Dragon under hide for 5 days

My bearded dragon has stayed under his hide day and night for almost a week. I check before and after work to see if he moves and if he's still alive and attempt to get him to move. If I nudge him he moves and if I take him out of his tank, he just tries to find another place to hide if he's not on me. He has barely eaten this last week and hasn't pooped for a week.
A little background: I got him from a pet store about three months ago as a juvenile. He is now approximately 9 inches long. He has a water dish in his tank 24/7. I give him fresh kale every day in the morning and it stays in there till I get home from work. I feed him mealworms when I get home. For a while he was eating about 30 a day, then down to 15, and now I'm lucky if he eats five every other day. He is in a 20L gallon tank with reptile carpet. His basking spot is usually around 115°F and the cool side about 85°F. Humidity around 35% but it does raise at night to 55 or 60% with it being humid in my area lately. He has a hide on each side of the tank but has been staying under the one on the warm side.

It sounds like he may be sick. Do you have a UVB light for him? If so, which are you using and how far is it from him? If you can include some photos of him and his setup it would be helpful. You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.

At his age, he'll probably want more bugs than veges. I would try offering him some black soldier fly larvae as they are softer and more nutritious than mealworms. Offering a variety will help too (I like silk worms and dubia roaches as well) but I would focus on getting the lighting just right and getting him into a steady diet of healthy, softer foods for a bit and see how that goes.

I do have a uvb light. It is the reptisun desert 10.0 in a 12 inch hood. It is right next to his basking light and centered over the tank. I'm working on saving up to get a hood that is the length of the tank.
I have been looking into the black soldier larvae since noticed many people on here use them as a staple. Of course the pet store told me mealworms would be suitable for him, but the more I read the more I hear about pet stores not giving proper advice.
I will leave pictures of his terrarium set up and of him as well.

He looks small but I don't see outward signs of a problem which is good. Upgrading the UVB light is a good idea. It doesn't need to be the whole length of the tank but a high quality one is worth investing in. For now with a tank that size I'd probably go with this https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26053-Reptisun-Terrarium/dp/B00AQU8F2O/ and keep the 5.0 bulb in it and build some of the basking area up to within about 6-8'' of it. That way you can use the same fixture down the road with a larger tank and just upgrade the bulb to a T5 10.0 which is a bit more powerful for greater effective distances. In the meantime I'd take him outside with you for some natural sunlight if the weather is good and see how he reacts.

I also suggest double checking the surface temps using an IR temp gun like this https://www.amazon.com/Nubee-Temperature-Non-contact-Infrared-Thermometer/dp/B00CVHIJDK or set up a couple of digital thermometers with probes like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017N8W90/ On on the basking surface and one over on the cool side. That way you can continuously monitor the surface temps.

Hi Aleisha, he's a cutie....what's his [ or her ] name ? Have you offered any hydration and has he been pooing regularly ? Oral hydration can help if he's impacted from the mealworms. You can switch feeders ASAP to avoid that problem. Try dripping water on his snout, you can even put a small plastic container in his tank [ to reduce stress of taking him out ] and put him in about an inch of lukewarm water + drip water on him. Or just use an eyedropper without putting him in any water.


BTW, what are the wattage of the basking bulbs, it looks like you have 2 bulbs in the dual fixture ? Being too hot can cause them to hide. And since your uvb bulb is a compact you might think of switching to a long tube Reptisun 10.0 or Arcadia D3 in the near future.

BTW, those green mesh hammocks are not good for the dragon, they get their nails caught in them. You can put a piece of fleece blanket over it. Arms can get broken or sprained. You have beautiful Beardie.

His name is Kronos (although I'm starting to think he might be a she. . . time will tell). I have been using a dropper to give him water every day since he stopped eating and he last had a bath Saturday which is when he normally poops. Tuesday was the last time he pooped I believe. He doesn't get stressed being handled, he still crawls up my arm and snuggles into my neck as he usually does.

The wattage of the basking bulb is 100 watts and the other side of the dome is a 100 watt nocturnal light that isn't in use currently. I might use it in winter because my house runs on wood heat so it is usually around 50 degrees inside the house in the middle of the night in winter. All of the lighting came with the Zoo Med 20 gallon bearded dragon starter kit. I do have one digital thermometer/hygrometer right no. The hygrometer sensor is in the center of the tank and reads 32%. The thermometer is against the glass and taped right where he usually basks and that reads 113.7 degrees right now. I get paid Friday and will be purchasing the recommended zoo med hood with 5.0 bulb and something to heighten his basking spot instead of his hammock. I will also be switching to black soldier fly larvae. Any suggestions on which site to buy from?

He also isn't just hiding, he has mostly been sleeping this whole time. It is normal for him to still be sleeping when I leave for work since it is still dark at that time, but he is still there sleeping when I get home 12 hours later. I was told it might be brumation and not to worry from the pet store, but seeing as how he is only approximately 6 months old I think that is likely. From what I have read on here brumation doesn't occur until they are over a year old.

So if Kronos has not poo'd for a week and is sleeping all day, I do believe he's probably impacted. It's also likely that he's about 3 months old .
You will have to definitely offer him some of the natural laxatives that I mentioned and put him in a warmer than usual bath. If it's warm where you are, take him out in the sun to set on your lap or get a plastic kiddie pool like they sell at Walmart to put him in, with partial shed and supervised at all times. Put a basking log in it as well. Being in the sun is one of the best things for a sluggish beardie but of course you need to be careful he doesn't overheat, it can happen quickly.

AHBD":1x6e5xlf said:

So if Kronos has not poo'd for a week and is sleeping all day, I do believe he's probably impacted. It's also likely that he's about 3 months old .
You will have to definitely offer him some of the natural laxatives that I mentioned and put him in a warmer than usual bath. If it's warm where you are, take him out in the sun to set on your lap or get a plastic kiddie pool like they sell at Walmart to put him in, with partial shed and supervised at all times. Put a basking log in it as well. Being in the sun is one of the best things for a sluggish beardie but of course you need to be careful he doesn't overheat, it can happen quickly.

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When I got home today I gave him a 15 minute bath that was on the warmer side and after 5 minutes he pooped. I looked closely and did not see any shell for the mealworms, it looked like a healthy poop. I'll post a picture. He was active during his bath, hes not a fan of bath time so he is constantly trying to find a way to crawl out. I'm snuggling him now and he is crawling all over my shoulders.

I have had him for three months and he was 6 inches long when I got him. The pet store guessed he was about 3 months old, possibly a little younger. The other beardie that shared a tank with him was a bit bigger and the arrived together.

O.K, that's good news. It was constipation but not actual impaction. Will you be able to take Kronos outside any ?