Quote Originally Posted by Cheesenugget View Post
No it is not your fault. It sounds like you did your research but may not have the correct info on the UVB light, which I was only able to find out through the bearded dragon forums, not from the vet, not the pet store and not even most caresheets.

First thing first, t8 is too weak. The mesh lid blocks out 40% of the rays your beardie needs. To get the sufficient amount, he would need to be about 6" from the light, not 10". And 6" is unreasonable considering he will overheat from the basking spot. You have 2 options: remove the lid/find a way to tie the T8 under the mesh lid if you want to keep the T8 or change to a T5 HO (high output) Reptisun 10.0 and keep the mesh lid. Then your beardie can stay at 10" from the light.

Imo, switch to the T5 HO. You will need to buy a new fixture too. Both are available from Amazon. It is a pricey up front cost (About $80) but the T5 is known to last longer (8 months vs 6 months of a T8). It is so strong that you would NOT use the T5 without a lid at 10" but a little further away at the risk of being burned.

Once you switch the UVB, you should see an increase in appetite and energy. Whatever damages MBD has done is permanent but you can still stop further damage and your beardie can live his life out.

How many times are you supplementing his food? As an adult, he should have at least 2x calcium + d3 and 1 multivitamin per week. But because it sounds like he may have MBD, I would increase that to 3x calcium + d3. I would RepCal for the calcium powder which I recommend, because it comes with no phosphorus. That too is a little pricey but it is another expense for the long term health of your beardie.

Veggies like collard greens have high calcium. I would increase more veggies with calcium in them in his salad.

Lastly, adults only need about 90-95F basking spot. Babies are from 98-105F. Too hot and he may not bask at the 10" that you have, hence he is not basking enough for the UVB.
Sorry it is a T5 and the issue with having the lighting inside of the cage there’s no way for me to connect it because it’s a two screen glass enclosure. That’s the issue I was having when I was setting it up two years ago. I was doing calcium (repti cal) dusting on his greens 3 times a week with a multivitamin (rep cal) once a week.....problem was that he hardly if ever ate his greens. I’m trying bee pollen as well.


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