6 mo old beardie issues

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So my beardie is about 6 months (16 inches) and has really slowed eating over the last couple weeks. I live in Minnesota (So it cools down and gets cloudier this time of year and the actual day length drops quickly). Anyways, he/she has been refusing to eat crickets the last 4 days, and was only eating them every other day the week before, but will chow on super worms (Just want to make sure its eating >.<). I tried changing the bulb to a higher wattage because it cooled down but it keeps hiding from the warmth under its hammock or in its hidey space. If I leave it to its own devices, like I tried on Saturday, it sits there all morning like "mom, I'm cold and cant move" And i have to move it to warm it up. It recently finally finished its shed, and usually the appetite increases after one. Its also eating about 1/5 of the veggies it usually eats. Its been going down to an every other day bm and I have been doing baths every other day to make sure its hydrated. I wouldn't think it would be parasites, because I am still buying from the same buyer I have been for the past four months. I have been debating doing dubia roaches because mine is lazy and will only just barely chase crickets. Its basking spot in the warmest is 110, and in other places is 100 so it can adjust to what it likes. I also have a heater rock in the terrarium. Could it be winter blues? Brumation? Moody teenager beardie? Parasites? All the above? The last few days its back scales have looked darker, but I figured that was from hiding in cooler spaces, because the underside still looks normal and not stressed. It also loves to cuddle and fall asleep on me lately so I made it a little fleece sleeping bag.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Sounds like semi brumation- from what I understand they dont go into full brumation till they are a yr and older- I too live in MN and its been cloudy and rainy etc here and cold for Sept - Hiccup is 8 months old and is doing the semi brumation- he spends most of his days in his hide during the day awake and sleeping- he has slowed down w / his eating and only poops every other day or 3rd- I have been watching his poop for dehydration but he seems to be doing ok there - I took him to the vet last Monday and he is in good health - he comes out to bask on his rock every other day or so and today was up and running around in his tank -- but turned in early and has been there every since awake just not active- he was out for a few hrs this morning-- I still offer him his vegies his dubias butter worms and nutri grubs every day and he eats what he wants- yesterday I managed to get him to eat 5 dubias and they were large as they have kept growing since I got them -- I have horn worms coming this week and super worms - he loves the horn worms- but they are only given as last resort to nutrition- like 2 at most - same w/ the super worms- hope that helps

Karrie
 

swimchicidee

Member
Original Poster
Thanks! Hes just been so sleep and conks out as soon as it gets a bit dim, so I was a bit worried he was trying to brumate so young. I know its been a bit unseasonable and figured there would be a better transition and am Hoping the temps bounce up a couple days so we can go outside. I'm hoping we dont have another '91 on our hands! I am thinking of switching to black fly larvae I think so I can ditch the stinky crickets, they annoy him anyways, and they seem easy to care for and less likely to die if they get a bit chilly when being shipped. I have also debated the dubia roaches but the roomates have been kinda freaked to the idea and i have read you can develop allergies to them. The other worms I can get from my local pet store to change up the diet a bit. If he doesn't perk up by this weekend I will make a vet appt just to make sure everything is ok. Weight seems stable and not really dropping so i wasnt too worried yet. I think he misses going outside. I make sure he sleeps under the night heat light at night now though just because it has cooled down and will drop to about 62 on the cool side of the tank at night. I have also been looking into discrete insulation for the three sides once i get the background up to help save energy costs of heating the tank a bit.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I recommend the dubias-- they are not what you think they are--- easy to keep- cheap-- I feed mine carrots-- I order them on line from dubiaroaches.com and they come in the container that you can keep them in and they dont stink! I have them in 2 days - come from Kansas- I didnt want to do dubias either but after I tried them and Hiccup liked them way better than crickets I went to them all the way-- and besides that my vet recommended them instead of crickets cuz crickets give the parasites / worms as the dubias dont! Temps should be around 80 on cool side and not below 65 I think -- you might consider getting a Heat Emitter-- no light -- just heat you can get those at Petco Petsmart etc-- I bought one for my 50 gal tank leave it on all the time during the cold months-- its a 100 watt- it sits right in front of the basking light- cool side of my tank is around 78-80 and UVB sits above cools side-

Karrie
 

swimchicidee

Member
Original Poster
During the day the cool side sits at about 70 and that's where the heating rock is. At night it cools down a lot though and I have been debating doing heat thing instead because I have read recently the black light throws them off. I was going to stop at pet smart tomorrow on my lunch anyways and look at new climbing things, because if i'm bored with the tank, he probably is too. Plus I will probably have to start rotating substrate mats because they will dry slower inside so I was going to try out those. I will give dubia roaches a try. Probably wont buy them right now since hes not eating much atm. Maybe for Halloween :p. Black fly larvae don't carry parasites either and they have a great water retention and calcium retention rate, no need to dust or feed them I guess. I figure one introduction of food at a time is enough.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
He should have a basking area of 90-100 or so mine sits at 90-106 depending on how warm my office is --- hot and cool side - if hes not getting the heat for basking he won't be able to digest his food properly- do you have a UBV light in the tank ? You need to get one asap if you dont--- he will get MBD -- mine is a Reptisun T 10--

Karrie
 

swimchicidee

Member
Original Poster
Basking ranges between 100-110, he can adjust his position so its warmer or cooler based on where he sits while basking, and of course I have UVB :). It's a strip light, with a reflector. His tank had to be adjusted when I first got him because he got too stressed by his new environment and had to go back for a week for observation. I spent a lot of time consulting a breeder, so everything but night temps right now are fine I'm just working on getting the winter balance down since the cold came on so quickly after that 90+ degree weekend. We've been fine the last four months until like a week and a half ago when eating slowed, so bm slowed, and sleeping increased.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The reflector can come off the light -- they recommend that its off for full absorption of the UVB- the dark scales usually mean they are trying to absorb heat-- mine sits about 6" from his platform-- the closer the better - I consulted my breeder too when I got Hiccup and the guy is a fruit cake and does not know what hes talking about- he sold me a red leather
97951-8489471492.jpg
back that is a tiger citrus-- I was told all kinds of stuff by this breeder and I will never go back to him again nor will I recommend his store--

Karrie
 

swimchicidee

Member
Original Poster
Mine was very kind and all the stuff he told me matched up to forums. He wasn’t like a breeder breeder he just wanted try his hand at having a couple “litters” or whatever. It’s my friends boy friend. Mine is yellow with some natural gray accents. He’s Choosing to hide from the light and not go up and bask most the day, his top bumpy scales get darker when he’s colder.
full
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
His coloring almost looks blue-- where abouts are you in MN? I am west of St Cloud - in Paynesville- we bought Hiccup from a breeder in Spring Lake Park- I should of bought one from Fins and Friends in St Cloud and got what I wanted in the beginning-- which was a red leather back - but I was told when we picked Hiccup out he was a red leather back and obviously he is not -- it is so hard to tell what color they are when so young- but the breeder should of known when he went to bring them out what he was doing- plus the many other things he gave as far as advice was incorrect- I have since heard alot of negative things about this guy who owns this store- I will never go back there and never recommend this place either- I wouldnt give Hiccup up now but it was just frustrating having someone take advantage and steer you in the wrong direction w/ some one who is not familiar w/ a lot of things- I did a lot of reading / research on the animal when we got Trogdor and learned stuff then so I wasnt completely stupid but she was alot older and I was not familiar w/ a baby- Hiccup was 3 months old or so he said- anyway............. I had only found this forum after Trogdor died and wish I had found it sooner --

Karrie
 

swimchicidee

Member
Original Poster
Haha, I am East of St. Cloud and commute to SCSU for school. I did a bunch of research too and decided to keep it simple to start out with. It is grey, but it does have blue undertones which I thought was kind of fun. They have become more prominent as he's gotten older. This is my first time owning a reptile, but I have owned a variety of furry critters prior. I am not sure where my friends bf's dragons originated from because he rescued two, so their exact genetic history and origin is unknown and i have heard of that place recently, but didn't realize they existed until after I adopted, and one at a time is enough for me. They seem healthy and happy though. Mine loves to climb, cuddle, and give kisses and I have to wear my hair up if its riding on my shoulder because it will eat my hair if I don't.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I took Hiccup to Advanced Animal Care in Sartell and he came back w/ a low count of Coccidia- so they gave me some medication to give to him - after the Dr visit we stopped at Fins and Friends and talked w/ Kaylie and Amanda and they said it is normal for them to have coccidia in their intestine and sometimes giving them the medication does more harm than good - so I decided to consult Tracie on this website as Kaylie and Amanda said I should get a second opinion- so Tracie said the same - since he was not having signs of illness I decided not to give it to him and he has been fine - I have been watching him and hes active eating and doing the normal beardie thing -- he had no pinworms etc... if you ever want to stop in there and talk w/ them I would recommend it- they seem to know about the beardies - Amanda is a breeder along w/ AJ-- AJ had a baby red leatherback I would of liked to have bought but like you 1 is enough at this time--- I am planning on getting Hiccup and 75 gal from there come Jan or Feb--

Karrie
 

swimchicidee

Member
Original Poster
I may make a trip up there this weekend if mine is still off. I noticed that he is starting another shed again after just finally finishing his last last week, so I think that may be stressing him out as well as the weather changes. It's also likely why he darkened up. I will probably have to feed him more "treat" food coming up for a bit because he becomes a little food snob when he's shedding. I have that powdered vitamin that I use during sheds though to make sure he is getting as much nutrients I can get in him when he's fussy. Poor little one. I would be annoyed too if I didn't have a break between sheds. But yea. I think that's half the issue now that his tail is turning towards a shed.
 

swimchicidee

Member
Original Poster
Its fun that you are getting a 75! Mine will be in a 50 for a couple years until I move to a place that I have more space. A 75 won't fit in my small room unfortunatly.
 
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