Beardie getting dark?

[ladyjean22]

Ok I read that males tend to get the dark "beard" but it seems over night the beard on what I thought was a female has turned almost black... is that normal...?

 

[wellington]

Both males and females will go black. It is used for both mating and aggression displays. Males display theirs more frequently. Females will display their beard as a sign of aggression also.

 

[ladyjean22]

Ok that would make sense... she (I think) jetted and I had to recapture her.. could she be showing displeasure at being recaptured? I've only had her a week and I dont know how long she's been in the wild. My friend found her in the middle of the road

 

[Tom]

Stress, inappropriate temperature, or an inappropriate enclosure could all contribute to this. What are you housing it in? What are your temps? What are you using for heating and lighting?

 

[ladyjean22]

She is in a temp home because she is a rescue. I have to find a moderately priced 55 gallon. She has good temp and cooling off spot, and a large water dish she likes to sit in. I knew nothing about them last week so please don't feel bad about saying I'm doing something wrong... lol other than the tank size. I know it's too small but I'm working on it

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[wellington]

Okay, your doing everything wrong . I'm just kidding, your doing good. It might be better to get a large plastic tub as it will be cheaper then an aquarium. It would be yet another temp enclosure unless you could get a large enough clear one, but a lot cheaper for now. You could always use the tub later for another tortoise hatchling

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Also, they like to climb, so a tall enclosure is just as important as long.

 

[Tom]

She is in a temp home because she is a rescue. I have to find a moderately priced 55 gallon. She has good temp and cooling off spot, and a large water dish she likes to sit in. I knew nothing about them last week so please don't feel bad about saying I'm doing something wrong... lol other than the tank size. I know it's too small but I'm working on it

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Often when a lizard turns dark, it is trying to absorb more heat from the sun. I think the first step in the process of eliminating things that might be wrong is to go get a remote probed thermometer and find out exactly what your basking temp is. Should be around 100 right under the light. You can adjust the temperature by raising or lowering the bulb, or by raising or lowering the wattage.

While you are at the hardware store getting the thermometer, you can get one of those large plastic storage bins that Barb mentioned. They are only about $20 for the really big ones.

 

[Kameo37]

I would take the water bowl out. It can raise the humidity and cause respitory issues. What they do need is baths 2-3 times a week. Water up to their shoulders, max. Nice warm water. Many become accustomed to pooping while in the bath- bonus! Minimal poop clean up.
I agree with Tom, they can go dark to absorb heat. They can also black beard if they need to poop. They can black beard if they are stressed. They can black beard if a bird flies by at the wrong angle. They can black beard of they don't like thw cut of your jib that day. They can black beard if they just discovered that if they black beard you'll leave them alone.

If all of your husbandry is correct and you just got her, and she has pooped, giver her some time to adjust before you put too much stock in it.

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Or I should have said, just got her back.

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[ladyjean22]

Haha thanks! Really take the water dish out? Should I mist her daily than...?

 

[Millerlite]

Yeah I never had water dishes only soaks, and they seems too love it. When they go black it can be a majority of thing. I found with bear does its usually not hot enough they turn darker to absorb more heat, or stress.

 

[J REED]

I keep a water dish.Catch mine at it frequently.If there is plenty of room for the beardie, it will not cause enough humidity to make any difference...Mine lives in a 40 gal breeder

Jeremy

This is how it looks now....

Jeremy

 

[ladyjean22]

Ok thanks!

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She is actually in the water dish a lot and rarely under the light. .. wouldn't she be under the light more if she was cold?

 

[Kameo37]

I don't mist mine. Is yours an adult? Shouldn't need misting in that case. I just bathe mine every other day.
I would be concerned about your beardie not wanting to bask. Does she have mites by any chance? Sometimes they will soak if the have them. I can't really think of a reason they wouldn't bask...unless the basking spot is too hot?

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Here's a pic of mine. 4x2x18 custom built.

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I just realized that you can't see the uvb in that pic. That's bc it's not there! This is a pic from the first day we moved him to the big boy enclosure. The uvb was installed the next day. It's a 36" reptisun 10.0 that runs along the back wall. Haha, and here I am giving advice...

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