9month old not eating very often but is fine

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Vilderup

Member
Hello peoples! :D

My 9 month old beardie, Sandy, has been going on a diet these past months. When I got her 4 months ago she was a good eater, she ate a lot and very often. Now she does not want any food, only a few some days of the week. A normal week for her can be like this, for example:

Monday: nothing
Tuesday: one small grasshopper
Wednesday: nothing
Thursday: nothing
Friday: 2 grasshoppers
Saturday: nothing
Sunday: 2-3 super worms

I thought animals like these should be eating a lot? She does sleep quite a lot, and sometimes she gets so excited, she runs around, bashing in the glass and running into her cave and out the other side, typically a few hours before bedtime. The weird thing is, I think that she is just very adventurous and can just see what I am doing on my computer. There is a window just beside the glass she is going into and running around, she may have seen something sometimes. She doesn't go crazy every day, only some days. She has done this for some weeks now. Sometimes she goes on top of her cave, facing me and looking at me, so I take her out of her enclosure and she runs around exploring. Maybe, she just wants to explore..?
She is also not losing any weight but actually gaining a few grams each week. I'm just a tad concerned for her since I also have another beardie which is 9 months old and can't get enough food each day, and just chills, no "flips" where she just goes crazy.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

It sounds like you may be in the UK?
It could be brumation behavior, that is pretty common this time of year. At 9 months of age, it
is a normal phase they go through. If she isn't losing weight, that is always a good sign.
What type/brand of UVB light do you use, how old is it?
How much weight has she gained?
There is a remote possibility she could be developing infertile eggs too if she is gaining weight.
However, they usually eat a pretty good amount when this occurs, also.
You could always consider getting an x-ray or ultrasound done on her, if she continues to gain
weight without eating significant amounts of food.
Do you have any pictures of her along with the tank setup too?

Tracie
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Details on the lighting you have and how it's set up.

Brands, types, wattages, ages of globes, and distances from the basking spot, and temperatures.

This might help you work out what is at the back of this lack of interest in food : viewtopic.php?f=6&t=236150&p=1815390#p1815390

What sizes are the insects you are offering ?
A 9 month old should be eating live insects twice daily + some greens.

What's the weather been like over the last week or two where you are (this can influence a dragon's behavior ==> they can hunker down if really wet stormy weather is around or imminent).
 

Vilderup

Member
Original Poster
Hi, thanks for the quick replies!

My bulb is around 4 months old, it's a 125w ExoTerra Solar Glo All-In-One, around 30 cm away from their basking rock/hammock. Both my dragons are heated and it reaches 38-41 celcius each day in the far hot end. 25-31 in the cold end. She was around 280 g when she started this behaviour and is now around 288 g. Could she be developing eggs? She is not very big for this age, she is a little smaller than her sister, Chili. (Chili is around 350 g, from the same bunch of eggs). She is digging quite a bit sometimes, but not places to lay eggs if she had any. She does not have any lumps in her stomach area.

The grasshoppers are around 2-3 cm long, some bigger with wings(big ones only fed to Chili).

The weather in Denmark went from sunny and hot into rain, wind and cold temperatures in around 2 months. Kind of odd actually. She can see outside the window which may be the reason, she only goes "crazy" on the cold side in the window end.

Pictures of my setup and her:
101468-3348782202.jpg
101468-1837879117.jpg
101468-9474460594.jpg
101468-8414407475.jpg
101468-1571209389.jpg
101468-92408411.jpg
101468-1217984744.jpg

Don't worry about them both being together! They are such sweethearts. (Sandy is not being dominated by Chili, none of them are dominating, they are cool about eachother, not biting eachother. They are sleeping and cuddeling together)
 
Vilderup":gx9pss6z said:
Hi, thanks for the quick replies!

My bulb is around 4 months old, it's a 125w ExoTerra Solar Glo All-In-One, around 30 cm away from their basking rock/hammock. Both my dragons are heated and it reaches 38-41 celcius each day in the far hot end. 25-31 in the cold end. She was around 280 g when she started this behaviour and is now around 288 g. Could she be developing eggs? She is not very big for this age, she is a little smaller than her sister, Chili. (Chili is around 350 g, from the same bunch of eggs). She is digging quite a bit sometimes, but not places to lay eggs if she had any. She does not have any lumps in her stomach area.

The grasshoppers are around 2-3 cm long, some bigger with wings(big ones only fed to Chili).

The weather in Denmark went from sunny and hot into rain, wind and cold temperatures in around 2 months. Kind of odd actually. She can see outside the window which may be the reason, she only goes "crazy" on the cold side in the window end.

Pictures of my setup and her:
101468-3348782202.jpg
101468-1837879117.jpg
101468-9474460594.jpg
101468-8414407475.jpg
101468-1571209389.jpg
101468-92408411.jpg
101468-1217984744.jpg

Don't worry about them both being together! They are such sweethearts. (Sandy is not being dominated by Chili, none of them are dominating, they are cool about eachother, not biting eachother. They are sleeping and cuddeling together)

I have a question for you...how are you measuring your temperatures? I see in your pictures you have the dial type thermometers. Unfortunately those can be inaccurate by as much as 10 degrees. I would invest at the very least in a digital probe you can get at any pet store usually or online. Then you can spot check and they are much more accurate.

A couple other things I wanted to mention. Sand substrate or any loose substrate is a big risk for them to become compacted. I would remove the sand and use wither paper towels, tile or reptile carpet.

Also, I know you say not to worry about them being housed together and that they are fine and not showing dominance to the other but her behavior is telling otherwise. The problem is that you will not see the outward signs of the stress it causes in illness until it is too late so you need to recognize that her behavior is a sign that you need to separate them. Her not eating as much is one...the crazy erratic behavior and slamming into the glass is another. She is stressed. Even what looks like cuddling could be one showing dominance over the other. And it will get worse with time. This is their natural instinct and it doesn't matter if they are siblings and have been together since hatching or if they are super chill and sweet. As they mature their survival instinct will take over and it will be a battle for resources even on a subtle level that you don't notice. Even the sight of another dragon will cause stress. You need to separate them and put up a barrier so they can to see each other. Look at their behavior in the wild. They are solitary animals and even though they are not "separated" be walls, they stay away from each other. The difference is, they have open spaces and are not fighting over a basking spot or food, their whole world is a basking spot. When they do cross paths, there is a head bob display of dominance. One will win the other will bow their head in submission and move on. Bottom line is, you can not change their nature. They need to be separated.
 
Aslo, you can get a tub and make a lay bin with a mix of sand and soil, slightly moist so the hole stays when she digs and place it in her cage. Big enough for her to be in and turn around and fairly deep.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
One quick suggestion, you definitely need a basking/uvb bulb on the other side ! That gives them the option of basking together or one on each side. I had a huge tank with sisters in it, they had 2 basking sides + got along very well.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Just wondering how your dragon was doing today, any improvements?
I agree, if you are going to keep them together, I think it would be a good idea to give them each
their own basking spot/area to cut down on any dominance issues.

Tracie
 

Vilderup

Member
Original Poster
Hi,

Sandy is doing a little bit better, she has been eating a little more. One of the other days when I came home from school, she had gone into her cave and blocked off the entrance with a blanket. She has NEVER done this, and none of them would dare to go into the cave :D. Maybe it is just brumation then. She is more sleepy than normal, but luckily she has not had any of her flips these couple of days since I wrote. I have made sure they both have their own preferred basking spot.

Thanks for the suggestions and your care!
 
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