Not interested in Eating

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Fayster

Member
Hi there,

My 8 month Bearded Dragon "Basil" has stopped hunting and is not interested in crickets anymore. Rarely touches his veggies (dandelions, strawberries, sweet peppers) all of a sudden. It's been this past week. He will eat meal worms. I purchased Dubia roaches yesterday. He ate a couple of them yesterday but that's about it. Today he has not approached them. He has been hiding more in his hide. Does go to sleep earlier. Does bask throughout the day either on his hide or hammock. Not sure what is going on. Any thoughts? thank you
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
We need to go over the lighting in the tank to see if this could be a reason
Brand and bulb of the UVB? coil or tube ? where in the tank is it on top of screen or inside the tank?
Basking temps what are they and how are you taking them? NO stickons they are incaccurate
Karrie
 

Fayster

Member
Original Poster
Hi Karrie,

We bought a 40 gallon terrarium (Thrive brand) about a month ago. It came with everything. 100 watt essential basking soft bulb and a 26 watt desert UVB bulb. I believe it's a tube. It's on top of the screen. Basking temp is 88 degrees. We do use the stickon that it came with but we also have a temp gun which we use to double check.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok the UVB is a coil - is it a Reptisun brand UVB? His basking temps should be 105-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer or a infrared heat gun-- I recommend you get a digital probe - you need to get those basking temps up - he will not eat w/ out proper basking temps and proper UVB - I recommend you get rid of the coil UVB if its not a Reptisun or get a Reptisun to be honest I dont have faith in them --- if you plan to keep the coil it needs to be 6-8 inches from basking decor in a reflective dome w/ nothing obstructing it--- they have said they are similar to a T 8 which is a long tube fixture -- but I just really dont care for them --- you can either move your decor piece higher for basking temps to raise or get a higher wattage bulb but until then hes not going to eat -- he will go thru relocation stress but he should be eating something -- so right now we need to work on the temps and the UVB
Karrie
 

Fayster

Member
Original Poster
Thank you Karrie..I will look into the brand and will definitely make the changes. The only thing at this point that he is willing to eat is meal worms and I don't want to over do it...I feel this change happened within the last week..he's been in his new terrarium for the past month..I am assuming it could also be the air conditioning in the room...ok..I'll get started with changing the temps asap. What are your thoughts on the meal worms temporarily?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
No meal worms- they are too harsh on their stomachs and too many can cause impaction--- crickets dubias or silk worms and bsfl are good staple feeders-- he needs salads every morning-- I can post the nutrition website for you along w/ other websites for worms and insects- you need a 24" fixture w/ a reflector-- if you are getting rid of the coil and a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 bulb-
Karrie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Here are some websites for you
Ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
www.dubiaroaches.com good place for worms and roaches at this time they are not shipping roaches website says two weeks keep checking or you can get them else where for now but they are good you can get small super worms from here along w/ horn worms but they need to be small when you get them they grow really fast they say medium but normally they send small ones so order small amounts if ordering them - also they have nice butter worms too when in stock - they also have nutri grubs which are phoenix worms BSFL calci worms all the same thing
www.reptilianarts.com good place for silk worms and super worms - at this time last I checked they were out of stock - but keep checking I order in bulk like 50 they come small and if ordering in bulk you will need to order food as well - you will need to feed them daily and clean containers out daily these too are a great staple feeder
www.coastalsilkworms.com
www.mulberryfarms.com they are high on shipping
www.joshsfrogs.com
abdragons.com
http://www.symtonbsf.com
You will need a glass or ceramic bowl so insects/ worms cant get out of - I got it from symtonbsf but they are out of stock I see and only have the small ones --
So you can start checking websites and go from there --- this pandemic has hit places hard I guess I really dont know what is going on
Karrie
 

Fayster

Member
Original Poster
Thank you Karrie,

I will look into these..Gave fresh veggies this morning and some Nubia roaches but ate very little. AC is of. He is out of his hide and tends to hang out on the hammock or on top of his hide. Will be paying attention to the temps.

So this is what I found as far as lighting. Just want to make sure it's correct.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XYWQJDK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A2Z97RC3GHC1Y&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DCSMM7N/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A2J6RTV8TDHA7I&psc=1

This is for the UVB..do I keep the 100 watt basking bulb as is or does this also need to get changed..
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The T 8 hood will not fit the T 5 bulb - I am posting links so you can see what I am talking about first one is a T 8 hood
https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/reptisun-terrarium-hood.html m --- this will need to go inside the tank --
T 5 hood
https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/reptisun-terrarium-hood.html -- this one can sit on top of the tank and it comes w/ a 5.0 bulb it can be used as back up but will need to go inside the tank
you can also order this fixture https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/t5-uvb-light-fixture.html do not use the bulb it comes w/ it is not for reptiles
This is the bulb - a T 5 bulb https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-t5.html
Petsmart carries Reptisun 10.0 T 8 bulbs - fixtures for T 8 bulbs are smaller fixtures they come in 18" and 20" and maybe 22" not sure all 24" fixtures are a T 5 bulb which are a stronger bulb --
Karrie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
If that soft 100 bulb is not getting his temps to 105-110 yes --- you need a bright white basking bulb look for this Exo Terra Intense basking bulb start w/ a 100 watt but make sure you have a digital probe thermometer or infrared heat gun ---- do not change it out till you have those in the house --- you do not want to burn him up ---- go from there -- you can find both of those items at Petsmart or Petco
Karrie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Correct hood wrong length -- you want a 24" hood and the bulb is correct - you need the 22" bulb and I see they are out of the 24" -- www.petmountain.com has them in stock for $51 --
Karrie
 

Fayster

Member
Original Poster
Thank you Karrie...yes..I noticed the size..I was able to find one and placed the order. Unfortunately a lot of the worms you suggested are out of stock. I am going to see if Petsmart has any. Temps are up today..he is basking and hanging out on both sides of the terrarium but still is not interested in eating. Don't want to give him meal worms if I don't have to..I will try again later with the dubia roaches and see what happens. The lights will not be in till next week. Any suggestions on how to get him to eat?
 
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