Lack of Appetite and Laziness?

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Selkie1993

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Drogon <3 RIP 2019- March 11, 2024 Lily: new girl in the house/ 5 months old
Hi Everyone!

I've had my beardie for a month. Here is his current setup.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=251767


Here are some changes/issues I'm concerned about:
1) I live in South Carolina, and the temperatures have been dropping. Now, of course he has a heat lamp, but for some reason my probe is only reading 85? Is it time to get a higher wattage bulb? I have 100 W

2) These last few days, Drogon has reduced his feeding a bit. Normally, he can eat 20 + crickets (calcium dusted) along with some greens (if he's in the mood. Were still working on the veg situation). Throughout the week, he's eaten 13, 15,20,18, and 15 again today, which is a little weird considering he loves chasing his crickets.

3) Since everything has been set up for a month, I will be completing a full breakdown on Monday, removing sand, cleaning tank etc. I've noticed a musk smell: is it true that beardies can emit this?


4) We switched up Drogon's light times. It used to be on from 7am-7pm, but once it hit daylight savings, He was going to bed way too early for us. I didn't want his sleep disturbed with the TV, so we changed it from 9:00 AM- 9:30 pm.


Overall, his attitude has just been a bit lazy, hanging out under the basking lamp all day and a mild disinterest in food. Also, he pooped in his hammock today and I noticed a bit of white urate under his tail. Is that just because he made a mess or do you guys think something else is going on? :/


Feeding Schedule:
Every morning before bugs, I try to convince him vegetables like kale, spinach and other greens are tasty. Sometimes he believes me, sometimes he says no. Lol.

I give him a few mixed worms Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, which include 1-2 mealworms 3-5 calciworms, and 2-3 waxworms. He was pretty thin when I got him, so this is doing the trick for bulking up :) Additionally, he gets a sprinkle of multivite powder with his calcium-dusted crickets 2x a week. Crickets are calcium dusted daily, lightly.


I know this is a lot of info, but I'd rather provide as much as possible to see if anything weird is going on.

Thanks for your continued help!
Selkie
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
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Hi Selkie,

1. Most likely you will need a higher wattage bulb then, or you need to insulate your enclosure better. if he's in a glass tank with an open top, you might consider draping a towel over the cool end top to keep more heat in. Otherwise, you just need to mess with bulbs until you get your basking surface temp back up to par. You might want to check your thermometer too to make sure it's still accurate.

2. I wouldn't worry about that. Their appetites can fluctuate quite a bit. Especially if a shed is coming on, or if the temps are cooler.

3. Beardies do have a bit of a smell. But IME, the sand is the main culprit. It tends to hold onto the odors of their poo which has a bit of a musky smell once dry. I noticed the smell not as bad once I switched to solid substrate.

4. that's fine :)

The activity levels could be due to the cooler temps. So I'd focus on remedying that first and see how things progress from there.

-Brandon
 

Selkie1993

Juvie Member
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Beardie name(s)
Drogon <3 RIP 2019- March 11, 2024 Lily: new girl in the house/ 5 months old
claudiusx":3jlrx6pg said:
Hi Selkie,

1. Most likely you will need a higher wattage bulb then, or you need to insulate your enclosure better. if he's in a glass tank with an open top, you might consider draping a towel over the cool end top to keep more heat in. Otherwise, you just need to mess with bulbs until you get your basking surface temp back up to par. You might want to check your thermometer too to make sure it's still accurate.(Just used my probe thermometer and left it for a while. Top basking is 101 F and a lower basking spot is 90 F.)

2. I wouldn't worry about that. Their appetites can fluctuate quite a bit. Especially if a shed is coming on, or if the temps are cooler.(How do I know when Drogon is about to shed? He did a tiny bit on his lip when he first came here, but he's significantly grown in weight and size and no shed yet. Just gave him a bath tonight to possibly help? I've noticed his tail is much lighter and grayer compared to his body)

3. Beardies do have a bit of a smell. But IME, the sand is the main culprit. It tends to hold onto the odors of their poo which has a bit of a musky smell once dry. I noticed the smell not as bad once I switched to solid substrate. (Damn! I just bought sand again and tossed the receipt -__- lol. For next month, what substrate do you recommend? I just feel an animal should have a natural substrate that they can run around and dig in :) Speaking of poop lol, I know it's supposed to smell but it's still pretty smelly since we first talked a month ago X_X Stress marks are pretty much gone though!




4. that's fine :)

The activity levels could be due to the cooler temps. So I'd focus on remedying that first and see how things progress from there.

-Brandon
 
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