Vent Concern/Sick Bearded vs. Newb

I'm newer to the reptile world, and I feel like a panicky new mom. I apologize in advance for all the run on sentences and grammatical errors!

I purchased my bearded on April 20th from a reputable breeder. He's now around 7-8 months old, ~16 inches long. Hes always been an excellent eater and pooper. His staple proteins are dubia roaches, but he's also had black soldier fly larvae, superworms, and crickets. The last 3 weeks or so, he's started to slow down and seem more lazy/lethargic. He used to eat 10-20 medium/large dubias a day. He hasn't eaten any in 2 days...but he did eat 8 on Saturday. His fresh veggie/fruit appetite has also diminished. Although, he did eat a raspberry and bit of kale today. He's pooping once or twice a week, and they do appear to be more dried out, urate more chalky? However, I work 10+ hour shifts, so they may be dry from sitting for hours? I keep a shallow bowl of water in his terrarium, but I've never seen him drink or poop in it. I got paranoid that he was dehydrated as he looked a bit wrinkly and skin seemed to tent longer than normal. So I've been giving him daily soaks.

Today after his bath, I noticed these..."crusties" coming out of his vent? I can't tell if they're attached or what. I attached images of his vent, tenting skin?, and cage set up.

More tidbits: He lives in a Exo-Terra 36x18x18 with slate bottom. I use Zoo Med 26054 Reptisun T5-Ho Terrarium Hood, 36", and a 100w heat bulb. Lights on a timer for 0600-2300. The Reptisun is only 3 months old, then i'll replace it with a 10.0. His basking area is usually around 105-110, cool area 75-80.

Help.

Hi there, those would be sperm plugs and are harmless. He's getting to be a big boy and some males will produce those. Warm soaks of 10 -15 minutes a few X a week will help, you can even gently move it back + forth as he's soaking to assist it. he will be fine.

Sperm plugs...well that's good news...

Do I need to be worried about the lack of appetite?

Sometimes they go through a short period of going of their food. See how he does in the next week. If he still refuses food it might be good to have a fecal test done by an experienced reptile vet just in case he has parasites.

Hello,

Absolutely sperm plugs. They commonly get those & sometimes they work themselves out
after getting dried out & other times they come out when they go to the bathroom.
It sounds like he has just started going through a little slow down phase which often happens
after big growth spurts. They also tend to go through periods of time in which they change
their eating preferences too & can get more picky with their eating. LOL
I agree, a fecal might be needed later if he continued to not eat for too long & or starts to lose
too much weight.

Tracie