Loss of Appetite?

I recently got a baby bearded dragon about 2.5 weeks ago. He would eat only a little bit everyday. On Friday, a shipment of BSFL came in. On Saturday, he ate a bunch of the BSFL. I assume he loves those things a lot. Since Sunday, he has not eaten. He had a big poop on Sunday, bigger than what he usually poops. He has been pooping every day since, except for today (10/27). I offered him roaches in case he wasn't interested in BSFL, but he still didn't eat them.

His eyes also seem heavy, almost like he seems sleepy. I have him on a 12 hour timer, and he seems to be sleeping fine. I've been checking on him the past 2 days before I go to bed to see if he is sleeping.

I also want to note that I had to buy a reptisun 5.0 as a temporary solution last week. None of the pet stores had reptisun 10.0, so I had to order online. I didn't get the 10.0 installed until 10/25 (Tuesday). My previous 10.0 burned out because of a bad fixture.

I'm not sure if he is sick, or if the BSFL could have carried parasites or something. Petco said that I could bring him back and get a Vet check for free during the first month.

These are the BSFL that I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014B87SQA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hello,

It sounds like he might be a little backed up from eating such a large meal. How late in the day did you feed him?
You can try giving a little bit of sugar free applesauce or canned pumpkin, mixed with a drop or two of olive or coconut oil to help things pass through. You can also try a nice warm bath too & let him swim around for exercise.
What are the temperatures in the tank? The Black soldier fly larvae should be fine, I doubt they would have parasites.

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Drache613":285kz9of said:

Hello,

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Click to expand...

Thanks. His hotside temp is 110F and coolside is 85F. I offered him some roaches today, he only ate two small ones with calcium powder. I hope he's starting to feel better. I'll keep updating.

Hello,

Definitely let us know how he is doing.
Maybe he will start eating better. The temperatures sound fine. Are you using a digital probe or temp gun to measure the temperatures?
What sized tank is he in? If it is a smaller tank, you may want to try getting the cool side down to a lower range, from 78-82 in case he could be getting too hot.

Tracie

Drache613":2t7norov said:

Hello,

Definitely let us know how he is doing.
Maybe he will start eating better. The temperatures sound fine. Are you using a digital probe or temp gun to measure the temperatures?
What sized tank is he in? If it is a smaller tank, you may want to try getting the cool side down to a lower range, from 78-82 in case he could be getting too hot.

Tracie

Click to expand...

I have two regular thermo gauges on the hot and cool sides, but I took a digital thermostat to double check the temps. The gauges inside the tank on the hotside reads about 102F, but the digital thermostat read as 110F. I can get a digital probe or heat gun, which sounds very useful. Any suggestions for a good one?

I did take him back to petco today, he's going to be seeing a vet soon. I'm really bummed that he's not feeling good. Here's my setup:

Okay I called Petco to see how he is doing...They told me that he is eating and active. They said that my enclosure was probably not hot enough. They said that a under tank heater would work good (Although, I thought they are bad). I asked again, "So, is he eating a lot of crickets?" They said "Yes, and he's scarfing down meal worms". I though meal worms could be potentially bad for their digestive system??? They said that the Vet will check again and contact me soon.

I'm really scratching my head. I've read bad things about Petco, but the one that I bought my beardy from seemed friendly and caring.

Hello,

I don't think your tank is too cool, if it's reaching 110F with using a digital probe though. Are you wanting a different type of digital probe? Acurite is a good brand & can usually be found at Home Depot or on Amazon.com too.
It looks like you have 2 basking lights, what wattages are they?
Undertank heaters usually don't need to be used during the day, but can be used for nighttime. If you use one, be sure to have a towel or blankie in between him & the heater.
I hope they don't feed too many mealies because they are fatty & can cause impaction.
It sounds like he is improving, slowly, but did they say when you could pick him up?

Tracie

Drache613":p1qe2ue3 said:

Hello,

I don't think your tank is too cool, if it's reaching 110F with using a digital probe though. Are you wanting a different type of digital probe? Acurite is a good brand & can usually be found at Home Depot or on Amazon.com too.
It looks like you have 2 basking lights, what wattages are they?
Undertank heaters usually don't need to be used during the day, but can be used for nighttime. If you use one, be sure to have a towel or blankie in between him & the heater.
I hope they don't feed too many mealies because they are fatty & can cause impaction.
It sounds like he is improving, slowly, but did they say when you could pick him up?

Tracie

Click to expand...

I'll try to look at the acurite digital probe. As for the basking lights, one of them is a 75 watt light, the other is a 65 watt CHE. I get about 110F with both of them running.

I did have an issue with the screen top for the enclosure. The one that came with the enclosure has a door hinge in the middle, so I had to place one of the fixtures partially over the UVB fixture. I think the fixture was overheating and burning out the UVB bulb. So I had to re-adjust the the basking fixtures to hang 1/2in over the top of the enclosure.

Before that, I think he was getting adequate heat because he would sometimes open his mouth while basking.

A worker from Petco was the one that told me the status of my bearded dragon. The worker said a Vet has yet to look at him. So hopefully I can get him back sometime this week.

Hello,

Great, I hope you are able to get him back soon! It sounds like he is doing somewhat well with them there.
The 110F for the basking is very adequate so the temperatures shouldn't be an issue. If anything, he could be getting too hot, if he is in a smaller enclosure. If you can get the cooler end down to a 78-82 range, that would be better.

Let us know how he is doing & when you have him back home.

Tracie

I got him back on Monday. He has been eating every day since. His appetite is really good. They were giving him a supplement called 'Flukers Repta Boost'. Everytime he sees bugs, he runs to the front of the cage from his basking spot. He seems very active and healthy. No parasites, or problems. The store manager did say that the batch of bearded dragons that came in had an appetite issue. They said my dragon was the healthiest and most active of the bunch.

I tried offering him calciworms again, but I think he likes the quick moving insects more. When I offered him roaches, he went nuts.

Thanks again.

Sounds like things are getting better!!
I do use heat tape on a thermostat for the cool side of my enclosure. I keep my house rather cool because of electricity costs. With so many reptiles my electric bill is pretty high. The heat tape thermostat is set at 85° on the cool side. It fluctuates between 80°F-85°.....