# Help! My Sunburst yellow morph beardie is losing color!



## Gr8Reptile (May 26, 2008)

Yeah well I really wish I had a good camera to show you guys picts but the best I can do is tell you the story.
Two years ago I bought a juvenile Sunburst yellow morph bearded dragon, from dragonsden which I heard was a really great place to get good dragons.
Well He looked kinda yellow when I got him. And then he started turning a glorious orangish yellow around the year old mark. He is now about 2 or 3 years old and barely shows his color if at all. 
I talked to the guy I bought him from and he assured me it was 100% yellow morph. What am I doing wrong? Should I be exposing him to sunlight? 
As for husbandry, I keep him in a fifty or sixty gallon tank, on repti-sand. (Do not complain to me about this. He is an adult beardie and will not be harmed. I raised a beardie for ten years on sand and had no problems so no lectures. I know what I'm doing."
I have a still good UVB bulb in there and one of those spot heat lights. On the cool side he can get to 80-85 degrees maybe even 75. On the hot side if he really wanted to he could sit directly underneath the heat bulb and receive 120. He could stand around it and receive 95 to 100 degrees depending on where he stands.
So yeah I think I am good on the temp. I feed him Crickets every couple of days or as needed. I also watch his weight and it appears nice and fine. Although he did have diarea yesterday. And he had dried up feces on he butt is that a problem? Or sign of sickness/concern? Or does it just mean he is due for a bath?


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## Mushroom Spore (May 26, 2008)

Gr8Reptile said:


> I feed him Crickets every couple of days or as needed.


Is that all you're feeding? As far as I know, older beardies need to be mostly eating a (properly balanced) range of certain veggies, not crickets.


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## Nokturnal1980 (May 26, 2008)

With the diarea that is always a sign of something wrong.  You should try and get him into a vet.  


How old is the UVB light?  They should be replaced every months.
Can his whole body get into your heat range, or is his head in the 120 and his tail in the 95 - 100 range?  His whole body should be in one temperature gradient.
Are you offering him any greens of any kind and if so which ones?  He needs a more varied diet than just crixs.

I hope I can help but I do recommend a vet.


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## Gr8Reptile (May 26, 2008)

Mushroom Spore said:


> Is that all you're feeding? As far as I know, older beardies need to be mostly eating a (properly balanced) range of certain veggies, not crickets.


Oh stupid me! Occassionally I'll give him lettuce. (He can be stubborn about eating eat. Never liked the stuff too much. I also should try multible other veggies and fruits right?  (I forgot which ones. I'll look in the bearded dragon manual later.) Now back to the thing about his color.....


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## Mushroom Spore (May 26, 2008)

Gr8Reptile said:


> Occassionally I'll give him lettuce. I also should try multible other veggies and fruits right?


Definitely. Lettuce has pretty much no nutritional value and a beardie raised only on that and crickets is probably a mess by now. 

_There is a huge selection of 'leafy' greens which are high in calcium to feed your Dragon, some of which are... kale, argula, collard & mustard greens, parsley, dandelion greens and flowers, endives, radish, carrot and turnip tops, escarole and chicory endive. For more of a variety, mixed into the greens may be many other veggies such as squash, corn, peas, carrots (shredded), sweet potato, cucumber, zucchini, green peppers, chard... also chopped fruit such as cantaloupe, apple, blueberries, peaches, pears, grapes, plums, raspberries... all chopped finely to avoid choking. The main idea in their diet is variety.***Do not feed your dragons iceberg lettuce as is has very little nutritional value and may give the dragon the 'runs' - prompting dehydration.*_
http://www.dachiu.com/care/abeard.html



Gr8Reptile said:


> Now back to the thing about his color.....


I'd say this is more important than worrying about the lizard being pretty.  Also it probably IS the cause of the faded color if his health is going bad.


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## Gr8Reptile (May 26, 2008)

Nokturnal1980 said:


> With the diarea that is always a sign of something wrong.  You should try and get him into a vet.
> 
> 
> How old is the UVB light?  They should be replaced every months.
> ...


Ok he just crapped again this morning and his poop was solid again. It may have been something he ate? 
Oh and could you suggest some other veggies? 
Right now I occassionally feed him romaine lettuce. Should I try some mealworms too? 
I know their fattening but just once a week or something for nutrients? 

Oh and unfornately I don't know if he can fit his whole body into the 120 area. I think he could, I don't have the exact temp for every area in the cage. He can fit his whole body in the 100 area for sure.
(It is almost impossible for me to get his whole body in 120 he is one big beardie 18 or 19 maybe 20 inches!) Should I turn up the thermastat higher?


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## Mushroom Spore (May 26, 2008)

Gr8Reptile said:


> Ok he just crapped again this morning and his poop was solid again. It may have been something he ate?


I don't doubt it. :/ 



Gr8Reptile said:


> Oh and could you suggest some other veggies?


I just posted a huge list.  If you need more ideas, searching google with "bearded dragon diet" should get you tons of good sites; it's what I did.



Gr8Reptile said:


> Should I try some mealworms too? I know their fattening but just once a week or something for nutrients?


Mealworms aren't fattening, waxworms are. But that still won't even remotely be a replacement for the varied plant diet your lizard REALLY needs.


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## Gr8Reptile (May 26, 2008)

Oh so that is the cause of his lack in color? ? Oh and sorry about that. I posted five seconds after you posted the answer to my question. I will definatly go out tommorrow and get a ton of stuff. Oh and by the way I don't think he is too low on calcium. I dust the crickets and lettuce with Calcium powder specially made for reptiles.


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## Choobaine (May 26, 2008)

loss of colour *could* be to do with his diet, it's like our need for a varied diet too, there's a lot he needs that don't come in crickets. I feed mine on dandelions, kale, little apple chunks as a treat ONLY and a few other bits and peices. The best diet for a dragon is about two parts greens and one part inverts. It shows, my boy is healthy, happy and energetic. 

http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html good website if you want to know what's in your food and how often to feed it. 

Good luck!


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## MooSmoo (May 26, 2008)

We feed our beardie a range of salad including kale, rocket, beetroot etc and other leafy bits, as well as crickets, locusts, and the occasional  rat pup / pinkie and if anything its developed his colour. He was your typical sandy coloured beardie when we bought him but now he turns a yellowish colour when he's happy and has this nice rusty red marking around his eyes. Though every morning when hes a bit chilly hes dark and grumpy lol


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## DrAce (May 26, 2008)

Gr8Reptile said:


> Oh so that is the cause of his lack in color? ? Oh and sorry about that. I posted five seconds after you posted the answer to my question. I will definatly go out tommorrow and get a ton of stuff. Oh and by the way I don't think he is too low on calcium. I dust the crickets and lettuce with Calcium powder specially made for reptiles.


Calcium is useless unless they have a good source of vitamin D to use it.  He's got access to UV light, right?


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## GailC (May 26, 2008)

The fading color could be due to diet or it could just be naturally occurrence for your dragon. There are some that loose their color as they age, he is still a yellow morph just not a bright one.
What brand is your UVB light? is it a tube or coil? A lot of UV bulbs are utter crap. Lack of proper UV will not only affect color but can cause weak bone and a bad appetite.
His diet is seriously in need of change. Try endive, escarole, mustard greens, turnip greens, grated squash and dandelions. He probably doesn't eat his greens now because he knows bugs are on the way. I'd stop feeding bugs until he starts eating greens, it can take a couple weeks but don't worry, he won't starve


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## Gr8Reptile (May 27, 2008)

Well I couldn't get a hold of too many vedgies. All I have is carrot, cucumber and romaine lettuce. All chopped up sitting in his cage. I was extremely busy today unfortunatly with it being a holiday and all. So I could only manage to feed him a little before he went to bed, that was when I discovered something. There is this piece of poo stuck to his vent. (Where he disposes of waste) I stuck him in some water and he sat in that for a while, pooped and seemed ok. But again when I picked him up that poo was still there. I tried gently to get it off with some toilet paper but it was stuck on there and he started to squirm a bit so I thought it would be a horrible idea. Didn't wanna hurt him. Why is it stuck there? How can I get it off? Has anyone had this problem before?

Oh and the calcium powder contains vitamin D3. It says so on the label. So I don't know if I should worry about a loss of calcium levels. I use a calcium bulb tube. Don't know the exact type but the guy at the reptile store said it was good. (He seemed to know his stuff.) 
And I shall be adding more vedgies tommorrow to his sallad. Is it ok to give him access to his salad all day or should I take it out of the cage every once in awhile?


P.S. Tommorrow he will go on a staple diet of:
Turnip Greens
Spaghetti Squash
Collard greens

I will also sprinkle on some calcium powder combined with vitamin D3... Unless you guys think that is a bad idea?


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## Demon187 (May 27, 2008)

*stop!*

only feed carrot occasionaly as it is high in oxolates which binds calcium so i give it a miss all together. romaine lettuce is a no no, do not feed him this, this is probably what is giving him the squits, it is mainly water. dandelion and the leaves are good which you can find in your garden. you really should have researched as much as possible about there diet before getting one, i have an excellent link here which will tell you all you need to know. you can pm me any time and i will be more than happy to help, i love these little guys and have a lot of experiance with different food as i have found out the hard way over the years. good luck 
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html


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## Demon187 (May 27, 2008)

oh and by the way his colour may be dull if he is due a shed. give him a bath for about 20 minuts in warm water about 30 degreesC, that should help him shed. let me know how he gets on.


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## naturejoe (May 28, 2008)

*bearded color*

I didn't see anyone mention vitamins.  It is common practice to give some vitamin supplement from time to time, weekly or monthly is usually sufficient.

Most lettuces have loads of nutrients, sadly Iceberg lettuce is lacking and should be avoided.  Carrots may have oxalates but they are important part of a good diet and have loads of A vitamins and beta-carotene which are good "color enhancers".  I shred some carrot in the salad mix a few times a week.  So long as you are supplementing with some D3 enhanced calcium you should be fine.  

Organic produce is a lot better than conventional.  There are no pesticides or herbicides in or on the leaves, fruit or vege.  I get mine from the local store when they won't sell it because of spots, dents, or withered leaves.  Most of it is still good and I pay nothing for it.


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## mindlessvw (May 28, 2008)

Try squash and zuchini chopped up very well...also, maybe take him outside for a bit every day to get some really good doses of sunlight. This, with baths, should help him.

I would get rid of the repti sand and go for play sand. It is way cheaper and I have heard nothing but problems with repti sand.

I really do suggest you not only make an appointment to go to a vet for a fecal and full go-over to ensure there are no other problems but also, research other methods of caring for beardies. I am not saying you don't know what you are doing but I would think you would know lettuce is a waste of time. I think you may want to overhaul how you have been caring for the little guy.


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