Expert: Pam - 4/10/2007

Question
QUESTION: Today my bearded dragon "ozzy" started vomiting and he went to the bathroom 3 or 4 times. I thought maybe it was the temp but he had 85 on the cool side and 95 on the hot side. I just started giving him grapes,strawberries and carrots. Could this have anything to do with it? I'm very worried about him!!
ANSWER:   Vomiting is not normal for a dragon.  And if his poop was runny, he needs to have a fecal done at the vet's to see if he has a parasite problem.
 The cool side should be around 70F and 100-105F for proper basking and digestion of food.  And a proper UVB light, like a Reptisun 10.0 that stretches across his cage. Such a similar temp range in the tank makes me think the tank is too small.  An adult beardie needs no less than a 40 gallon breeder tank.
 Grapes and strawberries are a nice treat for a dragon, but not a staple.  He needs calcium rich greens like dandelion, collards, turnip greens and mustard greens.  Also veggies like winter squashes and green beans.  I would stay away from carrots and spinach because both are too high in oxalates which bind calcium instead of letting him metabolize his minerals properly.

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

QUESTION: Ozzy is in a cage thats 48in long by 12in wide by 18in high. He also has a reptisun 10.0 tube light (thats 48in long), 2 100watt heat bulbs and 2 100watt basking bulbs. He  has not vomiting anymore but now he is keeping his mouth open alot(like he's hot) but the temps are in normal range. Ive looked in his mouth but seen nothing out of place or any swelling.

Answer
 Gaping usually means he's releasing excess heat.  What are you measuring your heat with?  If it's a digital, that would be accurate, but stick ons can be off by 20 degress in either direction.  With only 12" depth, I think it's a bit warm.  I recommend a "breeder" tank, where the depth would be 18" or deeper.