Hello, all. I’m a relatively new bearded dragon owner and I have been trying to research as best as I can, including reading many posts on this forum. This is my first post here, as I could really use some help and any and all advice will be considered and appreciated.
I have a rambunctious female beardie that’s a little over 4 months now that has practically stopped eating. Her name is Onyx and there’s quite a bit of story with her, but to make things simple, I’ll only mention the probably most relevant things just in case.
Background:
She had injured 3 of her toes prior to my adopting her. Half of one toe fell off, the 2nd and 3rd toes are malformed. She seems to be okay, though. They have completely healed months ago and don’t hold her back at all. They shed fine and have gotten stronger over time (I’ve had her since January).
Onyx was also diagnosed with parasites twice (a high case of pretty much the full spectrum of parasites minus Coccidia the first time, and then a mild case of coccidia the second time), and some type of bacterial infection that she’s been treated for the last 4 weeks and her last dose will be in a few days. Mind you, she was always a big eater and the parasites never held her back.
Some Important Info:
We were on a good routine for 2 months, but a winter storm hit the mid-States at the time I was due for another BSFL shipment. Due to this, I literally had no more insects to feed Onyx for over 2 weeks as every other supplier either overcharged like stupid or was notorious for terrible service and quality. (I was trying to reserve the silkworms to help her hydration for the medicine, so I couldn’t give her too many)
So, I had no choice but to feed Onyx mealworms. Terrible, I know, but I was desperate. I never fed a lot, just a few, and I watched her like a hawk. She had good bowel movements every day, and never seemed to struggle.
(I just want to note here that before I adopted Onyx, she was apparently being fed crickets and mealworms daily. I stopped that as soon as I got her, which she took extremely well and loved the new diet of Dubia. She’s not a picky eater when it comes to bugs as I’ve rotated and experimented feeders every 2 weeks or so.)
I eventually got my BSFL and we returned to our routine with no problems. However, due to the terrible circumstances from the winter storm, my BSFL supplier was low on feeders, so for my next shipment (a little over a week ago), I ordered from their sister site.
The Current Problem:
The BSFL weren’t shipped on time, and the post office also delayed it by 3-4 days. I had leftover mealworms to get Onyx through a few days.
Again, no problems.
However, 4 days ago, Onyx barely touched her greens for the whole day. Not a big deal, because she sometimes has her picky moments. She was still eating the mealworms and silkworms, and had good bowel movements.
But then 3 days ago, she refused to eat the greens at all. Okay…but still ate the insects and pooped normally.
2 days ago, Onyx refused the greens again for breakfast, but ate the insects. The BSFL finally came in the afternoon. They were all alive, but most of them were black, and stunk to high heaven. My family convinced me to feed her the BSFL anyway for the rest of the day’s meals, which Onyx ate them all with no problems.
But then yesterday, she ate most of the serving of BSFL for breakfast but left 8. She ate the 2 silkworms, though. However, she refused all food for lunch save for one silkworm. Then it was a struggle to get her to eat 3 silkworms for dinner. She had nothing else.
I immediately feared she was impacted and gave a bath, message, and olive oil. She pooped this morning, a good size, with no undigested bits, so impaction isn’t the case. However, while her urate was mostly formed and moist, there were a few chalky bits. Since refusing the greens, her hydration has gone down, so it's no big surprise, but still not good. She doesn't drink from a water dish, and will rarely take water from a syringe.
Also, this morning, she refused the greens again. She seemed interested in the BSFL (I switched to the lighter ones this time), but as soon as she ate one, she ran off and refuses anything else.
Behavior:
Her behavior during meal time has changed drastically. She is no longer excited or even cares. I can probably not go to her tank at all in the day and she wouldn’t care, whereas before, she would demand food (she knew the routine) and leap off her hammock the moment I set her food down.
Her behavior outside of mealtime has not changed much, though. She still enjoys her hide, and exploring, or running around when out and about.
She continues to stay in her Warm Area, but…before all this happened, she would bask as soon as she woke up in the morning before going to the Warm Area. Now, she doesn’t bask at all and just stays in the Warm Area.
Conclusion and Questions:
I’m pretty sure the BSFL is the main problem, and I won’t be feeding her them anymore, but that doesn’t explain her refusal of the greens days before the BSFL… The greens are still fresh and good, so it’s not like they’re spoiled.
Should I put her back on the mealworms? I don’t want to, but I seem to not have much choice once again. I only have 8 silkworms left, and finances are an issue right now considering I just blew this month’s beardie budget on bad feeders.
Is there also anything else that could be wrong? I heard baby bearded dragons could sometimes go into brumation, but she hasn’t been sleepy. Just not eating.
Or maybe something internal could be wrong? I tried research, but so many things have similar symptoms, or she just doesn’t fall into any of them at all.
I’m hoping I’m just being overly concerned, but I really have no clue and my family is tired from my even mentioning Onyx. :/
I usually get my BSFL (and dubia) from Dubiaroaches.com. Great and never had a problem. This last BSFL order was from their sister site, Gotdubia.com, which is terrible. Never ordering again. If anyone has any recommendations of high quality but cheap BSFL suppliers like Dubiaroaches.com, can you please point me in the direction?
Again, any help would be appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Set-Up:
About 40-50 gallon tank. (working on moving her to a bigger tank, but for now, I take her out often to hang out and roam free in a beadie-proof room.)
ReptiSun T5 10.0
Basking Spot: 100-110
Warm Area: 93-96
Cool Area: 83-86
Lights On: 13 hours
Eats 3x a day
Stable Diet:
BSFL
Silkworms
Collard Greens
Turnip Greens
Mustard Greens
(former) Dubia
(former) Crickets
Diet Only When Desperate:
Mealworms
Supplements: (all supplements are from beardeddragon.co)
Bee Pollen
Calcium Complex Powder 5x a week whenever used (I never dust the BSFL, but I always dust it on other feeders if she has them)
Multivitamin 2x a week
Probiotics once a day (ever since she started her medicine maybe 7-8 weeks ago, including the first time she was diagnosed with parasites)
(she absolutely hates supplements other than bee pollen on her greens, but she'll have the supplements on the insects)
I have a rambunctious female beardie that’s a little over 4 months now that has practically stopped eating. Her name is Onyx and there’s quite a bit of story with her, but to make things simple, I’ll only mention the probably most relevant things just in case.
Background:
She had injured 3 of her toes prior to my adopting her. Half of one toe fell off, the 2nd and 3rd toes are malformed. She seems to be okay, though. They have completely healed months ago and don’t hold her back at all. They shed fine and have gotten stronger over time (I’ve had her since January).
Onyx was also diagnosed with parasites twice (a high case of pretty much the full spectrum of parasites minus Coccidia the first time, and then a mild case of coccidia the second time), and some type of bacterial infection that she’s been treated for the last 4 weeks and her last dose will be in a few days. Mind you, she was always a big eater and the parasites never held her back.
Some Important Info:
We were on a good routine for 2 months, but a winter storm hit the mid-States at the time I was due for another BSFL shipment. Due to this, I literally had no more insects to feed Onyx for over 2 weeks as every other supplier either overcharged like stupid or was notorious for terrible service and quality. (I was trying to reserve the silkworms to help her hydration for the medicine, so I couldn’t give her too many)
So, I had no choice but to feed Onyx mealworms. Terrible, I know, but I was desperate. I never fed a lot, just a few, and I watched her like a hawk. She had good bowel movements every day, and never seemed to struggle.
(I just want to note here that before I adopted Onyx, she was apparently being fed crickets and mealworms daily. I stopped that as soon as I got her, which she took extremely well and loved the new diet of Dubia. She’s not a picky eater when it comes to bugs as I’ve rotated and experimented feeders every 2 weeks or so.)
I eventually got my BSFL and we returned to our routine with no problems. However, due to the terrible circumstances from the winter storm, my BSFL supplier was low on feeders, so for my next shipment (a little over a week ago), I ordered from their sister site.
The Current Problem:
The BSFL weren’t shipped on time, and the post office also delayed it by 3-4 days. I had leftover mealworms to get Onyx through a few days.
Again, no problems.
However, 4 days ago, Onyx barely touched her greens for the whole day. Not a big deal, because she sometimes has her picky moments. She was still eating the mealworms and silkworms, and had good bowel movements.
But then 3 days ago, she refused to eat the greens at all. Okay…but still ate the insects and pooped normally.
2 days ago, Onyx refused the greens again for breakfast, but ate the insects. The BSFL finally came in the afternoon. They were all alive, but most of them were black, and stunk to high heaven. My family convinced me to feed her the BSFL anyway for the rest of the day’s meals, which Onyx ate them all with no problems.
But then yesterday, she ate most of the serving of BSFL for breakfast but left 8. She ate the 2 silkworms, though. However, she refused all food for lunch save for one silkworm. Then it was a struggle to get her to eat 3 silkworms for dinner. She had nothing else.
I immediately feared she was impacted and gave a bath, message, and olive oil. She pooped this morning, a good size, with no undigested bits, so impaction isn’t the case. However, while her urate was mostly formed and moist, there were a few chalky bits. Since refusing the greens, her hydration has gone down, so it's no big surprise, but still not good. She doesn't drink from a water dish, and will rarely take water from a syringe.
Also, this morning, she refused the greens again. She seemed interested in the BSFL (I switched to the lighter ones this time), but as soon as she ate one, she ran off and refuses anything else.
Behavior:
Her behavior during meal time has changed drastically. She is no longer excited or even cares. I can probably not go to her tank at all in the day and she wouldn’t care, whereas before, she would demand food (she knew the routine) and leap off her hammock the moment I set her food down.
Her behavior outside of mealtime has not changed much, though. She still enjoys her hide, and exploring, or running around when out and about.
She continues to stay in her Warm Area, but…before all this happened, she would bask as soon as she woke up in the morning before going to the Warm Area. Now, she doesn’t bask at all and just stays in the Warm Area.
Conclusion and Questions:
I’m pretty sure the BSFL is the main problem, and I won’t be feeding her them anymore, but that doesn’t explain her refusal of the greens days before the BSFL… The greens are still fresh and good, so it’s not like they’re spoiled.
Should I put her back on the mealworms? I don’t want to, but I seem to not have much choice once again. I only have 8 silkworms left, and finances are an issue right now considering I just blew this month’s beardie budget on bad feeders.
Is there also anything else that could be wrong? I heard baby bearded dragons could sometimes go into brumation, but she hasn’t been sleepy. Just not eating.
Or maybe something internal could be wrong? I tried research, but so many things have similar symptoms, or she just doesn’t fall into any of them at all.
I’m hoping I’m just being overly concerned, but I really have no clue and my family is tired from my even mentioning Onyx. :/
I usually get my BSFL (and dubia) from Dubiaroaches.com. Great and never had a problem. This last BSFL order was from their sister site, Gotdubia.com, which is terrible. Never ordering again. If anyone has any recommendations of high quality but cheap BSFL suppliers like Dubiaroaches.com, can you please point me in the direction?
Again, any help would be appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Set-Up:
About 40-50 gallon tank. (working on moving her to a bigger tank, but for now, I take her out often to hang out and roam free in a beadie-proof room.)
ReptiSun T5 10.0
Basking Spot: 100-110
Warm Area: 93-96
Cool Area: 83-86
Lights On: 13 hours
Eats 3x a day
Stable Diet:
BSFL
Silkworms
Collard Greens
Turnip Greens
Mustard Greens
(former) Dubia
(former) Crickets
Diet Only When Desperate:
Mealworms
Supplements: (all supplements are from beardeddragon.co)
Bee Pollen
Calcium Complex Powder 5x a week whenever used (I never dust the BSFL, but I always dust it on other feeders if she has them)
Multivitamin 2x a week
Probiotics once a day (ever since she started her medicine maybe 7-8 weeks ago, including the first time she was diagnosed with parasites)
(she absolutely hates supplements other than bee pollen on her greens, but she'll have the supplements on the insects)