Black tail, help

Hi, I just recently got my first bearded dragon and have 2 questions

1. The end of its tail seems to be a little black, not lock rotting black but it has black towards the end. Is this something that I should be concerned about?
2. The past couple of days he seemed to look extremely pail almost albino or a light pastel color and he was more orange. He is now starting to get his color back. I thought he might have been shedding but he is getting the color and no signs of a shed.He's been eating great 30- 40 crickets and Mustard Greens daily and the temp has been steady at around 110 on the basking side. I mist him 3 times a day and let him soak for about 5 min a day. He doesnt show any signs of being sick with his behavior but what with the color change. thanks, Charlie

To try and answer your questions:
1) The black could be any number of things, posting a pic might help determine what it is.
2) Dragons change color for a number of reasons, sometimes they will dull down for a couple weeks before a shed, then right before it they will brighten up a bit. It could also be a temperature or mood change if you notice the color changing often.

There are also a few common mistakes to be aware of:
1) What are you using to measure the basking temp? DO NOT use a dial or strip (they can be *significantly* off), be sure you have either a digital thermometer with a probe, or a temp-gun to measure the temps, a basking spot of 105*F-115*F for a hatchling and a temp of 95*F-105*F for an adult.
2) What substrate are you using? DO NOT use any sand until the dragon is at least 10 inches long, and NEVER use "calci-sand" (it can cause impactions).
3) What kind of UVB light are you using? Only use the Repti-Sun 5.0 or 10.0 tubes, or (for really large cages) a Mega-Ray MVB. Other brands, especially of tubes, have proven worthless.

Finally, where are you located in KY? Just curious as I also live there.

Good luck with your new dragon!
-Drew

Hi, I have a digital therm. and I am using a zoo med 10.0 UVB bulb not a flourasent light is that ok. I read about sand and decided to go with the reptile carpet for now. I live in Frankfort and will try to post a pic tomorrow. Do you know of any place in Lexington that would have a 4x2 aquarium. I went up there to Petsmart in Hamburg and the biggest they had for reptiles was a 50 and I think a 4x2x2 is about 120 gallons. I know that I dont need it now but I dont want to wait till he's a foot long and still not know where to find one. Thanks for the reply

The 10.0 UVB bulb IS a flourescent bulb. I don't like petstores in general (they are overpriced and don't really care too much for their animals) so I built both of my beardie tanks... You can make them look very nice, here is a pic of one of my home made enclosures, it is 4'X2'X2' and houses a trio:


Hope that helps!
-Drew

Originally Posted by prodigy9618

Hi, I just recently got my first bearded dragon and have 2 questions

1. The end of its tail seems to be a little black, not lock rotting black but it has black towards the end. Is this something that I should be concerned about?
2. The past couple of days he seemed to look extremely pail almost albino or a light pastel color and he was more orange. He is now starting to get his color back. I thought he might have been shedding but he is getting the color and no signs of a shed.He's been eating great 30- 40 crickets and Mustard Greens daily and the temp has been steady at around 110 on the basking side. I mist him 3 times a day and let him soak for about 5 min a day. He doesnt show any signs of being sick with his behavior but what with the color change. thanks, Charlie

You have 2 questions and I just may have 2 answers.

1. Many dragons have blackish looking tails. I have many here that 4-5 inches of their tails are blackish in color. Sometimes really really black depending on their mood. Sometimes there is no black at all. It's natural and nothing to be concerned about.

2. Dragons can change colors just like a chameleon. Nothing as drastic as a chameleon but they will pale out or brighten. They will do it for many reasons. Mood, temp, shed, constipation, hungry, horny, you name it.

By the tone of your questions and the descriptions you gave, I would be confindent in saying you have nothing to worry about. He is a healthy happy dragon.