Active, wanting cuddles but won’t eat partial brumation?

[NightRaysMoon]

Kazoku is still awake and active throughout this winter however the only brumation sign he now has is not eating. I heard that you aren’t supposed to handle the beardie during brumation but Kaz literally throws a fit if we ignore him/don’t take him out of his enclosure for 2-4 days. He isn’t eating for some reason, mostly refusing to eat his live mealworms. He’s only 14 months old. My city’s late winter and entire spring brings random unpredictable weather which could be something to do with why he isn’t slowing down with the cold. Not sure if he’s just being an odd ball or what.

 

[Coopergma]

My bearded dragon does the same thing. I still offer veggies and fruit. Sometimes he will eat a worm. But he's active but won't eat much.

 

[Coopergma]

My bearded dragon does the same thing. I still offer veggies and fruit. Sometimes he will eat a worm. But he's active but won't eat much.

He's the same age as well

 

[NightRaysMoon]

My bearded dragon does the same thing. I still offer veggies and fruit. Sometimes he will eat a worm. But he's active but won't eat much.

Interesting. I guess Kazoku isn’t really that odd of a duck. Since his birthday was on Christmas Eve transitioning to fruits and veggies has been difficult. He really likes sprouts but it’s not 100% practical for us to spend money on food that doesn’t look very filling in mass or density, even though it does have quite a bit of nutrition.

 

[Coopergma]

Interesting. I guess Kazoku isn’t really that odd of a duck. Since his birthday was on Christmas Eve transitioning to fruits and veggies has been difficult. He really likes sprouts but it’s not 100% practical for us to spend money on food that doesn’t look very filling in mass or density, even though it does have quite a bit of nutrition.

Same for us to. He wants to be cuddle

 

[NightRaysMoon]

So after consulting a former beardie owner on Discord I may have found one part of why Kazoku wasn’t eating or passing things; he had a second (censored) plug. On the day I spoke to them like an hour prior I attempted to force feed freeze dried mealworms and crickets. I got a bit in him although he is a lot stronger and energetic than Dio. I don’t think he was pleased to have me force feed him my first trip to his enclosure and violate his vent on the fourth trip. Kazoku is getting an annual vet check up soon so maybe this will give you and I some answers.

 

[SPandS]

I would stop force feeding him, especially anything freeze dried. It isn't that nutritious plus if he isn't passing anything he may be impacted.

Besides mealworms what other live bugs do you feed? What do you give him for salads? Do you give him water? Have you ever offered baby food? It's hydrating and dragons tend to really like the squash. What are your basking and overall temps? How are you taking them? What type and brand uvb are you using? Sorry for all the questions but it's hard to guess at what could be the problem without more information.

 

[NightRaysMoon]

I would stop force feeding him, especially anything freeze dried. It isn't that nutritious plus if he isn't passing anything he may be impacted.

Besides mealworms what other live bugs do you feed? What do you give him for salads? Do you give him water? Have you ever offered baby food? It's hydrating and dragons tend to really like the squash. What are your basking and overall temps? How are you taking them? What type and brand uvb are you using? Sorry for all the questions but it's hard to guess at what could be the problem without more information.

We give him water and a bath probably once a week (or whenever my mom feels like being a sucker for him lol). The usual temperature for his enclosure is 89.6°F, UVB bulb is Arcadia (vet recommended). Judging how he hates pellets with a burning passion I’m not sure he’d enjoy baby food. Subsrate is slate tiles.

As for the long explanation on the feeding and impaction…
I really only force fed Kazoku once since he mostly came out of brumation at the beginning of March and has not eaten pretty anything since late November. His clutch hatched on Christmas Eve so I never really had the chance to transition him to veggies. I found one sperm plug at the beginning of March and the other a few days ago when consulting a friend about him in a voice chat. He stopped eating everything but live dusted mealworms mid way through December, by January he stopped eating entirely. Basically the impacted part is really due to that plug, hopefully. Live dubia roaches are illegal in Canada so I can only offer canned dead ones. They are rather pricey and Kazoku isn’t 100% keen on them anyways.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, can you post pics of Kazoku to show his size and also of his entire set up including lights ? To get one thing out of the way, he was not brumating if he wasn't sleeping. If he's anxious to come out, that's fine so go ahead and handle him, just be careful if he's loose because they can disappear when left roaming.

 

[NightRaysMoon]

Hi there, can you post pics of Kazoku to show his size and also of his entire set up including lights ? To get one thing out of the way, he was not brumating if he wasn't sleeping. If he's anxious to come out, that's fine so go ahead and handle him, just be careful if he's loose because they can disappear when left roaming.

Here’s a picture of his set up and of him. UBV is wired to the underside of the lid (this tank was really built for anything other than reptiles). I keep him on my bed he mostly observes me playing Subnautica or Ark. I don’t have any good way to measure him other than saying his length from shoulder to hip is roughly the length of an iPhone 11. Tiles are missing because we were going to cut some to fit but we might be getting a new tank soon.

 

[AHBD]

He looks pretty chubby so the not eating hasn't affected his weight but of course he still needs to. His enclosure is much too small, good that you'll be getting a new enclosure. It's good for him to hang out with you for part of the day, as long as he gets enough time in his tank to absorb uvb + heat from his light.

 

[NightRaysMoon]

He looks pretty chubby so the not eating hasn't affected his weight but of course he still needs to. His enclosure is much too small, good that you'll be getting a new enclosure. It's good for him to hang out with you for part of the day, as long as he gets enough time in his tank to absorb uvb + heat from his light.

Yeah, I just weighed Kazoku and he is roughly 420 grams. He’s gaining his appetite back, think that plug was the culprit as my friend suggested. His fat reserves in the base of his tail are pretty much empty, I think. Thanks for the help

 

[AHBD]

You're welcome ! Glad to hear that he's eating again.