Angleheaded Dragon UVB and Conjunctivitis

[Katy Checkley]

Hey guys,
I have an Angle Head baby with possible Conjunctivitis (GBWhite mentioned it might be on another thread).
I have the Exo Terra 12w UVB100 coil/compact globe in the exo terra hood top.
Can anyone clarify what lughting requirements AH Dragons need please?
I have read two books and 4 different care sheets and its not very detailed on the specific requirements.
Im worried that I have the wrong bulb.
Any advice is welcomed - thank you

Im unable to upload photos here now it keeps telling me the server cant handle the size of my pictures (from my phone)
Katy

 

[Ryan-James]

Lighting for ahd's should be via a flourescent UV tube or compact UV bulb with heating supplied seperate with pad/cord and thermostat, ambient cage temps should be 26-29 but should never go past the 35 degree mark. When I was breeding angles and Boyd's in the early-mid 2000s I found that even though these guys evolved around cooler temps and low light, young dragons seem to need some natural light to grow properly, I've seem some pretty distorted looking AH's for sale from time to time or ones that never seem to grow.
Make sure you dust livefoods regularly, with a good quality cal/vitamin D - if it's been open for a while or getting close to being out of date- bin it, get a fresh batch.
There's probs a reason for the conjunctivitis, maybe some detective work might be required- most common cause is dusty substrates or fine particles or not enough humidity and misting.
They love dripping water too, a lot of juvie AH's will not drink from a bowl
Good luck

 

[Katy Checkley]

Lighting for ahd's should be via a flourescent UV bulb or compact UV bulb with heating supplied seperate with pad/cord and thermostat, ambient cage temps should be 26-29 but should never go past the 35 degree mark. When I was breeding angles and Boyd's in the early-mid 2000s I found that even though these guys evolved around cooler temps and low light, young dragons seem to need some natural light to grow properly, I've seem some pretty distorted looking AH's for sale from time to time or ones that never seem to grow.
Make sure you dust livefoods regularly, with a good quality cal/vitamin D - if it's been open for a while or getting close to being out of date- bin it, get a fresh batch.
There's probs a reason for the conjunctivitis, maybe some detective work might be required- most common cause is dusty substrates or fine particles or not enough humidity and misting.
They love dripping water too, a lot of juvie AH's will not drink from a bowl
Good luck

Hey thank you for replying.
Yep my dragons have the UVB compact bulb...and a heat mat...and they are misted and their crickets are dusted with Earthpro A.
What I was asking about was which specific UVB bulb is better, as I have read the coil bulbs can cause conjunctivitis??

My dragon is deteriorating, the reptile specialist vet at Lorte Smith animal hospital doesnt know whats wrong with it...we are trying everything, ointments, sprays, water hydrolite mix....hes away from the UVB bulb just in case....seperated and in a secure enclosure.....
I dont know what to do.

If anyone can suggest anything...or has heard of anything like this.....please any info is helpful.

 

[user 43767]

Hey thank you for replying.
Yep my dragons have the UVB compact bulb...and a heat mat...and they are misted and their crickets are dusted with Earthpro A.
What I was asking about was which specific UVB bulb is better, as I have read the coil bulbs can cause conjunctivitis??

My dragon is deteriorating, the reptile specialist vet at Lorte Smith animal hospital doesnt know whats wrong with it...we are trying everything, ointments, sprays, water hydrolite mix....hes away from the UVB bulb just in case....seperated and in a secure enclosure.....
I dont know what to do.

If anyone can suggest anything...or has heard of anything like this.....please any info is helpful.

Hi, what type of bulb are you using at the basking site, and what`s the surface temp and what are you using to measure that plus the ambient (air) and humidity range?
At one time the compact UVB bulbs were deemed not too effective, the UVB is directed in a very small radius and if the animal gets too close it can cause eye problems. I would suggest a linear UVB tube, it only needs to be around 2/3rds the enclosure length and fitted directly above not fixed to the side (if you have a solid wooden enclosure). I do not recommend offering dietary D3 because it`s been shown to be ineffective regarding the blood serum levels in at least some lizard types, the best way to get nutrients into your lizard is to make sure the feeders are well fed before offering.
Can you show the whole enclosure including a top view if you can manage to resize them to fit, if not give the size and type?
Just to mention that once the animal/UVB bulb are at a suitable distance the eye problem will usually improve without further treatment.

 

[Ryan-James]

Hey thank you for replying.
Yep my dragons have the UVB compact bulb...and a heat mat...and they are misted and their crickets are dusted with Earthpro A.
What I was asking about was which specific UVB bulb is better, as I have read the coil bulbs can cause conjunctivitis??

My dragon is deteriorating, the reptile specialist vet at Lorte Smith animal hospital doesnt know whats wrong with it...we are trying everything, ointments, sprays, water hydrolite mix....hes away from the UVB bulb just in case....seperated and in a secure enclosure.....
I dont know what to do.

If anyone can suggest anything...or has heard of anything like this.....please any info is helpful.

Yeah, use a UVA flourescent tube with seperate heat and some natural sunlight once a week, they still need some UVB just not blasted with it.
Sounds to me like that bulb is way too close anyways, if the whole enclosure is lit up like a Christmas tree with no darker areas down low then that's too much light.
UVB causes eye problems by radiation, it's not really conjunctivitis but more like burns similar to when humans receive welding flash except with an infection afterwards.
Also you want a tall enclosure with upright branches, it should be tall enough so the light dissipates throughout the enclosure and light size corresponding to enclosure size, use fake leaves up high to create darker places to retreat to down lower.
They are very susceptible to MBD so I would use a dedicated calcium additive twice a week.
Seeing a pic of the enclosure would be helpful af.