Hello everyone!!

[Wardo]

Hello everyone, my name is Chris and I have been browsing these forums for well over 6 months, and have finally decided to sign up and post.

I would like to introduce you all to my little buddy... Boris.

There he is showing us all who is boss in his viv.

And thats him 'posing' for the camera.

Anyway. We have had him since he was tiny and he has grown to become a really great little pet. He has a tendancy to be grumpy, but loves attention, coming out of his viv to explore the living room, getting up to mischeif, and just chilling out with us while we watch TV.


This was him when he was younger...

Anyway, when we 1st got him, it was the 1st time we had ever kept a lizzard. We made a few of the schoolboy errors of keeping him on calci sand, etc, but luckily he is still going strong. He has just made the 'transition' from eating just livefood and turning his nose up to greens, to loving a good salad instead of a juicy fat mealworm.

However, just recently, I have noticed that he is not passing food as regularly as he should. I thought he was compacted so we took him straight to a vet that was reccomended by a close friend and reptile keeper/breeder. The vet 'assisted' Boris to do a poo, which was normal urea, folowed by a hard white/grey deposit, followed by normal poo. The vet was unsure as to what the white deposit was, and said it was probably calcium or some substrate. He said that Boris was a perfectly healthy lizzard, with no weakness, signs of calcium defficiency, and he rarely see's a beardy in as good condition as Boris. The vet prescribed him with some liquid parafin to help his movements which helped for probably a week.

But now he is back to not passing much food at all. He is still going to the toilet but when he does there is still these white/grey deposits which are really quite hard and he struggles to pass them.

Now, after reading on the forums, and examining his poo myself, I am starting to wonder if these deposits could be the Calcium powder which recently he has not been absorbing for some reason and are building up. The reason I am thinking this, is because it wasnt untill we ugraded Boris's viv a few months ago, to a 4ft one to accomodate a growing lizzard that I noticed the change. This was when we fitted a Reptiglo 10.0 UVB florescent tube. I have read on here tonight that these florescent tubes are not ideal for beardys and could be doing him more harm than good. could this tube be the reason he is not absorbing the calcium, and has anyone else had any similar problems? Im going to the shop first thing in the morning to buy the reccomended 8.0 UVB florescent tube. The 10.0 for now is disconnected.

As for his setup, its a 4ft Viv with a 60w reflector lamp providing his basking rock with about 100f possibly a little hotter but not much, 75-80f cold side, he has cover and a nice big log so he can get up out of the way, towards the 10.0uvb tube. Temps are measured using analoge thermometors with a stat and heat probe on his rock. He eats rocket lettuice, loves water cress, and loves mealworms for his meat. He gets regularly sprayed, bathed, and the food is always dusted with calcium powder.

Any advice or info would be greatly appreciated. Im gonna give him a couple of weeks with the 8.0 tube before he goes back to the vets.

Cheers

 

[Poisoned1]

Okay the Reptiglo won't affect his poop but will affect his eyes I would recommend changing that.

http://www.petmountain.com and http://www.lllreptile.com have great deals on ReptiSUN 10.

That is what you need in the flourescent tube.

Are you giving your beardie baths? It sounds like he is dehydrated and that's the reason for that hard urates. The white part is the urates. Usually when hard it means dehydration.

I would get a digital thermometer with a probe on the end to measure the temperatures properly. Those analog thermometers are useless and can be off by 20 degrees which could be causing it to be too hot which is dehydrating your beardie.

Also mealworms could be contributing as they don't have much protein to it. You mainly want to stick to around 30 superworms a week or 50 crickets a week for your adult beardie.


he looks great by the way.

The vegetables aren't that good either as lettuce is a diahrea (spelling sucks) producer.

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

That site is great for what you need.

hope it helps.

 

[vickson420]

Topic moved to Intorductions
Hello and Welcome to the forum
So he is pooping now but there is still some wierd deposit in his stool?Or in his Urates?Yes the reptiglo 10.0 isnt the greatest bulb.I would swith it out for a reptiSUN 10.0,RepstiSUN 5.0.Reptiglo 8.0(if you can find one) or if your across the pond an Arcadia.What type of vitamins/calcium are you giving him?It does sound as if he either had an impaction from the calcium sand which could take a long time to clear or mineral deposits in his urates.Did the vet check his kidney functions?

 

[Wardo]

Thanks for the replies, and I appologise for posting in the wrong section.

When he poo's there is some minimal normal looking urea, then a hard white deposit, then normal poo.

He gets bathed once a week or so, and I spray mist him every couple of days. He refuses to drink water from a bowl.

So the food and temps could be the problem? When i said mealworms, i meant superworms...

OK, i will get some digital thermometers tomorrow along with the tube.

As for feeding, our local pet shop stocks mailny locusts, crickets, superworms and waxworms. all in various sizes.He doesnt really like locusts, if I put some in, he will only eat a couple then the rest will just sit in the tank for days if I dont remove them. He will eat the superworms, and he loves waxworms as the occasional treat. He goes nuts when he sees that container come out! lol! can they be fed more regularly other than one every few days? if so in what quantity? Are crickets a good source of protein? I heard crickets can give nasty bites, which is why I have never introduced them.

I dust his food daily with calcium powder, and used to use the T-rex dragon dust, but have held that back for the last few weeks since he has not been his self.

Edit, and no, the vet did not check for kidney functions. How would he have done this? I will bring this up on the next visit.

 

[vickson420]

Ok well it sounds like he is having hard urates from the supplement you are using.I am not a fan of Dragon dust.You always end up giving either too much or too little with those all in ones.I would switch to repcal phosporous free w/d3 for calcium(pink label) and herptivite(blue label)by repcal for a multivitamin.That along with the uvb and temp corrections should help get his urates back on track.As for the superworms they are fine to use as a staple as long as he is over 16 inches long.You could give crix also but dont leave them in the tank with him beyond feeding time.He doesnt like Locusts?Maybe he is afraid of them I have heard they love those although we cant get them here so I dont know first hand.How old is he?If he is an adult he should only be getting calcium 2xper week and multi once per week.

 

[Wardo]

He used to LOVE locusts. Dont know whats upset him. We used to get them by the bagfull of 100 locusts. And one day he just went off them. Maybe he got fed up with them. Loves his superworms. Im not sure he is 16 inches long, he is probably just over a ft long probably 13" or so.

That was my thoughts exactly about the dragon dust. I thought it was that that was causing the deposits which is why I held it back. Also, the calcium powder, I sprinkle a very small ammount on his food every other day. Veg and livefood. The calcium powder is Nutrobal calcium balancer & multi vitamin which is used as his regular dust. So your suggesting I maybe use seperate, i.e a stand alone calcium supplement, alongside a stand alone multi-vitamin suplement? I will see what they have in stock. Im from the UK, so they may be different brands.

So my shopping list for tomorrow is...

an 8.0 UVB tube.

Digial thermometer with probe. Does anyone have an exampe pic or link to what I need?

Seperate calcium & vitamin supps.

 

[MissT]

Are these hard white/grey deposits like a ball? I had a few problems due to supplementation a few weeks back where my beardie was passing a grey ball which, when broken up, was like a white dust. It was very difficult to break them up and she did have a problem passing them. Since I sorted out her supplements, she hasnt had a problem.

I know my 2 go nuts for locusts - what size locusts are you feeding tho? My little guy has a bit of a fear of them and refuses anything too big in his opinion - he could happily manage 5ths but he wont eat anything bigger than the 4ths. In terms of quantities of superworms, if he is an adult then around 30 per week.

Hope he starts pooping better soon!

T

 

[Wardo]

Are these hard white/grey deposits like a ball? I had a few problems due to supplementation a few weeks back where my beardie was passing a grey ball which, when broken up, was like a white dust. It was very difficult to break them up and she did have a problem passing them. Since I sorted out her supplements, she hasnt had a problem.

Bang on! Yeah they are really quite hard to break up, almost solid! That sounds like you hit the nail on the head and I have got a similar if not the same problem! What was the problem you were having with your suppliments? What were you using and how? How did you rectify it?

 

[MissT]

I was typing as you posted and just noticed the supplements you were using. Its very difficult to source supplements over here. Calypso calcium and minerall are the 2 most widely available calcium supplements. I was using miner-all as a calcium supplement 4x per week and then the nutrabol as the vitamin supplement 2x per week - causing an overload of calcium. Im now using minerall 2x per week and nutrabol 1x for my ~2year old. Then for my 10 month old im using minerall 3x per week and nutrabol 2x. Its very difficult to source anything different in the UK so im still figuring out all the supplementation!

Anyway, on another note, its near impossible to find a reptiglo 8.0 now - apparently they are pretty much completely discontinued. If its an option for you to shop online, the Arcadia D3+ 12% flourescent tube is the best tube bulb available. I usually order mine from http://www.livefoods.co.uk

Hope this helps!

T

Edit - typing at the same time again! lol! Think I covered everything here!

 

[vickson420]

Ok so since your in the UK you can go with calypso calcium or miner all.Those would be the best unless you can get the repcal products I am not sure.I would also go with the Arcadia bulb.You want something like this for the temps:
http://www.petco.com/product/100375/ESU-Reptile-Digital-Thermometer.aspx
I would be a little concerned about those supers since he is so small.That could cause an issue with impaction.
http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=55
http://www.reptilesupplyhut.com/calypso-calcium-dust-calcium-only-120g-p-131.html

 

[vickson420]

Sorry Miss T
Guess we posted at the same time

 

[Wardo]

Cheers for the replies folks! Well I will adjust things around a bit, get him the new sups, and onlly dust his food 2 times a week with a small pinch of calci, and once a week with a pinch of the multi vit.

If i cant find an 8.0 tube, is there an alternative that i could use from the store i.e 5.0 or similar? I can shop online so will look into the reptisun.

Also, the superworms are not as big as the one pictured. The come in a selection of sizes, and they are considerably smaller. I will try him on a box of small sized locusts, probably size 3's and see if he has missed them. I will update you on how it goes tomorrow.

 

[MissT]

Sorry Miss T
Guess we posted at the same time

No probs - you filled in all the bits I missed Plus, I have you to thank for the majority of my beardie knowledge!

If i cant find an 8.0 tube, is there an alternative that i could use from the store i.e 5.0 or similar? I can shop online so will look into the reptisun.

Unfortunately, UK pet stores, as a general rule dont stock any uv bulbs worth buying. The Arcadia is also a better option than the repti-SUN and usually around £5-10 cheaper. Also, if hes under a year old, dependent on the supplement you are using, he will calcium more than 3x per week but we can figure that out once you source your supplements. For the next couple of days tho, I would be tempted to say that you should cut out the supplements altogether - thats how I made sure my girl was not having any further troubles!

Anyway, good luck sorting everything out - any help you need, just ask - the guys on here are fab!

 

[Wardo]

Yeah I cant thank you guys enough for this. I have a load of videos and pictures of Boris on his adventures around the house. I will upload them for you all tomorrow.

How long is it safe to cut the supplements for?

 

[vickson420]

Definately go with the Arcadia.How old is your beardie?We will figure out the amounts needed once you post what products you chose to go with,ok?