Beardie refusing food and getting skinny

[Gcapriotti7]

My bearded dragon is refusing to eat, it's been 2 weeks now(he will eat 1 or 2 worms some days but nothing else), I wanted to ask because I figured it was a mood but he's losing weight very quickly. He was plump but in just 2 weeks of refusing food the bones at the base of the tail are starting to show, I've tried just the salad, I've tried bsfl, waxworms, superworms, and hornworms and he won't take any of it. I'm getting extremely worried for him. I've already given a fecal sample to the vet and no parasites, they gave me liquid nutrient with a dropped that I've been giving him for 3 days but he continues to lose weight(I assume it has low fat content). Anybody with ideas please help.

Edit: this is an adult female bearded dragon ~3 years old, behavior is normal other than the eating. "Him" is how I refer to all of my pets just becaise it's easier

 

[Hazel_Basil10]

So she could maybe have eggs because they won't eat a lot once they are close to laying. What are the temps in her enclosure? Cool Side? Basking side? what lights are you using? please no coils. I don't recommend those because those cause too many problems. you could try to give her something that might get her interested like sprinkle a little pollen on it to maybe have her eat some. You can put it on her salad. You don't have to do that but I would to have her eat because my beardie in order for her to eat her salad, I would put pollen on it and she would go Bonkers over it. Is she dehydrated? does she drink good?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Do you have any pictures of your girl we could see? Is she maintaining her weight or is she losing
any weight right now?
We can review your tank setup with us such as your type/brand of UVB lighting, temperatures & the
supplementation, etc so we can be sure everything is all correct.

Tracie

 

[Gcapriotti7]

So she could maybe have eggs because they won't eat a lot once they are close to laying. What are the temps in her enclosure? Cool Side? Basking side? what lights are you using? please no coils. I don't recommend those because those cause too many problems. you could try to give her something that might get her interested like sprinkle a little pollen on it to maybe have her eat some. You can put it on her salad. You don't have to do that but I would to have her eat because my beardie in order for her to eat her salad, I would put pollen on it and she would go Bonkers over it. Is she dehydrated? does she drink good?

It's 75 on the cool side, 85 on the hot side and 100 on the basking spot(all measured with laser thermometer) 2 t5 tube lights Inside the enclosure (it's 8 feet long so thats why it's needed) bot 9 inches from the substrate, positioned in a way where she can't get any closer than 8 inches to the lamps. She's drinking good. I've tried pollen already as my uromastyx loves it but the beardie won't take. I've also tried flavored vitamin " dressings" to no avail

 

[Gcapriotti7]

Hello,

Do you have any pictures of your girl we could see? Is she maintaining her weight or is she losing
any weight right now?
We can review your tank setup with us such as your type/brand of UVB lighting, temperatures & the
supplementation, etc so we can be sure everything is all correct.

Tracie

She is losing weight rapidly to the point she looks near emaciated right now. Ill post photos when i get home from work. The strange thing is that she still has 100% normal behavior and is alert, acting like there is nothing wrong, no swollen stomach or arch above tail to indicate impaction, on the occasions she does pick up a worm or 2 she does poop, tests show no parasites. She gets collards every day with the addition of bsfl dusted with calcium and d3 2-3 times weekly for protein. She gets .1ml/50g weight (415g rounded down to 400) of a flukers liquid reptile multivitamin twice weekly as directed on the packaging(of more information is needed for the contents of the supplement I will provide it). Her ambient air temperature in the hot side is 95°F, basking spot surface temperature is 100-105°F, cool side ambient air temperature is 80°F. No lights at night but has a ceramic heat emitter that keeps ambient air temperature at 80°F on the hot side and 70-75°F on the cool side depending on the temperature in my house. She has two 48" reptisun 10.0 T5HO UV bulbs inside of the tank about 9-10 inches from the substrate and all decor. She does have access to a water bowl. Substrate is large flat(with rounded edges) stone with small amounts of crushed walnut shell between them as a cushion(I know this is bad but I didn't want her to squish her toes on the rocks). The tank is sealed wood with glass sliding front doors 8'L x 3'W x 2'T. It is ventilated by 2 fans(1 inlet, 1 outlet on either side of the top of the tank where they cannot be reached). I'll upload photos when I get home from work.

 

[KarrieRee]

She is losing weight rapidly to the point she looks near emaciated right now. Ill post photos when i get home from work. The strange thing is that she still has 100% normal behavior and is alert, acting like there is nothing wrong, no swollen stomach or arch above tail to indicate impaction, on the occasions she does pick up a worm or 2 she does poop, tests show no parasites. She gets collards every day with the addition of bsfl dusted with calcium and d3 2-3 times weekly for protein. She gets .1ml/50g weight (415g rounded down to 400) of a flukers liquid reptile multivitamin twice weekly as directed on the packaging(of more information is needed for the contents of the supplement I will provide it). Her ambient air temperature in the hot side is 95°F, basking spot surface temperature is 100-105°F, cool side ambient air temperature is 80°F. No lights at night but has a ceramic heat emitter that keeps ambient air temperature at 80°F on the hot side and 70-75°F on the cool side depending on the temperature in my house. She has two 48" reptisun 10.0 T5HO UV bulbs inside of the tank about 9-10 inches from the substrate and all decor. She does have access to a water bowl. Substrate is large flat(with rounded edges) stone with small amounts of crushed walnut shell between them as a cushion(I know this is bad but I didn't want her to squish her toes on the rocks). The tank is sealed wood with glass sliding front doors 8'L x 3'W x 2'T. It is ventilated by 2 fans(1 inlet, 1 outlet on either side of the top of the tank where they cannot be reached). I'll upload photos when I get home from work.

Please get rid of the crushed walnut substrate that is toxic to dragons- you only need one uvb- I am thinking you only need one uvb- how old is the bulb? What insect are you feeding? What do her poops look like? Runny smell really bad?

 

[Gcapriotti7]

Please get rid of the crushed walnut substrate that is toxic to dragons- you only need one uvb- I am thinking you only need one uvb- how old is the bulb? What insect are you feeding? What do her poops look like? Runny smell really bad?

Got it ill toss that. The 2 bulbs are both 3 months old, I change them every June and January. I hve 2 so that theres enough to cover the whole tank. The insect is black soldier fly larvae. The poops look normal as well as the urate other than being quite small because she won't eat hardly anything

 

[KarrieRee]

Got it ill toss that. The 2 bulbs are both 3 months old, I change them every June and January. I hve 2 so that theres enough to cover the whole tank. The insect is black soldier fly larvae. The poops look normal as well as the urate other than being quite small because she won't eat hardly anything

The uvb's are too close you want distance 12-15 inches- we're going to try something please shut one of those uvb's off- adjust the decor piece to 12-15 inches directly above her decor- watch what she does it should not take long for her behavior to change- hopefully she will start eating-- keep me posted- offer food before you hand feed her-

 

[Gcapriotti7]

The uvb's are too close you want distance 12-15 inches- we're going to try something please shut one of those uvb's off- adjust the decor piece to 12-15 inches directly above her decor- watch what she does it should not take long for her behavior to change- hopefully she will start eating-- keep me posted- offer food before you hand feed her-

Will do