~1 year old barely eating, not brumating

[DovahDad]

Hey everyone,

We've had Nova, an approximately 1 year old leatherback, since March. He started out with a great appetite, eating about 40 mid-sized dubias the day after we got him!

Here's Nova today, NOT eating.

Over the months since he was a pretty good eater, but in the past month or so he's begun to barely eat at all. Will leave his greens untouched most days no matter what they are (we've tried escarole, mustard, collard, curly endive, chicory, dandelion, acorn squash in varying mixes). Also won't touch any commercial BD food mixes.

Worse, over the past couple weeks he won't even eat his dubias, except for the occasional one every couple days. Previously he had super worms (his staple for a couple months ending about a month ago) and crickets (a few months ago). His staple is now small to medium dubias, which he shows no interest in. He used to eat them as fast as he could get ahold of them.

He was in shed for the past couple weeks so we though that might've been it, but he finished shedding a couple days ago and is still the same. He'll occasionally eat part of a raspberry, but won't eat anything else.

He also only poops in his bath, and that only every few days or so. He never poops without being put in the bath anymore.

I know he's not trying to brumate since he seems alert, basks with his mouth open, moves around his cage, and only sleeps at night.

Does anyone have any idea what his issue might be?

Here's his setup:

[*]40 gallon tank
[*]Reptisun 10.0 (new 2 mo. ago)
[*]150W basking lamp in reflector hood
[*]115° in basking spot, 94° warm side surface temp, 83° on the cool side
[*]Tile floor

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

 

[DovahDad]

Okay, I just did a little more research and I'm starting to wonder if maybe he is trying to brumate or go into some kind of dormant period. Even though he's not sleeping and mostly basks and moves around like normal, he did do this the other day:

... which he's never done before and looks absolutely ridiculous. Seems like he may have been trying to burrow or hide. Maybe this is a sign he does want to brumate, even though he isn't sleeping any more than usual, and that's why he won't eat?

 

[Esther19]

It could be brumation, or he could be trying to cool off. 115F for a year-old dragon is kind of high. Try taking it down to 105. The minimum for proper digestion is 95. My boy that's a juvenile likes it at 100. Let us know how it goes.

 

[CooperDragon]

He looks like he's at a good weight so I wouldn't worry too much about the appetite on it's own for now. I do suggest measuring his weight on a kitchen scale and keeping track just to make sure it remains steady. It's possible he wants to brumate. I'd drop the temps by maybe 5-10 degrees all around. Try putting some hides and shady areas in his enclosure and see if he goes toward them. You could also put an area of fleece scraps or a small fleece blanket and see if he burrows into it a bit. He may not go into a full brumation but may just slow down for a while. It's hard to say for sure. From the photos it looks like his lower jaw is sticking out a bit and he's having trouble closing his mouth. Is that the case or is it just the angles in the photo?

 

[AHBD]

Hi there...yes, it's most likely because of his age and the season for brumation. Very common, and he'll be fine. I agree with Cooper to offer a hiding spot [ even a folded newspaper will do ] and lower the temps. a bit.

 

[DovahDad]

It could be brumation, or he could be trying to cool off. 115F for a year-old dragon is kind of high. Try taking it down to 105. The minimum for proper digestion is 95. My boy that's a juvenile likes it at 100. Let us know how it goes.

He looks like he's at a good weight so I wouldn't worry too much about the appetite on it's own for now. I do suggest measuring his weight on a kitchen scale and keeping track just to make sure it remains steady. It's possible he wants to brumate. I'd drop the temps by maybe 5-10 degrees all around. Try putting some hides and shady areas in his enclosure and see if he goes toward them. You could also put an area of fleece scraps or a small fleece blanket and see if he burrows into it a bit. He may not go into a full brumation but may just slow down for a while. It's hard to say for sure.

Hi there...yes, it's most likely because of his age and the season for brumation. Very common, and he'll be fine. I agree with Cooper to offer a hiding spot [ even a folded newspaper will do ] and lower the temps. a bit.

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I'll see about getting a slightly lower wattage bulb to lower the temps. I had upped it last from a 75W all the way up to a 150W (he'd been using 100 but it burnt out a couple weeks ago and all we on hand had was the 75). Maybe another 100W would do better.

Good idea regarding the hides - I'll put one in with a soft bottom and see if he uses it.

From the photos it looks like his lower jaw is sticking out a bit and he's having trouble closing his mouth. Is that the case or is it just the angles in the photo?

Interesting you mention the jaw, Cooper. He does always seem to keep his mouth at least slightly open lately with his tongue sticking slightly out. I'll keep an eye on this and see if it continues.

One other thing I've noted - he sometimes has a very slight amount of white goop at the corners of his mouth. No stringy saliva or drooling, but just little bits of goop at the corners. I'll keep an eye on this too. I hope it's nothing serious, but that's the second thing I've noticed that's different about his mouth.

 

[CooperDragon]

You might want to try a lamp dimmer to cut the power just a little bit. I use adjustable lamp stands for my domes and they work really well too, just bump the light up a few inches and it takes the temp down a bit. Great for small adjustments.

Which ReptiSun 10 do you have? Is it the T8 or the T5?

 

[DovahDad]

A lamp dimmer, now why didn't I think of that! I use one for the dubias' heat pad, and it would be so much easier to make fine temperature adjustments than swapping bulbs! Thanks for that.

I use the T5 version in the Reptisun reflector fixture. It's on top of a mesh lid but I figure he probably still gets enough UV.

 

[CooperDragon]

OK yeah that should be fine through the mesh. Should be providing daylight UVB at 12'' or so no problem. Good idea to provide lots of hides with those though because they're pretty intense. Does the inside of his mouth look swollen at all?

 

[DovahDad]

The light is about 18"off the tank floor but he's usually closer to 12"from it since he's usually up on a log or the hammock. Edit: Oh and he often hides under his hammock. I will definitely add a proper hide for him tomorrow.

I'll have to check his mouth when he's awake. I do wonder if it's swollen and that's why it's always open a little lately with his tongue peeking out.

If it is swollen, what could that mean?

 

[CooperDragon]

12'' at the basking spot is just about right. I'm not sure what's causing the swelling. It may just be tissue inflammation from something. Maybe a bite or infection of some kind. I don't have many ideas on that one without more info about the rest of his mouth.

 

[DovahDad]

Alright, well thank you again for all the responses and ideas. I'll take a closer look in his mouth tomorrow and see if anything seems amiss. I'll also lower the temp slightly and add a hide.

By the by, I did get him to eat a few CCs of Zilla Jump Start today that he willingly licked off his snout, so he's not totally off food. Hopefully with the changes to the habitat he'll be back on schedule.

 

[Kashki]

My dragon is being treated for a minor repository infection that has put him off his food for 2 weeks. The reason I am mentioning this is because she said that the white stuff around the mouth can be a sign of this. It might also explain the basking with the mouth open (or rather mouth breathing?). Sometimes the symptoms are very difficult to see apparently.

If this is an ongoing issue maybe an xray wouldn't be a bad idea. It might cost you 100 bucks, but it might put your mind to rest as well. I'm glad I got one done and caught this before it made him sicker.