Lola is my Bearded Dragon. She is 4 and we rescued her from…

Hello,

The basking area should have 100*-110*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.

What is concerning me is the Bulb you are using in not an actual UVB bulb. I see Pets shops sell bulbs and they are suppossed to UVB and are nothing but a full spectrum or halogen bulb.This is avery common: http://www.anapsid.org/uvtable.html

The UVB bulb is needed to stop Metabolic Bone Disease. The UVB needs tchanged every 6 months. This is a UVB bilb Reptisun 10.0.

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 This should not be giving off a lot of heat, but UVB rays.

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.

Lola 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 a plain calcium daily 5 days a week and vitamins 2 days.

What I suspect is that Lola is going into a semi Brumation which can happen when the temps are too cool in the enclosure. The temperture and lighting are very important. If the terperture gradient is too cool a Dragon will shut down and do what you are seeing with Lola, The UVB needs to be within 12" of here 12-14 hours a day.

I suggest using a Temp Gun or a digital dual probe theremometer to make sure the temp is correct. Since it is a big enclosure she may be getting too cool. We have found that bigger is not always better. a 40 gallon breeder tank is what we usually use.

Joan

Bearded Dragon Care Sheet

• Bearded dragons should be housed alone.
  
  
  
• Ages of bearded dragons follow these guidelines:

1. 0-3 months- baby
2. 3-12 months-juvenile
3. 12-18
months- sub adult
4. 18 months + -adult

• Bearded dragons live as much as 10-12 years if well cared for
  properly.
• Bearded dragons have a very good temperament as long as they
  are cared for and handled.
• When you bring your baby home, it may be quite stressful to
  him/her to get use to new home. May not eat well the first 2-3 days. They may
  not need to be handled the first 2-3 days if skittish and nervous.
• Never use sand or any other type of loose substrate: Loose
  substrates can cause impaction (not being able to go Poop) in all ages of
  bearded dragons- they lick their environment to explore .It is difficult to keep
  germ free and clean. Ceramic tile, newspaper, non adhesive shelf liner and
  reptile carpet is what is most recommended. Use paper towels for the little one
  and as they get bigger you can change to something else.
• Be sure you keep your beardies home as clean as you can. Clean
  up by spot cleaning when needed. Clean & sanitize entire tank every 10-14
  days. A good cleaning solution is a 20% bleach solution. If you choose to use
  wood climbing branches etc, these should be soaked in the bleach solution and
  rinsed well. Then bake in 250 degree oven for 30 minutes.
• Need a climbing accessory: to bask and to warm up under basking
  heat light and lower branches or platforms to come down and cool off.
• A hide of some sort like a cave.
• A food dish and water dish.
• Plastic spray bottle
• Can use artificial plants when they get older- 3 months or so.
  
  
• Digital thermostat and/or temp gun
• Tank size: Minimal size tank for this age is 20 gallon long
  
  
• Minimal size for older beardie: 4 months of age: 40 gallon
  breeder is the minimal tank size for older dragon. Can divide a 40 gallon
  breeder for a smaller dragon. Must have two lights for your beardie.

1. A UVB light source-best is 10.0 Reptisun that runs the length
of your tank. Your dragon must have this light to metabolize calcium. If not he
will get metabolic bone disease, a serious condition. You can also take your
beardie outside to bask in the sun for 15 minutes each day if your temps are 80
degrees or above outside. You can purchase cages or reptariums from your pet
store. Never leave a beardie outside unattended.
2. A basking type light
that puts out heat and warmth above basking spot. Your beardie must have warmth
to digest food & thrive.

• Lights should be on for 12-14 hours each day. Follow the
  seasons and light timers are a great luxury if you can get them. 6 dollars at
  Lowe's. No lights or warmth needed at night unless your temperatures get below
  62 degrees. If they do, there are ceramic heat emitters that put out no light,
  only heat. Use these at night if temperatures fall below 62 degrees.

• Temperatures have to be kept at the following ranges during the
  day:

Babies: Warm basking log: 105-125 degrees F
Cool side: 85-90

Adults: Warm basking spot: 110-115
Cool side: 80-85
Measure
temperatures with a digital probe type thermometer or a temp gun-these are most
accurate. Stick on thermometers unreliable.

• Feeding a Beardie: Beardies eat live prey consisting of
  crickets, roaches and/or silkworms. Never feed any size of mice to your beardie.
  Never feed meal worms. They also must be given greens/veggies everyday. The
  younger they are the more live prey they should have. As they grow older the
  live prey decreases and the veggies/greens should be the major part of diet.
  Never feed anything bigger, than the space between your beardie's eyes. This
  includes both live prey and pieces of veggies/greens,
• A chopper or food processor is a huge help when your beardie is
  small. Always offer greens and veggies: collard greens, turnip greens, mustard
  greens, cabbage, red cabbage, fresh green beans, yellow summer squash, butternut
  squash, sweet potato, cactus pad. Apricots, strawberries, apples, blueberries,
  raspberries, cantaloupe- fruits are treats only.
• What is live prey? The easiest and less expensive live prey is
  crickets when you have a young or first beardie. The other live preys you can
  feed are silkworms, and special types of roaches. You can learn to raise your
  own live prey. Treats can be wax worms, super worms, and tomato/Goliath worms.
  You may find that ordering live prey from the internet is the way to go.....
  Never leave live prey or greens/veggies in tank overnight. . Crickets can bite
  your beardie when sleeping.
• Babies should get 80% live prey, and 20 % greens/veggies. But
  since the greens/veggies are a must when they are older, get them eating their
  greens/veggies very early. Give greens/veggies in small pieces everyday. You
  should eventually start decreasing your older dragon's protein intake when they
  are about a year to 15 months old. Their protein intake decreases to 20 % live
  prey and 80% veggies/greens.
• A baby eat 50-75 crix a day depending on the size of the
  crickets. Never feed crix or veggies bigger than the space between your
  beardie's eyes. Use this guide when buying crix or chopping your greens/veggies.
  
  
• You must provide calcium dust without D3 and multivitamin dust
  for your beardie. You should dust the live prey with calcium one time a day, and
  vitamins 3 times a week. Just collect your live prey into baggie and add enough
  calcium and vitamin to dust them. Then pour a few at a time into your tank. Some
  people feed their beardie in a separate tank so that no crickets can hide. Or
  some take out "furniture" from tank and feed this way. As they get older, 4-5
  months or so dust live prey with calcium 3 times a week.
• Feed the veggies/ greens 1st thing in morning after lights on
  for one hour at least. Then after 2-3 hours offer crix. Then freshen
  green/veggies. Then give more crix. Make sure after last crix feeding there is
  at least 1-2 hours of lights so that they can digest their food before night
  time.

*Beardies over the age of one year old during
the winter months will go into a Brumation like most Reptiles and Herps. It is a
form of Hibernation that is governed by the weather and time of year. The lights
should be on a shorter period at this time. Fresh greens should be available
during this period. Do not feed live prey during Brumation.

Water: Mist your little one with the spray bottle 3-4 times a
day. You can also offer a small dish of water in your enclosure but be sure your
dragon is not too small to drown in it. It is recommended that when your beardie
is 2 months old you can bathe your baby in a small plastic container with warm
water- not hot. It will help them to stay hydrated. As they get older you can
move up to the bathroom sink and then to the bathtub. Very important for bath
enclosure to be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed prior to bath time. Clean between
dragons too if bathing more than one.

If you have any further questions feel free to ask. I like to
start people off with proper husbandry and then see if I can further
assist.

fruits and Vegetables

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html

Walnut shell Graphic: http://mrskingsbioweb.com/beardeddragngrossanatomy.htm

sexing bearded Dragons: http://repticzone.com/articles/sexingbeardeddragons.html