3 year old bearded dragon/New enclosure

Polaco1 · Jan 14, 2017

Hello people I really need help..I recently bought about a 3 year old bearded dragon. He's about 20 inches long and I have him in a 40 gallon tank. He seems to eat very little salad with calcium on it. But doesn't eat crickets or worms or anything but some salad. I haven't seen him poop in about 5 days now nor have I seen him drink water. I put him in a warm bath to see if it'd help but nothing. He hides in his cave and sleeps at night and comes out to bask but doesn't seem right to be right..not sure if he's stressed or what. Any tips on what I can do??

Mechling · Jan 14, 2017

Hello there!

A few questions to help us discern the issue:
-What type of lights are you using?
-What are your temperatures and what are you using to measure them?
-What kind of substrate are you using?
-Exactly what is his salad comprised of?
-Have you taken him to the vet for a check up and parasite testing?
-Can you post a photo of the setup?

If your beardie is not receiving the proper light and heat, he won't be able to digest his food properly. They correct UVB light as well as a high basking temperature is needed.
If you are using a loose substrate such as sand, ingestion can cause impaction, making it hard for him to poop. Many owners recommend tile, non-stick shelf liner, or reptile carpet. Newspaper or paper towels can also be used.
Being said, many owners find it difficult to get their beardies to drink, especially from a fountain. To ensure he is staying hydrated, I recommend dripping water on his snout with an eye dropper and seeing if he will lick it up.

Because of his age, brumation is a possibility. During brumation, he could sleep more, eat less, and poop less often.

Hope everything goes well!

-Mechling

kingofnobbys · Jan 15, 2017

Try to get a cool zone temp about 28degC, basking spot about 40degC.

A day/night schedule of 15hr on will help bring him out of brumation if this is what's happening, though more likely he's still undergoing relocation stress and my not be feeling very happy.

Need AT LEAST 10%UVB and to locate the tube as per specified by the manufacturer , probably about 8 inches from his basking spot.
Insufficient UVA (a 10%UVB will typically produce about 30%UVA) will result in lethargy and lack of appetite in a beardie if the source is too far away or not rated for TROPICAL DESERT reptile.

A mesh top will cut the amount of UVA and UVB received by the lizard by over 25%.

If he's still behaving the same in a week ,
-- a vet visit is a good idea (take a fresh poo sample if he does one)
-- HerpaBoost (or maybe ReptiBoost) might help boost his metabolism and appetite

If he's not eating much , don't expect him to poo much. Essentially input = output.

Have you tried handfeeding him, I think he needs a boost so I'd be giving him live crickets/roaches and superworms and large silkworms BY HAND for a while until he starts eating without help..

kingofnobbys · Jan 15, 2017

Mechling":3gdsnkus said:
Hello there!

A few questions to help us discern the issue:
-What type of lights are you using?
-What are your temperatures and what are you using to measure them?
-What kind of substrate are you using?
-Exactly what is his salad comprised of?
-Have you taken him to the vet for a check up and parasite testing?
-Can you post a photo of the setup?

If your beardie is not receiving the proper light and heat, he won't be able to digest his food properly. They correct UVB light as well as a high basking temperature is needed.
<<<< if he's not eating enough , he needs calcium so I'd get some CalciVet (liquid calcium), is quite sweet tasting and lizards I've given it too orally by syringe take it enthusiastly.
If you are using a loose substrate such as sand, ingestion can cause impaction, making it hard for him to poop. Many owners recommend tile, non-stick shelf liner, or reptile carpet. Newspaper or paper towels can also be used.
Being said, many owners find it difficult to get their beardies to drink, especially from a fountain. To ensure he is staying hydrated, I recommend dripping water on his snout with an eye dropper and seeing if he will lick it up. <<<< could try some pure fruit juice (unsweetened) to get him to drink by dripping the "water" on his snout. The sweetness of the raw/pure fruit juice will encourage drinking.

Because of his age, brumation is a possibility. During brumation, he could sleep more, eat less, and poop less often.

Hope everything goes well!

-Mechling

3 year old bearded dragon/New enclosure

Polaco1

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kingofnobbys

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