5 mo old beardie has to be helped out of hide

[Lizard of Light]

So, a weird thing Ardie's started doing these past few days is that when he wakes up in the morning, he may be looking out his hide but wouldn't come out on his own. A couple occasions where he was sleeping at his basking spot, I had even discovered he'd climbed down and into his hide (which is part of the basking rock, a Thrive Desert Corner Hide).

But whenever I took him back out and put him up to bask (so I can get him to eat), he'll stay there until evening, about 7-7:30 PM, before going bed in the hide.

He otherwise seems normal for the most part, and his temperatures aren't any different from usual (it does get to 115 F right at the peak, but just a step down to the left, it's only about 96.6 F; he only goes up to the peak if he's very cold or I put him there after a bath to help him warm up faster).

Still stooling as usual, though last time I saw him poop, it was oddly dry and shriveled at the end. He also stressmarks at the belly before he poops as well.

Is there anything I should be concerned about? I hope he's not trying to brumate since he's a bit young for that and I've been keeping him away from cold as much as possible.

 

[KarrieRee]

5 month olds do not brumate - I would work on getting the basking temp down from the 115 and more of a gradient heat of 105-110- a different piece of basking decor would work something that would offer different places to sit stand or lay against or on -- if his poop was dry and shriveled at the end it sounds like hes dehydrated - you can rinse your salads before serving / drop water on his nose or give by syringe but you must do that very slow so he does not aspirate -- and let him swallow what you put in before adding more
Karrie

 

[Lizard of Light]

5 month olds do not brumate - I would work on getting the basking temp down from the 115 and more of a gradient heat of 105-110- a different piece of basking decor would work something that would offer different places to sit stand or lay against or on -- if his poop was dry and shriveled at the end it sounds like hes dehydrated - you can rinse your salads before serving / drop water on his nose or give by syringe but you must do that very slow so he does not aspirate -- and let him swallow what you put in before adding more
Karrie

As I said, it's exclusively at the very top platform of the hide; everything else had a nice gradient starting the step below at 96.5 F, which gradually tapers with each level, to about 70 F on the cool side and under the hide.

I forgot to mention what was weird about the halfway dry poop that time was I had just given him a hornworm and he was regularly eating vegetables and I was obsessively making sure he stayed hydrated (I mist him in the mornings and drip water on his nose as well). He hasn't been drinking his bathwater either (he only does that if he has any amount of dehydration).

The urate was also perfectly white and not chalky.

It's pretty weird, but I have been thinking of adjusting his setup for a while. The issue now is I can't get any new decor for the time being for personal reasons out of my control. ><;

 

[KarrieRee]

What supplements are you feeding? That too can effect poop--
Karrie

 

[Lizard of Light]

What supplements are you feeding? That too can effect poop--
Karrie

He gets a daily calcium lightly dusted over his dubias and supers, and I dust the supers with a multivitamin occsionakly, though I’ve stopped for the time being since I am gutloading them with leftover bok choy and baby carrots, lol!).

His limit lately seems to be 3 large dubias and 3 regular supers (and a bok choy leaf as an appetizer).

 

[KarrieRee]

Next time he poops post a pic of it so we can see it? And some times they do hide out for awhile - but I need to know what your using for a UVB -- is it a coil or tube ? And where in the tank is it top of screen or inside the tank ? If its a coil he could be hiding from that -- they are not any good and can cause eye issues - we dont recommend coils --
Karrie

 

[Lizard of Light]

Next time he poops post a pic of it so we can see it? And some times they do hide out for awhile - but I need to know what your using for a UVB -- is it a coil or tube ? And where in the tank is it top of screen or inside the tank ? If its a coil he could be hiding from that -- they are not any good and can cause eye issues - we dont recommend coils --
Karrie

It's a tube and it sits on top of a wide-holed screen (I'm using a large exo-terra tank). I have a few photos in the instagram (linked in my signature ).

And he took a big poop today after a few days of not going. It looks pretty normal this time, thankfully. And then a smaller poop a little after. :lol:

Last night, after letting him snooze in my jacket, I checked the night temps in his tank under the hide before putting him in, and saw it was about 67 F there. Decided to see what happens if I use the CHE, which I hadn't used in a few weeks because we've been using the house heater lately.

This morning, he was up and chilling at the entrance at 10 AM before climbing up himself. I kind of wonder if maybe night temps of about 70 are more to his tastes or if he just likes sleeping in lately.

 

[KarrieRee]

Tube T 5 or T 8-- distance and placement is key here
Karrie

 

[Lizard of Light]

Tube T 5 or T 8-- distance and placement is key here
Karrie

T8 (Reptisun 10.0, with a reflector) and it's less than a foot from the basking site (which also has a MVB for heat and extra UVB).

It's about 18 in away from the floor of the tank (which is 36 in x 18 in x 18 in).

That said though, he never closes his eyes when he's out unless he's tired or annoyed. And while I do have to pull him out manually a lot lately, he actually will not only stay out but is pretty animated when it's time to get his buggies from the bowl and when he feels like trying to solve the mystery of who's that weird ghost beardie in the glass on the other end.

I kind of wonder if he's just feeling down because I haven't been taking him out as much this past week (at least, not during the day when he has more energy to run around exploring). I'll see after about 50 minutes after his 2 hours of digestion time are up.

 

[Lizard of Light]

Little update, but turns out all he really wanted was adventures and cuddles because he’s back to normal. I would even argue better than normal because of how much more active he is now. :lol:

Thanks for the help, guys!

 

[KarrieRee]

Little update, but turns out all he really wanted was adventures and cuddles because he’s back to normal. I would even argue better than normal because of how much more active he is now. :lol:

Thanks for the help, guys!

Ok the T 8 needs to be inside the tank -- directly above the basking decor piece 6-8 inches -- T8's are not strong enough to go thru screens please get it unobstructed and correctly distanced -- also they need to be changed out every 6 months I recommend 5