Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a bearded dragon that is still very young. I moved up to larger crickets and he was fine the first few days. But when I came home tonight he had regurgitated a lot of them and his limbs were twitching. He is very lethargic and can't move. He won't eat or drink water and just lays there. Does anyone know what is going on with him, will he be okay?

That is heartbreaking. Can you answer a few questions? I know it seems like a lot of trivial stuff, but the answers could explain why he isn't processing his food.

What kind of UVB bulb are you using?
How old is it?
Are you keeping tabs on your basking and ambient temps?
How and where do you measure your basking temps?
What do you measure them with, a stick-on thermometer, a digital with probe or a temp gun?
What are you using for substrate?
Is he having regular poops?
Rosebud's House

Ok I'm not sure what kind of UVB bulb I'm using, my friend gave it to me and he used it on his bearded dragon for a long time. It is a few months old, it is still very small. I have a stick on thermometer in the side of the cage at the place where I have my hottest bulb and I keep a tab on it, the dragon is usually basking on his rock there. He has regular poops everyday, they look normal. This just occurred when I got home tonight. But I read on the internet that putting a baby bearded dragon in a sanded cage is bad because they might eat the sand and clog their digestive tract. The woman I bought the dragon from said to put him in the sand, so I am confused. I am also new to raising a bearded dragon so I will enjoy any daily tips you may have.

Thanks. That helps. I rehab beardies, so these issues are very familiar to me. I hope that i'm not overwhelming you, but there are some things about your setup that could be making him sick. Hopefully, he will feel better with a few changes.

If your UVB bulb is old, you need to replace it. If it is a florescent, they need to be changed about every six months because the UVB wears out. If the bulb is a compact (curved looking tubes) or a coil (like energy savers) Toss it. Those bulbs are proving to be very dangerous for reptiles.

You need to get a good UVB, because the symptoms you describe could be the beginning of metabolic bone disease. You should stick with either a Reptisun 10 florescent tube, a Reptiglo 8 Florescent tube, or a Mercury Vapor bulb. If you go with the latter, you need to keep accurate tabs on your temps as they produce heat. I use only Mercury Vapor UVB bulbs, and I don't need an extra basking bulb.

Now, Your thermometer is not good!!!!! Bearded Dragons need accurate temps in order to digest their food properly. If your friend uses a stick on therm and has healthy dragons, he is just lucky. You need to get a digital thermometer with a probe, and you need to lay the probe directly on the basking surface and wait thirty minutes before you get a reading. The basking SURFACE, not the basking end, should range between 95-110, or the baby cannot process his food properly. Then he needs a cool side of 75-80 to retreat to. If your basking END is in the 100 degree range, he is cooking and is most likely dehydrated.

please do get the sand out. It is a huge impaction risk for babies. Also, don't feed your baby any prey larger than the space between his eyes, unless it is a soft bodied worm like silkworms, or Hornworms. Do not feed mealworms.

What sized tank do you have him in? Can you post a pic?
Link

That is my tank, it is a bit disorderly at the moment for I have been moving things around alot. I also have another question, it is nearly impossible to get him to eat fruits and lettuce, I have tried many things and can't seem to get him to, it might have to do with the temperature of the tank once again though. Thank you so much for your help, I want you to know I am not doing things wrong on purpose, I just need help knowing how to take care of him properly is all.

Well unfortunately the coding for the image did not appear.

You said..."I moved up to larger crickets and he was fine the first few days. But when I came home tonight he had regurgitated a lot of them and his limbs were twitching. He is very lethargic and can't move. He won't eat or drink water and just lays there. Does anyone know what is going on with him, will he be okay?"... if fed insects that are too large a dragon will suddenly develop paralysis of the rear legs, twitching, etc. because of pressure on the spine.

There might be other possibilities too.

Thank you for your response. I'm going to take him to a vet in the morning. I also think it's possible that having sand in his cage helped to cause a problem. I am very angry at the breeder because she told me to put him in a sanded cage, even though he's a baby.

I started to feed her distilled water through a surenge and she seems to like "wake up" for a few seconds and then go back sleepy and lethargic. I laid her on my chest and let her sleep and then every 10 or 15 minutes I wake her up and feed her more water. She seems to be doing better, I think she will make it through the night now.

(Only thing is if I will )

I know that bad advice is given very frequently. I just hope we can fix your set up in time. Please address the UVB bulb. Is it a coil or compact? Those bulbs are causing serious health problems in reptiles. If it is a coil or compact, you need to turn it off ASAP, and get a different UVB source ASAP.

I never saw the image.

Did you get my pm?

I forgot to mention that fruit should only be an occasional treat, and lettuce is not recommended as it has poor nutritional value and can cause diarrhea. Here is a site that lists good and bad foods for beardies along with a supplement schedule according to age.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/home.html

Well I was up with her until 4 in the morning and I started to feed her drops of distilled water from a surenge which she took to well. She would become responsive for a few seconds but then become lethargic again. I am happy to say she is still alive and very responsive. She pooped at 3a.m. and just pooped again a few minutes ago. Unfortunately people say its probably MBD...

Hon, please take her to the vet, and lets work on getting the proper UVB lighting and temps. She will not get any better without those two VERY crucial elements. I am so sorry that you are going through this. Unfortunately, bad advice on beardie care is in abundance out there.

So, please tell me how long, how high, and how wide your tank is. That will help me make a recommendation for UVB. You MUST do this or she will continue to go down hill if it is MBD.

Then you MUST get the right thermometer. Here is a pic of one that you can buy online, but I suggest paying a few dollars more and get one locally to save time. You need to get those temps straightened out ASAP or she won't be able to procees food.
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/431/product.web

When you get the probe, lay or tape the probe directly on the basking spot, wait thirty minutes, and then see what it says. You want the basking spot to be 95-110, but no hotter. You can use a good mounted therm for the cool end, but don't use the strips. They are notoriously off by as much as 20 degrees.
Link

I'm glad to see that you are going to take it to the vets.

Since your dragon is pooping, I doubt that the sand is causing any problems...but don't use it anyhow.

Are you dusting the insects and gutloading them before feeding them to your dragon? You can gutload your crickets with the same assortment of greens and veggies that are recommended for the "salad" that you feed your dragon.

Exposure to UVB from tube lights or from the sunlight (which should not pass through glass or plastic) will allow your dragon to produce vitamin D3 and this will allow your dragon to use the calcium in its diet.

Most feeder insects we use have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous and dusting at most feedings with a phosphorous-free calcium powder helps to make up for it.

Dusting twice a month with a vitamin powder with a beta carotene source of vitamin A will ensure that your dragon gets all the vitamins that it needs. Beta carotene sources of vitamin A will not build up in your dragon's system like preformed vitamin A will. Excess preformed vitamin A can prevent the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD.

Dusting twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder will ensure that your dragon gets enough D3 (along with the D3 his body will produce from UVB exposure). D3 from supplements can build up in the system...so don't overdo it.

Calcium, D3, vitamin A and phos. are the main players in bone health and need to be in balance. To attain the balance you need to look at what is in the supplements, the food that you feed to your dragon and at what you feed to the insects.

If the vet does tests and determines that your dragon has MBD, then your dragon can be given injections of calcium to bring the blood calcium levels back up. Once the blood calcium levels are back up then the dragon can be given a shot of calcitonin which draws the calcium rapidly back into the bones.

Good luck!