this is not brumation

kaiju has not been eating for quite some time. she refuses to eat greens and crickets. the only thing i can get her to eat is super worms. i have been force feeding her baby food and viti powder for a while now and had her to the vet twice he said she is fine but i don't think she is. he told me to not feed her for a few days then try again did that with no effect. i tried to take her out of her cage and let her run around all she does is find something to hid under and stay there. i am waiting for her new harness to come in so that i can take her out side in the sun shine and see if that makes a difference. i just dont know what to do and it depressing me because i think my dragon is dying and there is nothing i can do about it. her color is still good other then the laying about and not eating she looks healthy. but this non eating thing has been going on for months. what do i do????? or what did i do to her to make her this way????

Can you post pics of her as well as her set up ? It's common for beardies to get spoiled on one feeder insect, especially if they are of good weight. They can hold out because they don't lose much weight once they are large size and are not expending much energy they don't need much food for periods of time when they choose to go on a hunger strike. Don't worry, she's not dying, just going through a phase likely.

i can't remember how to post pics but when i do i will

okay this is kai and her cage

Kaiju looks fine health-wise, not too fat or thin. Did the vet do a fecal test just to rule out parasite ? And please don't think she's dying, many adult and even sub adult dragons go through these phases. When you let her out to explore, can you put her in a sunny room by a window so she can look outside ? Lots of beardies enjoy that. Or you might want to try one of these outside enclosures:



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Star69":2dwnyn0r said:

kaiju has not been eating for quite some time. she refuses to eat greens and crickets. the only thing i can get her to eat is super worms. i have been force feeding her baby food and viti powder for a while now and had her to the vet twice he said she is fine but i don't think she is. he told me to not feed her for a few days then try again did that with no effect. i tried to take her out of her cage and let her run around all she does is find something to hid under and stay there. i am waiting for her new harness to come in so that i can take her out side in the sun shine and see if that makes a difference. i just dont know what to do and it depressing me because i think my dragon is dying and there is nothing i can do about it. her color is still good other then the laying about and not eating she looks healthy. but this non eating thing has been going on for months. what do i do????? or what did i do to her to make her this way????

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Did you weight her before and after and see if anything changed?. Mine is doing the same thing. April and May refused to eat on some days even if handfed, her weight remained the same . June bit better she hides but comes out every couple of days and eats when she is basking. She gained some weight She was out all week basking, took her outside on Monday because was raining all last week here, she basked in the sun and ran like the dickens. I have a hip leash for her. Brought her back into her tank and then she went and hid lol and hasnt been out since .

Like AHBD said I have a cat window bed. I put Dixie on there make sure she is protected and cannot jump tie her hip leash to furniture for her to be safe and she loves it!

She looks very healthy and her enclosure looks pretty good, though I don't know what bulbs you're using or what her 3 temperature zones are, but she looks good..

It looks as though you have either a Reptisun or Arcadia tube UVB mounted inside her tank, which is great...Is it a 10.0 tube UVB (it's not a 5.0 UVB is it)? And is the tube UVB older than 6 months? I've seen this happen before because the owner forgot to replace their UVB tube and it was not putting out any UVB suddenly. It's an easy thing to forget about doing, so if her tube is older than 6 months that is at least part of the issue...

I'd be willing to bet the problem is that you gave her superworms! I've seen this many times before with healthy beardies that are of a healthy weight, and since they can afford to not eat for a while, once you introduce them to superworms, which to them are almost like treats, they are like "What the hell is this" when you try to give them crickets, BSFL, or roaches again. So I'd be willing to bet that she's holding out for only superworms, as you said she's still eating the superworms.

She's not dying, not even close. If it is by chance a medical issue it is most likely parasites or Worms, which will upset their stomachs enough that they lose their appetites, but when offered something that they really like, like superworms, they'll still eat them. You said your vet did not do a fecal test? Was this vet a certified reptile vet, or just a general vet or exotics vet? A fecal test (gram stain and microscopy) is typically the very first thing a certified reptile vet will do when a beardie becomes sick, because parasites and worms are very common in them, and the fecal tests are pretty cheap. If you can either call that same vet and ask them if they will run fecal tests if you drop off a fresh poop sample to them, or if they refuse then find a reptile vet who will no doubt run a fecal first, I would highly suggest it. She may just need an antiparasitic and possibly an antibiotic or antifungal along with it depending on what the tests show. They typically clear up pretty quickly after they start the meds, but always, always, always, no matter what the vet tells you, always put them on probiotics along with the medications too, because the meds can really upset their gastrointestinal systems even more and kill off the healthy bacteria in their guts. The probiotics given in conjunction with the medications will keep her feeling good and get her eating again, in fact you might want to put her on probiotics right now once a day, because if it is parasites or Worms causing her stomach to be upset, the probiotics can make her feel better right away, and they don't hurt them at all so it's a good idea.

Again, I'd get the fecal testing done regardless, just so you can definitively rule parasites in or out, but I'd also be willing to bet that if you completely stop the superworms and let her not eat for a few days, she will eventually go back to eating her regular feeders. But I understand how difficult it is to not feed them anything at all. The only reason I suggest this is because of how many times I've seen this happen after superworms were introduced...And check your UVB tube!

okay,
AHBD, thank you for the enclosure tip i will get one of those for outside. and yes the vet did look at her poop. said it looked fine to him. as for a sunny room/window she has her favorite window that is not that high off the ground which i made a ramp to so that she can go in and out of it as she pleases but she don't go in it anymore for some reason. she just finds somewhere to hid and goes there mostly under her cage table.

nathb1,
thank you for letting me know that i am not the only one with this issue. and i am already taking steps to implement all of your suggestions my husband put her in a window in the house that was getting lots of sun when he got home.


now EllenD,
lights = reptisun 10.0 always just a month or so old, heat lamp zoomed 100 w form pet store temps at 98 to 105 in hot zone 75 ish in cold zone 65 to 70 at night.

bugs = I only started giving her superworms when she stopped chasing crickets and greens all together i had to find something that she would eat. the doctor told me the same thing so she has not had any in 5 days

the doctor gave her medicine to combat worms just encase that is what it was. i travel an hour form my house to take Kai to the vet because i would not have anyone that was not a reptile expert.

How is she doing now? Any changes? She does look like she might be ready to shed, that can put them off food as well...

I'd watch the antiparasitics if her fecal was negative, I'm not sure I'd be giving them to her if the fecal was negative, because they are very hard on their gastrointestinal systems and they usually effect their appetites. I'd try some probiotics or soy yogurt once daily to try to settle her stomach if you're giving the meds.

I'm trying to think of anything else it might be, short of some other type of infection or health issue like liver or kidney problems...

I'd suggest a full blood panel as the next step with your reptile vet if she isn't eating and behaving normally soon, or if she isn't going through a shed that could cause this. Blood work will rule out infection, liver and kidney disease, gout, calcium problems, etc.

my husband had her out today when i got home and she was running around the bedroom. he has taken to putting her in the window where the evening sun comes in and letting her sit there for a while. she seems to be better ish still not eating yet i will try the yogurt soon if she no eat soon. a shed cycle is that i thought when she first started to not eat. when she starts to shed her nose turns gray her nose not gray this time no part of her looks like shed that is why it started to worry me. i really do appreciate all the help you are giving me with this i have one of those tent things on order so that i can take her out side to get more sun i also talked to a lady that made her own out door cage and i am looking in to building one in my yard with all kinds of yummy treats that she can eat planted in it i will keep you updated so that you know when she get better and how we got there so that we can tell others

I think she's going to be O.K, she's just going through a picky phase....like was mentioned, beardies can really get spoiled on superworms. I look forward to hearing how she enjoys some outside time. A beardie garden is a good idea. Hopefully she'll learn to enjoy different veggies.

Star69":1b0yqdm9 said:

my husband had her out today when i got home and she was running around the bedroom. he has taken to putting her in the window where the evening sun comes in and letting her sit there for a while. she seems to be better ish still not eating yet i will try the yogurt soon if she no eat soon. a shed cycle is that i thought when she first started to not eat. when she starts to shed her nose turns gray her nose not gray this time no part of her looks like shed that is why it started to worry me. i really do appreciate all the help you are giving me with this i have one of those tent things on order so that i can take her out side to get more sun i also talked to a lady that made her own out door cage and i am looking in to building one in my yard with all kinds of yummy treats that she can eat planted in it i will keep you updated so that you know when she get better and how we got there so that we can tell others

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If you dont have a scale I suggest you get one and weigh her weekly I think it would ease your mind.How much does she weigh>? If she not losing alot or staying same and pooping fine and seems alert I wouldn't worry too much, does she eat if u hand feed her? Dixie is spoiled as well and eats only when handfed and she has been off and on food but gaining weight too...and believe me I wonder how she is gaining weight since she eats nothing like she did when she was 2-9 months . Used to gain 20-40 grams weekly, and at 9 months she was about 540 grams stayed there for 1 month or 2 months now she is 594 grams at 13 months and eats very little compare to her eatings habits prior.
Your beardie looks great , healthly and plump !

This is Dixie at 11 months

kai's new vest harness

she is still not eating yet i am still hand feeding her with baby food but she is becoming more active out side of her cage even venturing in to the bathroom and the shower to have a look around. it was raining today but the next good day we have i am going to taker her out in the yard with her lead and see what she dose

it has been months and kai still is not eating on her own i just dont know what to do any more

Accept that she wants 5 star treatment from her human slave, so hand feeding it is , until she decides she is ready to feed by herself ....

Surely that's not such a big deal .... at least you know she's eating and getting good food into her and the biggest benefit is you have a great bond with her as a result.