14 month old beardie hasn't eaten or shed in 3 months.

moclab · Sep 26, 2016

My 14 month old bearded dragon has been acting different in the last 3 or so months. She has stopped eating. She was picky before, but acts uninterested in anything that I give her.When I give her a bath, she used to drink the water if I poured a stream onto her snout, but she hasn't done that in a while. Also she hasn't noticeably shed in about the same amount of time. Her skin looks dark, as if she needs to shed. I thought this was all some sort of 'fasting' or being weird, but I'm getting worried now. She sits on her ledge all the time, except for the rare times I see her on her basking rock. Occasionally she will crawl between her 'rocks' in what I assume is an attempt to help with shedding, but she never actually does.

Could the lack of shedding be causing her not to want to eat? Or maybe vice versa? I soak her for a few minutes every few days. Should I soak longer? Is there anything that I can put on her skin that will really loosen the skin if she is in fact needing to shed? Do I need to force feed her somehow? She's always been a little stubborn, but I'm afraid that if she continues like this she will just die.

Thank you

radams713 · Sep 26, 2016

Can you tell us more about your setup? What lights do you use, what are the temperatures, what thermometer do you use? Could it be brumation?

kingofnobbys · Sep 26, 2016

If she's not eating , she wont be growing and consequently she'll not be shedding , though a 14 month old beardie wont shed very often , and will likely shed in piecemeal manner , a bit here and bit there.

When did shed last do a poo ?

Are you monitoring her weight ? can you tell us how her weight has been changing over the period of concern cf her weight before ?
Has a vet examined her ?

What are your tank temperatures (warm and cool zone during the day, and basking temperature, and overnight tank temperature ?
How old is the UVB source ?
What is your UVB source (is it a compact , a T5 tube, a T8 tube , or a MVB) ?
What is the UVB rating of the compact or T5 tube or T8 tube ?
How far away from the beardie is the UVB source ?
Is there mesh between it and the lizard ?
What are you using as a basking globe ? and it's wattage ?
How long per day are the lights ON ?
What is the substrate / bedding you have in the tank ?

What is the / was the feeding schedule (what and when and how many per feed) ?

moclab · Sep 29, 2016

kingofnobbys":2vtzcnqu said:
When did shed last do a poo ?
>She hasn't pooed in a couple months.

Are you monitoring her weight ? can you tell us how her weight has been changing over the period of concern cf her weight before ?
>I didn't think about weighing her but I will start doing that. Today she weighed 454 grams or 15.3 oz. She doesn't look like she has lost any size that I've noticed.

Has a vet examined her ?
>I haven't been to a vet yet.

What are your tank temperatures (warm and cool zone during the day, and basking temperature, and overnight tank temperature ?
>I checked the temp at 4:00pm and it was 77 F on the cool side and 84 F on the warm side. The basking temp is around 102 F.

How old is the UVB source ?
>It's about 14 months old.

What is your UVB source (is it a compact , a T5 tube, a T8 tube , or a MVB) ?
>Zoo Med 26061 Reptisun 10.0 T5-Ho Uvb 24W Fluorescent Lamp, 22"

What is the UVB rating of the compact or T5 tube or T8 tube ?
>10

How far away from the beardie is the UVB source ?
> 15 inches from the bulb to the floor & 12 inches from the bulb to the elevated rock that she lays on.

Is there mesh between it and the lizard ?
>No mesh, direct hit

What are you using as a basking globe ? and it's wattage ?
>50-Watt Halogen MR16 GU10 Base Light Bulb

How long per day are the lights ON ?
>12 hours

What is the substrate / bedding you have in the tank ?
>Carpet

What is the / was the feeding schedule (what and when and how many per feed) ?
>Every other day. Maybe 20-30 super worms or 20-30 small hissing cockroaches and some veggies like mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens, broccoli. Sometimes a little cauliflower, shredded carrots, radicchio.

I give her a soak twice a week.

Here are a couple pictures I took which show her and her tank.
https://imgur.com/gallery/ADyOw

kingofnobbys · Sep 29, 2016

moclab":8vx9ajhi said:
kingofnobbys":8vx9ajhi said:

When did shed last do a poo ?
>She hasn't pooed in a couple months. <<<< that's serious unless she is in brumation. If she is awake and hasn't pooed in 2 months you need to get her to an experienced competent reptile vet PRONTO !!!! as she is likely severely impacted or something else serious is going on inside her.

Are you monitoring her weight ? can you tell us how her weight has been changing over the period of concern cf her weight before ?
>I didn't think about weighing her but I will start doing that. Today she weighed 454 grams or 15.3 oz. She doesn't look like she has lost any size that I've noticed.

Has a vet examined her ?
>I haven't been to a vet yet.<<<< I think a vet examination is a matter of some urgency at this stage.

What are your tank temperatures (warm and cool zone during the day, and basking temperature, and overnight tank temperature ?
>I checked the temp at 4:00pm and it was 77 F on the cool side and 84 F on the warm side. The basking temp is around 102 F.

How old is the UVB source ?
>It's about 14 months old.<<<< NEEDS REPLACEMENT URGENTLY --- max life for a T8 or T5 UVB tube is NOT MORE THAN 12 months (unless you monitoring it's output with a good UVB meter.

What is your UVB source (is it a compact , a T5 tube, a T8 tube , or a MVB) ?
>Zoo Med 26061 Reptisun 10.0 T5-Ho Uvb 24W Fluorescent Lamp, 22"

What is the UVB rating of the compact or T5 tube or T8 tube ?
>10

How far away from the beardie is the UVB source ?
> 15 inches from the bulb to the floor & 12 inches from the bulb to the elevated rock that she lays on. <<<< IMO the T5 tube and reflector can do with being a bit closer.

Is there mesh between it and the lizard ?
>No mesh, direct hit

What are you using as a basking globe ? and it's wattage ?
>50-Watt Halogen MR16 GU10 Base Light Bulb

How long per day are the lights ON ?
>12 hours <<<<< too short (very much like winter hours in their natural range, I recommend you bump this up to 15 hours .

What is the substrate / bedding you have in the tank ?
>Carpet

What is the / was the feeding schedule (what and when and how many per feed) ?
>Every other day. Maybe 20-30 super worms or 20-30 small hissing cockroaches and some veggies like mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens, broccoli. Sometimes a little cauliflower, shredded carrots, radicchio. <<< looks OK , fact that she isn't eating now is a serious issue.

I give her a soak twice a week.

Here are a couple pictures I took which show her and her tank.
https://imgur.com/gallery/ADyOw

Click to expand...

kingofnobbys · Sep 29, 2016

Her house is very Spartan. She looks nice , a bit thin (not as much fat on her tail as I'd like to see).
Is she blackbearding much ? That's a sign of discomfort .

Summary :

She may be impacted , a competent reptile vet needs to examine her URGENTLY.

T5 UVB tube is past it's useful life, needs to be replaced with a new one, probably good idea to move the basking spot closer to the 10%UVB T5 or maybe change to an Arcadia T5 12%UVB or 14%UVB tube.

moclab · Sep 30, 2016

OK, thank you. I will get her to a vet tomorrow!! I'll let you know what happens.

Moclab

14 month old beardie hasn't eaten or shed in 3 months.

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