Beardie not eating

[Gary251]

My beardie has been eating very little over the past 2 weeks plus. Not sure if it is just due to him shedding. Hes trying to shed his head at the moment, there was the grey mark at the end of his nose now his lip and a few bits on his beard. Not sure if it is just due to that as i heard shedding their head is the worst. He only ate like 1 cricket today, 0 yesterday and just 1 or 2 each other day if im lucky. Funny thing is, he never used to eat salad now thats the only thing he'l nibble on, he wont even touch his mealworms which he loves. been giving him baths nearly everyday. He had been eating fine since i got him like 3months ago, think hes about 5-6months old. Has been pooping every now and then - dont think he has much to poop out thats prob why. His poop also had the usual white and brown bits but also a kinda light orange'd coloured bit (is that a sign of dhydration if i recall?) today.


Thanks! Gary

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,

Beardies do have a habit of slowing down their eating when they are in shed. Its an itchy and grumpy time for them.

Could you run through your set up with us?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?

 

[Gary251]

What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? fine sifted play sand
Do you use UVB lights? yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? Reptisun 10.0
How old is your UVB bulb? 1-2 months
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? 8 inches
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? 60W spot bulb
What are the basking temps? 105F
What is the cool side temp? 82F
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Digital
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? Where he sits to bask under his lamp
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? Nope
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Crickets, mealworm (just a few once a week). Salad (mixture of rocket romain, lettuce, carrot and squash)
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? about 2 hrs after his lights go on, and 2hrs before lights out.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? yeh, feed them salad .
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? T-rex dragondust, one feeding per day


He seems to be eating his salad ok, eats a we bit of that a day. been bathing him everyday now.

Hope this helps a bit

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,
Everything does sound good with your set up, other than the sand substrate (particle substrates are not recommended for juvies as there is a high risk of ingestion and impaction).

Along with the sand substrate mealworms can also lead to impaction as they are mostly shell which is hard for little ones to digest.
Has your dragon been having any difficulty going to the bathroom recently? Impaction often causes dragons to slow down their eating.
Try not to get upset, there are plenty of steps you can take to ease and incorage bowel movements.

Have you ever had a faecal done?

Hopefully your little one is just down in the dumps and not eating because she is uncomfortable mid-shed, but it is definatly worth while considering impaction.

Holly

 

[Gary251]

Ok il look into the impaction. Im stroking down this side of his belly when he is in the bath so hel try and poop. I dont know if he is just not pooping because there is nothing too poop out cuz hes not eating. Should he still be pooping like everyday even though hes not eating anything? Il prob not give him mealworms for quite a while then! thanks!. Is there anyway to help him poop? apart from baths.


Thanks!

 

[Ethelia]

Well it is a chicken and egg sort of situation, if they are impacted they wont eat, and if they eat less they will poop less.
Its not by any means the only answer here, but it does sound like it fits.

Other than daily warm baths (along with massaging your dragons right side from armpit to vent) you can give your dragon unsweetened apple sauce or canned pumpkin, or a couple of drops of olive oil to help things get moving.
Applesauce is usually the easist option because if you put a blob on their nose they will usually lick it off voulentarily.

Continue with applesauce and warm baths until there is a bowel movement.

When your dragon finally poops (without sounding too crazy) please inspect it carefully! Is it hard? Is it smooth? Are there grains in it? Shells? Is it very dark? Very light? etc

Holly

 

[Gary251]

Ok thanks! will do! I just gave him a long bath tonight and have taken out the sand and replaced it with kitchen roll just to be safe! might try giving him the applestuff then, sounds good! Il monitor him and his poop over the next week or so lol.

Thanks!

 

[Gary251]

Hi, He just did a massive poo the other day. there was the usual white bit and an orange/white bit too and the usual dark stools, was soft. Couldnt see any undigested food, dont know if there was a few bits of sand in it or that was just a general part of poo lol. He still isnt eating aswell as he used to. if this is compaction im guessing itl take more than one poo to pass whatever is blocking him? I removed the sand and replaced with kitchen roll to help elimate any further compaction (if hes compacted). What steps should i take now?

Gary.

 

[Ethelia]

Im glad he's pooped.
Sounds like he was a bit bunged up. Hopefully after another bowel movement his appetite will get better too.
Great that you got him off the sand. Im sure that will help things along

Holly