**Concerned for Harley**

[Harley D]

Hi all,

Hoping you can help ease our minds...Harley is acting very weird the last week, she is not eating as much and has become quite lazy, during the night she has plently of energy, but during the day she does not sit in her basking area, but sits on the other side for hours upon hours. When she is out her colors are perfect but when she is placed back in her viv she becomes very dark and just lays there to the point when the crickets are climbing all over her and she does nothing...

Any advise would be totally welcome, as all her test came back fine...and her tank is set up to standards...

Thanks in advance !

Laurie

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

I will ask the obvious questions. Temps? Type of bulbs? How old is you UVB/UVA bulb? Soaking? How old is the dragon? It could be a puberty thing.

 

[BeardedBob]

They do get lazy from time to time as they get older, but I have most often had it to be a hydration issue. I keep a spray bottle by the viv and give him a spray from time to time. Also if he hasn't pooped also, increase bathing until he peps up again.

To answer the darkening concern, this would be directly related to lighting. When they get dark, it is most often that they are trying to absorb lights. I won't repeat Wolfman's questions, but just reiterate the age of the bulb because sometimes that is overlooked.

Hope all is well, please update us as soon as you notice something different.

 

[renich]

Hi, Laurie. I don't want to inundate you with questions. All are good questions the others have asked. Your answers will help ease your concerns. I think you recently bought the reptisun 10.0, right?

Haven't you had issues with Harley having dark markings for quite some time?

On the light side, Harley is a bit over a year and could be experiencing her first ovulation. Their appetites decrease and they tend to hang out on the cool side when this occurs. When was the last poop and did you notice any pinkish coloring in the white part?

Has Harley started eating her veggies and greens?

 

[Harley D]

Thanks for all the responces, I will answer below..

She was more active and ate some more crickets... I will keep all updated as again this is all new...and just when you think you have done all your research....again the bearded dragon keeps you on your toes !!!

I will ask the obvious questions. Temps? Type of bulbs? How old is you UVB/UVA bulb? Soaking? How old is the dragon? It could be a puberty thing.

her basking is 100-110 and her cooling area is about 85 on average, I just purchased a new bulb not even 2 months ago, they are to be replaced every 6 months ? we are bathing her 4 times a week and she is about 1 year and 4 months, as she was a rescue and can not be certain

They do get lazy from time to time as they get older, but I have most often had it to be a hydration issue. I keep a spray bottle by the viv and give him a spray from time to time. Also if he hasn't pooped also, increase bathing until he peps up again.

To answer the darkening concern, this would be directly related to lighting. When they get dark, it is most often that they are trying to absorb lights. I won't repeat Wolfman's questions, but just reiterate the age of the bulb because sometimes that is overlooked.

Hope all is well, please update us as soon as you notice something different.

we have a spray bottle and spray her often and she is pooping every day

Hi, Laurie. I don't want to inundate you with questions. All are good questions the others have asked. Your answers will help ease your concerns. I think you recently bought the reptisun 10.0, right?

Haven't you had issues with Harley having dark markings for quite some time?

On the light side, Harley is a bit over a year and could be experiencing her first ovulation. Their appetites decrease and they tend to hang out on the cool side when this occurs. When was the last poop and did you notice any pinkish coloring in the white part?

Has Harley started eating her veggies and greens?

yes I did just purchase the repisun 10.0, her last poop was last night and no pinkesh color has been noticed as I have been watching for this thanks to some good information on a different thread, yes she is eating her veggies...not as much as when we first got her but she is holding her own...and I think it is a good thing??

 

[renich]

Well, all of this sounds fine. Pooping every day is the key. Who ever thought when we grew up that we would be so obsessed with pooping? lol....

Do you have lights on for 12-14 hours and off for 12-10 hours?

How long does she stay dark when you put her back in the viv?
How long do you normally keep her out of the viv?

I know she enjoys being with your family and that is awesome! It could be that she needs to soak up the UVA/UVB while being away from it. When we took Bernie outdoors in the summer time, he would get very dark. Just soaking up the natural sunlight.

 

[Harley D]

Well, all of this sounds fine. Pooping every day is the key. Who ever thought when we grew up that we would be so obsessed with pooping? lol....

Do you have lights on for 12-14 hours and off for 12-10 hours?

How long does she stay dark when you put her back in the viv?
How long do you normally keep her out of the viv?

I know she enjoys being with your family and that is awesome! It could be that she needs to soak up the UVA/UVB while being away from it. When we took Bernie outdoors in the summer time, he would get very dark. Just soaking up the natural sunlight.

Yes we do 12 & 12 for her lights
I would say she stays out for approx 6 hours a day...

As the weather is getting warmer up here we are really looking forward to having her outdoors as there is nothing better then real sunlight....for dragons and us humans !!

We are keep a close eye on her and marking down when everything occures so maybe we can follow a trend...

Thank you so much for your help...It is really appriciated !

 

[renich]

Wow, 6 hours w/o UVB? That is why she gets dark when you put her back in. She needs to soak it all up. Bearded Dragons need to have exposure to at least 10 hours of UVB a day. This is needed for Harley to produce the necessary vitamin D3 for calcium metabolization. In the wild, this is done naturally through sunlight. But in captivity, they need the UVA/UVB bulbs for this process.

Not to scare you, but bearded dragons that are deprived of UVB develop metabolic bone disease. With this disease, bearded dragons uses its own calcium from bone sources.

 

[Harley D]

Ok well not feeling stupid right now !! but educated...going forward I will give her 10 hours of UV and limit our time with her outside her viv....ohhh boy the girls aren't going to be to happy with this !!
;D

 

[renich]

Don't feel that you have to stop her play time out of the viv. I would just limit the extended time. A half hour here....a half hour there....

When the weather gets above 80F, then you can all enjoy Harley outdoors. Make sure you get the proper enclosure for her. You can't have her in a glass viv outdoors. Some beardies love leashes. We used a mesh viv.

Again to play the devil's advocate (I hate that some times), but there are too many horror stories of bearded dragons escaping outdoors.

Here's a link to the leashes:
Reptile Leashes

And here's the link to a mesh viv:
Mesh Viv

 

[dollypop]

wait you have harley 6 hours without uv or 6 hours in the sun? I'm lost since you said you have her lights 12/12 I figured 12 on and 12 off, but the post about 6 hours w/out uv confused me.

 

[Harley D]

wait you have harley 6 hours without uv or 6 hours in the sun? I'm lost since you said you have her lights 12/12 I figured 12 on and 12 off, but the post about 6 hours w/out uv confused me.

Sorry to confuse you, we where having her out of her viv for about 6 hours a day...on and off not all at once, we have now limited this to only a 1/2 hour at a time for a max of 1 1/2 hours per day....her lights still remain 12 on and 12 off.

Take Care
Laurie

 

[renich]

Just checking up on Harley? How is she?

 

[Harley D]

she is absolutely amazing !!! eating her greens...pooping up to twice a day...enjoying her baths...and eating about 15-20 crickets a day..

She is getting so big...we measured her on Monday and she has grown 4 inches since we got her in length...for the width I do not know....but she is healthy for sure !

Thanks for the look in.

Laurie

 

[renich]

Great news! Sounds like she found the right family to take her under their wings.