peachie
Member
Sorry this is a little long, but it's my first posting/first beardie, so I want to be thorough.
I rescued Zisa, a 4 year old male, in late January. For the most part, I hadn't had trouble getting him to eat his veggies, though sometimes I would have to hand feed them to get him interested. But for the last month and a half or so, he lost all interest in veggies. Last week, and the week before, the only veggie he would eat was butternut squash, and I had to hand feed it to him. He wouldn't eat them on his own. He was still eating his worms (I feed him supers, which I know are not the optimum feeder worm. I'm going to try hornworms or phoenix worms once this batch is gone.) But this week he'll only eat a worm or two a day, then he's done. Before he would gobble up as many as I'd throw in there without hesitation.
He had a period of time where he was suffering from improper lighting, and was quite lethargic. I had the reptisun 10.00 compact uvb bulb, but now we have a flourescent tube. It's the reptiglo 10.0, and I'm aware of the disparity about that brand due to a bad batch in the past, and I would not have personally picked up that kind, it was my partner who bought it. But he seems to be doing much better with this light so far. He perked up right after we installed it. We've also been taking him outside more. Usually once a day while it's been warm and sunny, and he runs around and explores. He always poops when we take him outside too, which is convenient. He has all this energy but no appetite at all, and it's quite concerning to me, because my vet told us he was underweight. We've been doing some research and are wondering if mating season hormonal changes might be a possible culprit. He's been pretty squirrely last few days especially, and he was head bobbing a lot outside today, something he ALMOST NEVER does. Any thoughts?
Also worth mentioning that he's been going through a long problem shed, but has been a relatively good sport about it, and it's almost completely done. He was eating fine through most of it, and never got aggressive. The vet gave us some good tips on how to move it along. Just a patch on his head remains as of now.
Set up overview
50 gal tank, 4X1 ft. I'm going to try building him something bigger soon.
Lights: reptiglo 10.0 uvb fluorescent tube, only 38 inches long, we have it situated in the middle of the viv.
We just had to replace our basking light and are trying a 35 watt halogen flood light. We'd tried higher wattages but they made the surface temp of the basking spot much too hot, even when we raised it as high as it could go. 35 watt seems fine for now since it's been hot out, but we'll definitely change when the weather gets cooler.
Temps around 80-105 from the cool end to the warm end, the surface temp of the basking spot is currently 110-115
He has a rock underneath the basking spot that doubles as a hide, some branches he climbs to get closer to his uvb light, also situated to act as a hide.
Substrate is slate tile.
Usual diet, before the appetite problem started
Daily veggies: Collard greens, dandelion greens, butternut squash
Veggies a few times a week: kale, carrot, broccoli, cucumber
Protein: Superworms. Used to be 3 times a week, but vet recommended daily worms to get his weight up.
Vitamins: We were using a calcium supplement, but our vet gave us t-rex juvenile iguana food to use instead, saying that it was a more balanced alternative. We either grind the pellets, or mist them in his veggie bowl to soften them. Have not had any problems with these so far.
Treats, once or twice a week: Strawberry, apple, grape, raspberry, mango, watermelon.
Zisa's my first beardie, and I rescued him from a home that didn't care for him particularly well. Other beardie owners I know have said it could take time before he's used to proper care, and might cause these dietary issues. I'd just love to get some additional input from the forum on my situation.
I rescued Zisa, a 4 year old male, in late January. For the most part, I hadn't had trouble getting him to eat his veggies, though sometimes I would have to hand feed them to get him interested. But for the last month and a half or so, he lost all interest in veggies. Last week, and the week before, the only veggie he would eat was butternut squash, and I had to hand feed it to him. He wouldn't eat them on his own. He was still eating his worms (I feed him supers, which I know are not the optimum feeder worm. I'm going to try hornworms or phoenix worms once this batch is gone.) But this week he'll only eat a worm or two a day, then he's done. Before he would gobble up as many as I'd throw in there without hesitation.
He had a period of time where he was suffering from improper lighting, and was quite lethargic. I had the reptisun 10.00 compact uvb bulb, but now we have a flourescent tube. It's the reptiglo 10.0, and I'm aware of the disparity about that brand due to a bad batch in the past, and I would not have personally picked up that kind, it was my partner who bought it. But he seems to be doing much better with this light so far. He perked up right after we installed it. We've also been taking him outside more. Usually once a day while it's been warm and sunny, and he runs around and explores. He always poops when we take him outside too, which is convenient. He has all this energy but no appetite at all, and it's quite concerning to me, because my vet told us he was underweight. We've been doing some research and are wondering if mating season hormonal changes might be a possible culprit. He's been pretty squirrely last few days especially, and he was head bobbing a lot outside today, something he ALMOST NEVER does. Any thoughts?
Also worth mentioning that he's been going through a long problem shed, but has been a relatively good sport about it, and it's almost completely done. He was eating fine through most of it, and never got aggressive. The vet gave us some good tips on how to move it along. Just a patch on his head remains as of now.
Set up overview
50 gal tank, 4X1 ft. I'm going to try building him something bigger soon.
Lights: reptiglo 10.0 uvb fluorescent tube, only 38 inches long, we have it situated in the middle of the viv.
We just had to replace our basking light and are trying a 35 watt halogen flood light. We'd tried higher wattages but they made the surface temp of the basking spot much too hot, even when we raised it as high as it could go. 35 watt seems fine for now since it's been hot out, but we'll definitely change when the weather gets cooler.
Temps around 80-105 from the cool end to the warm end, the surface temp of the basking spot is currently 110-115
He has a rock underneath the basking spot that doubles as a hide, some branches he climbs to get closer to his uvb light, also situated to act as a hide.
Substrate is slate tile.
Usual diet, before the appetite problem started
Daily veggies: Collard greens, dandelion greens, butternut squash
Veggies a few times a week: kale, carrot, broccoli, cucumber
Protein: Superworms. Used to be 3 times a week, but vet recommended daily worms to get his weight up.
Vitamins: We were using a calcium supplement, but our vet gave us t-rex juvenile iguana food to use instead, saying that it was a more balanced alternative. We either grind the pellets, or mist them in his veggie bowl to soften them. Have not had any problems with these so far.
Treats, once or twice a week: Strawberry, apple, grape, raspberry, mango, watermelon.
Zisa's my first beardie, and I rescued him from a home that didn't care for him particularly well. Other beardie owners I know have said it could take time before he's used to proper care, and might cause these dietary issues. I'd just love to get some additional input from the forum on my situation.
