Need some help with my beardie

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bocaz0r

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Hello there. I need some help or some information of what to do about my bearded dragon. 14 months old, female. Around June this year she started acting weird. Eating once a week or two, her bowel movements slowed down as well. It has been going on up till now. She started eating a bit more recently, however she is still not as before. We were thinking she might want to brumate, and we also took her to the vet (which said that she looks healthy). We are still outstanding a stool sample, but that happens rarely.
Recently she started eating every second day, but she doesn't eat any sort of vegetables/greens (which she used to do before June). She is acting very lazy, but very aware. We are taking her out of the tank to interact a bit with her surroundings, but she has like a spot or two where she goes and tries to go to sleep instead.
To give you a few details about my vivarium (I might be doing something wrong). I'm using a paper substrate, 4ft vivarium with a thermostat with a T8 uvb lamp. The basking area has an average temperature of around 37° Celsius, 33 in the middle, and 26-27 in the cold section. She has a 12 hour cycle on night and day.
We tried a reptoboost solution, plus giving her liquid calcium, but they don't seem to help her. We usually give her powdered calcium on her veggies and bugs, but as she stopped eating we couldn't give her anymore this way.

Thanks
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Your T 8 fixture has a reflector on it? And where in the tank is the T 8? Inside or top of screen?
Karrie
 

bocaz0r

Member
Original Poster
Yes we have a reflector for the t8, and it's positioned close to the middle of the tank, but closer to the heat lamp
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Inside? The T 8 is not strong enough to go thru the screen it needs to be unobstructed and 6-8 inches directly above the basking decor--
Karrie
 

bocaz0r

Member
Original Poster
106758-1985046370.jpg

Here is a picture with the current setup. If you can advise what should we do next. Thanks
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4

bocaz0r

Member
Original Poster
106758-9557187431.jpg

Our uvb light is 18 inches long, same as the reflector. We usually change both the lamp and the uvb every 6 months. The one we have now is due to be changed soon.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok so I can't tell how far it is - it needs to be directly over her approx 6-8 inches -- so if that is correct and your basking temps are 95-110 taken w/ a digital probe I would say she's slowing down it is that time of year where they don't eat as much- make sure she's hydrated and she is not losing weight- her poops will slow to as she's not eating a lot- mine are pooping every couple of weeks- her poops are normal not real runny and stink so bad they make you want to leave the room? If they are it's possible parasites- but they usually exhibit lethargic behavior too
Karrie
 

bocaz0r

Member
Original Poster
The temperature is somewhere around there, it fluctuates so i think that should be alright. The light is maybe 20cm away from her which is between 6-8 inches.
She started this behavior in around June. There were no significant changes in her tank, except maybe so minor decoration tweeking.
She is lazy, but i wouldn't go as far as lethargic. The vet also confirmed that she looks very active and curious. We are giving her a steady supply of water with some liquid calcium in there to make sure she's not losing weight and minerals.
We will try to add a 24" bulb instead, it might be too short. Would you recommend a t5 or t8? We have a t8 arcadia 15 watt and 18 inches .
Thanks for your help
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The Arcadia is a good bulb if you go to the T 5 you will need a longer reflector and distance would change to the 12-15 inside tank--- and it would need to be changed out in a yr+ it sounds like she's just slowing down - so just keep an eye on her - get her weight now so you can keep track of it
Karrie
 

bocaz0r

Member
Original Poster
I've got another question regarding her diet, we feed her with dubia roaches and crickets but she refuses to eat any type of greens. I'm aware that adult beardies are not supposed to eat insects every day - how often should we feed her with those if she doesn't want to eat any greens? Is there any way to convince her to eat her salad? We've tried a few tricks like shaking the greens in front of her or leaving a few worms inside her salad bowl
Thanks!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Yeah it's difficult to get them to eat salads now-- you can try getting some BSFL and adding to the top of her salad - she should be offered salad everyday fresh greens squash I will post a website for you http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Ignore the kale thing it's a good staple feeder--- try some BSFL you will need a glass or ceramic bowl that insects and worms- can't get out of - cut your staple feeder back to 2-3 times per week offer salad everyday
Karrie
 
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