BD slowing down- Are the changes normal or not?

gtramontelli · Feb 28, 2011

Hi,
I have a BD that's about 10 months old and 17" long. Until recently he's been fairly active, would run to the dish of grubs or worms when I put it in the enclosure and was usually in his basking spot. In the past week or 2, he's been hanging out under the basking spot as opposed to on it. Also, he's been less enthusiastic about eating. I checked my temps- Basking is about 105-110 degrees, cool side is in the high 70s, low 80s. I use a reptisun 10.0 for UVB. I checked my calendar and saw that the UVB was about 5 months old, so yesterday I changed it with a new spare I had. For the first 4 months or so, I fed him fly larvae, but lately I've been feeding supers as the staple. I just placed an order for dubias and I plan to breed those, so he'll be getting a change in diet soon.

I also put him in a tub about 2-4 times/week, he usually has a movement in the water which looks normal. He did this yesterday as well- it was normal (but huge). Any thoughts? This hasnt' been going on long enough for me to be REALLY concerned about it. Oh, I also realized that he had gotten to big for the hide in his enclosure, so I put a new one in there and he's been loving it.

gtramontelli · Mar 1, 2011

Anyone? Today his lights have been on for like 3 hours already and he's still partially in his hide. He's awake and alert- he came about halfway out of there but isn't going to his usual basking spot. Brumation? Also, I have not fed him today...I think I will withhold food for a day or 2 and see if he'll get a little more active if he's hungry. EDIT- Another thought...he hasn't had a shed in about 2 months but has been growing pretty steadily. Right now he has that dull gray pre-shed look going on. Maybe he's about to blow out his skin?

Gail · Mar 1, 2011

He really shouldn't be going into brumation this time of year but it depends on where you live. The old light plus shedding could be whats causing him to eat less, its also possible he is tired of supers. Some dragons will go off a feeder if they have been eating them for awhile.

Personally, I believe that if a dragon is hiding more then basking then the hide should be taken away to see if that makes a change. If he still isn't wanting to bask, you should probably get a fecal done to rule out parasites.

gtramontelli · Mar 1, 2011

Well he's definitely basking, just not as much as before. I was home today, so I paid close attention. Basically his lights come on at 6am and go off at 7pm. He used to come out of the hide when the lights came on and return to it after they went out. This morning, he didn't come fully out of the hide until about 10 or so, and went back in at about 5. I did put him in a shallow tub of water and he defecated in there around 3. I have a bunch of supers left- I didn't offer any supers or salad today, but I will do so tomorrow. Hopefully he will finish the supply I have and then be ready to try some dubias.

Tomek · Mar 8, 2011

Hi, I just read your post and my beardie is doing the EXACT same thing and is the same age and length (kinda weird). Has anything changed since you last posted the message? I am curious, because I am worried about my beardie as well. THANKS

gtramontelli · Mar 8, 2011

Tomek":4t6c39i1 said:
Hi, I just read your post and my beardie is doing the EXACT same thing and is the same age and length (kinda weird). Has anything changed since you last posted the message? I am curious, because I am worried about my beardie as well. THANKS

Ok, so I made a few changes and my bd is pretty much back to normal. First, I changed the uvb bulb for a fresh one. Second, I rearranged his enclosure. I removed a background that was allowing prey items to hide behind it, and I filled some gaps in his slate flooring with dirt to keep prey items out. I also moved his basking branch to give him more floor space to move around. Next, I changed his cool side red heat bulb for a ceramic heat emitter...it keeps the enclosure a little warmer overnight (high 70s as opposed to low 70s--gets to low 80s on the cool side during the day now) and doesn't emit light.

Next, I got my dubia order and I started to mix those in with the supers. He has since gotten better at eating all prey items.

I can't say for sure if it was a seasonal thing or a problem with his conditions that I corrected, but whatever happened he seems much more active.