Small juvenile now stopped eating

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Hi there,

First bearded dragon, but I'm generally biologically inclined. He's supposedly 5.5 mo. old, and I've had him 1.5 mo. Alert, calm, etc... He's ~10 inches, but has been around 30 g since I got him. Sometimes he looks skinny to me, sometimes not. 30 g certainly seems low compared to the weights I've seen posted for similar-sized dragons, but until this weekend he's looked alright.

He's eaten phoenix worms since I got him, but whereas he ate 10-20 a day that's steadily decreased to zero over the last 2-3 weeks. He'd eat a bit of kale daily and occasional other fruit/veggies, but he barely eats greens now either. I mostly leave phoenix worms in a bowl in the tank for a few hours a day. He'll look at them sometimes, but mostly ignore them.
I tried giving him dubia to see if he'd eat more and he went bananas the first time (15-20 0.5-1-inch roaches); but then calmed down and would eat like 6-7 a day. Then 2-4. Now zero. He's down to 27 g now and looking a bit skinnier.

He's in a 65 gallon cage. Zoomed T5 10.0 22-inch UV light with perches he uses all day at about 9-11 inches from the bulb. The perches are 97-110F (with a temp gun) and the tank goes from 80-110F during the day, down to 70F at night. Lights on 12.5hours per day.

He's pooped every day except today, since he didn't eat yesterday or today. He is starting to shed, so the last 2 days aren't so worrying alone. I dust the worms with vitamins a few times a week and the dubia with calcium.

Any thoughts? Is he just small and picky and will be fine? Is this a potential parasite issue? He's from a small breeder that gets stellar reviews, but I guess it's possible. I will probably take him to a vet early this week.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
First the UVB is on top of the screen or inside the tank? If its inside the tank its too close 12-15 inches from basking area - if its on top of the screen your good -- I was going to say relocation stress but you have had him too long for that now I am thinking- any stress marks? I wouldnt think he has parasites but its possible -- I would keep feeding him the roaches tho they are going to keep the weight on him - is he hydrated? They wont eat if they are dehydrated -- I would get him some super worms and some silk worms-- use them to draw him to the salad bowl - feed first thing in the morning --
Karrie
 

bongo222222222222

Member
Original Poster
Huh. Alright. Many thanks for your input. I will try lowering his perches away from the UV light, since the light is in the tank. I was following the recommendations from Zoomed here (https://zoomed.com/wp-content/uploads/Choosing-Correct-UVB-Lamp-2018-07.pdf) which shows 5-7 inches is optimal.
How long do you think it should take to see some improvement, if that's the issue? A day? A week?
Why do you think it's not parasites? Just so I can learn.

EDIT: Forgot to say in response to your question that he had stress marks on his stomach for maybe 2 weeks when I got him, they went away completely, and now are present but very faint some of the time.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
It's possible but since he's so young and temps are good and your not feeding crickets that's why I am skeptical- the T 5 in the tank is a good strong bulb so anything closer than 11 inches is not recommended- you should see a difference in his behavior right away-- you have the T 5 set up for a T 8 distance wise-- try that see what his behavior does
Karrie
 

bongo222222222222

Member
Original Poster
Brilliant. I just lowed the perch to floor-level while he's sleeping, so he really has a very simple setup now. Just a hide box and a basking spot about 13 inches from the UV. Your idea makes sense. I'll see what happens tomorrow and will update here. Thanks again.
 

bongo222222222222

Member
Original Poster
Yes, I think we may be on to something. He does drink when bathed, and started that about a week ago. I got him to drink twice today.
He's looked a bit more awake and lively today, though still did a little eye squinting. He ate veggies twice, but no phoenix worms or dubia, even though they were in their dishes for hours and I tried hand feeding.
The cage set ups:
Current, with the lowered perch
108378-8836559620.jpg
.
Previously, the perch was leaning up high
108378-6690071430.jpg
.
The UV runs across the top of the cage and you can see the heat lamp.
Hopefully he does better by the day, but I really would like him to start eating some insects again!
Thanks for the input, folks.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
O.K., that's good ! That's progress and he will probably do a little better as the days go by. Is his tank on the floor by chance ? He might be distracted or a little stressed by all the things he sees.
 

bongo222222222222

Member
Original Poster
Yeah, his tank is on the floor. Interesting. Not too much going on here, just me and him usually! Though I guess table and couch legs are pretty fun. I do want to raise the tank, but only about 8 inches it won't block a window. Thinking about how to do that.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
You can use an old dresser they make great stands -- I use one for my 120 gallon tank its real light - and use the drawers for supplies or you can find a fish stand - you can look at second hand stores - I paid $40 for the dresser - the other I got from Home Depot and it was alot more -- its a fish aquarium stand --
He would like it off the floor plus its cold on the floor
Karrie
 

bongo222222222222

Member
Original Poster
Yeah, a dresser will be too high. I just want to go 8 inches up or else the cage blocks windows. I'll figure it out! Seems secondary to the likely UV issue.
 

bongo222222222222

Member
Original Poster
Yeah, thought of that, but he's 5.5 months unless the (very responsive, highly rated) breeder has straight-up lied twice for no reason. =)
 

bongo222222222222

Member
Original Poster
Update:
Vet sees nothing wrong on exam, other than that he's obviously tiny for his age and now a bit skinny. Parasite test found this critter that she hasn't seen before.
108378-8284265198.jpg

Working on trying to ID it, but for now, we're doing an antiparasite drug and syringe feeding. =/
 
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