7 month beardie hiding and not eating!?

Mattie V

Member
Hello! My boy Zeke is between 7 and 8 months. He has always been a big eater and also loves his greens. Well....
Yesterday and today he's been hiding and NOT eating no matter what I try. So I have been giving him warm baths and belly rubs which he doesn't mind because he hasn't pooped in 4 days either. When I took him out today he started head bobbing at me which is the first time. I can not get him to a vet until a week out. His poops have always been normal and I clean his cage emmediatly if he poops.
He has a 4x2x2 zen enclosure and a t5 10.0 light. His basking area hottest is 105. Cool side 78. He's been in this cage for months now.

He's active if I take him out but not eating and hiding is a first for him. I'm extremely worried!
 

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Mattie V

Member
Original Poster
Hello! My boy Zeke is between 7 and 8 months. He has always been a big eater and also loves his greens. Well....
Yesterday and today he's been hiding and NOT eating no matter what I try. So I have been giving him warm baths and belly rubs which he doesn't mind because he hasn't pooped in 4 days either. When I took him out today he started head bobbing at me which is the first time. I can not get him to a vet until a week out. His poops have always been normal and I clean his cage emmediatly if he poops.
He has a 4x2x2 zen enclosure and a t5 10.0 light. His basking area hottest is 105. Cool side 78. He's been in this cage for months now.

He's active if I take him out but not eating and hiding is a first for him. I'm extremely worried!
He also gets vitamins 2 times per week and calcium 5 times. Over the last week he hasn't been sprinting to get food as usual, more like waiting around...
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

At his age, it is highly possible he is trying for his first brumation phase. They can go into brumation
at this age. As long as he is apparently healthy & of good weight, it should be fine to let him go into
a brumation phase.
Which brand of tube bulb T5 are you using, the Reptisun? How close is it to him?
Is he maintaining his weight even though he isn't eating much?

Tracie
 

Mattie V

Member
Original Poster
Thank you for the reply. He's usually shedding a part of his body constantly and isn't right now. So I took that into consideration he might be trying to brumate but I thought he was too young? He hasn't lost any weight. I'm still trying to get him to poop so we will see...

He uvb is arcadia t5 12% and only a couple months old. It's about 18 inches from him. He's never really used his hammock. That's closer to the uvb if he needs it.

This morning he still won't eat but he's alert, never actually sleeps during the day. I have his lights on a timer from 8am to 10 pm.
I'm posting a photo of him this morning, so far he's out.
20220818_084946.jpg
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Thank you for the reply. He's usually shedding a part of his body constantly and isn't right now. So I took that into consideration he might be trying to brumate but I thought he was too young? He hasn't lost any weight. I'm still trying to get him to poop so we will see...

He uvb is arcadia t5 12% and only a couple months old. It's about 18 inches from him. He's never really used his hammock. That's closer to the uvb if he needs it.

This morning he still won't eat but he's alert, never actually sleeps during the day. I have his lights on a timer from 8am to 10 pm.
I'm posting a photo of him this morning, so far he's out. View attachment 73059
Please adjust the UVB to 12-15 inches directly above him- since hes not using the hammock get another piece of decor - one that he will use - this would be a cause of him not eating - and I would get something else on the floor of your tank as well the bamboo is very slippery
 

Mattie V

Member
Original Poster
Please adjust the UVB to 12-15 inches directly above him- since hes not using the hammock get another piece of decor - one that he will use - this would be a cause of him not eating - and I would get something else on the floor of your tank as well the bamboo is very slippery
Thank you for your reply! He's been eating great until two days ago. No changes to the light. Would that be a cause over time? I have it above the screen you can see in photos. Do I keep the reflector on and how do I mount it inside the habitat?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Thank you for your reply! He's been eating great until two days ago. No changes to the light. Would that be a cause over time? I have it above the screen you can see in photos. Do I keep the reflector on and how do I mount it inside the habitat?
Hes not getting enough UVB and that is going to cause a lot of issues -- please get it mounted inside the tank the screen is blocking 30% of the rays and its too far away
hang w/ these 3 M command Velcro fasteners- picture hanging wire – long plastic zip ties-- fishing line - yes keep the reflector on--
 

Mattie V

Member
Original Poster
Also I just
Hes not getting enough UVB and that is going to cause a lot of issues -- please get it mounted inside the tank the screen is blocking 30% of the rays and its too far away
hang w/ these 3 M command Velcro fasteners- picture hanging wire – long plastic zip ties-- fishing line - yes keep the reflector on--
Great I will do that today. Thank you. I also ordered a zen habitat mat for his enclosure. How long can he go without pooping? Is there any way I can help besides giving baths? If the lighting is causing the issues with eating, will he bounce back after fixing it? He never likes to be close to the side with uvb. Sorry about the questions! I'm just very worried
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Also I just

Great I will do that today. Thank you. I also ordered a zen habitat mat for his enclosure. How long can he go without pooping? Is there any way I can help besides giving baths? If the lighting is causing the issues with eating, will he bounce back after fixing it? He never likes to be close to the side with uvb. Sorry about the questions! I'm just very worried
Get his UVB adjusted and he should start eating - feed him some plain canned pumpkin and that will make him go poop - add a drop or two of olive oil in the pumpkin
 

Mattie V

Member
Original Poster
Get his UVB adjusted and he should start eating - feed him some plain canned pumpkin and that will make him go poop - add a drop or two of olive oil in the pumpkin
Thanks. I will get some pumpkin today and try to get him to take it. He's only out for a little while then hides. What do I do about him hiding? He's not getting heat or uvb that way
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Thanks. I will get some pumpkin today and try to get him to take it. He's only out for a little while then hides. What do I do about him hiding? He's not getting heat or uvb that way
Get your surface basking temps up to par and your uvb corrected then watch his behavior
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
He looks to be a good weight so he good go a while without eating. What feeders do you use, just like us they get tired of the same food. Maybe try changing the feeders up a bit. But Karrieree is correct if his basking and uvb are off even a little its gonna cause problems. Beardies love to be on an incline, maybe try adding some kind of decor that will facilitate that aslo. They are semi-aboreal by nature so having something to climb on is good enrichment for them. If you use branches or rocks ect from outside be sure ti sanitize them first. :)
 

Mattie V

Member
Original Poster
He looks to be a good weight so he good go a while without eating. What feeders do you use, just like us they get tired of the same food. Maybe try changing the feeders up a bit. But Karrieree is correct if his basking and uvb are off even a little its gonna cause problems. Beardies love to be on an incline, maybe try adding some kind of decor that will facilitate that aslo. They are semi-aboreal by nature so having something to climb on is good enrichment for them. If you use branches or rocks ect from outside be sure ti sanitize them first. :)
I have been using crickets and he usually likes them. Every once in a while he gets meal worms (small) as a treat or hornworms. I can't get dubia roches anywhere here. He loves collard greens but hasn't touched them in two days. He's still hiding and not interested in food
 

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