So I'll try and not make this too long but I am now becoming worried. I have a bearded dragon (Dracarys) who will be 1 in a few weeks and I've had him since he was about 5 weeks old. He recently came out of what I would say a long brumation for a young bearded dragon (February to the near end of May). During that time I grew a roach colony and even stocked up on some super worms for him. Before he went to sleep he used to love worms and roaches and would go crazy at the sight of them no problem. When he slowed down I figured it was because of brumation. Now that he's been woke for almost 2 weeks he'll barely eat 1 worm and hasn't seem interested in any roaches. I know crickets are out of the question because at around 6 months he refused to even acknowledge them anymore. Even for his veggies that he used to like (mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens, bell peppers, carrots, never any fruit and I've feel like I've tried them all) those will barely get touch but maybe a few green leaves every other day. I've researched everything I could think of regarding his tank set up and that's all fine. He's even very active in his tank from moving around, basking, likes to be taken outside even from time to time even if it's by my roommate or fiance. He's had his check ups and everything is good, so I'm just wondering of all the research I've done is there something I'm still missing? Just don't want him to starve himself.
1 year old won't eat
- Thread starter Mrnobody
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He won't starve himself easily. How has his weight been? That's a long brumation for a young dragon. Did he lose much weight during that time? It may just take a bit for his metabolism to fire back up. Based on what I saw this year look for a bit of sluggishness followed by a huge burst of energy for a while (energy and low appetite/interest in food) and then a gradual return to normal. Can you post some photos of him? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.
CooperDragon":1l2szp1p said:
His weight has been very constant. Before Brumation he was around 460g and I weighed him recently and he was at 450g. No sluggishness so far from him. The same energetic guy Iv'e always known just picky with his food, which is why I've tried so many things but just want him to be staisfied. And here's a couple of photos of him from this year. The one with his leash is from today where I was able to get him to enjoy 1 roach before he decided he had better things to do :roll:
He's looking good based on those photos. This is in line with what I saw earlier this year with my guy. This is his weight chart. You can see the decline while he was extra hyper after brumation. He has just started to return to normal energy levels (no more up till midnight etc) in the past month and his appetite has come back quite a lot. His weight is increasing again to reflect that.
CooperDragon":tvxj0v3w said:He's looking good based on those photos. This is in line with what I saw earlier this year with my guy. This is his weight chart. You can see the decline while he was extra hyper after brumation. He has just started to return to normal energy levels (no more up till midnight etc) in the past month and his appetite has come back quite a lot. His weight is increasing again to reflect that.
So weight is good. Do you think I should start feeding him in a separate bin? I always use to just separate his 55 gallon tank in half with a cardboard piece and have him in one side to set his insects in a small section where both him and I can seem them without them hiding. I have plenty of bins separate but I tried that and he starts trying to get out after about 20sec or realizing he doesn’t want to be there even when food is in sight.
In my experience they don't tend to like feeding bins, but some folks have good luck with them. It sounds like he might be stressed by the feeding bin. I've had better luck just offering a few bugs at a time and waiting. They are easier to track that way and not so overwhelming as a whole bunch of bugs appearing at once.
Hello,
That was a long brumation for his age. He looks very good & has barely lost any weight at all.
We have a male who bromated at 6 months, for almost 5 months for his first brumation that
worried me to death. He didn't lose any weight at all.
A lot of times when they come out of brumation it takes awhile for their systems to start working
full steam again. Also, his hormones might be elevated due to mating season right now.
You could try bee pollen to help his immune system out & boost his appetite.
His colors look great. Hopefully he will start eating again soon.
Tracie
That was a long brumation for his age. He looks very good & has barely lost any weight at all.
We have a male who bromated at 6 months, for almost 5 months for his first brumation that
worried me to death. He didn't lose any weight at all.
A lot of times when they come out of brumation it takes awhile for their systems to start working
full steam again. Also, his hormones might be elevated due to mating season right now.
You could try bee pollen to help his immune system out & boost his appetite.
His colors look great. Hopefully he will start eating again soon.
Tracie
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Mirage came out of brumation on April 26. He was doing great. On May 2 he started acting funny. We just redid his tank, and he keeps going into one of his hides. He just lays there. He shows no intrest in food. HELP!
