that basking temp. If u haven't been using anything for heat or not getting it hot enuf, then the possibilities of mbd are high.
I'd sort out his heat first & foremost before u begin forcefeeding, especially with the sloppy poo!!
If u have the availability of getting him out in the sun everyday all day for the next wk (just bring him in of a nightime), that would be the ultimate treatment u could give him atm. A birdcage/guineapig cage, anything to get him out in the sun!!!!

Much the same. Have only turned 1 light on this morning and have had him in the sun but only stayed there for approx 20 mins then went into shade. I offered him a cricket but was not interested. for heat i am using a ceramic heater. i have moved this down closer to the floor of the cage and have put a thermometer directly under it. will try to get temps higher in this area. I don't have a basking light, just the uvb tubes and the heater and this has been working fine for the past 2 years. what is the basking light required for?

 

[Grogshla]

give him a good bath
get him out in the sun
bring basking temps up to 40 degrees

 

[brucebeardeddrag]

ok my thermastat only goes to 34 degrees so have plugged heater directly into wall and put the thermometer where the lizard can get closest to heater. hopefully it will reach required temps. may have to go buy a new thermastat and heater. will track down a bird cage or similar today as an outdoor enclosure. what are the best foods to try and feed him at this stage??

 

[JKretzs613]

Hello,

How is your dragon doing today? I agree, a fecal exam, if you can get one done would be a good idea. Parasites & worms are commonly found, & in low levels are fine with the exceptions of a few things especially cryptosporidium or giardia. A fecal would help out.
Could you tell me which brand of "10" bulb you have, is it a tube bulb or a compact/coil bulb? If you are using a Reptiglo 10 that could be the problem, as they are known to emit the incorrect wavelength causing problems especially with the eyes. If you are using a compact/coil of most any brand, those are known for their glaring qualities & tend to be hard on the eyes as well.
What type of basking light are you using, a bright white light or a colored light? If not enough bright light is being used, & is not placed directly beside the UVB source, it will not be bright enough to cause pupil constriction which leaves the pupil vulnerable to more UVB exposure.
Maybe you could post a picture of your tank setup for us also?
Since you are using the liquid calcium right now, do not use any powdered calcium as that will be too much for his system. Too much calcium can cause constipation so great care needs to be given when considering liquid calcium. Is there a concentration listed on the bottle of the liquid calcium? If so, what is it? Are you giving any specific dose for him?

Tracie

 

[Sel]

Why not use a basking light ?