Adult dragon losing weight

[KendraA]

I have a 15-month old male dragon. He brumated from mid-December until early May (young, I know, but I kept him hydrated and he did not lose weight). When he came out of brumation, he weighed around 400 grams, at a little over a year old,

For the past month he has lost his appetite and is now losing weight. Though he has been very active and no longer napping on the cool side of his cage, he has hardly eaten at all. I've offered him horn worms, dubia, a variety of greens and squash. His feces are normal, though he doesn't poop often since he isn't eating. He explores the house and basks all day and does not seem ill (active, alert, friendly), but currently he weighs 360 grams. I know the target weight for adults is 400-450 grams so he is underweight. However, since his feces are normal and not smelly, it doesn't seem to be parasites. Has anyone else experienced something like this?

My setup:
50 gallon breeder, front-opening
hottest basking platform: around 105 F
zoomed reptisun UVB (he also spends time in natural sunlight daily)
tile floor
digital thermometer to spot check temps
hiding cave and climbing furniture

 

[AHBD]

Hi there.....it would be good to get a fecal test done ASAP since he's losing weight + not eating. Be sure to get him a probiotic as well [ Benebac, soy yogurt, Acidophiliz+ ] to boost his appetite. It may be parasites .....smelly stools are not a reliable method of determining if there's a problem.

He went through a very long brumation, too, but good that he didn't lose weight through that time. In the future you might want to bring him out of brumation after 4 months....6 is too long and can cause or allow health problems to crop up.

Hopefully it will be something that is easily taken care of.

 

[KendraA]

Thanks! Guess I should get him to a vet. I tried to bring him out of brumation, but he would not be deterred! He never went down hard though--he would bask for an hour or two if I put him on his platform, then he would return to a shady nap spot soon after. He ate a little bit throughout his long brumation, and amazingly gained about 60 grams! I think that's because he was so sedentary. Now that he is hyper for spring, running around all day, I think he is burning calories he is not replacing.

As for probiotics, is that something a vet can supply, or can I buy those on my own?

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

You can get probiotics at the petstore sometimes, such as benebac (in the cat section most of the time) which is usually in gel form, but powder also. It just depends on what the store carries.
Or you can try the health food store for non dairy acidophiliz, or non dairy soy yogurt.
I agree, a fecal would be a good idea right now.

Tracie

 

[KendraA]

Took Wallace to the vet; exam showed him to be healthy, fecal showed pinworms. Vet said appetite problem could be caused by pinworms, could also be hormonal. They gave me pinworm treatment and liquid food containing probiotics to give him to jump start his appetite. I'm supposed to do another fecal in a month. Thanks for your help!

 

[AHBD]

Your'e welcome. I think he'll be fine, and agree that part of it is probably due to the hormonal
" dance of spring" when most males are very active, wishing to mate and not eating much. Hopefully he'll get rid of the pins and get along just fine.