Absolutely Zero Appetite

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Alice was diagnosed with severe MBD back in the beginning of 2019, and she was also severely malnourished and dehydrated. She had a horrible two years of life where she had no UVB, no live or fresh food (only pellets), and she lived on sand. For the first year I guess she basically lived in a shoebox.

She’s doing a lot better now! She’s about 14 inches and 350 grams! Unfortunately, because of her MBD she broke her jaw (it’s healing really well), and permanently dislocated her elbow (she can use it just fine). Because of the sand, she also developed conjunctivitis (or at least that’s what the vet said) and I’m pretty she’s blind on that side now. She has been CC and critical care (it’s CC but for herbivores, she’s 4 and I worry that if she only gets cc she’ll develop gout). She has a Reptisun 10.0 high output UVB that is inside her tank. Her cool side is about 75 degrees and her basking spot is 98-100 degrees.

She’s gotten well enough that she’ll run around the living room again! However, she refuses to eat anything, not even hornworms. I’ve tried bee pollen, super worms, dandelion greens, mango, collards, different kinds of squash, peppers, and she won’t take anything. About a month ago she had a few collards and some 6 hornworms but she won’t do that again. She’s hydrated and has poops every day or every other day.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I’m leaving for college this year and my mom says I will have to rehome her if she isn’t eating by herself. Even if that weren’t the case, I would probably have to rehome her because I don’t have the money to be buying bugs and fresh food to just throw it all away, and time is tight with homework.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Is it the T 5 or a T 8--- if its the T 8 I would change it out - see if that helps w/ the appetite
Karrie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
There are 2 10.0 Tubes they are the T 5 or the T 8 -- look on your bulb it will tell you T 5 or T 8- if its the T8 they needs to be changed out every 6 months if its the T 5 once a year - we need to figure out if its the lighting causing her not to eat - that is why I asked --- so w/ it being inside the tank the T 8's must go inside but the T 5's can go inside as well
Karrie
 

Beardiealice

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Original Poster
KarrieRee":9yvmkax7 said:
There are 2 10.0 Tubes they are the T 5 or the T 8 -- look on your bulb it will tell you T 5 or T 8- if its the T8 they needs to be changed out every 6 months if its the T 5 once a year - we need to figure out if its the lighting causing her not to eat - that is why I asked --- so w/ it being inside the tank the T 8's must go inside but the T 5's can go inside as well
Karrie

I think it says T8. If I got a T5 I could put it outside of the tank? Her UVB is attached with those Velcro wall things but it’s fallen down before, and I’m worried it’ll fall down on her but I don’t know any other way to mount it inside the tank.

Either way, I need to order a new one even though it’s only been like 4.5 months?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
If you get the T 5 I would try and leave it in the tank and mount it hanging from the screen -- you can use LONG plastic zip ties one towards each end so they dont slip off they would work good - you can also use picture wire hangers or fishing line -- but I would use the zip ties - you can always cut them off and use new ones if you had to rehang etc............. the T 5 is going to be a better bulb for her its stronger -- my guess it needs to be changed that is the first thing I would do ---- bulbs are like $20 - also you want the T 5 12-15 inches from her basking spot in the tank
Karrie
 

Beardiealice

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":3dkmmxu0 said:
If you get the T 5 I would try and leave it in the tank and mount it hanging from the screen -- you can use LONG plastic zip ties one towards each end so they dont slip off they would work good - you can also use picture wire hangers or fishing line -- but I would use the zip ties - you can always cut them off and use new ones if you had to rehang etc............. the T 5 is going to be a better bulb for her its stronger -- my guess it needs to be changed that is the first thing I would do ---- bulbs are like $20 - also you want the T 5 12-15 inches from her basking spot in the tank
Karrie

Would I drill holes in the fixture then? Also, should her fixture have a reflector? Her current one doesn’t. Also, she’s in a glass tank, so I get her out and clean it by sliding back the screen and her fixture is nearly the length of the tank (don’t worry, her bulb isn’t), so hanging it from the screen would make it really difficult to open the screen, so is there any other ways I could mount it inside without it being attached to the screen?
 

Beardiealice

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":1rj9pbyr said:
Yes she needs a reflector --- those rays are going every where but to her --- here is a website to order one --http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/arcadia-t8-24-lamp-reflector/#--

No dont drill holes in the fixture --- wrap the zip ties around the fixture - your gonna need two people to get it hung in the tank - one zip tie on each end
97951-2515040147.jpg
--- like this
Karrie

Oh, I see. The fixture will have to wait a second until I get paid, but I’ll get one.


In your guys’ opinion, would you imagine that this is the problem and not her MBD? I have put so much money into her, and as I’m about to go to college I don’t have a whole bunch to spend right now. I’m totally willing to spend the money to help her feel better, but if this does nothing and she still won’t eat, I really won’t have any other choice than to rehome her. And if that’s what I end up doing, all this is a waste and I don’t know why I wouldn’t just rehome her now. This year alone I’ve spent almost $500 on her, and she’s perked up a bit but nothing major has happened. I’ve taken her to the vet, gotten her a ceramic heater to keep her temps up at night, spent so much on food that has ended up rotted in the trash. I completely understand the new bulb and the new fixture, but seeing that it is going to cost me over $70...and she’s going to need a new tank before I go to college because this one is super heavy and since it’s glass so it’s hard to regulate her temperatures and that’ll cost $300...and all of this is on top of the fact that poor Alice, as she has always done, looks at times as if she’s struggling to breathe. The vet has said twice that nothing is wrong with her lungs, so I don’t know what to do with her on that account. Should I just admit that the care she needs and the money, but more importantly, the expertise that it requires is more than I have? I have researched so much, and yet here I am not knowing that she needs a reflector. Would it be better for her to simply rehome her?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
It is up to you on re homing her --- the reflector should not cost that much did you go to the website I sent so for under $20 and new bulb should be around $40 you do not need to buy another fixture just get the reflector for the size of your fixture and put it in - --- since you have not had a reflector on that bulb I would say that has been a big cause of her not eating --- what kind of tank are you looking at getting her - the room you have her in is it a warm room or cold room - it plays a part in keeping her tank warm - is she on a dresser or stand or on the floor - you can insulate the back of the tank w/ Styrofoam just make sure its not touching the heating elements - some others on here can also give you ideas on other things to insulate as well - the pic I posted was to help you see how the fixture could be hung--
Karrie
 

Beardiealice

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":25osqejk said:
It is up to you on re homing her --- the reflector should not cost that much did you go to the website I sent so for under $20 and new bulb should be around $40 you do not need to buy another fixture just get the reflector for the size of your fixture and put it in - --- since you have not had a reflector on that bulb I would say that has been a big cause of her not eating --- what kind of tank are you looking at getting her - the room you have her in is it a warm room or cold room - it plays a part in keeping her tank warm - is she on a dresser or stand or on the floor - you can insulate the back of the tank w/ Styrofoam just make sure its not touching the heating elements - some others on here can also give you ideas on other things to insulate as well - the pic I posted was to help you see how the fixture could be hung--
Karrie

On the website you gave me, the reflectors are for Arcadia fixtures. She doesn’t have an Arcadia fixture, but do you think they would still fit? Otherwise I had been looking at the Reptisun fixtures on Amazon and they’re $50 plus the $20 for a T5 bulb. Looking at her right now, and how she rarely sits directly under her UVB and how it doesn’t have a reflector, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s why she wasn’t eating.

The tanks I were looking at are HD PVC tanks, unfortunately, the size go from 44 gallons to 80 gallons, which I’m not a fan of, but I’ve really struggled to find non-glass tanks that aren’t on some extremely sketchy website. Do you have any suggestions?

And she’s on a stand. I mean, technically it’s a short bookcase, but it’s like a stand. Our house is 69-71 degrees most of the time, and my room is around that temperature.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The reflector should still fit your fixture they are basically universal- her not getting the Ray's of that UVB is going to cause her not to eat-- how much are you looking to spend on a tank? Do you have someone who is a carpenter- that could build her a tank? That is another option - if that is an option look at the DIY board if that is an option- if not there are Zen habitats - what size tank is she in now? Zen's are 120 gallon - you can get them made out of pvc and they are really light--- go to www.zenhabitats.com
Karrie
 

Beardiealice

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":27po983s said:
The reflector should still fit your fixture they are basically universal- her not getting the Ray's of that UVB is going to cause her not to eat-- how much are you looking to spend on a tank? Do you have someone who is a carpenter- that could build her a tank? That is another option - if that is an option look at the DIY board if that is an option- if not there are Zen habitats - what size tank is she in now? Zen's are 120 gallon - you can get them made out of pvc and they are really light--- go to http://www.zenhabitats.com
Karrie

Okay. I’ll order a reflector and bulb tonight then. I should get a T5 reflector, right? The fixture she has now was one that we had to pick up from petco (it’s actually for a fish tank) when her last one spontaneously broke, and she was very sick and couldn’t afford to go without UVB for the few days it would take for the new one to be delivered, and petco and petsmart were selling Reptisun ones for $90.

Frankly, I would rather not spend over $300 on a tank but if it has to happen and Alice is doing good, I guess it’ll happen. We might be able to make a DIY tank, though, so I’ll look into that before I make any decisions.

Also, I just realized that I can’t mount my UVB on the screen. Her heat lamp and ceramic heater rest on top of the screen. If I turn up the ceramic heater for that it is hot enough for a basking location that isn’t directly underneath it, the spot underneath it will be over 110 degrees. Does it have to be directly over her basking spot? Or how could I mount the ceramic heater inside her tank?
 
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