Hi all!
There are so many posts here and they’ve all been such an important resource for me these past 8 months since I got my first beardie.
I’ve had my beardie, Haku, since September 2018. As of now he’s 11-12 months old. When I first got him we started with crickets as his main feeder but moved to dusted dubias fairly quickly (with super worms as treats) and boy was he a voracious eater. It took some time to get him enjoying greens but eventually he fell in love with collard greens and mustard greens, with bits of added bell pepper and broccoli and green beans. He has never really liked any fruit which was surprising.
About 6 weeks ago he started getting a little lethargic, eating less, and pooping very rarely. Around this time I was giving him baths every 2-3 days then switched to every other day when he hadn’t pooped in awhile. We did massages, oil and prune juice cocktails, etc, but eventually he didn’t poop for 10 days so it was time to go to the vet. They were able to get him to poop and he had quite a large urate plug which wasn’t surprising. Then they did a freak test and found a very small amount of coccidia, so I began with his medication regimen for 4 weeks. I asked if brumation was also an option and the vet vehemently denied this as it was June/July in Phoenix. (This is counter to what I’ve read and researched online but it’s tough when the vet is this factual about it.)
Within that 4 weeks, he got more lethargic and began eating even less (virtually nothing) and once again wouldn’t poop. I switched to daily baths and a new vitamin regimen per the vet’s orders during that time as well. I brought him in for a follow up and once again they were able to poop (cotton swab in the ol’ butt) and once again there was a urate plug, then we retested his feces and found no traces of coccidia. Due to this we did a full blood panel, which showed that everything was normal except for a slightly elevated calcium level which they said could be due to puberty.
I once again inquired about brumation and was told that this wouldn’t happen in summer.
It has been two weeks since the last appointment and blood work/fecal test and my Haku still hasn’t pooped and will not eat anything at all (bugs, veggies, anything). I am doing daily baths and doing syringe purée feeding along with some added vitamins and water. Haku primarily goes to the corners of the tank now and tried to burrow and sleep all day and rarely moves and never attempts to bask. That being said, his color is gorgeous still, there are no stress marks showing, and his weight is still okay, although he has lost a bit of weight. (He was a little overweight at his first and second appointments.) No sunken in eyes, no black bearding, etc.
When I take him out of the tank every day, he is active and enjoys running around until he eventually decides to burrow and snuggle with me.
I’m taking him in to another vet in two days for a second opinion but would love to see if any of you have ideas about what could be going wrong and/or what I can try to change.
Below are some added details for reference:
Enclosure: 4 x 2 treated/painted wood tank with sliding glass doors and air vents.
Lighting: 100 watt mercury vapor light (brand new and just replaced in case of any uvb issues -https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CRJXJZ4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)
Standard temps: 95-108 fahrenheit in basking area, 82 - 88 on the cool area
Substrate: vet advised to switch to rabbit pellets from repti carpet during coccidia treatment. (Unsure if I should switch this back but am fairly certain there is no impaction - thoughts on this? I’ve been considering the switch to tile.)
Sorry - I know this is a lot of information but I’d rather be thorough from the start. I truly appreciate any insight and help any of you may have.
This is my first reptile and Haku is my buddy and I’m willing to do whatever to make sure he’s healthy and happy.
Thank you all!
There are so many posts here and they’ve all been such an important resource for me these past 8 months since I got my first beardie.
I’ve had my beardie, Haku, since September 2018. As of now he’s 11-12 months old. When I first got him we started with crickets as his main feeder but moved to dusted dubias fairly quickly (with super worms as treats) and boy was he a voracious eater. It took some time to get him enjoying greens but eventually he fell in love with collard greens and mustard greens, with bits of added bell pepper and broccoli and green beans. He has never really liked any fruit which was surprising.
About 6 weeks ago he started getting a little lethargic, eating less, and pooping very rarely. Around this time I was giving him baths every 2-3 days then switched to every other day when he hadn’t pooped in awhile. We did massages, oil and prune juice cocktails, etc, but eventually he didn’t poop for 10 days so it was time to go to the vet. They were able to get him to poop and he had quite a large urate plug which wasn’t surprising. Then they did a freak test and found a very small amount of coccidia, so I began with his medication regimen for 4 weeks. I asked if brumation was also an option and the vet vehemently denied this as it was June/July in Phoenix. (This is counter to what I’ve read and researched online but it’s tough when the vet is this factual about it.)
Within that 4 weeks, he got more lethargic and began eating even less (virtually nothing) and once again wouldn’t poop. I switched to daily baths and a new vitamin regimen per the vet’s orders during that time as well. I brought him in for a follow up and once again they were able to poop (cotton swab in the ol’ butt) and once again there was a urate plug, then we retested his feces and found no traces of coccidia. Due to this we did a full blood panel, which showed that everything was normal except for a slightly elevated calcium level which they said could be due to puberty.
I once again inquired about brumation and was told that this wouldn’t happen in summer.
It has been two weeks since the last appointment and blood work/fecal test and my Haku still hasn’t pooped and will not eat anything at all (bugs, veggies, anything). I am doing daily baths and doing syringe purée feeding along with some added vitamins and water. Haku primarily goes to the corners of the tank now and tried to burrow and sleep all day and rarely moves and never attempts to bask. That being said, his color is gorgeous still, there are no stress marks showing, and his weight is still okay, although he has lost a bit of weight. (He was a little overweight at his first and second appointments.) No sunken in eyes, no black bearding, etc.
When I take him out of the tank every day, he is active and enjoys running around until he eventually decides to burrow and snuggle with me.
I’m taking him in to another vet in two days for a second opinion but would love to see if any of you have ideas about what could be going wrong and/or what I can try to change.
Below are some added details for reference:
Enclosure: 4 x 2 treated/painted wood tank with sliding glass doors and air vents.
Lighting: 100 watt mercury vapor light (brand new and just replaced in case of any uvb issues -https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CRJXJZ4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)
Standard temps: 95-108 fahrenheit in basking area, 82 - 88 on the cool area
Substrate: vet advised to switch to rabbit pellets from repti carpet during coccidia treatment. (Unsure if I should switch this back but am fairly certain there is no impaction - thoughts on this? I’ve been considering the switch to tile.)
Sorry - I know this is a lot of information but I’d rather be thorough from the start. I truly appreciate any insight and help any of you may have.
This is my first reptile and Haku is my buddy and I’m willing to do whatever to make sure he’s healthy and happy.
Thank you all!