My bearded dragon Nubs is 3 years old and has never had any issues 2 days ago I noticed he was pale and thought it was just because he's due for a shed when I got up this morning he was lethargic and had a black beard I gave him a bath because at first I thought he was just mad at me for not being out in a couple days but after the bath when I was looking him over he had a milky white sticky thing stuck so I thought it might have just been urate but when I went to rub it off he ran away and puffed up his beard and it turned the blackest I've ever seen it. We're getting him a vet appointment and I'm typing this but does anyone have any advice until we can get to the vet?
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Please help bearded dragon has black beard and is pale
- Thread starter nubs06
- Start date
Post a pic of the dragon and the sticky thing ---- go over your UVB coil or long tube - where it is in the tank how old is the UVB? Surface basking temps and how are you taking them? NO stick ons- we need to start there
He has a long tube uvb that was replaced about 3 months ago his basking temp is around 105 I use a heat gun to check his temperature he is 3 years old
Brand and bulb of the UVB -- where is the UVB inside the tank or top of screen? Your screen does make a difference as to where the UVB needs to be placed --- IR guns are good but not as accurate as your digital probe thermometers--- any colored bulbs being used? What is the diet? He is in distress or pain w/ the black beard going on--- is he hydrated? Please post a pic of him and the tank ---
My bearded dragon Nubs went the the ER vet yesterday and he's sick but they don't know what's wrong so I have to give him 2 oral medicines but he's very stubborn and won't open his mouth for me does anyone have any advice on how to get him to open his mouth, the vet told me to pull down on his beard but he locks his jaw and won't open it (there's nothing wrong with his jaw because he'll open it on his own without the medicine)
I posted on your other thread--- please respond --- was blood work done? If so please post the results so Tracie our vet tech can read them --- what oral meds did they prescribe? Meds can cause more issues if given to treat something they dont know what they are treating for and can hurt the dragon more ---
He uses a zoo med reptisun 10 uvb bulb, it's on the outside. I added a probe thermometer. No colored bulbs are being used he eats dubia roaches and a variety of greens like turnip and mustard greens. He's hydrated. I don't have a picture of the tank right now but here is a picture of him on Sunday
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I responded, they didn't do blood work but he was prescribed a pain med a med for coating any possible ulcers and an antibiotic
The uvb is a coil or long tube fixture? Why did they prescribe a antibiotic w/ out doing blood work? And a pain med?
The uvb is a tube. I don't know why they prescribed the things they did, they gave him a 50/50 shot of making it so I think they just wanted to throw everything at him
Where is the tube UVB top of screen or inside the tank --- what brand and bulb please look on the bulb itself it will tell you--how old is the UVB? I dont know why vets give meds w / out knowing what to treat for --- this is so frustrating- it can hurt the dragon more than help -- please post a pic of the tank and the dragon is he still sporting a black beard --- if your lighting is off temps UVB we need to get it corrected this is imperative
Mine had a black beard as well. I took him to the vet. He was trying to brumate. I don’t know if it had anything to do with it but the vet changed his awake time to 14 hrs & suggested frequent baths. I used an old medium bristle toothbrush on his beard & it cleaned up nicely. Plus, he liked it
The bottom of the roach enclosure is getting dirty really fast. What can I put in it that will eat all the crud? (Like a fish tank bottom feeders). There’s a LOT of roaches in there in a plastic container. They seem happy as roaches can be. Would anyone suggest splitting them into 2 containers?
Also I’m feeding them food from Dubia roaches.com In the summer I get a ton of moths & in the winter gnats. Is this coming out of the food or what?
Also I’m feeding them food from Dubia roaches.com In the summer I get a ton of moths & in the winter gnats. Is this coming out of the food or what?
The uvb is a tube. I don't know why they prescribed the things they did, they gave him a 50/50 shot of making it so I think they just wanted to throw everything at
He has a zoo med reptisun 10 uvb tube, it is on the top of the screen the uvb is 5 months old. I'm at school right now so I don't have a picture of his tank this is my most recent photo of him, he only black beards when I'm giving him his meds
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Good to know, they told me to give baths 1 time a day for a week but I'll try upping his day time
I use a dubia roach container with little holes on the bottom so you can shake the crud out I'll add a link to it. https://a.co/d/41GWUYl my only complaint is when cleaning and dumping the bottom out it's hard to rewttach at first but it is nice because a light shake gets all of the crud where the dubias aren't
Depending on the screen the UVB needs to be placed and distanced for that screen - they block out 30% of the UVB rays so its possible the black bearding is coming from not feeling well and lack of UVB--- is the screen a fine mesh like a screen door or a wide hole type? I use a 10 gallon aquarium for my roaches - I sweep up the frass w/ a little dust pan and broom its like for a childs play set / kitchen -- as far as the moths and knats - are you feeding fruit - I get fruit flys in the roaches tank --- the moths not sure where they are coming from
That's the type of screen it is
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Ok so it can stay on top but please get a piece of decor directly under it 8-10 inches -- if your not seeing any improvements then unobstruct it and have distance 12-15 inches --- let me know what his behavior is like after the adjustments
Ok sounds good I'll measure it and if it doesn't work get an adjustment
