Help

[Cole Ramos]

I just recently bought a bearded dragon about a month ago. Was just fine up until today. He doesn't move his hind lings and barely crawls around with his front. His tail is turning black and so is his throat. Tried giving him a warm bath but that didn't do anything either. He just shed about 3-5 days ago, but has a little bit of skin left over.

Hes maybe 7 inches long, in a 55 gallon tank with silica sand. (I have read sand is a bad thing for bearded dragons but its what I had at the time) Really sluggish, and doesn't seem to be eating today. He recently pooped yesterday/today so I'm not sure what is wrong with him. Really don't want him to die! Been feeding him crickets. About 10 a day. And greens every so often. If you touch him he opens his mouth and his whole body expands for about 5 minutes. Then he relaxes. He will barely hold himself up at all now. He was on his branch under the light and just falls off now.

[Cole Ramos]

Yes he is still alive, but that is how he lays around now. Really worried about him!

[Annageckos]

I just read an article in Reptiles mag about Atadenovirus (ADV) and it sounds like that. What are the temps in your tank? Do you use a UV light? I would replace the sand with newspaper or paper towels. Silica sand is bad for the lungs, it can also cause impaction if to much is ingested.

[TheWinWizard]

Do you have a uvb light? Beardies need warm temps. What are yours like? Get rid of the sand and put him on paper towels ASAP.