Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just recently my leatherback dragon that i got from dachiu is starting to throw up its mealworms and crickets! what is causing this? im very concerned she is still pretty young around 5 months old. plz help guys!

Might have been too many worms at once? Make sure your temps are up high enough, and I wouldn't offer worms for a couple days, and when you do, only offer a couple at a time.

Tell us about your setup. Basking temp, ambient temp, substrate, size of cage, how long you had him or her etc.

Also, how much do you feed and how often?

Is he or she housed alone or does he have cage mates?

Mealworms are also a bad insect to feed dragons especially young ones. How big are the crickets you are feeding? Are they properly gut loaded too?

How many times has he been sick after eating?
-----
PHLdyPayne

I would stay away from feeding meal worms for now. Very hard to digest and they arent very good for your dragon anywas. Also make sure your basking temp is around 110 degrees. My dragon has thrown up some crickets but it was due to her eating too many at one time.

If you could provide all the info asked for by the other posters that would be very helpful.

And, if it hasnt been said enough already Mealworms are a poor feeder for dragons, especially young ones. They are notoriously hard to digest and should be avoided. Stick with appropriately sized (no larger than the space between the eyes - is the general rule of thumb) well gutloaded crickets, roaches or silkworms.
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog

She has a twenty gallon tank right now im using a 150 watt bulb so it cant be to cold for her, no tank mates, shes got sand substrate, shes only thrown up twice, the crickets i know cant be to big for her because she has ate big crickets way in the past and she never has done this, shes a champion eater shes grown faster than any dragon ive ever had. i think u guys nailed it on a head though, she likes to scarf her food down and then she will get really pretty showing her full color potential but then she gets bloated and its always the next day she throws it up. Im working on getting her a new enclosure because shes starting to grow out of this one. I dont know the exact temp but i will check it when i get home today. also this morning i fed her just a small serving of crickets so i will fill you in on if she keeps it down or not.

Just a few things....

Its really important that you know your temps. You need to be measuring them with a digital thermometer with a probe If the temps are too low, that will increase incidence of vomiting. beardies need a basking spot of 110-115degrees.

Also, you didnt mention a UVB bulb, did you have one?
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog

Too hot is as bad or worse than too cold. I am only using a 50 watt bulb on a 20L and it's a few inches above the rim of the terrarium.

Good point BDLvr - that is why is so important to have digital readings in your tanks
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog

how many times a day do you feed? And I agree 150 watts seems A LOT of wattage for that small of a tank. I use 100 watt MVB for a 4x2x2 foot.

yes i do have a a UVB bulb for her, i just checked the temp its gotta be the temperature its 115, 118

Is there a cool side to the tank? If thats the hottest basking spot, its probably alright, a little bit less like 110 would be perfect, but I dont think that is the problem.

yea the other side dont get too hot because its a tight beam bulb i honestly dont know what it could be then cuz the first time she threw up was when i was holding her and it was actually quite gross because every once in a while ill pick one of my dragons to eat dinner with, they get to sit at the table with me and she all of a sudden opened her mouth up really weird and i got really scared and then i seen almost full mealworms coming out of her mouth! it was very disturbing at the dinner table

Yeah I would just lay off the mealworms, and maybe when the dragon gets a bit bigger offer some super worms.......one or two at a time. I have never really used mealworms myself, and use supers and hornworms occasionally.

How many dragons do you have? Dubia Roaches are always a great investment, especially if you have multiple dragons. I only have 1 dragon and I keep dubias and my dragon absolutely LOVES them, no other feeder compares for me.

thanks everyone with the immediate help help and suggestions, and for the roach comment i definatly have been looking into that and im probly going to pick some up at the next reptile show i go to! everyone seems to be going with roaches over anything these days but i only have 4 dragons to answer ur question ha

From a temp standpoint, 120F for basking is fine, but you need a proper temp gradient at the same time. Be sure that a portion of your cage is getting down to the low to mid 80's as well.

As for the basking spot itself, you want a FLOOD bulb, not a spot bulb. the basking spot has to be large enough for the entire animal to fit inside the beam, they can't bask just a portion of the body at a time.

I can create a 130F basking spot in a 20 gallon long tank, with an 84 ambient temp, using a 45 watt bulb and an elevated basking spot. 150 watt is complete overkill and can cause other problems. Using a 150 watt bulb indicates a poor arrangement, and there would definitely be room for improvement. That is the first thing I would look at when troubleshooting.

At the same time, if it was a one time regurge, it could have been a simple stress reaction. Mealworms are easier to barf up than other feeder insects as well.

Work to identify the actual problem, then work to correct it.

Best of luck with your animals.
-----
robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Hey Robyn I need a little clarification in regards to the 130 bask site please. I've argued with you in the past but I may not entirely understand what I have argued. In your 130/84 gradient, is 130 degrees the surface temp read off the actual basking platform with a temp gun or the air temp that hovers right above it?

Robyn is referring to actual basking temp (surface temperature) not the ambient temperature.
-----
PHLdyPayne

Yep, surface temp at the hottest spot. The air temp, even an inch or two above that 130F surface, is much less, which makes using a digital thermometer, which reads air temps, much less accurate when reading actual basking temps.

Temp guns and digital thermos are complimentary tools. I use a temp gun to measure all of my surface temps or immediate need temps. I use digital thermos with Minimum/Maximum settings to get my overnight low temps, when the cage is at its lowest point, often 3 or 4 am, when I am fast asleep and not measuring temps myself : )

Ideally, your basking surface reaches an ideal max temp, but also provides a declining temp gradient as you move away from the heat source. You don't want to offer JUST 130F and JUST 83F, you would like to offer a gradient that covers those temps, and everything in between, so that the lizard can choose what temp to use given the current need : )
-----
robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

I don't have a problem admitting that I was confused on this matter. I don't own a "true" temp gun. I have what I thought was a temp gun but really is a digi-thermometer with a probe. I'll be investing in a temp gun in the near future to see where my surface temps are at on all the bask spots for various cages.

My air temps with the digi probe @ the bask are usually 95-100. I'm curious to see what that translates into as surface temp?

Robyn, thank you for the knowledge.

My first temp gun in the mid 1990's, which cost $500 from VPI, really changed my whole understanding on temps, husbandry, and the possibilities.

At $25, just about every hobbyist can now afford one, and they have changed lots of other lives too : )
-----
robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Before I bought my tempgun I would measure surface temps of the basking spot by laying the probe directly on top of the basking spot. Not always best especially when the bearded dragon lies ontop of the probe or knocks it off the basking area. But when I originally set up a cage I measured before placing the bearded dragon into the cage.

But I have to admit buying a temp gun has made it much easier to take quick surface temps.
-----
PHLdyPayne