Expert: Diane - 6/21/2007

Question
QUESTION: When I bought my Mountain Horned Dragon she loved to be held and was very social. She had trouble with her first shed and ever since then she seems to always be shedding, whether it be her tail one day, her head the next, or legs. No matter what everyday she is constantly shedding a part of her body. Her humidity and temperature aren't a problem. She seems very stressed and will hiss when approaching her. Do you have any idea what this might be? Or do you recommend taking her to a vet?

ANSWER: Hi Katlin,
I'm guessing she is young.  When they are young, they do shed more often. Shedding means growth... Do you have a pan of water that she is able to get into?  This helps with shedding and is actually necessary for them.
Also, with the hissing, is this something that started recently?  If she is young, and the hissing is new, then she may just be a silly juvenile that is trying to let you know that her cage is her territory and trying to be alpha over you.  If this sounds like it might be what is happening, just continue to do what you have to go with her,(cage cleaning, holding, etc) and basically not let the hissing scare you.  Do protect yourself in case she would decide to try to chase you away.  Of course, if the above isn't what is happening in your case, then a vet check up is recommended to make sure she is not working on some health problem.


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

QUESTION: She's actually not too young, I know that she's at least 3 years old. She doesn't visit her water dish too often, she never really did, maybe once a month or so and sometimes she won't even drink from it. It's moving water but she just doesn't seem too interested most of the time. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with her shedding problem or not.  She loves to eat, but only crickets, mealworms don't seem to interest her too much.  The hissing started about a month or so after her shedding problem started, and I try to handle her some but it just seems to stress her out and she will change color.
ANSWER: Hi Katlin,
Are you providing the proper uvb for her? Below is my info on uvb so you can check to be sure you are providing the proper source. A few other questions....  are you gut loading(feeding your insects a nutritious food)(not just the water crystals) prior to feeding them to your MHD?  Have you tried feeding other insects such as a few wax worms(not a source of a daily diet due to high fat content), silk worms, super worms?  Is the water dish large enough for her to get her whole body into it? If she barely fits in it, you might want to try a larger container and possibly warmer water.  Adding an air-stone may also entice her to  get into it more. If she is too dry, shedding will be harder and more often as that the lack of moisture will dry the skin out more. Have you tried bathing her in the bathtub or other container?
Many times with a reptile does not feel well, the only sign that we have of this is a change in personality. If she is not receiving the proper uvb, this can cause illness which can cause the personality change. Also, having a fecal done to check for parasites is recommended. Another possibility for the attitude change  is that she is gravid(forming eggs).  Many lizards will do this even when not bred. Does she look fatter?  Eating less?  Again, a vet would be able to determine this with an xray. I know I've asked you a lot of questions and also gave many possibilities for potential problems.  One of the hardest things on owning reptiles is trying to find out what is wrong with them..or even if something is wrong with then.   
"Supplying uvb can be done in a few ways. By special lights
that come in fluorescent tubes or special screw in bulbs
(mercury vapor)that are designed to produce uvb and heat.
The tubes do not produce heat. UVB is needed by the reptile
to be able to absorb the calcium in the foods they eat.
With out the uvb, they will develop metabolic bone disease.
With the tubes, they must say that they produce BOTH uvb and
uva. The uvb needs to be 5% or higher. Repti Sun 10.0 and the Repti Glo 8.0's
are a great source for uvb.  The old "favorites" are the repti sun 5.0 or the
Iguana light..which are the same tube, just different package.
There are tubes
that say ''full spectrum'' but they do not produce any uvb.
These need to be positioned 6-8 inches over the reptile for the 5% and 8%
and 8-10 inches for the 10% so
that they get the uvb that is needed. The tubes need to be replaced every 6-9
months as that they stop producing UVB long before they stop producing
light.
Using a fixture  that is at least 2 ft long will
provide adequate uvb for your lizard. Do not use coil lights that are sold as
that they do not produce the uvb in the fashion needed for most uvb needing reptiles.

On the mercury vapor , they also produce heat. They also
produce the uvb and uva. The best on the market now are the
Mega Rays.(http://www.megaray.com) The distance from these are greater
than the uvb tubes and the directions must be followed that
are listed for the light. When using the mercury vapor
lights, you don't need to have one light for uvb and one for
heat. The Mercury vapor lights provide both."



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

QUESTION: I'm pretty sure I have all the right stuff for her, the right lights, big water dish, and correct humidity and temp. levels. I am gut loading and she doesn't seem to interested in any worms, I've tried just about all types of worms at my work at least, Petsmart, she just doesn't seem interested in anything that moves slower than a cricket. I've had her since September and she started acting weird around February ish.  It just seemed all the sudden, I do have an air-stone in her water dish but even then she'll seem interested and tilt her head to it but that's about it most of the time. She does feel heavier but I think that also deals with her not being as active. She's about the  same in her cage just hanging around on branches or even her Repti-Hammock, but I used to be able to take her out for a little bit every once in a while and let her run around and climb to the tops of  things in my room.  Her appetite is the same, she loves her crickets. I've had her looked at before and she did have mite eggs but the  vet gave us stuff to put on her, and they went away. I might try to give her a warm bath that seems to perk up the lizards at my work as well. I'm probably going to end up taking her to a vet, and this might sound bad but I was trying to avoid that, last time I went there it was already $100 just to be looked at and I definitely. want to take her to a Reptile Specialist who knows alot about MHD.  I'm sorry if I'm bugging you, please take your time to respond, I don't want you to feel rushed or anything!

Answer
You aren't bugging me!!!  I would love to hit on something that helps your dragon out.
I would start bathing her more often even daily and see if that helps. many times constant shedding is just a lack of enough soakings. With her being older, and if you don't know what her past care was, she can also just have a bunch of old shed that is coming off.
On the mites...if it happens again, there is a product called "reptile relief" which I believe PetsMart does sell.  The product is fantastic!!!  I've used it with wonderful success on some rescue young iguanas that I had taken in.  I treated them and their cages one time...and gave them a 2nd treatment just to be sure.  There were no mites to be found after the first treatment.  The company that makes it is "Natural Chemistry" Its so much better than the chemical treatments that are sold for mites in both safety and how well it works.
have you tried earthworms for food for her?  If not, I would give them a try. Also, you can try a few small feeder goldfish in a dish of water in her cage...they may interest her.
MHD's aren't always the most social creatures so she just may be settling into her adult temperament. One reason she may have been nicer when you first got her is that she didn't feel well and now that you have improved her health, she has a different attitude.   Have you noticed that much of owning reptiles is a guessing game when it comes to them doing something odd?  I would pay close attention to the possibility of being gravid....its another way lizards LOVE to drive their care givers insane!!
Has she been treated for internal parasites?  I recommend a fecal and treatment if needed.
Also, what brand/type of uvb are you using?  How old is it?(the uvb source)
Does her cage provide for her to have climbing room, branches, etc..they do like to be up higher.
to find a vet that can care for reptiles:
http://www.anapsid.org/vets/
http://www.arav.org/Directory.htm
many times the reptile vets are more reasonable with costs that the "regular" small animal vets.  Believe me I know the costs!!!  Taking one iguana in for x rays is well over 100$ but its something that we need to do...and thats why its best to use a vet that knows how to care for reptiles because paying twice isn't fun, especially when the non reptile vet really give no info or knows anything to help us out...if only they didn't charge when they "don't know"!!!

decent info can be found at :
http://www.froggieb.com/MHDCaresheet.html