Beardie diet question

[Skindo]

Hello, I have been having a problem with my beardie for about a month or a little better than a month. He has gone from eating his vegetables every day to refusing to eat any over that time. I was feeding him romaine lettuce and blueberries with crickets, horn worms, and super worms. He is about two years old. It all began when I changed the lights in his cage because I thought it may be too hot. Currently the basking spot sits around 100 degrees Fahrenheit and the rest of the cage sits at around 80 degrees average. His appetite for worms seems to have fallen as well. He eats one or maybe two super or horn worms every other day. I’ve added things to his cage to make him more comfortable and I’ve recently tried putting out a great variety of vegetables and fruits in his cage and he still refuses to eat. He still poops at the same frequency that he did before but there’s obviously less of it. He is overweight, which I’m working on, and he has become quite sluggish as well. He lives in a 40 gallon terrarium. I will take him to a vet if need be but I’m not very wealthy so I’m just trying every route I can before I go to a vet.

 

[KarrieRee]

the temps in the tank need to be 95-100 basking temp taken w/ a digital probe thermometer --- middle of tank 90's and the cool side during the day 80's --- a good piece of decor that offers temp gradient under the basking lamp is good something like this https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/habitats-and-decor/habitat-decor/thrive-driftwood-reptile-decor-54734.html?cgid=500116
I would set up another area for basking in the middle of the tank w/ a basking bulb that will keep temp in the 90's --
what are you using for your UVB and where in the tank is it?

 

[Skindo]

I have a reptisun 5.0 uvb bulb and it is on the cool side of the tank

 

[KarrieRee]

Please upgrade to the 10.0 bulb then have your distance 12-15 inches directly above the basking decor inside the tank ---- if the 5.0 is on top of the screen hes getting very little UVB the 5.0 is not strong enough to go thru screen --- I would try and get the UVB moved over to either the middle of the tank or closer to the basking side -- you can set up another basking area in the middle of the tank w/ a lower basking bulb making temps there in the 90's ---

 

[Skindo]

I will change the light ASAP but I still have A few questions. Do you know why the change happened all of the sudden? I’ve been using a 5.0 since I got him and he hasn’t had problems like this yet. And also what should I do if he continues not to eat? I’ve also read that I need to be giving him calcium supplements and I’d feel really awful if I was inadvertently hurting him. Just want to make sure I’m handling him correctly and thank you for your help so far!

 

[KarrieRee]

If he's not getting enough uvb he will stop eating- calcium d3 5 x per week ONCE per feeding lightly coated on the insects - vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 x per week ONCE per feeding lightly coated insects- this is for a baby