Spring fever or poorly?! I'm at my wits end!

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Hi guys!

So I posted a few weeks ago about my little snoot going crazy all day every day banging about and climbing the walls and not eating. He's about 10ish months old (don't know for sure!)

Now he (well we think he's a he!) Has taken it to the next level. So he still roams about his tank (no more glass banging though) but seems to spend an awful awful lot of time sitting on top of his climbing frame. He wakes up, basks runs about then sits up there all day and when I come home from work he looks quite dark so I pick him up and pop him back under his lamp and then he brightens up. What's annoying me is that he must know he's cold but just won't move to bask!

He still won't entertain food not even his favourite waxworms and is going to sleep often 2 hours or more before "lights out". He's still quite chunky so I don't think he's lost a whole lot of weight but this is a fortnight he's gone with no meaningful food consumption and he periodically passes tiny little poops and tiny little urates every couple of days or so.

I'm at my wits end I don't know what to do with him or for him. He doesn't seem poorly but his behaviour is strange and I just can't work it out. His basking temperature is around about 100f on a dimming stat dropping off to ~75 at the cool end. He is under a 14% arcadia UVB which is the strongest that can be bought. It's only been running for 5 months and these ones are good for 12 before they need replaced.

He was behaving, eating and shedding perfectly up until about 6 weeks ago and then we went through a period of lethargy without eating then perked up a bit and started eating again and then stopped eating and went crazy.

Does anyone have any suggestions? He was at the vets in February because I thought he had a respiratory infection but he got a clean bill of health from the vet who advised only to make sure he's warm enough at night so we installed a ceramic to make sure the temp is stable overnight (live in Scotland there is no such thing as a stable temperature lol).

Is it just the ups and downs of beardie puberty or is there anything else I can try?!
 

KatieMoo94

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I'm not sure if he's a he the pet shop referred to "him" when we bought him and it's just stuck with us! Have uploaded a pic as required but to my untrained eye not much to see!
 

KatieMoo94

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Hmm it's hard to tell I can't really see anything there at all might try the flashlight!

So if he is indeed a she and is behaving like a complete nutter is it maybe infertile eggs we are looking at as opposed to puberty? I'll get a big tub of sand put in anyway just to see better safe than sorry I suppose but he/she is driving me bonkers.

I've never ever known such a little creature to cause so much worry sometimes when hes driving me really mad I tell him he's going back and getting swapped for a hamster ??
 

kingofnobbys

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KatieMoo94":zn50a3s3 said:
Hmm it's hard to tell I can't really see anything there at all might try the flashlight!

So if he is indeed a she and is behaving like a complete nutter is it maybe infertile eggs we are looking at as opposed to puberty? I'll get a big tub of sand put in anyway just to see better safe than sorry I suppose but he/she is driving me bonkers.

I've never ever known such a little creature to cause so much worry sometimes when hes driving me really mad I tell him he's going back and getting swapped for a hamster ??
Teenage beardies .... LOL , rest assured the crazy beardie thing WILL settle down , I've survived this with two lots of two teenage beardies .

Is pretty hard to tell when they are little and very young. I've never tried flashlighting, think you need a really powerful flashlight for that.

Any blackbearding going on with fast headnodding (almost like "he's" going to nod "his" head off) ? (male)
can "he" see "his" own reflection ?
 

KatieMoo94

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I reckon he must be coming up on about 10/11 months old now and he's approaching 19 inches but maybe still just a little bit too young to tell.

Put a tub of damp sand in last night and he/she has been having a right good dig since lights on this morning and keeps going back to it...
 

kingofnobbys

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KatieMoo94":1hczbn6w said:
I reckon he must be coming up on about 10/11 months old now and he's approaching 19 inches but maybe still just a little bit too young to tell.

Put a tub of damp sand in last night and he/she has been having a right good dig since lights on this morning and keeps going back to it...

Might just be novelty of the sand "playbox" ... I am told and have read girls can produce infertile eggs even if never mated
.... Rex who was near 5 year old when she died never did.
.... Peppa who is about 19 months old now hasn't , nor has Peppa been a problem (apart from going off her greens for a while , and more recently saving her poos up longer than I'd like (but this last one I'm putting down to it being the start of winter here and the bad weather we've had here for the last couple of months.)

BTW my digger is Toothless, he tares up his paper toweling bedding and makes a nice nest under his jumbo hubbahut, I'm sure if I had playsand for my bedding he'd be forever digging.
Whereas my girl Peppa is too laid back to be bothered expending so much energy.
 

KatieMoo94

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Any blackbearding going on with fast headnodding (almost like "he's" going to nod "his" head off) ? (male)
can "he" see "his" own reflection ?[/quote]


Nope no black beard and no head bobbing just a whole lot of glass surfing and wall climbing! Enclosure is wooden with glass doors so no way for him to see his reflection either.

My biggest worry is the fact he hasn't eaten for nearly a fortnight is that normal when it comes to puberty? I would gladly live with the surfing and banging if he was at least eating his dinner!! Not even a waxworm can hold his attention aand he used to just about take my hand off to try and get one!!
 

kingofnobbys

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KatieMoo94":3bjlg2cn said:
Any blackbearding going on with fast headnodding (almost like "he's" going to nod "his" head off) ? (male)
can "he" see "his" own reflection ?


Nope no black beard and no head bobbing just a whole lot of glass surfing and wall climbing! Enclosure is wooden with glass doors so no way for him to see his reflection either.

My biggest worry is the fact he hasn't eaten for nearly a fortnight is that normal when it comes to puberty? I would gladly live with the surfing and banging if he was at least eating his dinner!! Not even a waxworm can hold his attention aand he used to just about take my hand off to try and get one!!

never saw that with my uberpampered gang .... nor going off the food with shedding .... very small sample of 4 , so no real indicator, have you considered the beardie might be bored ? .... wanting more time out and more interaction with you .?

Toothless ate nothing while I was in hospital in October last year (about the age as your's is now when this happened), he was pining for his daddy, that was over 3 weeks , nearly a month .... I discharged myself against doctor's advise because I was worried he was starving himself to death, got home had to use oxygen to walk from ambulance to front door (assisted by 3 ambulance officers (one on each arm , one following up the rear with the oxypac) , only to discover he was fine but very pleased to see me, and he was so hungry he forgot his manners and nearly bit my fingers as I handed him some silkworms.

Maybe "'he's" bored with usual insects , might be worth getting a tub of a different species of insect and seeing if these work the charm ?
 

KatieMoo94

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What I've been trying to do is let him out every time he bangs the glass even if I'm trying to get out to go to work I let him run around for 10 minutes or so while I'm getting ready I close all the doors off the hall so he has free roam through the living room and the hallway and he gets out at least once if not more every evening and more at the weekend.

I've also added extra bits for climbing in and now his sand box to make life more interesting for him and he gets baths 2-3 times a week.

The way I'm trying to look at it is that if he were poorly he wouldn't be running around, tail in the air like he just don't care and the sensible part of my brain says "it's just a phase" but it's so hard not to worry about the little bugger!
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
KatieMoo94":12sts6go said:
What I've been trying to do is let him out every time he bangs the glass even if I'm trying to get out to go to work I let him run around for 10 minutes or so while I'm getting ready I close all the doors off the hall so he has free roam through the living room and the hallway and he gets out at least once if not more every evening and more at the weekend. <<< lol ... you've created a monster .... he has figure out that if he plays up, he gets fun time outside the tank ... he's got a well trained mummy/slave.

I've also added extra bits for climbing in and now his sand box to make life more interesting for him and he gets baths 2-3 times a week. <<< can he see the TV from his tank ? .... he might be less needy if he has the TV on (on low volume while you are at work) so he has something to draw his attention .... all my lizards love watching the TV (even have personal fav TV shows).

The way I'm trying to look at it is that if he were poorly he wouldn't be running around, tail in the air<<< tail in the air is a happy beardie who's very alert and interested in stuff
like he just don't care and the sensible part of my brain says "it's just a phase" but it's so hard not to worry about the little bugger!
 

KatieMoo94

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Oh yes well trained slave doesn't even cover it he is spoilt rotten and the thing is I would have a house full of them if I could get away with it. Clearly just a glutton for punishment!

I think then he's just going through a phase a friend has a beardie who is a bit older but does go through phases were he just turns his nose up at any food that's put in front of him so I'll just keep trying! He still has a fatty belly and his fat pads on his head are still in good shape but with all the running around I've no idea how he isn't skin and bone by now ?!
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
KatieMoo94":322y9v7a said:
Oh yes well trained slave doesn't even cover it he is spoilt rotten and the thing is I would have a house full of them if I could get away with it. Clearly just a glutton for punishment!

I think then he's just going through a phase a friend has a beardie who is a bit older but does go through phases were he just turns his nose up at any food that's put in front of him so I'll just keep trying! He still has a fatty belly and his fat pads on his head are still in good shape but with all the running around I've no idea how he isn't skin and bone by now ?!

My wife kept telling even though Toothless was refusing to eat, even his favourate foods (silkworms and crickets) , he was still full of beans.
He was still visiting to Rex's tank (he fancied her and she wanted him , heading at each other and her doing the slow arm waves back) , trotting about looking in our bedroom, at my fav chair in the lounge room and then he'd spend ages looking out through the front window (the last he's seen me was when I was carryout out to go to into the ambulance) ....

I've had up to three beardies + two bluetongue skinks and a water skinks. They kept me busy.
Now down to just two beardies and two bluetongue skinks. Best pets ever, every one of them a unique personality , all highly intelligent and inquisitive , affectionate and megatame , and spoilt rotten.
 

KatieMoo94

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I actually went out earlier in the week and bought one tub of each type of bugs the shop had and have poked each of them at him in turn, put them in his salad... you name it I tried it. He has eaten the odd thing here and there... he's eaten 2 crickets today dusted with vitamins actually and I couldn't help but heap the praise on him!

I think he knows I'm in the house because he's been banging and clattering to get out a fair few times so he's spent a large part of the day sprinting around the floor. I'm beginning to think he's maybe just a bit hyper and spoiled because apart from when he sits up on his climbing frame all day he is always wearing his happy lemon colours.

That is so so sweet about your poor beardie pining for you what a wonderful bond to have! And you're so dedicated to getting back home for him that's just amazing. I couldn't imagine being away from the snoot for any length of time! He drives me mad but I just adore him. When we get out of renting and buy our own house I plan on buying a viv stack and rehoming a rescue or two.
 
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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

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