skyfishcafe
Member
Short version: Concerned about juvenile beardie loss of appetite, refusal of usual staples
Detailed version:
Our beardie, Alduîn, is approximately 3 months old and has been with us for 3 weeks. At first we fed him crickets, which he wasn't super excited about and didn't eat many of. After a week we switched to small BSFL and he loved them! He would eat 20-30 per day. Well, we had some store credit at a local pet store and decided to get him some dubia roaches. He went absolutely ballistic and gobbled up all we had (maybe 30?) within 2 days. We have ordered 500 but they won't be here til Friday.
Unfortunately, he's turning his nose up at BSFL now despite how much he seemed to like them before. His intake has gone from 20-30 feeders a day to about 5. He poops every morning and usually at least once more each day, and he seems very well hydrated (some puddles with his urate), but he spends 95% of his time basking, never touches any veggies (collard/mustard/turnip greens, bell pepper, carrots, occasional apple or summer squash), and seems pretty inactive unless we let him run around on the hardwood floors. Out of desperation, we bought a bunch of crickets to try feeding him until the dubias show up, but after one or two he seems to give up -- even if I pull off the crickets' hind legs.
What are your thoughts on the situation and how we might address it? We're probably just being new-parent worry-warts, but perhaps the hivemind can see something we've been missing.
Our setup:
- 40G breeder tank, mesh top (usually not covered)
- Non-adhesive shelf liner "substrate"
- ReptiSun 22" 10.0 HO UVB mounted inside at rear top of tank, ~7" away from primary basking branch
- 150W household incandescent bulb in dome on lamp stand -- I've tried a 75W PAR30 but it didn't seem to get warm enough without being within leaping distance?
- Basking sites range from 100-115°F (37-46°C) depending on exact surface; "stump" and bridge are usually hottest at around 110-115°F (43-46°C) while branch is 100-105°F (37-41°C)
- Ambient tank temperature on hot side is about 95°F (35°C) during the day
- Ambient tank temperature on cool side is about 85°F (29°C) during the day, down to about 75°F (24°C) at night
- Temperatures taken by digital probe and/or Ryobi temp gun (the dial thermometers in the photo are pretty much worthless, not sure why I bother to keep them in there)
Other considerations:
- Lights on at 0630, lights off at 2000; he usually gets restless and falls asleep on couch with us around 1930 (however, noise and lights from kitchen & living room continue until ~2300; we try to keep him covered to protect from light pollution)
(Edited to add: We just took him out at ~1800 to collect leftover feeders and tidy the tank. He immediately burrowed into my partner's pocket and fell asleep. Are we giving him too much light and not enough sleep? Are we keeping him awake by keeping his tank in the same room as the TV where we spend our evenings? Perhaps he's ill?...)
- Daily mistings; baths once or twice weekly
- Weather permitting, ~30 minutes of direct sunlight outside daily (with hide in case he spots a bird or gets too warm)
- Alduîn had nearly full-body shed one week ago; still waiting on his tail to shed
- Despite constant basking, I haven't seen him gape in quite some time but I'm afraid to make the temps any higher...
- Two days ago, doubled the branches and hides in his tank because it seemed quite bare before (possible stress?)
- Seems to be disturbed by his own reflection, so I'm considering trimming the backgrounds and taping them inside the tank rather than outside
Your responses are appreciated!
Detailed version:
Our beardie, Alduîn, is approximately 3 months old and has been with us for 3 weeks. At first we fed him crickets, which he wasn't super excited about and didn't eat many of. After a week we switched to small BSFL and he loved them! He would eat 20-30 per day. Well, we had some store credit at a local pet store and decided to get him some dubia roaches. He went absolutely ballistic and gobbled up all we had (maybe 30?) within 2 days. We have ordered 500 but they won't be here til Friday.
Unfortunately, he's turning his nose up at BSFL now despite how much he seemed to like them before. His intake has gone from 20-30 feeders a day to about 5. He poops every morning and usually at least once more each day, and he seems very well hydrated (some puddles with his urate), but he spends 95% of his time basking, never touches any veggies (collard/mustard/turnip greens, bell pepper, carrots, occasional apple or summer squash), and seems pretty inactive unless we let him run around on the hardwood floors. Out of desperation, we bought a bunch of crickets to try feeding him until the dubias show up, but after one or two he seems to give up -- even if I pull off the crickets' hind legs.
What are your thoughts on the situation and how we might address it? We're probably just being new-parent worry-warts, but perhaps the hivemind can see something we've been missing.
Our setup:
- 40G breeder tank, mesh top (usually not covered)
- Non-adhesive shelf liner "substrate"
- ReptiSun 22" 10.0 HO UVB mounted inside at rear top of tank, ~7" away from primary basking branch
- 150W household incandescent bulb in dome on lamp stand -- I've tried a 75W PAR30 but it didn't seem to get warm enough without being within leaping distance?
- Basking sites range from 100-115°F (37-46°C) depending on exact surface; "stump" and bridge are usually hottest at around 110-115°F (43-46°C) while branch is 100-105°F (37-41°C)
- Ambient tank temperature on hot side is about 95°F (35°C) during the day
- Ambient tank temperature on cool side is about 85°F (29°C) during the day, down to about 75°F (24°C) at night
- Temperatures taken by digital probe and/or Ryobi temp gun (the dial thermometers in the photo are pretty much worthless, not sure why I bother to keep them in there)
Other considerations:
- Lights on at 0630, lights off at 2000; he usually gets restless and falls asleep on couch with us around 1930 (however, noise and lights from kitchen & living room continue until ~2300; we try to keep him covered to protect from light pollution)
(Edited to add: We just took him out at ~1800 to collect leftover feeders and tidy the tank. He immediately burrowed into my partner's pocket and fell asleep. Are we giving him too much light and not enough sleep? Are we keeping him awake by keeping his tank in the same room as the TV where we spend our evenings? Perhaps he's ill?...)
- Daily mistings; baths once or twice weekly
- Weather permitting, ~30 minutes of direct sunlight outside daily (with hide in case he spots a bird or gets too warm)
- Alduîn had nearly full-body shed one week ago; still waiting on his tail to shed
- Despite constant basking, I haven't seen him gape in quite some time but I'm afraid to make the temps any higher...
- Two days ago, doubled the branches and hides in his tank because it seemed quite bare before (possible stress?)
- Seems to be disturbed by his own reflection, so I'm considering trimming the backgrounds and taping them inside the tank rather than outside
Your responses are appreciated!