Apr
When he walks around, he usually walks normaly, but then when he stops, his feet are in an ''L'' position. Facing his body. He’s not clumsy when he walks, but I constantly have to ajust his feet so that they face forward, not toward him. Is this natural or a disease?
Answer:
i'm not sure maybe it means when it is hungry it can eat up to 100 people before it's full and waits again
Answer:
That's called Metabolic Bone Disease.
It's kind of like Rickets or Scurvy in reptiles. There are lots of causes:
They need two types of lamp: one heat, the other UVB. You probably have a heat lamp, but are you using a UVB radiation lamp? If so, how long have you had it, because they usually need to be replaced each 6 months since their output of radiation diminishes over time.
You should also not feed them cabbage or spinach since this makes it difficult for them to absorb calcium.
Which brings me to the last common cause of Metabolic Bone Disease: they need vitamin/mineral supplements added to their food two or three times a week.
I would take him to the vet as soon as possible. MBD is not something that just goes away once it has reached a certain point. Their bones turn soft, their jaws and legs deform, they eventually stop eating, and then there's not really much you can do.
Answer:
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Bearded Dragons - Care Sheet
Written by Jeremiah “Podunk” Jaeger
(Pogona Vitticeps)
Page 2
Lighting
Bearded Dragons require full spectrum lighting for 12-14 hours a day. I happen to use the Reptisun 5.0 or 8.0 fluorescent bulbs. There’s also other brands available such as the Reptiglo or lumichrome bulbs. These fluorescent bulbs should stretch the length of your Beardies enclosure and your B.D. should be able to come within 6-8 inches of the light. The UV light should be put over the cage and not directed through the glass, glass will deflect the UV rays. Follow the directions on the package of the bulb for replacement frequency.
Heating and temps
To produce heat and a basking spot in your enclosure you can use either a ceramic heat emitter, a reptile basking light(red, blue or white) or just a plain old household lightbulb. The best fixture for any of these choices is a porcelain dome light fixture. This type of fixture is a must with a ceramic heat emitter due to the amount of heat they produce. The temperature for this basking spot you created should be around 110f for juveniles and can be around 95f for adults. Allthough I don't advocate any temps above 110f, within a few degrees of these basking temps will be sufficent.
The cool side of the enclosure should be around 85f during the day. Once again within a few degrees of this temp is just fine.
Night time temperatures can fall as low as 65f. It is fairly simple to keep your night temps above this even in the winter. If you can't keep your temps above this you might want to consider buying an under tank heater (UTH) for night time use. Using this just during the evening hours will help create a warm spot for your Dragon to sleep. DO NOT use heat rocks as these can cause serious burns on your animals underside.
A thermometer on the “hot side” and one on the “cool side” will make sure that your temps are in the range they should be in.
Substrate
For baby to juvenile Bearded Dragons I like and advocate either newspaper, paper towels, butcher paper or reptile carpet. These choices are cheap, simple to clean and hold no health risks to your animal. If using reptile carpet the stuff that looks and feels like grass is the best. The felt kind has tiny loops of fabric that might catch the nails of your Dragon and cause injury. DO NOT use sand, shavings or any other loose substrate for baby to juvenile Beardies. They can be very clumsy eaters and they are also very curious and like to taste everything. Any kind of loose substrate holds serious health risks to your Beardie. If they eat a loose substrate they can become impacted, which is a blocking of the intestines, and die.
For adult Dragons I like either the grass repti carpet or playsand. Washed playsand is much cheaper than all those fancy colored reptile sands and looks just as good. You can purchase this playsand at most larger Hardware stores for under $4 for 50lbs.
Crushed walnut shell is perilous and should only be used to clean up oil spills. This substrate is NOT digestable and if too much of it is eaten it will cause impaction. I’ve seen this occur first hand with reptiles ranging from lizards to tortoise. Stay away from this product please
hope it helps!!!!