4 weeks in new beardy still not eating

[Auot]

[Click image to enlarge]


Here's Thor. He stopped eating on Day 2. I am actually very comfortable with the fact our vet treated without culture. You could smell the poop from two doors down. It was normal the first day, didn't poop for a week then green slimy and the weekend prior to abx diarrhea and dear gosh awful. It was so liquid there was no way to get a sample. Two days into flagyl they started to reverse in progression loose, then green and slimy and now back to the first stool he had soft but solid and barely no smell. So it indicates that he is responding to treatment. I agree a sample would have been best clinical practice but sometimes, you just gotta treat empirically.

His beard has sort of been like that all along. A little darker lately, I have noticed. He's a great guy, has a routine and if funny if it is HIS time to come out of the habitat, he will knock so loudly on the doors that we can hear him downstairs!!

I just wish he would eat on his own. Thor and I discuss it every day and he just won't. My current thought of plan is: once he is done the Flagyl (Monday) on Thursday (3 days post abx) stop force feeding. Daily weighing. Question is, does this seem reasonable? How low do we let his weight get?

He has made great progress in the last week with his weight, too: Pre abx 265 currently 297 That's just one week.

So much rambling. He is so frustrating with this issue.

[KarrieRee]

Yep that smell would be a sign of parasites -- --- its good hes gaining weight and such a personality -- I would keep offering his insects and see if he will go for them -- if your feeding crickets I would get him switched over to dubia roaches -- better health wise -- you dont want him to loose too much weight but those meds will have an effect on the appetite -- keep track of his weight and if its like drastic losing then I would intervene -- and if he starts eating a little that is good - if you need websites please ask I will post some for the insects / worms
Karrie

[AHBD]

I think you + Thor's plan is fine. He's gained plenty of weight and is even chubby. So just be patient and he should start eating on his own at some point.

[Auot]

So it has been a week and he is down to 276 and hides in his cave all day. We've tried putting him in a container full of roaches and food, bathing him every couple of days, even opened a pumpkin (we were carving them) and placed him in the middle of it all. The smell of pumpkin had filled the room.. SURELY he would eat... nope. nada. So.... could this be brumation? at 8/9 months?

[KarrieRee]

No brumation for a 8/9 month old unless hes really big and he does not look to be over size--- the UVB looks from the picture farther than the 12-15 inches from basking decor --he should not be hiding all the time - hes not basking either ? at all?
Karrie

[Auot]

Nope. Won't come out unless forced.

[KarrieRee]

What does the poop look like? Is it runny and smell so bad it makes you want to leave the room?
Karrie

[AHBD]

It's normal at that size to do what he's doing as a result of stress. Let him stay in there for a while, he will probably come out on his own in a week or so.

[Auot]

Update on Thor:

After 10 days of not eating and hiding all day, wt dropped to 265, we started to feed (by Force) again. He will bask for about 10-15 minutes, on Wednesday he played a little, seemed like he was coming out of this funk, but now back in his cave, never comes out unless forced.

I feel like we are missing something.

[Drache613]

Hello,

Just to be sure, he is around 9 or so months of age?
How much weight has he lost, if any? This type of behavior is pretty normal, during this
time of year. They tend to go in & out of dormant times.
Since he has been on medication though, his system has most likely gotten out of whack
a little bit. Have you gotten him on any type of probiotic at all, to help his system out? That
may help out for him some, in case he isn't digesting very well.
Is he black bearding any at all? Are you sure that he is a male, & not female?

Tracie

[Auot]

Hello,

Just to be sure, he is around 9 or so months of age?
How much weight has he lost, if any? This type of behavior is pretty normal, during this
time of year. They tend to go in & out of dormant times.
Since he has been on medication though, his system has most likely gotten out of whack
a little bit. Have you gotten him on any type of probiotic at all, to help his system out? That
may help out for him some, in case he isn't digesting very well.
Is he black bearding any at all? Are you sure that he is a male, & not female?

Tracie

Yes, He is around 9 months now. He lost about 20gms before we started to force feed. He is on a probiotic. Stools have been few but absolutely perfect now. He does have a little black bearding and I "think" he is a male. At least that is what we were told we bought. He has a blue spot on his back, so we assume his is a male...lol!

[Drache613]

Hello,

A blue spot, you mean from the breeders mark?
Ok, good to hear he is on a probiotic! He may also be going through puberty as such,
which can sometimes cause them to have different likes or preferences on food, etc.
Higher hormone levels can also affect them at that age, wanting to breed, too. How is
he doing today?

Tracie