We switched Cici's UVB Bulb to a coiled mercuary one (forgot brand) and she stopped eating. Turns out she is sick, starting to eat again but is still sick. I was just wondering, since this happened right after we got the bulb, could the bulb have something to do with her getting sick?
It might have something to do with it, beardies are better with the longer one's usually and I've heard the coiled one's aren't as effective. She probably isn't getting as much from it and isn't adjusting to the change well. I have a coiled one for my anoles, but they're smaller and don't need as much-so they're ok with it. You could probably look on the bulb and it will have the brand. It could also be something else possibly too, any other changes recently? And how is she sick?(like what symptoms and all?) Also, I remembered @Cammy posted this thread--> http://www.reptileboards.com/threads/uvb-basics.64396/ about differen't UVB bulbs. this shoudl help-it's very informative. And if she gets on this thread-I'm sure she'll be able to help you more, since she knows more about beardies
No other changes and she wasnt eating, spending more then average time basking, and she is becoming lazy and sluggish (this is not like her at all to be lazy). We took her to the reptile vet and they said she isnt severly sick and to just leave her be (coming from a vetrenarian that wouldnt touch my lizard). We switched her back to the bulb and her appetite is coming back, but she is still sluggish.
That's good she's eating again and it's great you took her to the vet!!!(though that vet doesn't sound to good sadly) How long has it been since you switched it? It sounds like you're doing everything you can now and maybe it will just take a few days for her to be herself again. I hope she gets better!
Yeah, we only take her to that vet because we are short on money, as soon as we could afford it, we are taking her to a good vet. It has been two days since we switched.
Well, it's still sort of early since you switched and she may just need to adjust again. How long did you have the coiled one on her? and was it a 5.0 or 10.0? At least you still tried to take her to a vet, you're lucky to have some around you-the closest one to me is I think around 50 miles away, maybe some less, but it would be in a city and we're in the country.
Karlee, you say your vet will not touch the dragon... are you confident in this vet's knowledge of reptiles? Perhaps check out this site for future opinions on herp vets in your area: http://herpvetconnection.com Did the vet perform a fecal? This is vitally important... honestly a fecal is probably more important than actually scheduling a vet appointment. It's physically impossible to tell what is going on inside the animal without having the stool examined for pathogenic microorganisms. Bearded dragons are quite prone to these - particularly coccidea and pinworms. You can run a fecal sample to the vet (as fresh as possible) and they will generally perform a smear and float for $15 give or take, and no appointment or dragon need be there. I should also note that the location that the sample is taken to is important... I had vet tech mistaken pinworm eggs for coccidea. Coccidea is a round bacterium that is literally a fraction of the size of a pinworm egg and treatment is entirely different. I was giving a dragon an unnecessary antibiotic for 2 months seeing no improvement because he required panacur to deal with the helminthes. Needless to say, it was a nearly fatal error due to a misidentification by the vet.
We brought it, and they said it came back negative for worms. She is eating again which I would believe is good. She is still basking often but is eating.
