Bearded dragon hasn't ate in weeks

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Malachite

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I have a female bearded dragon about 2 years old. Her setup has always been 55 gal breeder tank with a MVB 160 watt exotera as her light source for everything. I do have a little under tank heat mat to keep her warm at night. For the past year I've been feeding her super worms and greens for food. She's always had a great appetite.

Well about 6 weeks ago she stopped eating her greens, but kept eating the super worms when I fed them to her. Then about a week ago she stopped eating super worms. I got crickets and she showed no interest in those. And this is a lizard who went crazy for crickets.

She's also become more and more lethargic, barely moving in her terrarium.

I researched and found out she could be developing metabolic bone disease. So I took her into sun everyday for an hour while I saved up money to take her to vet. I also give her warm baths every other day.

I finally took her to vet and they basically said she looks absolutely healthy and they did absolutely nothing for me. They said to bring a stool sample in when she goes poo. They also said I should try to force feed her if she doesn't eat. They said she is not dehydrated and she does not have any symtoms of metabalic bone disease. They said there is a possibility she could be gravid but didn't appear to have eggs in her, but they weren't sure. It was pretty much a waste of money.

So I figured maybe she needs a lay box, so I made one from soil and sand. I keep putting her in it but she just wants out. All she does is sit in her terrarium and not move. She hasn't ate anything in over a week. But she looks healthy still, and is even alert when you come over to her cage with her head. She just doesn't move a muscle.

The only thing left could be parasites but I don't know. Anyone know what to do?? Should i force feed her now? What should I give her, baby food? I have pedialite I've been bathing her in too.

Help.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Can you post some photos of her and her setup? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button.

Have you been tracking her weight? If that has remained stable, it's possible she is brumating which is fairly normal for them to do. How old is your mercury vapor bulb? How far do you have it over her basking spot?
 

Malachite

New member
Original Poster
Thanks for the reply, I actually posted images in that link when I did the post. I got pics of her, her set-up, the box with the bulb.

No I have not been tracking her weight. I don't have the tools to do that. But she weighed 1/2 pound at the vet.

It's the middle of the summer here in Florida, I thought they brumated in the winter?

My MVB is only 2 months old. I also got an additional light for some extra warmth inside her terrarium - which is seen in the pictures I uploaded.

It's like maybe 18 inches above her cage, but she doesn't really bask anymore, just super lethargic. The light setup probably needs to be changed because the clip is old holding the MVB as u can see in picture. I'm thinking of getting her just standard bulb for basking and a dedicated bulb for UVB. But I want to find out what's wrong with her first. Really worried.

CooperDragon":1bmspbkp said:
Can you post some photos of her and her setup? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button.

Have you been tracking her weight? If that has remained stable, it's possible she is brumating which is fairly normal for them to do. How old is your mercury vapor bulb? How far do you have it over her basking spot?
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Malachite":2ov8x6ex said:
Thanks for the reply, I actually posted images in that link when I did the post. I got pics of her, her set-up, the box with the bulb.
<<< I find it easier to simply upload from the HDD to a image hosting site such as TinyPic or Postimage.org.

Postimage method
postimage_1.png

then
postimage_2.png

insert the highlite image code using the Img tag into the post.

TinyPic method
tinypic1.png

then highlite the image code as shown and insert this directly into the post.
tinypic2.png


is eazypeazy

No I have not been tracking her weight. I don't have the tools to do that. But she weighed 1/2 pound at the vet. <<< ALL you need a flat top digital kitchen scale , everyone has these and they really cheap to buy at any supermarket.

It's the middle of the summer here in Florida, I thought they brumated in the winter? <<< the extra high humidity and stormy weather ( hurricanes ) will also make them hunker down , if it's summer she's not bromating.... something else is going on, usually it's husbandry or lighting or temperatures or sickness.
Need much more information see my cheatsheet for hints and guidance : viewtopic.php?f=6&t=234738&p=1806050#p1806050

My MVB is only 2 months old. I also got an additional light for some extra warmth inside her terrarium - which is seen in the pictures I uploaded.

It's like maybe 18 inches above her cage, but she doesn't really bask anymore, just super lethargic. The light setup probably needs to be changed because the clip is old holding the MVB as u can see in picture. I'm thinking of getting her just standard bulb for basking and a dedicated bulb for UVB. But I want to find out what's wrong with her first. Really worried.

CooperDragon":2ov8x6ex said:
Can you post some photos of her and her setup? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button.

Have you been tracking her weight? If that has remained stable, it's possible she is brumating which is fairly normal for them to do. How old is your mercury vapor bulb? How far do you have it over her basking spot?
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Yes, your photos didn't post, I don't see a link...

With the MVBs and a large enclosure I always recommend adding a secondary UVB tube to cover the other half of the tank, making sure that the long, flourescent light fixture has a reflector behind it. This is especially important if your MVB is on top of a mesh lid of any kind that can block up to 50% of the UVB light. Without photos of your beardie and your setup I can't tell, but typically what I see when someone is using a MVB over a large enclosure is one quarter to one third of the enclosure is bright, the rest of the tank is dark, and if the MVB is in a deep-dome type fixture it's even worse. I'm not an MVB user myself, I use long enough 10.0 T5HO UVB tubes with reflectors behind them mounted inside the enclosures that they pretty much stretch the length of the enclosure (4'X3'X2' and 4'x2'x2' enclosures with 36" long 10.0 T5HO UVB tubes). There is no place my beardies can be inside their enclosures that they aren't getting UVB light except under platforms or inside hides. Also, if you're only using the MVB over top of his basking spot on the Hot Side of his large tank, and you don't have a secondary bright white basking bulb (lower wattage obviously) over the Cool Side, this will also result in a very dark side of the enclosure, and may also obviously effect your temperature gradient being correct.

What are your temps? I don't believe you listed them, or what type of thermometer you're using to measure them...Do you check them weekly? Temps that are too low or too high (or too high in the basking spot only) can cause lethargy and a loss of appetite too. Let us know your Basking Spot, Hot Side Ambient, and Cool Side Ambient temperatures too...

I'm not at all an expert on MVB bulbs, I know the MegaRay seems to be the best available and people seem to have no complaints with them, but they also usually have secondary UVB tubes and basking bulbs if their enclosures are larger than 40 gallon breeder tank because the MVB is just focused down and over the basking spot only. So if you suspect MBD this may be the culprit. A 160 watt MVB is a high wattage, but the issue that I see is making sure that #1 the MVB provides enough UVB light to penetrate the mesh lid and emit enough UVB light to your beardie, and #2 does the MVB cover a large enough area of the enclosure to provide UVB light if your beardie isn't directly underneath it?
 
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