Beardie won't eat...been going on for three days

Hi. My beardie...Spike...is seven to eight months old (I got him at Petco so I don't know exactly how old he is) and has stopped eating. About a week ago, he stopped eating crickets. Now normally he would chase down every single cricket in his 40 gallon reptile Viv but he just suddenly stopped chasing them. He would eat medium sized superworms but that only lasted a couple of days. As of three days ago, he has only had two worms and just a little bit of a prune/apple mix baby food. He normally eats kale and apples. Those are his two favourites. I just read that kale is bad...that it binds calcium. I will have to find a new green that he will eat.

He went two days without pooping but yesterday he went twice and he has already gone once today. The first one yesterday was huge, the second one relatively small and the one today was small. He gets daily baths and usually drinks water in his bath.

His enclosure has a hot side of about 95 degrees and a cold side of about 80 degrees. Those temps are registered by a wall thermometer. I need to get a temp probe I guess. The substrate is repticarpet.

When he is outside of his enclosure, he is a gorgeous tan color with orange and white markings. He is called a sunfire I believe. When I put him in his enclosure, he turns very dark with stress marks all over his tummy. Once we get him out, he's back to normal color in less than a minute.

I use a coil uvb light...it is what Petco recommended. Could this be the problem? Please help...he's so sweet...I hate for there to be something I can do that I didn't know about. Thanks!

Hello!
Sounds like you are making some good changes and have done some research lately!
Yes, get rid of the kale. Your beardie eating it every now and then isn’t bad, but it should not be a staple. Collard greens, mustard greens, and turnip greens are all great. I would also cut out the apple and feed it as a snack here and there as there are lots of sugars in them. Veggies mainly but fruits here and there are ok! Try green beans, snap peas, cabbage (red or green), cilantro, etc. make sure they are all washed thouroughly.

Not all beardies like to be cooped up in the enclosures and like the freedom of running around. Is there something in it he might not like? Too crowded? No where to hide? Etc. basking temps should be 95-110 but the one you have isn’t accurate so get a probe when you can. Temps are essential for good food digestion. Your UVB is not substantial enough for your beardie. Coil tubes prevent eye problems and could cause him to go blind. They also don’t offer much UVB. I recommend the Reptisun 10.0 UVB T5 HO tube light along with the Reptisun T5 HO reflective hood. It is spendier but will help your beardie flourish. This can sit on top of the screen as it is strong enough for this but is always a good idea to mount inside for best results. 6-10 inches from your dragon for optimal results.

pechadm88":2pbybl6z said:

Hello!
Sounds like you are making some good changes and have done some research lately!
Yes, get rid of the kale. Your beardie eating it every now and then isn’t bad, but it should not be a staple. Collard greens, mustard greens, and turnip greens are all great. I would also cut out the apple and feed it as a snack here and there as there are lots of sugars in them. Veggies mainly but fruits here and there are ok! Try green beans, snap peas, cabbage (red or green), cilantro, etc. make sure they are all washed thouroughly.

Not all beardies like to be cooped up in the enclosures and like the freedom of running around. Is there something in it he might not like? Too crowded? No where to hide? Etc. basking temps should be 95-110 but the one you have isn’t accurate so get a probe when you can. Temps are essential for good food digestion. Your UVB is not substantial enough for your beardie. Coil tubes prevent eye problems and could cause him to go blind. They also don’t offer much UVB. I recommend the Reptisun 10.0 UVB T5 HO tube light along with the Reptisun T5 HO reflective hood. It is spendier but will help your beardie flourish. This can sit on top of the screen as it is strong enough for this but is always a good idea to mount inside for best results. 6-10 inches from your dragon for optimal results.

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Thanks so much for your reply! So, you think the eating problem could be not enough uvb? If so, then once he gets the new uvb light, do you think he will perk up?

He has a piece of driftwood in one corner and a plant with a couple of stones for climbing in the other corner. In the center there's a basking log. His water dish is in the front corner. I suppose you could say it's crowded. He can hide under the log where he sleeps but he never does. Maybe because he associates that area with sleeping? I will order the light and hood today and have it here Monday. I will also get a probe so I can get accurate temp readings. I had been researching uvb lights and that is the one I had chosen so thanks for the recommendation. I have read that beardies can sometimes go up to two weeks without eating much. Is that true? Please advise if you think I should do anything else besides the uvb light and making more room in his enclosure. Also, how long do you think I should wait to take him to the vet if he doesn't improve? Thanks for your help.

Most of the problems I have read associated with beardies is improper lighting and improper temperatures. Once you get your light you should see a change almost immediately. If he doesn’t perk up after a couple days after your new lighting has arrived I would make an appointment. Remember with UVB lights that you have to change them every 6 months. The light may still work after 6 but it loses its potency.

I don’t mind the basking area being in the middle, but personally I would pick a side to have it on as it is easier to maintain a hot and cold side then. Having it in the middle makes it harder to have a cold side for him to retreat to if it gets too warm. It’s personal preference though!

My last post should say that coil bulbs cause eye problems...not prevents them. Sorry about that.

They can go a while without eating but normally have a big appetite. I would be worried if mine didn’t eat for a while without obvious reason. I know shedding causes loss of appetite. Hormones also and if you have a female, laying eggs. These all can cause stress and potentially loss of appetite.

What size habitat do you have? Space is key! And they love having lots of stuff to climb and hide in! And what do you feed him? Remember anything larger than the space between his eyes can be a risk for impaction if they have an exoskeleton like crickets and mealworms. Is he having regular and frequent bowel movements?

pechadm88":fsqj4d15 said:

Most of the problems I have read associated with beardies is improper lighting and improper temperatures. Once you get your light you should see a change almost immediately. If he doesn’t perk up after a couple days after your new lighting has arrived I would make an appointment. Remember with UVB lights that you have to change them every 6 months. The light may still work after 6 but it loses its potency.

I don’t mind the basking area being in the middle, but personally I would pick a side to have it on as it is easier to maintain a hot and cold side then. Having it in the middle makes it harder to have a cold side for him to retreat to if it gets too warm. It’s personal preference though!

My last post should say that coil bulbs cause eye problems...not prevents them. Sorry about that.

They can go a while without eating but normally have a big appetite. I would be worried if mine didn’t eat for a while without obvious reason. I know shedding causes loss of appetite. Hormones also and if you have a female, laying eggs. These all can cause stress and potentially loss of appetite.

What size habitat do you have? Space is key! And they love having lots of stuff to climb and hide in! And what do you feed him? Remember anything larger than the space between his eyes can be a risk for impaction if they have an exoskeleton like crickets and mealworms. Is he having regular and frequent bowel movements?

Click to expand...

I figured that was what you meant. Lol...that happens to me all the time. His enclosure is 40 gallons. It is the zilla reptile habitat with the door and sliding top. I will rearrange the enclosure to put the bask on one side. That makes sense. Spike is male. He just went through a huge growth spurt and complete shed so I thought he might be slowing down for a bit. I was going to order the light and fixture from Amazon but I think I will just go to Petco and buy it today so he has it tonight.

He was eating medium size crickets which were typically the right size for him. Every now and then there would be a bigger one so I just wouldn't give him that one. If I give him superworms as a treat, I give him the medium size ones. As I stated before, I was giving him kale and snap peas and mixed greens. I was also giving him apples sometines. Right now the only thing he is eating is some prune/apple mix baby food. He will pick his kale but doesn't want to put it in his mouth . I will switch to mixed greens.

He hadn't pooped for a couple of days but he did poop twice yesterday and once this morning. These guys are so sweet but complicated!!!