Sick? Or something Else

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hello. I recently got my beardie, Falcor, and I have had him for about a month. I estimate him to be about 6 months old. Falcor has usually had a pretty healthy appetite, and would usually eat around 20 crickets/meal worms ((calcium dusted of course)) a day, plus a bit of Kale. He has also been really tame. I literally hold him and love on him everyday. Recently though, as of the past week, he has not been eating. He poops regularly though, so i dont think there is any impaction. He has also become very fearful and aggresive toward me and will run away and try to bite me if i try touch him. He has also been staying on the cooler side of his terrarium. Which is uncommon. I am very worried about him. I read something about Puberty in beardies. Could that be it? Or is it possible that he is stressed out? Or even sick?

Here is his habitat info
ZooMed 100w Basking light bulb
ZooMed 100w UVB light bulb
Walmart brand 75w black night time heat bulb
Temp- basking side 90°f -105°f
Cool side 75°f - 80°f
Tank size 40gal
Humidity stays at 20%
Subatrate zooMed repticarpet
 

Gormagon

Extreme Poster
Have you made any type of changes to his surroundings? Even moving a room around can cause defensive behavior. A new furry pet or something different perhaps?
 

Mysty

Juvie Member
Also heard kale is a calcium binder, so if the main green you use is kale, best swap to spring greens and treat kale as a once weekly green like most suitable fruit and veg.
 

Psychopsin

Member
Original Poster
Nothing in his surroundings has really changed, other than the fact that my room has become a bit messy. Could it be where i swapped the brand of Meal worms that i buy? I also noticed this morning that he is shedding, but he has been shedding off and on for the past month and has never acted this way. I had no idea that Kale was a calcium bindet, ill be sure to switch that soon.
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
The change in mealworms shouldn't be a factor, but I did want to make a comment about the night light you use for him.
Does the night light put off light/color? Like is it a purple or red bulb? If it's emitting light, it's likely messing with his sleep patterns and could add to the grouchiness.

Other than that, shedding itself can cause some dragons to become grumpy, even if they never had before.

Regarding hormones, around 5mo is when my first dragon became super grouchy. She would hide behind her plant and just puff if I went to get her. She never got bitey, and she eventually got over it, but I think she may have been in dragon puberty as it was very unlike her.
Are you positive he's a he? I only ask because most I've seen about the moody puberty have been females, however that doesn't necessarily mean that males don't get that way either.

My male dragon is just a little over 6 months now and has not yet gotten angry or grouchy, so I'm unsure if this is specific to gender (see above) or just gets some and not others, or my male is just a late bloomer.
 

Psychopsin

Member
Original Poster
traildrifterphalanx":3mv2lqc7 said:
The change in mealworms shouldn't be a factor, but I did want to make a comment about the night light you use for him.
Does the night light put off light/color? Like is it a purple or red bulb? If it's emitting light, it's likely messing with his sleep patterns and could add to the grouchiness.

Other than that, shedding itself can cause some dragons to become grumpy, even if they never had before.

Regarding hormones, around 5mo is when my first dragon became super grouchy. She would hide behind her plant and just puff if I went to get her. She never got bitey, and she eventually got over it, but I think she may have been in dragon puberty as it was very unlike her.
Are you positive he's a he? I only ask because most I've seen about the moody puberty have been females, however that doesn't necessarily mean that males don't get that way either.

My male dragon is just a little over 6 months now and has not yet gotten angry or grouchy, so I'm unsure if this is specific to gender (see above) or just gets some and not others, or my male is just a late bloomer.

The Light is purple/black and barely gives off any light at all. As for the gender of my dragon, i am only going based off hope that he is indeed male. I am unsure how to determine the sex in my dragon.
I had read the opposite, that the males were the ones that would become grouchy/aggressive during "puberty" i guess it just varies based upon the beardie itself



An update on Falcor: i had decided to see if the meal worms were causing him to be grumpy for some reason, so i picked up 2 boxes of gut loaded, medium sized crickets last night and tried feeding them to him. He has almost ate both boxes!!! I guess he got tired of the meal worms and veggies that i had been giving him. Also, since having eaten, he isnt aggressive and is no longer gaping at me or running away. I cleaned his terrarium this morning and gave him a bath, and he's back to his usual goofy, happy self!!!
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
I'm glad to hear he's feeling better! Maybe he was just mad about his food routine :lol:

You can check the gender by gently lifting their tail up in an arch and looking for some tell tale bumps near the vent (2 bumps on side is male, 1 bump in center is female.) The first photo below depicts a male. There's also a flashlight trick that works pretty well (image below)

male9weeks.jpg

4Ojr3.jpg
 

Psychopsin

Member
Original Poster
traildrifterphalanx":160h3qz2 said:
I'm glad to hear he's feeling better! Maybe he was just mad about his food routine :lol:

You can check the gender by gently lifting their tail up in an arch and looking for some tell tale bumps near the vent (2 bumps on side is male, 1 bump in center is female.) The first photo below depicts a male. There's also a flashlight trick that works pretty well (image below)

male9weeks.jpg

4Ojr3.jpg

Thank you so much!! I did both tests and have discovered that Falcor is in fact a Boy!! :D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,899
Messages
1,255,687
Members
75,966
Latest member
georgiarichmond
Top Bottom