Not eating.Paniced.Digging-FINAL UPDATE w PICS

I have had Dexter for 4 months.
She was a rescued dragon with a front claw missing and no toes on the back leg. She was housed with several other species of lizard and was prayed upon. She was never handled and she also struggled to get food. We were told she would be a 'handful' to look after but we fell in love with her.

She is usually a boisterous and demanding little madame, scurrying around her cage, loving to explore our home and will ONLY be put back in her tank when she is good and ready. (This technique ranges from clamping her arms and legs around my hand until i withdraw it from the viv or scurrying up my arm and hiding behind my head).

Dex has always been fussy with food. Sometimes only eating if I hand feed her, sometimes only eating her locust and sometimes not eating at all.

Her behaviour over the few couple of days is worrying me.
She stopped eating properly six days ago.
- Wednesday I managed to hand feed her a few mealworms only (offered her her usual bowl of veggies)
- Thursday a few mealworms (and changed her veggies to apple slices)
- Friday hardly anything again, a few bites of apple and a couple of morio worms. She was very lethargic all day until i gave her a bath she perked up a little)
- Saturday nothing. No worms, no wax worms, no squash no veggies. She is also FULL of energy. She is sprinting around her tank non stop and sprinting around the room when I get her out.
- Sunday nothing.
-Monday nothing.

No stressmarks. Regular bowel movements. Drinking from her bath. Still sprinting around everywhere.

How long not eating until it becomes dangerous?
Do i start her on babyfood?

Very worried as she was a rescue and was in such a bad way when we got her.
Please help.




How old is your dragon? Unknown as she is a rescue.
How long have you had your dragon? 4 months
How long is your dragon? 13inches tip to tail resonably good fat pouches under her arms and legs but a slim torso.
What is the sex of your dragon? female (we think)
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? very large viv (will get dimensions as soon as i find my tape measure! off the top of my head i think it was 45inches long 29 inches wide and 29 inches high)
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? sand (not calci)
Do you use UVB lights? yes.
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? mercury vapor (realsun 100w)
How old is your UVB bulb? 4 months
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? not very close.
What are the basking temps? 115
What is the cool side temp? 80ish
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? used to have a wire probe (stood on it!) currently using a repti-thermometer.
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? directly under the lamp on her basking rocks.
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? nope.
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Normally veggies (chinese leaf, little cabbage, rocket leaf, little carrot, occasional fruit) cut up into small bits, mealworms sprinkled on top to attract her attention, 3 large locust a day.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? she is given her food when her light goes on in the morning. food is taken out at night.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? yes.
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? 'Dragon Dust' all in one suppliement. 3 times a week.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? yes.
Do you bath your dragon? How often? once daily in the evening a few hours befor lights out.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? mist yes. she will only drink from her bath though.
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? no.
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? no. im still looking for a vet who is familiar with reptiles. so far none in my city or the surrounding villages.

Please help.
Ive no vet to take him too. No where to turn.

if the basking bulb is a relasun,what uv are you using? what make and what type? bulb or tube? it could be that.if thats all ok then i maybe wouldnt worry too much yet.if your bd is lively enough,which it sounds like it is,then will prob start eating again soon.i think sometimes they just like too scare us.i havent had mine long tho so im not the best person to give advice.i hope someone with more experiance comes along soon.

hi there, im not sure of teh make of the bulb, as it doesnt seem to be marked on it (i had the set up made for me buy the guys at the rescue center)
here are a couple of pictures of my lights though.





UPDATE:
Dexter is still not eating, although i managed to coax her into eating some babyfood with vitamins in this morning.
She is still VERY lively although now she is digging.... and digging.... and digging! Then basking. Then repeat.
Ive never seen her do this before and Ive no idea what this behaviour means.
help?


here are a couple of shots of Dex from yesterday.

hmmmm.how long did you say you have had her?where did you get her from?and has she been with any males?she loks a bit 'ahem' fat.do you have a uvb source for her?

fluffynme":f2584 said:

hmmmm.how long did you say you have had her?where did you get her from?and has she been with any males?she loks a bit 'ahem' fat.do you have a uvb source for her?

Click to expand...

Ive had her about 3-4 months.
She was caged with mutliple species of lizards. Some were beardies.

Do you think she might be holding infertile eggs?


UVB yes, one of the lights is

lol at the post above me! but i agree, i'm no expert, but i think she is pregnant, cos all the symptoms are there, she is "ahem" fat, very active and digging and digging???

like i said, i'm no pro but thats just what i think.

you need to change your uvb, from a bulb to a long tube one. the bulb 1ns are no good. i think maybe she is carrying eggs. you need an empty cleaned out tub, like an ice cream tub. fill it with peat (i was told to use) and leave it in the cool end of her viv.

fluffynme":33414 said:

you need to change your uvb, from a bulb to a long tube one. the bulb 1ns are no good. i think maybe she is carrying eggs. you need an empty cleaned out tub, like an ice cream tub. fill it with peat (i was told to use) and leave it in the cool end of her viv.

Click to expand...

thanks so much for your help.
ive been dreadfully worried about her.



I was under the impression that the bulbs were better? (and are you talking of replacing the red or clear bulb?)
Could you recommend a brand to me?

Eggs? Oh my!
Would this explain her scurrying around/digging/lack of appetite?

you would have to have look at the bulbs to see what they both are. for heat the bulb is fine but for uvb you should use the tube.it depends on your on views what make to use but there are a few to choose from. as long as its strong enough.

Thanks. I will look into getting a tube bulb for her, although finding one that fits the light socket I have in her viv worries me a little as the repti shops around me only seem to sell bulbs so I think i'll have to track one down online.

Dear me Dexter.... what a hussy!

hi.if you check your emails iv sent you one. you would need to buy a start up unit for a tube. i have an online shop that sell them cheat, i will send you an email with the address.

Do appologise. I have some issue with forum PMing (stupid firewalls and vista) will respond via email

The bulb in the 2nd pic is either a "basking" bulb, which is mainly for heat, or it could be a Mercury Vapor Bulb, which is the best type of bulb you can get.
As for your beardie, go get a large rubbermaid tub, by large, I mean at least 2 ft long, 1 ft across and 1.5 feet tall. Go to petco and get some stuff called "eco earth" or something similar. Prepare it per the instructions on the packaging. Put the product in the rubbermaid tub, about 10" deep or so. Insert your lizard, install lid. Check every 8 - 12 hrs. when your lizard is skinny again, put her back in her normal home. PM me, or re-post here and we can help you with the eggs. They can be fertile as Beardies can "store" sperm until the time is right. My female layed fertile eggs 8 months after being removed from the male! Hope this helps.
Bill

Sounds like you have gotten some good advice and that your little girl might have gotten busy.