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My bearded dragon has two darkened areas on his head and a hole in one of the darkened areas.i could see the pink on the inside. what is happening? it was not there a day ago.
Optional Information: Pet's Gender: Female Pet's Age: 1 Type of Animal: bearded dragon Name of Animal: beardie Already Tried: nothing
Hello and Welcome to Justanswer,Can you tell me about the set up?
Diet prey/veggies?
Substrate/bedding?
Temps and how measured?
Supplements?
UVB light? Tube or coil? How old is the bulb and strength?
Do you have a basking light?
Do you leave any prey in with the Dragon?
Can you please post a picture of the area? You can use the paper clip icon if you have a tool bar, if not please use Photobucket and post a link here.
Joan
Hello,
Thank-you for the picture. Can you please answer the questions? I will repost them here:
Hello and Welcome to Justanswer,Can you tell me about the set up?Diet prey/veggies?
she has calcium sand and a perch to hold her up to her heat lamp and uvb bulb. she eats crickets and occasionally some veggies, but mostly crickets. the excess stays in the cage with her and i dont have any devices to measure temperature. the buld on the uvb is about three months old and so is the heat bulb. i ave a calcium spplement but rarely use it.
it said you sent a resonse but i dont see one =(
I have some serious concerns about the areas I see in the picture, but want to go over some husbandry issues too.
The sand can cause some major issues with a Dragon. This will give you an idea about Sand as a substrate: http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/impaction/?page=3
I suggest using a solid substrate like tile, cage carpet, slate or paper. Sand can also cause skin problems and corneal ulcers in the eyes.
The basking area should have 110*-115*F and the cool side of the tank in the 85* range. This is important for digestion and passing of stool. If the temps are not correct, this can also cause a problem.
You need to have 2 lights, a day time basking bulb as well as a UVB. I recommend a reptisun 10.0 and UVB lights do not put out heat. The UVB bulb is needed to stop Metabolic Bone Disease. The UVB needs to be changed every 6 months.
The UVB should be a tube type.
Coil UVB bulbs can injure the eyes.
Compact UVB problems: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-info.htm
The UVB bulb should not have any plastic between it and the Dragon, it needs to run the length of the tank and be no more than 12" from the Dragon. Both lights should run daily for 12-14 hours a day. UVB cannot penetrate glass so sitting by the window, does not supply UVB rays which are needed to metabolize calcium.
You should be feeding Collard greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens, escarole and curly endives. Butternut squash and various berries are great for a treat. The Veggies should be put in fresh daily, and done about an hour after lights on. They need 80% veggies daily and 20% live prey over a year of age.
The live prey should include crickets, silk worms, roaches, Goliath worms and phoenix worms.The canned prey looses the nutritional value and is high in chitin which is the outer shells and can cause a blockage.
Super worms and wax worms are like giving the Dragon candy. All veggies and prey should be dusted with calcium daily 5 days a week and vitamins 2 days a week.
What I am seeing where the area is that is raw, looks like a possible issue called Yellow fungus. This is a fungal infection that starts off yellow in color and turns darker. As it turns it can eat away at the area it is found. It is what is called a Necrotizing fungal infection. This will need to be addressed by a Herp Vet asap. I would be more than happy to help locate a Herp Vet for you if you supply a State.
This is some information on Yellow fungus in a PDF File: http://www.wildlifehealth.org.au/AWHN_Admin/ManageWebsite%5CFactSheets%5CUploadedFiles/122/Yellow%20Fungus%20Disease%20(CANV)%2018%20Aug%202009%20(1.0).pdf
Please hit reply and I will be happy to further assist you and help locate a Herp Vet.
Experience: I have been doing Reptile Rescues for 15+ Years