Moose

Moose is my bearded dragon. He is about a year old, and as far as I, and everyone else can tell healthy. However, I cannot even begin to describe how much trouble he has been. He sometimes will not poop for weeks. He eats very rarely, and spends most of his time hiding (he'll spend over a week in his hide if I let him).

Recently, on about my 5th trip to the reptile store, one of the employees there had an idea. The only difference between my home, and the pet store, is that there, moose can see other beardies.

He brought out a female bearded dragon, and let moose see her. Moose ignored her for the longest time, and then started flipping out, head boobing, and blackening his beard. Needless to say, he pooped in the car, and for days was perky. I did have to end up boarding him there, and they did get him eating after 2 whole months of fasting.


Moose hasn't pooped for 2+ weeks now, and I can't help but worry. I've been toying with the idea of getting a female BD for him to play with occationally (yes, I know there is the problem of babies. I would be careful).

What do you think? Has anyone had this problem? Does anyone think a frilled dragon would provide the necessary company (they wouldn't ever meet, just look at each other)?

Thanks,

Draba


P.S.
My UVB is new
My temps are 95+ on the hot side, 75ish on the cool
I feed him lettuce and super worms
I occationally dust them
He gets sun daily
I bath him every two weeks or so (he has a water bowl, and I spray him off at least weekly)
.....

What kind of lettuce are you feeding him? And do you feed him crickets? You might also would like to try, correct me if I'm wrong, a pinkie to see if he eats that. Also, I've been reading on here that "no beardie can resist the cockroach". Another thing is to try different types of fruits and veggies, he might just be bored of the worms and lettuce, like if you were to only eat pizza everyday, you'd get quite tired of it.

Last thing, take him to the vet. He may have a parasite or terrible impaction. Superworms tend to have a very hard outside, and too many could clog him up.

I hope some of that helps. I am still new at this, so please just don't take my advice. When in doubt, talk to your vet!

Good luck, and I hope he gets better!

It sounds to me like he might be trying to brumate. Read up on it by doing a search at the top of the page and type in brumate.
Male and females do not really like to play. They do not house together and he will more than likely stress her by bobbing at her all the time.
Male and male is a horrible idea and not sure about a frillie helping out any.
Males do great alone.
I suggest ordering a cup of hornworms or roaches.

He could be trying to go into brumation now, but if this has been going on for a long time then there could be other factors involved.

What type of UVB are you using? Specifically, Flourescent tube, coil or MVB? What brand?

His temps could be higher. Buttercup went through a spate of not eating for about 2 weeks and when I upped the wattage on her basking light and subsequent temps by 5 degrees she really perked up and started eating a lot more. Beardies really like it to be about 110 on the warm side and 85 on the cool side. Even though 10 degrees doesn't seem like a big deal, even 5 degrees +/- makes a big difference in a beardies overall happiness.

Be sure you are using the correct type of thermometer when you are checking temps. Digital probe and thermal guns are the best and very accurate. If you use a digital probe thermometer be sure to leave it directly on the basking spot for at least 45 minutes to make sure it gets to the appropriate temp.

Beardies can also get dehydrated pretty easily. They will not readily drink from a water dish, so giving them a bath at least every other day can really make them poop much more regularly. Let him soak for about 15 minutes and you may even find he poo poo's in his bath. Beardies absorb water through their vents which is located below their tail so even though you are misting him, he still might not be getting enough water.

Hope this helps. Hugs from Buttercup.

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

UVB is a florescent tube. As far as the temps, if I raise it any higher, he will move to a cooler spot. I am already using a temp gun. I have taken him to the vet, and posted here many times. I have finally come to the conclusion that he is just strange. The vet, pet store, and users on BD.org have responded to my questions, and I have tried ALL ideas. Nothing helps. I know it is not my husbandry because I have tried changes, and there have been problems when nothing is wrong.

I'm not sure about the brumating. IT is possible, but he has been tring for a long time in both hot and cold weather, so....???

I've been wanting another beardie, and plan to breed in the future.... so maybe, if I can convince my parents, it will help.