Female Bearded Dragon Acting Strange

[LittleSpoonBigSpoon]

Hello everyone, we have a young (~1 year old) female bearded dragon named Valdora. Shes mainly on a diet of bok choy leaves, crickets and super worms with some apple as a treat. We tried giving her squash but she had no interest.

We're at out last legs here trying to figure out what's wrong, for weeks after we got her shes been her normal self. Very friendly, loved being handled and docile, hardly ever acted aggressively (only once when she had a real bad poo). But recently she has been acting really strange, constantly bearding at us and acting aggressively (no biting yet luckily) sometimes she'll turn really pale or just spend her day huddled in the corner of her enclosure, shed also been trying to dig a lot recently and we have no idea what's causing this.

She did start shedding but weve been giving her regular baths (every other day) in warm (not hot) water. She tries to get out constantly but it has helped her shed and her bowel movements.

Shes in the largest enclosure you can buy out here and we use carpet as a substrate. Her tank temperature is between. 25-30°C (hard to keep it warmer as we live in Canada) and she has a heating pad on her warm side of the tank. We have her on a 12 hr light cycle which is build into a timer so its accurate (10am-10pm). From what I can tell weve been doing everything right.

We just dont understand her recent behavior and could really use some help.

 

[LittleSpoonBigSpoon]

This is what she looked like a minute ago when we took her out of her tank.

 

[JumpinJellyfish]

What are your light bulbs and fixtures? She looks healthy - could just be hormonal, but it's always good to do a rundown of the setup. :0)

 

[LittleSpoonBigSpoon]

What are your light bulbs and fixtures? She looks healthy - could just be hormonal, but it's always good to do a rundown of the setup. :0)

This is our current setup

The basking bulb is a flukers 100 watt. Not sure on the UVB bulb as we got the majority of the setup from the original owner. It's not a spiral bulb though!

 

[JumpinJellyfish]

You may want to check on how old the UVB bulb is, in case it's time to replace it. And no colored lights, no light on at night, right?

 

[LittleSpoonBigSpoon]

You may want to check on how old the UVB bulb is, in case it's time to replace it. And no colored lights, no light on at night, right?

No the lights arent special colours or anything. We have the heat pad for the nights and we cover her cage with a solid coloured blanket to stop any disturbance from us getting up in the morning

 

[LittleSpoonBigSpoon]

kaylynangel If you have a coil UVB in one of those domes I suggest you get rid of it unless it is a 26 watt- here is some info on UVB's
Which UVB light should I use?

The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube HO (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia). UVB lights should be replaced every 6 months. The T5’s are a strong bulb and only need to be replaced once a year – the T 8 every 6 months--- where as the T 8 are not as strong—they need to be placed inside the tank the T 5 10.0 bulb approx 12-15 inches from basking spot – the T 8 approx 6-8 inches from basking spot—the cover needs to be off the bulb for full effect of the UVB rays--
here is some info on the 26 watt coil

The 26w version of the UVB150 is similar in output to a T8 tube when using a reflector. The beam isn't as wide (depending on the length of the tube) but the output strength is very similar. If it was sitting about 6-8'' above the main basking area then it was likely providing adequate UVB. It's the lower wattage (13w) versions that cause concern since they aren't strong enough to provide adequate UVB at a safe distance.

You dont need to cover her up -- that could be upsetting her as well -- but I would get the UVB changed out ASAP -- and get rid of the heat pad -- you need a CHE -- ceramic heat emitter - it goes in a dome and does not produce any light - if your tank stays around 65 or better at nite you dont need a heat emitter --- they do come in 100 watt bulbs and I think 75 too --

We'll definitely look at the UVB bulb, we're pretty sure it's not coil though... She just went to sleep so we dont want to disturb her. We'll check in the morning.

Is there something bad about a heat pad? She just really seems to love it. When shes not in her basking spot shes laying flat out on it like a little goofball. We'd hate to remove something shes enjoying so much if we dont need to

Her tank is located in the main area of the apartment and we cant keep the same hours she does, which is why we cover her. Is it really better to keep lights on until we head to bed? We stay up until 11pm-midnight and are back up at 7am.

Thank you so much for your help <3

 

[LittleSpoonBigSpoon]

coil

tube
It is recommended lights be on for at least 12 hrs on and 12 hrs off -- you can leave her in the living room w/ her lights off when your up she will go to bed when she wants --- so if you turn them on at 7 AM and off at 8 or 9 that is fine ---there is no lights on in the tank correct? they need darkness to sleep like you and I - do you leave all the lights on in the LR or just like the TV late at nite ? just as long as shes eating if she is at least 2-3 hrs before lights off as well --- the heat pad does them no good because they cant feel the heat from their tummys so if it were to malfunction she could get burned - they heat from the top -- I would replace it w/ a soft fleece blanket you can go here at look for bearded dragon stuff --- https://www.pamperedbeardies.com/ she likes the softness thats why she is sleeping on it ---

We just checked this morning, it is a coil! (YIKES) Definitely getting that replaced ASAP!

We don't leave any lights on in the tank but we need the lights on in the apartment as one of us is in school and is reading/doing homework in the same room! There is only two rooms in the apartment a main living area attached to the kitchen and a tiny bedroom. So there isn't an option of moving her or the person working to a seperate room.

We always feed her between 7-8pm with her lights turning off at 10pm. If we let them go off earlier (8ish) then we would hardly get any time to interact with her as we get home between 6-7pm! Thats why we went with the 10-10 schedule.

Both of the above reasons was why we ended up covering her, it seemed like the best option when it came to not disturbing her. We remove the cover when we leave in the morning after we've shut all the lights in the apartment back off. We're not sure of any better solution unless you have a suggestion?

The heat pad sticks to the bottom of the outside of the tank (its designed for terrariums) so it isn't touching her at all! Its what we use to heat the tank at night as it supplies no light. She always sleeps where it is so I dont think its the softness that she is loving? Not sure why else she would spend her nights on it other then the warmth...