Beaedie acting crazy eating less

Hi everyone - a concerned beardie mom here. My Groot is about 6-7 months, he is about 19.5 inches. For a good week or so now he has been acting very very erratic. He runs across the tank, glass surfs and I even found him clinging to the lid of the tank. He has been eating way less than normal. He just completed a shed. To give context when we first got him we were feeding him crickets, he was eating as many as he could for 10 min abt 3x a day dusted in calcium or vitamin depending on the day. He then stopped liking crickets so we switched over to roaches, same feeding routine. He would probably eat between 20-40 crickets/roaches per session. He then also lost interest in roaches so we switched to super worms. He loved the worms and was eating abt 15 per session. Just this past week and a half he has not wanted worms, I bought hornworms as he liked those as a snack, he refuses. He is also refusing wax worms. He was pooping regularly every day, and they were large formed stools. Now he has continued to poop, however his poop is much less, and there’s no form to it. He has greens available switching from mustards, kale, celery leaves, and occasionally fruit. I can’t really tell if his greens are being eaten as when he’s running all over his greens go all over the place. His basking area is between 102-110. He has a cool side and a couple of hammocks he likes to hang out on. He also has a UVB that goes throughout his tank. A lot of the time he’ll stop running around and be at the front of the tank just staring. I take him out everyday and he hangs out with us, he isn’t as erratic when he is out with us.

I guess my concern is his erratic behavior, eating less, and smaller poops. Any feedback is appreciated!!

Sounds hormonal --- the UVB is a T 5 or T 8 ?
Karrie

Thanks for responding, it’s a T5. Is this the “puberty” stage these guys go through?

I think so --- the T 5 being on top of screen is the screen a wide hole type or a fine mesh? Distance is key here along w/ that screen type -- it looks like a wide hole - I would get your basking decor 8-10 inches directly under it -- I dont think the behavior is UVB related but I want to make sure
Karrie

Ok - made some adjustments.
His hammock is closer and moved the UVB right over basking area. He still hasn’t wanted to eat he ate 1 superworm and a couple of celery leaves today. Let’s hope he improves.

Don't want to hijack your thread, but I just came here with a beardie of the same age acting the exact same way as yours. I am worried and ignorant (my daughter's first beardie), and the vet is booked up for a month out and will only take what they deem to be emergencies. I don't even know if this qualifies!

How has yours been doing since you posted? Mine out of nowhere stopped eating (at least when I'm watching), and is WAY more active. He used to be a bit of a slug, but now he is trashing his cage like a rock star on tour. Food everywhere, water everywhere, climbing everything he can. I am trying to get him out more to run around, and I am giving him baths nearly daily in case he is bored. He is very alert but just not eating in my view when I feed him. He used to be quite a hunter. I have personally seen him eat only two dubia in five days. Can't tell with the greens, as he tosses them all over the place like the Swedish Chef.

Hey there! So he’s not being as crazy as he was but he still hasn’t eaten much. Hell eat maybe 2 worms or so very other day. I did catch him eating his greens so I’ve been giving him a mix of kale, mustards and cilantro. I added some grapes today for hydration. And I’ll throw in a few calciworms, since they’re so small I figure he’ll eat them without realizing if they’re mixed in his salad.

The only thing I’ve really came across is that they eat less in the colder months. But I never really got an answer as to why he was going ballistic in his viv. I let him hang out with me everyday for a longer period than before so not sure if that relaxed him.

I’m considering taking him as an emergency visit to the vet so I can rule out parasites, just waiting for him to poop so I can get a fecal!

Usually it's related to lighting- UVB basking temps- if that is all correct NO colored bulbs No coil UVB's- all placed where they should be - temps in tank 95-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer- it could be hormonal- my older one has been really rambunctious the last couple of weeks- he gets this way every year- less eating etc-- I take him out as well for a few hours seems to calm him down
Karrie

I moved the UVB closer to his basking area as you suggested previously. Possibly could’ve been the issue, as he is less crazy lately, & that’s been the only change I’ve made since then.

Hi Karrie and Jessica

We do live in a colder area. I have a space heater in my kid's room to keep the room temperature overall up. The basking site is under a 75 watt lamp, and it does get between 100-105 degrees.

Here is a pic of the top of the cage and how I have the light situated:


As you can see, inside the cage the basking light is directly above the hammock, and the UVB is above the rock. He primarily like the hammock.

is he basking under his UVB? Everything looks good -- I am thinking its hormonal --- my oldest has been really active as well not eating much and wanting out all the time
Karrie

Thanks for looking at my lighting and responding! He does bask under the UVB sometimes in the late afternoon, but the cage is not very high, so he's probably still getting something even when he's on the floor of cage.

Maybe I should try some type of worms, but when he was littler he got completely constipated from a mealworm, and so I'm a little gun shy!

Just wanted to provide an update, because things have really improved over here. I am wondering if it might have been a difficult shed.

Romeo's tail was much darker about halfway down than the rest of him, and we were waiting for it to shed, which it never did. We bathe him pretty frequently, but I noticed he was also spending a lot of time in his water dish, so I tried to loosen the top of the tail where it was shedding (very gently). The next day, the tail had really started to shed, and the layer of skin was really thick--thicker than I typically see coming off of him. In addition, the part of his tail that shed was indented compared to the rest of his tail! Within a couple of days the tail had completely shed and was no longer indented.

He is no longer acting like a maniac. He is eating, and he is eating vegetables (much less picky). I think he was really uncomfortable.

I’m glad your guy improved! I actually took my guy to the vet and he tested positive for coccidia and pinworms. So he’s being treated for that! He also had slight impaction. Hopeful for a speedy recovery!

I booked mine for an overall checkup that will happen in the next couple of weeks. I guess I will bring a fecal sample just in case we are having that issue too! Yikes! Glad you trusted your gut and brought him in.