Vomiting and refusing to eat

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Hello, I'm a new owner of a 6 months~ old beardie.
I've had my beardie for 8 days now, and as the title says she has vomited, 2 times. I fed her the first time on the second day with dusted crickets (Vitamin D3 and Calcium, she ate 13 of them. The next day she pooped and everything seemed normal, but an hour after that she threw up half digested crickets, maybe 4-5 of them.

Worried as I was I started googling for answers and read that the crickets could have been too big, or that I just had gotten a bad bunch of crickets, that the temperature could be wrong or that she simply was stressed with her new environment and vomited.
After reading I realized that the crickets may have been too big (they were slightly longer than the space between her eyes), so I ordered new, tinier crickets. That would take a couple of days though since live feeder insects aren't that popular to have stored in my area, but they had superworms so I thought I could feed her some of those (temporarily) plus vegetables I offer her daily.

She didn't eat too much after she vomited and a couple of days later the same thing happened, but with superworms, she pooped and then threw up half digested superworms, maybe 2-3 of them.

Now a day has passed and I got my new tiny crickets, but she is refusing to eat anything. She does not want crickets, superworms or vegetables.

I'm just a nervous wreck and I want her to be healthy. Am I doing something wrong? is it normal to vomit if she is stressed? Could it be that the insects were to big and caused impaction?

Some info about the enclosure and her behaviour:
The Terrarium is 375 liters (99 gallons).
Her basking place is 40 degree celsius (104 fahrenheit), and the cool side is 28.4 degree celsius (83.12 fahrenheit).
I use some kind of rug at the bottom, no heat mat or heat rocks, the only heat provided is from her basking lamp.

She is quite alert, looking at me if I walk past, moving around and not hiding at all, only when she sleeps, then she usually curls up inside her hiding spot. She even started running back and forth in front of the terrarium after I fed her some superworms.
She hasn't moved much the last day after she vomited, she only goes to her basking spot, and do not show any interest in food.

Any kind of help is appreciated. I'm sorry if I'm just being paranoid and worry too much. I do love her very much.
 

Mysty

Juvie Member
OK. Firstly I'd avoid superworms for now as their hard bodies make them difficult to digest. The vomiting could be any of the reasons you have described. Try to eliminate them one by one.

Get a digital thermometer with a probe to measure temperature. Ensure you have a suitable tube uvb bulb under 6 months old.

If the temps or uv are currently off, this could be a quick fix by making a replacement.

Also ensure you feed at least 2 hours before lights out. Feeding too late in the evening can mean that again they cannot digest.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
I agree that the culprit was the insects both times. First time because the crickets were too large, next time it was the superworms.

For now just keep her hydrated by dripping water on her snout for a drink. It may take a minute until she starts, but just drip, stop, repeat. Once she starts drinking you can do it faster. She should be back to eating in a day or so. And as the other poster mentioned, don't feed her for about 3 hours before lights go out.


So what size are the tiny crckets ? Many beardies hardly bother with tiny crickets unless they are babies themselves. The right size cricket to order for her would be the 1/2", they would slowly grow over the next week or two as you feed them off, but as they get bigger you can cut them in half.
 

EllenRipley

Member
Original Poster
Thank you for your answers. I will do as you recommend and avoid superworms, and also not to feed her before bedtime. I will get a digital thermometer with a probe to see if it measure better.
I forgot to mention that theres a tube uvb(10%) bulb in the terrarium as well that covers the rest on the length from the basking lamp. The lamps have only been active since I got her, 8-9 days, so they should be okay.

I'll try to keep her hydrated and see if she gets her appetite back soon. Also the size of the crickets, I think is a little smaller than 1/2" (1.27 centimeters) or perhaps spot-on. I'll see if she likes them that way, and I didn't really think about cutting them but will do as well if they grow too big.

Once again thank you, it really calms me down to hear from someone else with more experience.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
EllenRipley":201hn6vf said:
Hello, I'm a new owner of a 6 months~ old beardie.
I've had my beardie for 8 days now, and as the title says she has vomited, 2 times. I fed her the first time on the second day with dusted crickets (Vitamin D3 and Calcium, she ate 13 of them. The next day she pooped and everything seemed normal, but an hour after that she threw up half digested crickets, maybe 4-5 of them.

Worried as I was I started googling for answers and read that the crickets could have been too big, or that I just had gotten a bad bunch of crickets, that the temperature could be wrong or that she simply was stressed with her new environment and vomited.
After reading I realized that the crickets may have been too big (they were slightly longer than the space between her eyes), so I ordered new, tinier crickets. That would take a couple of days though since live feeder insects aren't that popular to have stored in my area, but they had superworms so I thought I could feed her some of those (temporarily) plus vegetables I offer her daily.

She didn't eat too much after she vomited and a couple of days later the same thing happened, but with superworms, she pooped and then threw up half digested superworms, maybe 2-3 of them.

Now a day has passed and I got my new tiny crickets, but she is refusing to eat anything. She does not want crickets, superworms or vegetables.

I'm just a nervous wreck and I want her to be healthy. Am I doing something wrong? is it normal to vomit if she is stressed? Could it be that the insects were to big and caused impaction?

Some info about the enclosure and her behaviour:
The Terrarium is 375 liters (99 gallons).
Her basking place is 40 degree celsius (104 fahrenheit), and the cool side is 28.4 degree celsius (83.12 fahrenheit).
I use some kind of rug at the bottom, no heat mat or heat rocks, the only heat provided is from her basking lamp.
<<< apart from the carpet , every sounds fine ...
<<< just in case :
<<< what are you using to measure the tank and basking spot temperatures ? if it's an dial or strip type analog thermometer it's very inaccurate.

<<< I don't see any mention of UV light source , is the basking bulb a MVB ?
<<< if it's not (an MVB) do you have a UVB globe or tub ?
A GOOD GUIDE FOR SETTING UP THE THERMAL AND UV GRADIENT IN A VIV.
guide-bearded-dragon.jpg


t5ho_12_uvb.png


Compare T8 and T5ho tubes
12_uvb_guide.png


is a good idea to mount the UVB globe or one end of the UVB T8 or T5 tube, so it’s adjacent as close as you can arrange it , to the basking bulb.

She is quite alert, looking at me if I walk past, moving around and not hiding at all, only when she sleeps, then she usually curls up inside her hiding spot. She even started running back and forth in front of the terrarium after I fed her some superworms.
She hasn't moved much the last day after she vomited, she only goes to her basking spot, and do not show any interest in food.

Any kind of help is appreciated. I'm sorry if I'm just being paranoid and worry too much. I do love her very much.
 

EllenRipley

Member
Original Poster
I'm sorry I feel a bit confused trying to make sense of the guide...

I took some pictures of the terrarium and the box I bought the basking lamp with, if it may help.

http://imgur.com/a/oEp9v

I couldn't find and may have thrown away the box I bought the tube in, but I know where I bought it so I could try to give some information from there:

Solar Raptor T5 UVB 10.0
With reflector 30 cm - 160 uW/qcm
Without reflector 30 cm - 70 uW/qcm
39 W - 849 millimeter.

It's attached to a Sunblaster T5 HO 39 W with NanoTech reflector.

I use a digital thermometer and I placed it right under the basking lamp for a whole day before I got my bearded dragon, then it reached 40 degree celsius, and 28.4 degree celsius on the cool side. I will consider getting a new one with a probe if it measure better.

I appreciate your concern.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
EllenRipley":2f2duim9 said:
I'm sorry I feel a bit confused trying to make sense of the guide...

I took some pictures of the terrarium and the box I bought the basking lamp with, if it may help.

http://imgur.com/a/oEp9v
<<< Looks like a good setup to me , I'm not familiar with the MVB you have , but it's made in Germany (likely the same factory as Arcadia's MVBs) so should be fine.

I couldn't find and may have thrown away the box I bought the tube in, but I know where I bought it so I could try to give some information from there:

Solar Raptor T5 UVB 10.0
With reflector 30 cm - 160 uW/qcm <<<< that's fine , a wee bit low (IMO) but better than most I've seen here.
Without reflector 30 cm - 70 uW/qcm
39 W - 849 millimeter.

It's attached to a Sunblaster T5 HO 39 W with NanoTech reflector.

I use a digital thermometer and I placed it right under the basking lamp for a whole day before I got my bearded dragon, then it reached 40 degree celsius, and 28.4 degree celsius on the cool side. I will consider getting a new one with a probe if it measure better.

I appreciate your concern.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Your set up looks great and beardie is looking good. :) I'm not familiar with that Reptistar bulb + couldn't find anything online about it, hopefully it's a good bulb.

I would add one more thin , long basking log that could be propped from the right side of the viv at the bottom of the platform up to the left side wall of the viv [ about a foot high ] for climbing + getting up closer to the other long tube bulb.
 

EllenRipley

Member
Original Poster
Hey, thank you.

I do agree that the terrarium looks a little bit... boring. I'll see if I can find something to fill it with.

She seem to be doing better now though and ate for the first time since friday, only 5 crickets but hopefully she'll eat more and more for every day.
One thing I noticed is that she 'puffs' her throat a little bit after eating while she's basking, it kinda looks like she's going to throw up, but doesn't. Is this anything I should be concerned about?

Other than that she's still very active and alert :D
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
EllenRipley":av1bmkfy said:
Hey, thank you.

I do agree that the terrarium looks a little bit... boring. I'll see if I can find something to fill it with.

She seem to be doing better now though and ate for the first time since friday, only 5 crickets but hopefully she'll eat more and more for every day.
One thing I noticed is that she 'puffs' her throat a little bit after eating while she's basking, it kinda looks like she's going to throw up, but doesn't. Is this anything I should be concerned about?

Other than that she's still very active and alert :D

Aha!!
She's throat stretching .... she's coming up a big shed .... that's perfectly normal beardie behavior prior to a shed.
I freaked out the first few times I saw my beardies doing that too....
 

EllenRipley

Member
Original Poster
Heya again.

She is actually shedding a lot right now, around her head, back and tail. Must be because of that. That's good to know and you saved me from a bit of worry, thanks :)
 
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