Expert: Tracie Kretzschmar - 11/8/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi, my Beardie has recently become very aggressive he is about three years old and has never been like this previously. He has stopped eating, I have tried the usual things that i feed him with, Fruit grubs, mealworms and locusts but he just turns black and puffs out his beard. I have phoned vet surgeries and they said that they couldnt help as they dont specalise in reptiles. He is eating some veg to barley any and is not doing the toilet. I have not changed the lighting recently and the tempreture in the vivarium is normal. And i have had no problems with him previously.

ANSWER: Hello April,

What type of UVB light are you using, is it a florescent tube bulb, or a compact/coil light?  How old is the UVB light?
What type of basking light are you using, a bright white light or a colored light?  What are the temperatures in the tank, & what type of thermometer are you using?  A stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun?
What are the temperatures?  Is he spending a lot of time basking or is he preferring to not be under the light as much?
Could he possibly be wanting to brumate?  

Tracie


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again, he has a repti-glo tube uvb light and is only about a month old, his basking light is just a standard white light and the thermometer is a stick on he tends to differentiate between basking and spending time on his log under the uvb light and the temperature is around eighty degrees, i have no idea if he wants to brumate. But i have felt around his abdomen area when i was giving him a bath and it feels very firm, this might be due to the stress of bathing him or whatever is wrong with him.

Answer
Hello April,

I hate to tell you but, the Reptiglo 10 tube is not a very good light.  It emits low wavelength UVB which is close to UVC.  That particular wavelength is not conducive to D3 synthesis & it has less UVA emissions than other bulbs which are hard on the eyes.  It is a high possibility that it is irritating his eyes & aggravating him, in general.
So, I would turn off the Reptiglo 10 tube bulb & just use the basking light right now & see how he improves for you.  In the meantime, I would go ahead & get a Reptisun 10 tube bulb & you can get it here for a great price:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-rept
A stick on type of thermometer is not very accurate when it comes to measuring the basking temperatures.  You will need to get a digital probe or a temp gun to measure the temps better.  
If he is not going to the bathroom, he could be impacted or simply not getting warm enough.  
Which UVB were you using previously before the Reptiglo tube light?
How often do you give calcium supplementation?

Tracie