please will someone give me some advice

[ross larvin]

i have a bearded dragon and normally shes very lively but i came in this afternoon and she was still in the same spot as when i left this morning .i got her out and put her on the floor and shes acting really lazy .dragging her nelly across the floor .ive tried frrding her her favorite food .locusts and shes not interested .now shes just curled up in a ball in her viv .what shall i do?

 

[Germ]

Posting pics of the BD & setup, showing the lighting orientation in respect to the rest of the enclosure. Listing your husbandry specs, such as Basking & cool side temps, age of your BD, substrate, type of thermometer used to take your temps with & where exactly in the enclosure they are measured from, size of enclosure, how long the BD has been in your care. Type, brand & strength of your UVB bulb, filtered by a screen or not. Do you use a night light\heat? Etc, Etc, Etc ... As much info as you can, to give members a feel for the situation, will allow for more comprehensive & helpful answers.

 

[ross larvin]

she is 13 months old her cool side is set to about 82 and her basking side is 95 we have had her for about 3 weeks and she has been fine and very lively eating very well. she was ok yesterday bathed her and was running around and today she is so lifeless im so worried about her.
We turn her viv on about 8 and turn it off about 11as this is what we were told she is used to....
Please any advice is very welcome

 

[Germ]

9 hours of 'lights out' does not allow for sufficient sleep time. Lights should be on 12-14 hours a day, off for the rest. Most of us have found that 12 on\12 off to work the best for them. BDs should have a consistent Day\Night schedule, lights on\off at the same time of the day, everyday. An electronic timer is invaluable in controlling this, whether we are around or not.

The pics do not show your lighting orientation, can not see the UVB bulb which should be centered on the basking spot along with the heat bulb. The only bulb that we can see does not appear to be 'On' in the pics. I'm guessing that the thermostat had it shut down at the time of the pic.

Basking temps should be measured directly at the basking spot, usually directly below the center of the basking bulb or highest point on the basking spot structure and should be the hottest spot in the enclosure that your BD has access to. You temp sensor positioning on the left would suffice to measure the cool side temps (80-85F), but the one on the right is no where near where the basking temps need to be measured, which again, is directly at the basking spot. For a 13 month old the basking temp should be in vicinity of 100-105F directly on the basking spot. It is a heck of a lot warmer directly below the center of the heat bulb than it is 6"-8" off to the side, where the sensor is mounted to the wall.

I could be wrong but the substrate that you are using appears to be a cork pad. If this is the case, this could very well pose a high impaction risk should it be digging\rooting around & tear chunks off & ingest them. In my opinion you should reconsider your choice of substrate, if it does happen to be a cork pad.

It also appears that you are using a thermostat to control your heat on the hot side, this is not recommended for a few reasons. This would be continually turning the heat bulb on\off throughout the day, confusing the BD. Also, BDs absorb heat radiated from above, a thermostat will shut down that light\heat radiation from above, as soon as the optimum temp is reached at the thermostat, which again is not anywhere near where the temps should be regulated from, which should be directly at the basking spot, again confusing & stressing the BD with the radiated light & heat going on\off throughout the day.

Do you use a night light\heat?

Any one of these issues could be causing the change in activity that you describe.

A few good links to help get you started ...

Basic BD Care Sheet - A Place To Start

Bearded Dragon --- Exclusive Care Info Library

Beautiful Dragons Nutrition Chart

Is Bearded Dragon Co-habitation a good plan?

How To Sex A Bearded Dragon

An otherwise beautiful enclosure

Good Luck