Anorexic approx 2mo with failure to thrive

[woodnt]

Strax seemed to do ok with the trip. He only ate 5 BSF larva yest. Yest evening, he tried to eat 2, but they were a little moist and so "tonguing" them didn't work. It seems to frustrate him so he just thought he might look around. He did eat/drink the rest of his Repti-Boost, though.

This morning, we drove home. He rode in the motor home again. Seemed to be no prob. I had lunch with a friend so Krista fed him. He only went after one larva, but in one setting, ate an entire day's worth of Repti-boost.

I have an idea bout the larva. They were tiny to small ones initially set back from what I used to seed my "culture" of BSFs. Many ended up being a good size to feed Strax, so I've held them back. Well, he has eaten a lot of the biggest ones, and some are really tiny, so I decided to feed them. Well, it got a little more moist than I intended. The moisture and the taste of what they do to food may be why Strax isn't going for them as much. I'll wash tonight's off before feeding and try to dry them and see if that will make a difference. Anything for the sweet little boy! Plus, more Repti-Boost if he'll take it. He has some catching up to do grown-wise, and I would like to give him every chance of reaching his fullest potential in every way.

Praxis ate 35 larva in one setting. She seems to really love them. I hope she doesn't tire of them. I'm sold on these feeders. Too bad you have to order them if you use them during the winter (unless I make a green house specifically for them when I doubt. I'm not very handy).

 

[woodnt]

Good and bad news.

First the good. Strax weighs 10 grams. When he was sickest, he weighed 7 gms. I really didn't think he would be that much when we checked him today.

The bad news. He doesn't seem really interested in eating very many Phoenix worms. I don't know if he can have good days and bad days in recovery from atadenovirus. He did eat two, but was not near as "after them" as the other day. It took him a long time (like 5 mins) to decide to eat one, then another. He ate a day's worth of Repti-Boost in one setting again, though. Perhaps he has become enamored of the Repti-Boost and wants that instead of live feeders? We also offered a small dubia (which he has liked in the past) but he didn't go for that either.

 

[Esther19]

Congrats on the weight gain! I wouldn't worry about his lack of interest in bugs just yet. Good that you offered dubia, too. They do like variety. It's wonderful that he is loving the Repta-boost still. Wait a day or two. I think his interest in live feeders will return. I hope you had a great trip!

 

[diamc]

Happy to hear that you all enjoyed your camping trip.

That's great that Strax weighs 10 grams now. The change in being away from home for a few days may have affected his appetite a little, that's completely normal. Or, it could be that his body is still calling for a lot of extra nutrients, vitamins & minerals that are in the Repti-Boost. Or, he could be getting lazy. :lol: Are the worms you're feeding now quite small in size? If so, perhaps a little harder for him to pick up so maybe you'd like to try stacking a few worms on top of each other which might make them easier to grab. I would suggest that you continue to offer the phoenix worms first before giving him the Boost each time. Do you have any other feeders on hand right now?

 

[woodnt]

I also forgot to mention. When I was feeding him at lunch (I had to have him in my hand, as he wants to explore rather than eat sometimes), he excreted water from his vent. My wife then held him to show me a "trick" she does to get the Repti-Boost off his face (he is even more a "bearded" dragon the way that can accumulate). He then excreted some uric acid (white) followed by formed stool. It was like tar. I'm not sure if that is normal. Seemed to have a dark greenish tint, too. I've never "examined" the stool before so perhaps they are all like tar.

Esther and Diane, thanks for the excitement about his weight gain. Esther, we did have a nice trip overall (but several things are broken about the motor home: water pump, toilet leaking into bowl so we have to turn off the water, and the refrigerator) -- but we made due.

I sometimes wonder if he is getting lazy about eating. Unless I put the Phoenix worms right in front of him, he often doesn't want them. Sometimes he'll take a few steps for them, but I would call him lazy!

Diane, I've tried some dubia. Our silkies died off. I'll see if we have some small crickets anymore, but I think they might have died off the rest being too big for this little guy (but just great for Praxis and Trenzalor, the cham). You may be right about the trip. Perhaps it was a little more stressful than I though. I hope not, though, as we have a 3 day camping trip with friends starting Friday for which he'll need to come along. Oh, I think the size of Phoenix worms we have are exactly perfect for him (space between the eyes and all). I washed them off and dried them before offering to remove any bad-taste residue and make them dry enough for the tongue snap to work.

I'm not to the point yet where I don't want to not give him Repti-boost to increase his hunger so he'll go for feeders. I'd rather see some length-wise growth, too. I think he has stored enough energy that his body will likely realize it is ok to commit energy to growth rather than just storage as he has been doing the past week or so. I don't want him to become dependent on Repti-Boost, though, either.

BTW, reports may be fewer over the next 3 days. I fly out to Jackson, MS for some work (next week, even further, Reno and Las Vegas for 4 days).

 

[woodnt]

My wife reports that Strax didn't want any feeders at lunch, but did drink 8/10ths of his Repti-Boost. For dinner, however, he had 4-6 BSF larva (I can't remember how many I had cleaned and prepared and I didn't think to ask). It took him a bit to decide he wanted to eat them, but when he decided, he at them all in short order.

Last night when I got him out for his evening feeding, he was really dark. One of the kids came in, and commented on how dark he was. With feeding, he lightened up. He didn't get very dark today when taken out my wife said.

At lunch, he was kind of a dud, not very active. At dinner, she had a hard time keeping him still an focused. He wanted to dart all over the place (a good problem to have).

We ran out of Beni-bac last week, and haven't been giving him any since he was doing so well. I got some more a couple of days ago and started that. It may be that this is also helping restimulate his desire for feeders. Regardless, I'm glad he did what he did. I hope he doesn't loose ground this weekend on our camping trip. Still, as long as he is going to town with that Repti-Boost, and we are not having to force feed him, and he is active I'm happy.

 

[Esther19]

Thanks for the great update. It's wonderful that he loves the Reptiboost. And the Benebac daily won't hurt him. The body will use what it needs and flush the rest. So to speak. Yes, the increase in activity is a good thing, but requires more vigilance. I've had a dragon or two jump off the kitchen counter. I hope you all have a good week!

 

[diamc]

I agree with Esther that daily Benebac won't hurt him, in fact, would do him good. Great for increasing the appetite. Happy to hear he is still enjoying the Boost. The little ones can sure move very fast. In fact, we had an adult that used to think he could fly!

Hope you have a great time camping and that you got the things fixed for your camper.

 

[woodnt]

You sure are right on the vigilance! Did your babies get hurt when they jumped off the counter?

Sadly, no repairs to the RV as I am out of town and I have to take it 40 miles away for any repairs. I plan on taking it Thurs to get the water pump looked at to make this weekend's camping more tolerable, but for the other problems, I'll have to take it in later.

Strax only ate one Phoenix worm for lunch. Took most of the day's Repti-Boost, though. My wife thinks he just wasn't interested in lunch or even exploring today. He just stood there. Maybe he was daydreaming

Will update how dinner goes when I hear. I get home tomorrow in the early afternoon (D.V.).

 

[woodnt]

Strax had a few worms last night. At lunch, my wife said he grabbed on, then spit it back out for some reason and was done with it, but he ate a day's worth of Repti-Boost.

This evening, I was home and he had eaten 5 when I came in there. I cleaned up 5 more and was getting ready to dry them off across the paper towel on which he was standing, and before he let me dry them off, he raced over to the other side and scarfed one down. I dried off the others, and he finished them off in relatively short order, so tonight he ate 10 Phoenix worms. Seems he'll often eat more in the evening lately. He chased it down with another day's worth of the Repti-Boost.

Tomorrow, I think it may be time to take out the tape measure again. He looks like he might have grown a bit.

He can be so cute sometimes feeding the Repti-Boost with his little beard from the material. He'll often lick, and then leave his mouth open a bit like he's saying, "More please." I'm happy to oblige. He is so funny about movement. It seems like he just has to gear positions: fast and stop. Not much in between most of the time. Whenever he decides where he is is not satisfactory, he races to the next place.

On a different note, I though Praxis loved me. He "toured" all over the bed and came back to me several times getting on me, but the last time, he did a major poo on me. So much for loving me (I'm being facetious). :lol:

 

[diamc]

That's awesome that Strax has been eating so well, especially today/tonight. One thing beardies LOVE to do is show off so that sure sounds like what he was doing for you. He's doing SO well. Bet he is saying that he wants more Boost when he keeps his mouth open. Their minds never stop, I suspect he may be a female as it seems like he is always thinking and is studying things. So even if he is in a "stop position", he/she is analyzing things.

Bet he has grown more in length, he'll be shedding again too the way he is now eating.

Oh dear, Praxis pooped on you, when you gotta go, you gotta go. :lol: That's so cute the way he come coming back to you, once too often though. :mrgreen:

 

[Esther19]

I love the way you tell the story. I can just picture them doing their things. And Strax: "fast and stop," and "More, please." I know that little open mouth look. Just like a baby bird. So glad to hear that Strax is scarfing, and that Praxis loves you. :wink:

None of my dragons was even injured jumping from the counter, thankfully. Fred hid under the couch today, on top of a closed a/c vent. He was there a couple hours. Of course, I had checked behind the couch and flipped up the footrests. After determining he was nowhere else in the house, that was the only place left, and the only place I needed assistance to uncover. When the neighbor got home, he helped me find Fred, right there under the couch. I had no idea the little stinker would be right on top of the vent. He was very dark, and extremely cold. He has warmed up now, but I am concerned he will develop a respiratory infection.
I am glad that I didn't just wait for him to come out. He would have been a goner.

 

[woodnt]

I'm so glad than none of your beardies got hurt base jumping without a parachute. I'm so glad you found Fred, too. It puzzles me how they let themselves get into these situations. You would think since he was cold, that he would move somewhere else. I so hope he doesn't get a respiratory infection! Please let us know if something untoward develops.

 

[Esther19]

Fred seems to be as right as rain, thank you. Yes, I was very disappointed in the fact that he didn't move off the vent. He had room. I am always one to overestimate their intellect and emotional depth. I am still hurt that he did not come when I called. That was an unfair expectation, but my expectation, nonetheless. :wink:

Are your kids school age yet? If so, this is a busy and exciting time of year. I hope Strax eats well, and that Praxis is more thoughtful when choosing a place to relieve herself.

 

[woodnt]

Strax ate 7 bsf larva tonight and a full days with of Repti-Boost.

Also, Strax has grown a half inch in the past 2 weeks. I was really expecting some growth but didn't think I would see that much. Good boy, Strax.