Baskden a warm den for reptile folk · baskden.com Bearded Dragon — Vet-Prep Sheet
🔍 Find a reptile / exotics vet — before you need one
- Search the ARAV Find-a-Vet directory (the Association of Reptilian & Amphibian Veterinarians), or in the UK the RCVS Find-a-Vet — or search "reptile / exotics vet near me".
- Call ahead and ask the key question: "Do you see reptiles?" Not every practice does.
- Ask the exam fee when you call. Knowing the cost up front removes the money-panic in a crisis.
- Find and save one now, while things are calm — not in the middle of an emergency.
📇 Fill this in now — before the crisis
Two minutes now saves ten in a panic. Print it and keep it with your care notes.
🚨 Is this an emergency now?
See a reptile vet promptly if you notice any of these:
- Not basking or staying lethargic despite correct, verified temperatures.
- Weak, shaky, or bent limbs, tremors, or a soft/rubbery jaw (signs pointing to metabolic bone disease).
- A swollen, firm belly with no droppings, or straining (possible impaction).
- Sunken eyes, wrinkled skin, or a persistent dark “beard” with refusing food.
- Laboured or open-mouth breathing, mucus, or clicking (possible respiratory infection).
- Any tissue protruding from the vent (prolapse) — keep it moist and go now.
When in doubt, a vet call is never wrong — most issues are reversible if caught early.
🚗 On the way / while you wait
✅ Do
- Keep it warm at a safe transport temperature — a cold reptile crashes fast (a warm car or a covered container with a warm, not hot, pack helps).
- Keep it calm, dark and quiet in a secure, ventilated container — stress makes almost everything worse.
- Bring it in its own container so the vet sees it as it lives.
⛔ Don't
- Don’t offer food, or any OTC, aquarium-shop or online-forum remedy — many are useless or harmful and can mask the signs.
- Don’t let it get cold on the way in.
- Don’t handle it more than you must.
🎒 What to bring
- A short video and a couple of clear photos of the behaviour or sign — it may not show it in the clinic.
- A note of your setup (basking, cool-side and night temperatures, UVB, humidity, substrate) and exactly what — and how often — you feed.
- Your reptile, transported safely in its own secure, ventilated container — kept warm (see below), not in a cold car.
🗣️ What to tell the vet
A general vet may not know this species. Come ready to explain its correct care:
- Temperature
- Basking-surface temperature 108–113°F (42–45°C), from an overhead halogen/heat cluster of at least two flood bulbs on a thermostat/dimmer — measured with a temp gun at the basking rock, not a stick-on dial. Cool-side surface 77–85°F (25–29°C); overall air gradient ~72–99°F (22–37°C). Night 55–75°F (12–24°C) — a drop to ~50°F is fine and even healthy. Lights fully off at night; no coloured “night” bulbs.
- UVB & lighting
- Strong UVB is non-negotiable for a beardie. Use a linear T5 HO bulb (e.g. Arcadia 12% Desert or 14% Dragon) spanning roughly ½–⅔ of the enclosure, giving a UVI of 4.0–4.5 at the basking spot (and no more than 3.0 for pale/translucent or scaleless “silkback” morphs). Replace the bulb every 12 months.
- Humidity
- Ambient humidity 30–60%, measured on the cool end. The “keep it bone-dry” rule is a myth — central Australia isn’t bone dry, and too-low humidity causes its own problems.
- Enclosure
- Adult minimum 4×2×2 ft (a 120-gallon footprint); 6×2×2 ft / 24 cu ft is the modern best-practice standard, and bigger is always better. Front-opening and well-ventilated. The 10–40-gallon “starter kit” tanks are far too small.
- Substrate
- A naturalistic, burrowable soil/sand mix packed 4–6″ deep is ideal — and, done right, it does NOT cause impaction. Impaction usually traces to husbandry (too-cool temps → poor digestion), not to loose substrate itself. Avoid dusty artificial “calci-sand”, and skip loose substrate for unwell dragons.
- Diet
- Omnivore whose ratio flips with age: babies eat mostly insects (as much as they’ll take, daily) plus greens; adults flip to mostly greens daily with head-sized insects only ~2×/week. Insects no larger than the space between the eyes. Fruit is a rare treat, not a staple.
- Supplements
- Dust insects and salad with calcium; add a multivitamin ~1–2×/week (more for babies). Don’t over-supplement — a light dusting, “like salting your food”, not a blizzard.
⚕️ Reptiles are ectotherms kept at species-specific temperatures — a cold reptile can’t metabolise medicines properly, so tell the vet your exact temperatures and keep it warm for transport. Reptiles are prey animals and hide illness until it is advanced, so early changes matter. Mention your UVB/lighting and any supplements or remedies you’ve already used, and ask for reptile-safe products and doses.
⚕️ Poor UVB or a calcium-poor diet causes metabolic bone disease in basking reptiles — mention your UVB bulb (type and age) and your calcium/supplement routine, especially if the limbs or jaw look weak, soft or bent.
Then note which of the warning signs (above) you are seeing, when they started, and whether they are getting worse.
❓ Questions to ask
- Do you routinely see reptiles? If not, can you refer me to a vet who does?
- What are the likely causes — and could my setup or diet be contributing?
- What is the treatment plan, the likely cost, and what should I watch for at home?
- How do I prevent this from happening again?