Thank you. That’s helpful. I’ve inverted the decor. It is 12-13 inches from the uvb in both photos. Still working on the height of the heat lamp so it’s warm enough for him, but as you can see there’s a heater attached to the side of the tank as well. How does that look for now? He of course crawled away from the uvb so I’ll keep shuffling the decor until I get it right. Please let me know what you think.
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Sick Bearded Dragon
- Thread starter Lmolinar
- Start date
How are you getting the surface basking temps? Do you have a digital probe thermometer?
Did he crawl under the UVB? or did you place him there?
The way you have them placed is good - I would leave the screen off for now - get a basking temp on that log hes sitting on please and get one off the stick directly under the lamp as well - has he been pooping ? Are you adding water to his slurries your feeding that is going to keep him hydrated
He crawled to the log and I moved the UVB so it was over him. I’m working on the temps. The probes are still calculating. I used water to make the slurries so he’s getting that along with fruit, greens and honey with a pinch of calcium. Hope to see some improvement soon! He already looks like he’s moving a little better, not much… but it’s progress. I’ll get back with the temps soon.
Ok good I am hoping this was the whole issue w/ him not eating --- the other possibility is parasites - this would cause the lack of eating and the loss of weight - I would suggest getting a fecal from him before the vet appt take it in and have it tested for parasites - if he starts moving around now and showing energy activeness then start the process of letting him eat on his own - how long has he been like this? W/ you feeding him 3 times per day he should start to gain weight and the UVB now that its corrected he should also start to improve as well - unless there is something major going on here - but lets see what he does w/ things adjusted - do you have the nutrition website? His temps should be 95-100 on his surface basking spot around the hot side of the tank 90's - cool side 80's during the day and nite time 65-75 for a healthy dragon - I would try and keep your heat emitter warmer at nite say 78-80 till he starts to feel better - once hes on the mend eating on his own moving around again showing signs of improvement then I wouldnt keep it on that warm -
I moved the decor around a little more. Temps at the tail is 99.3 and temp at the head is 86.2. Surprisingly, he crawled out from under the heat and uvb went to the cool side of the cage for a bit and then returned to the position in the attached photo. That’s the most movement I’ve seen in the last couple days. I have the heating coil on the cool
Side of the tank for night time? Thinking I might should move it to where he’s more comfortable. Any chance I should leave his UVB on at night for a couple days? We always turn off all lights and just use the heating coil. Thanks again for all the help. We have a ways to go but I feel a little better about the outcome after a day of catering to my little friend. Glad we had a Sno day to make it possible.
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No shut your lights off as usual - the heat emitter you can move to the center of the tank it will keep your temps even in the tank I have mine in the center of the tank its a 120 gallon and it keeps the tank around 70 or so - or you can set it closer to the basking side -- where does he sleep?
He Sleeps on the basking side so I'll move it over just a bit. I forgot to answer your question above. Sandy was getting lethargic in the 40 gallon so I moved him to the 20 gallon about 2 weeks ago, maybe 3. Then he started turning very black on his back. That's when I contacted you the first time. He was gradually going down hill but he was still eating a roach or two per day. In the last week, he completed stopped eating and declined rapidly. Can you please send me your nutrition site? I have several I look at, but I'd like to stay consistent with your advice. Hopefully, it's just a lighting issue and it's not to late to fatten him back up. I'll take him to the vet as soon as they contact me. I suspect Austin will be shut down again tomorrow so it might not be until Saturday or Monday depending on their hours. Thanks again Sadie. We recently lost our 18 year old cat on MLK day. I don't think the kids or I could handle loosing Sandy so soon after loosing Junior. Btw, when I started to changed Fiona's bulb to the 10.0, I discovered she had one all along. My son reminded me that one of the bulbs was broken when the fixture arrived so Pangea replaced it. When I did, she got the 10.0 and poor Sandy had the 5.0 all along. Sure hope this is the magic pill for now. 
That would explain Fiona not acting like this + do you have hers properly placed and distanced? I am sorry to hear about your kitty- it is always so hard to loose pets- I will get the nutrition website posted - please keep me posted on how he is doing - if it's the uvb issue he should start to reboundHe Sleeps on the basking side so I'll move it over just a bit. I forgot to answer your question above. Sandy was getting lethargic in the 40 gallon so I moved him to the 20 gallon about 2 weeks ago, maybe 3. Then he started turning very black on his back. That's when I contacted you the first time. He was gradually going down hill but he was still eating a roach or two per day. In the last week, he completed stopped eating and declined rapidly. Can you please send me your nutrition site? I have several I look at, but I'd like to stay consistent with your advice. Hopefully, it's just a lighting issue and it's not to late to fatten him back up. I'll take him to the vet as soon as they contact me. I suspect Austin will be shut down again tomorrow so it might not be until Saturday or Monday depending on their hours. Thanks again Sadie. We recently lost our 18 year old cat on MLK day. I don't think the kids or I could handle loosing Sandy so soon after loosing Junior. Btw, when I started to changed Fiona's bulb to the 10.0, I discovered she had one all along. My son reminded me that one of the bulbs was broken when the fixture arrived so Pangea replaced it. When I did, she got the 10.0 and poor Sandy had the 5.0 all along. Sure hope this is the magic pill for now.
I’ll be working in Fiona’s lighting after dinner. Her lighting had also been on top of the screen all along. I dedicated the entire day to Sandy so she’s next. I’ll attach a quick pic of her too. She’s a beast! Thanks for posting the nutrition website.
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She has the same log that I have I use it under my basking lamp- but I have the long stick part on the floor w/ the big trunk part up under the lamp - please get a decor piece directly under it and then watch her behavior
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder
please keep me posted on Sandy
Thank you. I will definitely keep you posted.
Hi Sadie! Sandy rallied for a couple days but it’s become increasingly harder to get him to eat with the syringe. He ate the slurry Thursday through yesterday mid afternoon but no bowel movement. I could tell he was trying but nothing passed other than a little liquid. He’s no longer laying on the basking rock or on the decor. I’m finding him repeatedly at the bottom of the tank and he’s very hard to wake. He’s still breathing but I don’t know what else to do. Any suggestions, as we can’t get into the vet until tomorrow at 3. I fear he’s not going to make it that long. He’s been this way since late last night and his eyes have dark circles around them today. Surely this can’t be good. Any advise would be very much appreciated.
Boy seems that was sudden- have you tried a warm bath? Make the water a little warmer and see if he can go - can you post a pic if him and his lighting I can see if I can get some help on this
I’ll try the warm bath. I washed him off a bit under a light warm faucet after trying to feed him. It made a mess since he wouldn’t swallow. He unfortunately didn’t rouse. I’ve turned his heater on since he’s so far away from the basking light. Temp at the bottom Is now 95.
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The bath is stimulating him to go but still nothing. Either he’s impacted or there is nothing to pass. I honestly don’t know what he could be impacted with though. He hasn’t eaten anything solid in over a week.
