Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It seems like everytime I post a question it is about poop...sorry, but this has been an on going issue that I can't seem to get a handle on. For awhile, our bearded pooped every two weeks. Now he is down to once a week. About six weeks ago, I took him to the vet and she said he looked great....fecal okay. The vet wanted to test again...just did that today and again it is okay. It is not formed, but not extremely runny. He is eating his veggies with a couple of small pieces of apple. He has a great appetite for crickets. Basking temp is around 95 degrees - I need to figure out a way to raise that a little. Any other ideas? Thanks

Typically dragons will poop daily or every other day when adults. As your dragon isn't showing any signs of parasites or internal blockage, the only other reason I can think of is maybe the amount of food being fed. Or, he is pooping more often but it is not noticeable. The latter would be the case if you use sand as a substrate. If you don't, then it could be the former.

To determine if it is the former, will need to know just how much food you are feeding him on a daily basis. (ie number of insects, volumn of vegetables (quarter cup, half cup etc) and does he eat everything offered?

As for raising the basking temp (which could be why he isn't digesting fast) just use a higher watt bulb or lower the basking light/raise the basking spot. Increasing the wattage by 20-25 watts may be all you need to get the temp around 105F. Also providing a wide basking spot with a decent incline (not too steep, your dragon wants to be able to relax while he bask, not have to hang on in fear of sliding off). I used a very large and wide piece of driftwood which gave my dragon a large range of temps under the basking light. The highest area was around 120F with the lower areas around 105F and of course the floor of the cage near the driftwood was around 95F with the other half of the cage at around 80F during the day. Below is a picture of my old setup.

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PHLdyPayne

Food- about a quarter cup of veggies offered per day with a few small pieces of apple (he will only eat it with the apples). I alternates collard greens and mustard greens, with either green/yellow/red peppers or squash. He usually doesn't eat all of the veggies. He is about a year and a 1/2 now and 21 1/2 inches. You wrote earlier you thought he was a little light for that length, so I have been feeding him about 20 crickets every other day. Baths at least once a week and misting every day.

I know when he poops because I use shelf liner and he goes on a paper towel that I put in there (and you can't miss it when he goes)!!

I have struggled with temps. I am using a 90 gallon tank, UVB light and 100 watt basking light. I can't find a basking spot that is high enough and the sides are glass so I don't have anything to secure stuff to. I was going to get a basking lamp that you can adjust the temps, along with a 150 bulb. However, when I put the bulb in it stuck out a little. Is it okay to put it on the screen like that? Also, with the tank as big as it is, should I have a smaller watt bulb to help heat the middle? I so appreciate your help!! The more I learn from this forum, the more angry I get about the advice that I received from the petstore I bought him from when he was little!!

Some of the worst setups I have seen have been at petshops, there has only been one that i have realy trusted the advice i was given and that was where i got Draka from

If you can get creative and find a way to mount the basking light inside of the tank, you can get it much closer to the basking spot and use far lower wattage bulbs.

If you don't like the idea of that, then you can do one of a few things. You can get a branch and silicone it to the side of the tank (with aquarium sealant) so that it reaches higher, you can add more substate to that side of the tank so that branches will naturally be a little higher, and/or you can build a retes stack (look on www.proexotics.com).

I suggest getting a hooded light fixture with a clamp, one that is rated for at least a 150watt bulb. Use a flood light bulb (found at any home hardware supply store, like an outdoor flood bulb) around 125watt. That was what I used with my large adult cage. With a hooded clamp, you can afix it to teh side of the tank and adjust so it is pointing over the basking spot. If you have a screen top, it may not be possible to do this.

In fact, if you don't have anything around the house that would be tempted to jump into your dragon's cage (ie a cat or young child) I would remove the screen completely. Dragons are not likely to jump out of a tank anyway, unless they have a climbing branch that reaches high enough for them to jump out (in which case, lower it or remove it altogether). Buy a piece of 6"x1" board the length of your tank, mount your UVB fixture to it, and you can use the basking light clamped to one side of the board or the side of the tank.

A good digital thermometer with a probe you can lie on the basking spot makes it easier to determine the exact temperature of your dragon's basking spot. A temp gun is useful as well.
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PHLdyPayne