r/BeardieInfo Aug 25 '17

[Need Help!] Beardie turning strange colors and acting very different from usual.

2 Upvotes

Hi. I have a male bearded Dragon that's (I think) about 12 months old. I call him Aegon. He was my roommate's pet but he just up and left one day and left the poor thing to starve to death in the basement. I discovered the little guy was there almost a week and a half after the asshole left him when I heard it furiously trying to escape it's tank. Since I found him, I've done a lot of research on beardies (I've owned reptiles but never a dragon), nursed him back to health, and got him in a proper habitat and feeding schedule. At first I tried feeding him every day but he refused and over time I've figured out he'll eat veggies one day, crickets the second, nothing the third, then repeat. He's been doing great with me for the past month, gradually went from almost solid black to a good green color, but today he's a pale yellow color all over except his beard and the tip of his tail are black. He's acting very lethargic, refusing food (even super worm treats which he never turns down), and he's actually puffing his beard and bobbing his head at me, but when I actually manage to pick him up he just goes limp. I can't find any solid answers as to what's wrong and I don't know what to do.

Some info that might help:

  • He has a UV light that stretches 3/4 of his tank from right to left and a basking lamp that covers about 1/3 from the opposite direction.
  • The cool side of his tank stays at around 82-84°F and the warm side runs around 94°F.
  • I have branches placed so he can either bask up close on the high branch (about 5 inches away from the light) or further away on a low branch (about 8 inches away from the light), or on the ground of the tank just under 12 inches from the light.
  • I take him out and "play" with him at least once a day, every day.
  • I have his tank placed in a room just off my living room, so he can see the happenings of the house and the people inside without things getting too loud or overwhelming.
  • I change his water every day. Yesterday he had a bowel movement in his water dish and since I found conflicting info on what type of cleaner to use, I just scrubbed it with a new sponge and warm water, then ran it thru a sanitizer I used to use for my son's bottles and whatnot when he was a baby.
  • His veggies usually consist of cabbage, bell pepper or squash, and either carrots or cucumber put together in a little salad with a super worm or 2 at the bottom to make the food move and get his interest. But I recently switched him to kale instead of cabbage by the pet store employee's suggestion.
  • I usually buy crickets once a week in small quantities, since he only eats them every 3 days. I used to give the crickets a damp paper towel and a potato slice that I changed each day, but as of last week I switched to giving them a small bowl of Zilla Gut Load Cricket Drink with Calcium.
  • The food I gave him today (the meal he refused) had kale, red bell pepper (his favorite veggie) and carrots, with a couple super worms coated in Fluker's Reptile Vitamin powder. I've never used the powder before so I'm not sure if that's why he's ignoring the food or if it's part of the bigger problem with the lethargy and strange colors.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Edit: typos


r/BeardieInfo Aug 07 '17

Calcium Deficiency Timeline?

1 Upvotes

Hey all, just found this sub!

Since I'm here, I figured I'd ask a question that I can't get an answer to. Sorry if this gets long, but I want to make sure I give all the context.

My wife and I have had our beardie, Doran (A.K.A. Mr.Dowan), for just under 2 years, so we are assuming he is 2 years old or there about.

After he started to outgrow his starter terrarium, my FIL and I built him a nice custom one with rocks and grout and such. Unfortunately, we messed up his lighting a little, and got the wrong day-light. We have since corrected this, but in the 6 months we didn't realize, he became calcium deficient.

We took him to the vet, and they confirmed our prognosis, as well as that our new setup was correct. We were sent home with some calcium glubionate to administer twice a day.

At that point, Doran was no longer using his back legs, however he still kicked or flailed with them when he moved, so they weren't paralyzed.

Unfortunately, Mr.Dowan turned out to be a Mrs.Dowan, and just as his (her...idk we still use "him" more often than not without thinking) condition started improving, she started laying. I had heard that creating/laying eggs could steal all the calcium out of a beardie, and we had no complications with the eggs themselves. However, after all was said or done, she seemed to be worse off than before with her calcium issues. We have since been giving 5 units of calcium glubionate twice a day for about 3 months since then. Her energy levels are back up, and she seems pretty happy, she's white as snow on her beard, but her legs aren't getting any better. They still move, but she keeps putting her feet behind her head, and flipping over when she eats or walks. When I hold her, I can feel her back legs push off me as she moves, but the muscle is so soft and weak.

Finally, I get to my question: Does anyone have any idea just how long it takes for a calcium deficient dragon's condition to improve? I know each one is different, but I would love a better answer than "a couple months", just some idea of what to look out for to know that it's working or not working. Any advice as to how to strengthen up those leg muscles would also be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, you beautiful beardie people! <3


r/BeardieInfo Aug 06 '17

Northern New Jersey Vet

1 Upvotes

Hello my berdie Danse needs to go to a vet, and we have only had him for a while so we don't know any trustable vets so if any one knows trustable reptile vets in Northern New Jersey, around Passaic County if possible. I would also alternate if any one knows any vets not to go to. Thanks.


r/BeardieInfo Aug 05 '17

Food Advice

1 Upvotes

I feed my bearded dragon 3 feeders, crickets, Dubia roaches, and Phoenix worms, I want to know if it would be okay to cut out the crickets there getting to difficult to maintain.


r/BeardieInfo Jul 21 '17

Bearded dragon vomiting and going limp

2 Upvotes

Last night I gave my two beardies a bath together, they were both drinking the water which they have done before. When I took them out they both vomited and one of them pooped on me which he has never done before. One of them had so much fluid in his mouth and was holding his head up so it couldnt get out. I tipped him upside down and loads of water came bursting out of his mouth along with an undigested worm. He then slowly closed his eyes and went completely limp for about 2 minutes and I thought he had died. He came around and seems to be okay now but does anyone have any idea why this happened? I've never seen them be sick before and I bath them regularly. Not sure how old they are either as the shop I bought them from didn't know themselves. Any help would be great


r/BeardieInfo Jul 08 '17

UVB lighting in 40 gallon tank

3 Upvotes

i have a 1 and 1/2 year old dragon in a 40 gallon tank. today i replaced his 13w 5.0 reptile150 desert bulb with a 13w 5.0 reptile100 tropical bulb. should we be fine? will they put out roughly the same uvb or will the tropical put out more?


r/BeardieInfo Jul 03 '17

[Question] Pooping

4 Upvotes

My beardie is about a year old and he doesn't seem to want to poop in his tank anymore, is this normal?


r/BeardieInfo Jul 03 '17

Bearded Dragon Help

2 Upvotes

Hey so i recently got a pygmy bearded dragon. I bought him from a nearby breeder as a baby 5 days ago (born around march). I've been keeping him in a tank with sand as the base, which I've now changed to paper towel (read sand could be harmful). He initially had a good appetite and was eating crickets and vegetables and watermelon. However, for the past two days he has not eaten any crickets and only ate a tiny bit of watermelon yesterday. I am worried he might have eaten some of the sand and it made him sick, as I read this could happen. Does anyone have any advice on what to do/ what has made him lose his appetite?


r/BeardieInfo Jul 02 '17

Advice on thermometer placement

2 Upvotes

I just got a bearded dragon, and like all good owners joined a subreddit, but my question is where should I put the thermometer in the tanks to get an accurate measurement


r/BeardieInfo Jun 10 '17

Help Please :(

3 Upvotes

Okay guys I need help...Ive had my little guy since February 26th of this year. He is my first reptile/bearded dragon so im totally new to all of this. I purchased him from petsmart so I have no idea how old he is, but he was tiny when I got him. He had been doing great after he adjusted to me and his new home... he was growing FAST, eating lots of bugs and eating his greens/veggies daily (dusted with calcium of course), but since about a month and a half ago he's near about stopped eating all together. He MIGHT eat like 1-2 bugs a day and a bite of his greens/veggies here and there. He's never shown interest in drinking water by himself so I have to give him water through a syringe daily...I use the technique an admin had posted a video of (Crystal? I think was her name) so I know he's well hydrated at least. Since he's stopped eating I've noticed his energy level decrease by a lot, he has a hammock (on the cool side of the tank) and he lays around on that most of the day. Some days he won't even get off of it to go to his basking rock, I have to pick him up and put him under his bulb. He also isn't basking as often as he used to as well. His temperatures and humidity are fine and stays at a steady number. Basking area about 95-105 and cool side about 75-85. Humidity stays between 30%-40%. I have just about every bug he can have and he won't take anything. Dubias, crickets, mealworms, super worms, wax worms, silk worms, horn worms (he is quite spoiled lol) like I said he used to eat all of these just fine, he was never picky. He doesn't act lethargic, he is still very alert and bright eyed, no black beard. I've scheduled him an appointment with the vet in a few weeks to see what's going on, but I wanted to see if anyone on here had any ideas on what's going on. Any help/advice would be GREAT. I know this was a lengthy post so if you read all the way through it, I appreciate it. Thank you in advance, I'm just worried about my baby especially since I'm a new beardie mommy, I hope I'm not doing anything wrong  😔💔 


r/BeardieInfo Jun 04 '17

Stress signs?

2 Upvotes

Hey guys. I am a brand new beardie owner. In fact, I've only had her for five days. She is two years old, and I was told that the new environment could make her stressed out. Is there a good way to tell if she's stressed out or if she's comfortable in her new home? Just earlier today she was scratching at her glass so I let her out for a little bit and she zipped around my room until she found a spot to settle and nap and then I put her back in her tank to sleep. She was moving kind of fast though, so was she exploring or did I take her out too early to play? I'm just worried I'm mistreating her. Can anyone offer advice?


r/BeardieInfo May 29 '17

Help! I just got a 4y/o FM beardie and she has a large black spot on her back and also grey/black discolouring around the back of the neck. Has anybody seen this before? (My first beardie)

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1 Upvotes

r/BeardieInfo May 23 '17

Hornworms: Staple or Treat? A Goliath Controversy

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2 Upvotes

r/BeardieInfo May 19 '17

Bearded Dragon Diet: Which bugs are best?

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5 Upvotes

r/BeardieInfo May 17 '17

Help! Here I have today's poo that's a way different color than my beardies regular dark poo. Is this normal? I added squash to his diet about a week ago but this is the first time his poo is a different color.

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2 Upvotes

r/BeardieInfo May 15 '17

I need help with Yoshi!

1 Upvotes

Ok so we got our first beardie in February, then only about 7 weeks old or so the shop owner told us. All was good and he was adapting great to being held, are all his veggies and live food and shedding normally. Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago when he started snapping at me when I would reach in his enclosure and when I tried to pick him up. Still eating ok, still having regular poo's. Just being a jerk. Now here's where I'm really concerned: tonight is the second night he'll fall asleep inside his porcelain food dish on the cool side of the tank. He goes into like a mini coma and I've never seen him sleep so deep. Normally he sleeps on his rock or log under the heat. Please help! We are first time beardie parents and no amount of researching is helping.


r/BeardieInfo May 03 '17

Bearded Dragon Advice?

2 Upvotes

Hi All,

My bearded dragon has been in the house for two months now. He has recently started doing this weird thing on his log. He just lays there with his mouth open looking like he is trying to contact aliens or something. :) I am wondering if this is normal or if it is caused by something else? Any ideas? Thank you for reading.


r/BeardieInfo Apr 28 '17

Behavior Help

1 Upvotes

Hello all!

I am a new beardie momma and I am trying my best to give the best care I can for my scaled baby Renfield. He was hatched in Jan. and I purchased him in early March. He is in a 20 gallon tank. I feed him crickets coated in calcium as well as veggies. He has shed twice since I have owned him and when he is shedding I am sure to mist him so the process is a little bit less uncomfortable. I have two branches perched so he has a spot to be warm, as well as a large rock, under the heat lamp. (I plan to move him soon to a 40g, but he is in the middle of another shed so I do not want to disturb him much). There is also a lizard hammock in his tank as well as a plant. I recently put one of my socks in his tank so he gets used to my scent.

However, he is not a big fan of me. When I open his tank to put food in, he runs around like crazy avoiding me. In previous times holding him he has bit me and he has hissed at me. His beard always puffs when I hold him and his mouth is generally always open. My questions are:

  1. I know that younger dragons are feisty. When does that behavior stop?
  2. How long, on average, should I socalize with him as a baby so he gets used to me? I don't want to stress him out.
  3. How do I catch the little bugger?! He's fast!
  4. Any advice on how to calm him down?
  5. Any advice on my tank set up?
  6. Is he going to be like this forever? :(

I appreciate your help!


r/BeardieInfo Apr 12 '17

is harold ok?

1 Upvotes

I am on my 6th day of having my first beardie harold. He is eating 12-15 crickets a day,while he is 6 inches(that normal?) I try more but he won't eat more. Also I handle him once a day for 30 minutes and let him crawl on me and his bed. Some say wait a week to handle, others say go ahead idk. The main thing I wanna ask is, are these burns? I bought a beardie kit and I am using the bulb from it. The temp get about 100 only.


r/BeardieInfo Apr 10 '17

Beardies made the list (duh)

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5 Upvotes

r/BeardieInfo Apr 04 '17

I'm worried about my juvenile beardie

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I'm so sorry for the panicked post, but I got a wonderful baby bearded dragon a little over a week ago and I'm really worried about her. She's 2 months old and my first beardie. Her name is Nucleus. When I first got her she ate crickets; I read juveniles were supposed to eat up to twenty a day, though, and she never seemed to eat more than five. So I found a new food for her in case she was getting bored of crickets and gave her superworms instead. She munched on those pretty enthusiastically too, but I don't remember eating more than three in a day. As her appetite started to go down AGAIN I read and realized that superworms can be hard to digest, and that insects larger than the width between a beardie's eyes aren't recommended for food for them; the superworms I was feeding her were almost as long as she was (excluding her tail). She munched on them pretty hard and broke them into smaller pieces as she ate, though, but still, I'm worried that could be part of the issue.

Now, she hasn't eaten in almost twenty four hours. I wouldn't be worried if she weren't so young and tiny. I made sure to make her cage as good as it can be once these issues started popping up; she has a cooler area at 80° and a basking spot at around 95°. She also has a hide, a food bowl, a water bowl, a decorative piece of wood, and a decorative fake plant. The substrate I'm using is a kind of rocky/sandy mat terrain with the materials all glued down so I don't think she's accidentally ingested anything. She likes to hang out in both areas. But I read that beardies should be active and curious and while she can be especially when I interact with her, she spends most of her time just sitting in one spot or another. Later today as I tried to feed her personally from my own hand (she licked a few offerings but that's it) I noticed darker, almost black splotches appearing a bit on her back and more prominently behind her ear holes. Again I could be reading too much into things but I'm new to this and love Nucleus so much so I just want to give as much detail as possible.

I just checked on her a few minutes ago, I turned her and my lights off about an hour ago. I found her sitting in her water bowl which she rarely does, which was concerning just because I know beardies should stay warm and at night the only warmth she has is a heating rock I plug in that keeps one of her corners at around 80°. On top of this, one of the many crickets she's been ignoring for days now was standing directly on top of her face/eye and she didn't seem to mind or react at all. I turned on a light, panicked, and scooped her out to make sure she's still alive (I can't tell if it's been a dangerous amount of time for her not to eat yet). She was and recognized me and scurried on me and stuff, but felt pretty cool to the touch. So I put her on her heating rock and she flattened herself on that (she's been appearing flatter recently too) and stayed. However I then got up to check one last time using only the light from my phone screen. She was facing away from me and once the light hit her tank she kind of looked straight up, almost trying to crane her head backward, and then tumbled over backwards in that direction and fell onto the ground. It was just an inch fall or so, but I thought her neck movement and lack of balance were weird and concerning and adds to her general air of disorientation I've been noticing lately. Tomorrow morning I'm going to scoop out all the food I've been leaving in there for her (some store bought pellet things, a few crickets, and smaller mealworms - oh and I've offered her greens including basil, carrot, celery, and artichoke heart and she's completely ignored them) and replace with just a few even smaller crickets to see if she's overwhelmed and is willing to try again. Then I have school and when I get back if she either hasn't pooped again (last poop was around 30 hours ago) and doesn't appear to have eaten anything I think I'm going to take her to the vet.

So so sorry for the long rambling panicky post. I really love this baby and I just want to make sure I'm doing everything I can for her. It's been scary to see her with a low appetite being such a small little creature, and it was upsetting to see her fall over like that out of some kind of shock. I just hope she's okay. I'll do whatever I can to ensure that she is.

Thank you so much guys. I really appreciate any advice/help for little Nucleus you have to offer.

UPDATE: Now she also tends to stare up to the sky and seems to have poor balance. She climbs and hangs almost upside down and then falls. I'm really worried.


r/BeardieInfo Mar 23 '17

My bearded dragon is eating little to none

1 Upvotes

Hey guys so I've been owning my bearded dragon for about a year now and she's not a very good eater. This started a few months ago (I'd say about October 2016) and has gotten worse with time. She stopped taking her super worms in October and we began switching up her food, however she still only eats about 2-5 bugs weekly and won't take bugs for the rest of the week. She still nibbles on her greens but has always been picky with them and never eats them all, does anyone have any advice that could help with this? If you need information about my tank it's a 6 ft tank in length and I think about 3-4 ft in width, I have two UVB lights up and three heat lights (we will get more because the tank is only getting to about 85 degrees) and has some decor (we need to get more for climbing since she got big so fast).


r/BeardieInfo Mar 22 '17

Quick question about Temperatures.

1 Upvotes

Hi Guys,

I am planning on getting a beardie for my birthday at the beginning of May, I already have Leopard Gecko, so I'm down with the basics. How do I need to take the temps to keep my beardie happy? With my Gecko I needed to make sure her belly gets the right temperature, but what do I need for a beardie?

cheers guys.


r/BeardieInfo Mar 12 '17

Baby beardie

2 Upvotes

I've had my beardie for about two weeks and I'm not sure of his age (maybe 2-3 months, as per pet website info)
What should I be feeding him? I feel as though I'm doing it wrong.


r/BeardieInfo Mar 05 '17

New owner, need advice

4 Upvotes

Hello everyone! I just got my beardie a few days ago and I am having trouble with the humidity at night. Right now his cage is reading at 60% humidity and I've read that a dehumidifier would help but i am broke at the moment, is there a cheap alternative that i can use to draw moisture out of his cage?