Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

First time posting on bearded dragon forum. I've been a crestie only keeper up until recently.

Anyway, my 2 month old beardie seems to have dark oval/circular patterns on his underside, and I was wondering if anyone could provide some advice.

Some background info: I have him in a 50 gallon tank, with washed playsand, a dark hide, a UVB tube, a basking spot that has a range of 95degrees to 110degrees. I feed him 3/8" crickets, collard greens, and mealworms all dusted with calcium and I bathe him every second day. Anything I am doing wrong that has triggered these dark circles. Please and thanks

A photo would really really help. Anyways do the dark circles form a pattern? It could be that your bearded is just now getting the pattern on his underside. But if there are only a few of them then I'd take a fecal (poo) sample to the vet or just make an appointment and take the bearded to the vet.

I don't bathe my bearded that often, I have a little container of water in there that is changed 5 times daily so its constantly warm if he wants to take a bath or get a drink. Maybe give him a bath every 3-4 days. I'm not an expert but this is what I did with my bearded when he was a baby.

Oh, good job on getting the perfect set up because now you'll never have to move your bearded to a bigger enclosure!

Congrats on the bearded and I hope this helps some. Oh BTW what's his/her name?
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They are totally normal so don't worry.

There can be several causes.

Stress: it could be just getting used to it's new home.

Lighting: Dragons love Light. The more you can pack in, the happier they will be. If you can put another fluorescent strip in without going over the temps, do it. It doesn't have to be a fancy Reptile bulb. As long as the UVB needs have been met with other lighting, you can use any bright bulb from a hardware store. I like Daylight Deluxe (Philips) and a new one I tried & it is very bright is Natural Sunshine (Philips). Both bulbs can be bought at Home Depot.

And then there is Heat. How are you measuring your temps? Different types of thermometers can be way off in accuracy. another thing to think about is, Air temps & surface temps can very dramatically different.

Most likely, if you add another fluorescent strip you will be fixing two problems, the heat & light & will most likely fix the belly circles.
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Joel R

Coming some day.
www.SpikesAndScales.com

You do need to offer more than just the collards. No one veggie or green is a perfect food so variety is KEY. If you just have the one dragon then you can get pre-mixed salads. Riviera is one, Spring mix (take out most of the spinach leaves), and Field mix is good from time to time. Most grocery stores have these.

Also, I'm not one to say "don't feed mealies" because I do. But one thing that I will say is, it's your hand that will cause problems associated with them. If you offer any more than a few at a time, you are asking for trouble. It's kind of like the saying about guns. "Guns don't kill people, people kill people" Very strong judgment must be used,, if you think it may be too big, don't give it. If they have had a few already in a day, don't give more.

Good luck.
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Joel R

Coming some day.
www.SpikesAndScales.com

hey triad, thanks for the advice...

btw, I named him Canuck...it's a synonym for being a canadian and... I'm canadian, and I thought it was original!!!

thanks again
kyle