Bearie not eaten properly for months

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Dexter02

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I wonder if anyone here can give me some advice. I have a 20 month old male bearded dragon (Dexter). I got him from someone who no longer wanted him when he was about a year old. At first, he was eating fine, but for the last 2-3 months, he has been eating very little and recently, not at all. He has a 4 foot vivarium with a T8 10% reptile UVB bulb and a 75w heat bulb. I have a laser temperature gauge and it reads 39-42c at the hot end and 27-29c at the cooler end. He is on a reptile carpet and has wood and hides for climbing etc. He weighs only 363g and is 42cm long. I spoke to the vet at the beginning of the week and she advised trying reptoboost baths daily and I have also bought a small syringe to try and get some of the fluids down him (which isn’t easy, for such a slight thing, he has a very strong jaw!). I have tried him with crickets, roaches, morios, calciworms, he just isn’t interested, he also has daily greens/veg. I am not sure what else I could try. The baths and fluid do not seem to be doing anything. The vet suggested trying to get a poop sample, but he hasn’t pooped for about 3 weeks now. Any ideas ?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Try and get some baby food prunes or baby food squash w/ some olive oil a little in there maybe add some honey for taste - they seem to like sweet - that will make him go to the bathroom --- whatever you do DO NOT LET THEM DO AN ENEMA ---- he needs to go the natural way w/ laxatives --- Enemas are too hard on them and sometimes can kill them!! How old is the T 8?? They need to be changed out every 6 months and should be 8-10 inches from basking decor NO plastic cover over the bulb and inside the tank -------------- your dragon is of good weight --- keep an eye on that weight --- when he goes to the bathroom does the poop smell so bad you want to leave the room?
Karrie
 

Dexter02

Member
Original Poster
Hi, thanks for getting back. The uvb tube is 6 months old. No, his poop doesnt smell that bad at all, though it's been a while. You think 363g is an okay weight? I would post some pictures if I know how. I will try the baby food with him and see how that goes.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Your UVB is the issue---- it has no reflector - I would recommend getting a fixture w/ a reflector - or you can take the bulb and place it directly overhead approx 4-6 inches from basking decor --- he is not getting any or very much UVB ---- you can get a fixture from here and I would recommend if your going to do it do so now they are getting harder and harder to find
https://www.reptilesupplyco.com/2934-large_default/reptisun-terrarium-hood-t5-24-zoo-med.jpg
this is a 24" --- you will need a new bulb unless yours is a 22" --
https://www.reptilesupplyco.com/4445-large_default/d3-12-uvb-t5-bulb-22-arcadia.jpg
Karrie
 

Dexter02

Member
Original Poster
Oh ok thank you. I'm in the UK, I will order one from Amazon, in the meantime will lower the tube. Thank you very much, hope It gets him eating.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
That should do it. Those are nice reflectors and should increase the effective output of the bulb considerably.
 

Dexter02

Member
Original Poster
108278-9933656919.jpg

Hi again, I have purchased a reflector and fitted it. Could you let me know if it is correctly fitted please? Thanks
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
That doesn't look right to me. It should be curved like a half arc around the back of the bulb to concentrate and redirect the light downward. There should be a plastic clip that fits through the slots on the sides. That clips onto the ends of the bulb and should hold the reflector in a curved shape around the back of the bulb. Here is a photo I found of how it should attach.

s-l500.jpg
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
It's hard to decipher how it is connected in that photo. As long as it is curving around the back of the bulb rather than sitting flat it should be correct.
 
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