Should I get a fecal done?

[beardieman198]

Hi, I have had my beardie for around 3 months. He has cut down on eating a lot, and ive had to feed him baby food for 1.5 weeks. I'm getting a little desperate, because I'm not sure what I did wrong. He has reptisun 10.0 uvb and has a 97.2 basking spot(measured with probe). I give him calcium dusted crickets, waxworms, dandelion greens, squash, and occasionally fruit. He gets daily baths. He is also pooping everyday( I'm not sure how, he dosn't eat) and seems lively. He runs around still, and shows no sign of stress.

 

[Goonie]

How old is your beardie? (adults tend to eat less) Where do you live? Are you currently in the winter months? (cold temps will start brumation behavior, which includes eating less and wanting to sleep more) What does his poop look/smell like? (runny and/or stinky poop may be an indication of parasites)

 

[dragonlover3]

Hi,
How old is your little one?
Depending on age temps should be 105*F to 110*F for babies to juvies and around 100*F for sub adults to adults.
That's great you use a probe thermometer!
Your UVB is the recommended bulb, so that's great too!
How close can he get to it? Is it mounted inside the enclosure with nothing blocking full exposure.
He should be able to get 6-8" from it on his basking spot.
Your diet sounds excellent. You are dusting only 1 feeder meal a day, correct?
Easy on the wax worms, they are a great treat but are high in fat....kind of like a beardie candy bar :lol:
He will be well hydrated with the daily bath so that's all good!
All feeder insects carry worm and parasite eggs, it's just the nature of insects. You can't get around it.
If everything appears fine other than his appetite and he's not showing signs of great stress, he's active
and he's poopin' I'd get a fecal check done. He may have worms or parasites. How does his poo look/smell?
It can show changes, get runny and the smell can change to be worse than usual.
Amanda

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

If in doubt, yes.

 

[beardieman198]

Great news guys; for the first time in almost 2 weeks, he ate like he used too! I fed him 20+ crickets(followed with 0.001m liquid calcium). She is 3 months old, and the pet store sold me when she was around 3 inches . Im going to get a fecal done sometime this month, just to be sure.

 

[dragonlover3]

Awesome...good news she's eating!
That's great you'll get a fecal done.
Amanda

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your little one doing today? Wow he/she was small when you got him from the pet store.
I am happy to hear that he ate for you then today. You could maybe boost the basking temperatures up to around 100-105 to boost her appetite some more, too.
Let us know how she is doing. A fecal would be a good idea if you think she could have worms or parasites.

Tracie

 

[beardieman198]

I've bought an 100watt basking bulb and it still won't raise the temps. to 100..it's at highest 97! Should i get a 150 watt? this means I will need a bigger lamp fixture...let me know if it sounds okay in a 36x18inch tank
18inch reptisun 10.0 100watt basking bulb on bask spot, 50 watt bulb in end to keep air temps up

 

[Claudiusx]

What are you measuring the temps with? A dial stick on thermometer, a digital with probe, or a temp gun?

I am using an 80watt bulb in my uros tank and it gets the temp up to the 130 range lol.

-Brandon

 

[bdalton]

How low is your basking spot? That does seem a little high, I have a 100 watt in my 40g and gets my temps to 105-108. A 150 seems like it would cook your dragon! Lol. If you are using a digital probe and it's still only 97, you can try a 100 watt floodlight, they get a little hotter than a regular bulb, or a lower watt halogen (probably no more than 75watt, I'd try 50) flood light as halogen gets much hotter than a normal bulb.