Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello mates!
Stinky the dragon seems sad recently.
He spends hardly any time at all basking up the hot end of his tank... just hangs out either in his climbing tree, or chillin on the sand under the tree...
I've checked the temps, and they seem fine...
He seems to be eating fine... not loads, but some everyday.
His UV Bulb is due to be changed in September (i was told to change them every 6 months)...
His Basking Bulb is a regular 100w Spot Bulb (the other blew last week and i can't afford a new one at the moment) does this matter, or is it just for heat? Also is it kool to use a Red 100w Repti Bulb or should i stick with the blue one?
Questions, queations, questions!
Thanks for any help!

shredder, archie and stinky the dragon

Regular bulbs you use for your lamps can be used for heat on your tank. Your just wasteing your money buying those expensive reptile bulbs. Both bulbs give uva=visable light. The repti-sun provides the beneficial uvb light. Make sure temps are correct. A drop in the temp can change a dragons mood.
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1) what is his age?
2) if about a year or older could your dragon be looking to burminate / shutdown?
3) has he been to the vet recently?
4) has he had a fecal exam done in the last 2 months?
5) what are you night time temps?
6) how long are the lights on?

short days and cool nights will get them to want to burminate.
each year they want to also and sometimes they clock just says "now" -- back to how old etc...

or he could have coccidia, I have a 4 month old who recently "slowed down" and was otherwise in good shape, fecal exam showed bad case of coccidia.

just a starting point.....

we can't really do more than guess without more info such as 1..6 above....
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The regular light blub is fine for heat, you do not need to pay extra for those UVA basking lights.

If your house is Airconditioned and the dragon is in it, the ambient temps are a bit cooler now that summer is in full force and the A/c is working overtime. If you have checked him and are sure he is parasite free, he may be entering the stage of slowing down to brumate. We have one that heads down this time of year and have already noticed her start to slow down eating and being lazy at times.

I just get a fecal to make sure they are clear and let them do what they want...... it is amazing how well they get along when they decide to slow down, and I will tell you from experience, there is not much stopping a dragon that is shutting down to brumate. Its a whole internal process to them and many of their digestive system actually starts slowing down and turning off before they go to sleep... fighting it only makes them fat and slower.

When I am sure they are ready to sleep, I bathe them and get a good poo out of them and stick them in a shoe box with a cut out hole if they want to come out and put them in the cool end of their tank....I add a soft clothes of some kind like an old sweatshirt, one slept only 2 weeks, one went down for 5 months!!! Each is different, some do not sleep at all, the first time it can be pretty scary for the owner, but they do fine, I do check them weekly and offer an eyedropper of water, some drink in their sleep, so give me dirty looks and hide more.