Bearedie Slowing down on food?

[MichaelT]

I have a 15 month old bearded dragon and she seems to not be active during feeding and has stopped eating the amount she usally gets. We usally feed her 30 crickets once a day and when we feed her she just sits there and waits for the crickets to come to her, so makes no effort to eat. She usally leaves around 15 crickets and leaves them alone.


Thanks!

 

[ddma]

I think as they get older they don't eat as much.as to what age that is i don't know. i haven't reached that point yet. Is your beardie eating greens every day ? as they get older they eat more greens and veggies than crickets.

 

[Embee]

At 15 months, many dragons are well into the transitional time between being offered daily live feeders to 50-70 live feeders per week, offered 3-4 times per week, in favor of eating a larger percentage of veggie/fruits. When this happens is individual for each dragon as to his/her size and weight at around the year mark. At 30 feeders a day, you've obviously pulled back somewhat from the juvenile period of "all one can eat in 10-15 minutes, twice per day" but I wonder if she's telling you she's ready to tip the scales perhaps even a bit more in favor of the veggies?

A couple of questions for assessment purposes. :mrgreen:

What is your dragon's size (nose to tip of tail)? Weight?

As ddma asked, is she eating daily greens, veggies and fruits?

About how many live feeders per week is she actually consuming?

Also, just in case it is a husbandry issue, what type and brand of UVB light are you using, and how old is your UVB light?

How are the tank temps running (basking, mid and cool side)?

Is your dragon pooping normally?

Thanks!

Em

 

[erdeem]

I think as they get older they don't eat as much.as to what age that is i don't know.

Is this true? My beardie is about one year, she just had a major shedding and hasn't been eating well lately. She is still active though. I'm not sure that this is due to shedding or she reach "that" age. Anybody know what age usually they starting don't eat as much?

 

[Embee]

I think as they get older they don't eat as much.as to what age that is i don't know.

Is this true? My beardie is about one year, she just had a major shedding and hasn't been eating well lately. She is still active though. I'm not sure that this is due to shedding or she reach "that" age. Anybody know what age usually they starting don't eat as much?

As I mentioned in my above post, between 1 and 2 years is a transition time for dragons. It's not that they don't eat as much per se, but they do back way off of live feeders in favor or a largely vegetarian diet. If they have reached good length and weight by a years time, you can start pulling back on live feeders, gradually. By the time beardie is a full adult (2+ years), the diet should consist of 75% veggies 25% live feeders, which of course is a reversal of 75% live feeders 25% veggies they consume when they are babies, albiet happens as part of a gradual process. But the process does depend on beardie's growth rate/age. Our girl for instance is just about 1 year old, however she got off to a VERY slow start due to a poor UVB bulb, so her "adjusted age" is more like 8-9 months. She has been growing like crazy in the last several months, making up for lost time, so sometime in the next 2-3 months, we''ll likely reassess the "2-3 times per day as many as they can eat" for live feeders, tip the balance in favor of veggies if you will... but again, it will be a gradual process.

That said, she herself has pulled back on live feeders lately. ?? She still has big days (75-90), but more often she's settling on 45-55 which is new. She is shedding lips, nose and around the eyes right now, and is getting ready to shed her tail, so it's hard to tell if this is just discomfort causing a temporary wane in appetite, or if it's a natural progression of her slowing growth. She's 16+ inches and much more robust these days, but my feeling is that she is still definitely growing, so I wouldn't want to pull back on live feeders just yet, and not until I know she's really ready for it. (I will likely hit up Tracie or Diane [or Vicky or Denise or... :mrgreen: ] for advice on how and when to go about starting this transition, given that our beardie was in a delicate way as a youngster.) :wink:

I think beardies do tend to vary on this, as some would be happy to continue eating as a youngster and not experience a natural waning in appetite, and therefore need a bit of "tough love" so as not to become over weight/develop fatty liver disease... but I imagine there must be many beardies who naturally do happen to back themselves off the live feeders in favor or less "fattening" food. :wink:

Hope that helps!

Em

 

[MichaelT]

Here are the answers to your question

What is your dragon's size (nose to tip of tail)? Weight? About 19 inches and around 510g, is that ok?

As ddma asked, is she eating daily greens, veggies and fruits? She gets Kale and Apples daily

About how many live feeders per week is she actually consuming? At least 150 a week and they are crickets.

Also, just in case it is a husbandry issue, what type and brand of UVB light are you using, and how old is your UVB light?
Its a Repti Glo 10.00 compact and its a week old, I have been using that brand for almost 8 months.

How are the tank temps running (basking, mid and cool side)? Basking side is about 104F and the cool side i am not sure of.

Is your dragon pooping normally? She poops probably every 2-3 days

Hope this helps thanks!

 

[zebraflavencs]

Aha ! The compact is the issue ! change that out for a tube Reptisun or if you have the room, a Mercury Vapor Bulb.
Janie.

 

[MichaelT]

But the change in the eating is within the 2 months, so the light hasn't been affecting her before hand.


Thanks!

 

[zebraflavencs]

Here , you can read for yourself, sometimes it just takes time...:
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm
Personally I think you were lucky. too many bad endings using those coil/compacts to ignore the facts.
Has she been closing eyes a lot when under that ? That too, is an indication.
Lack of activity, lack of appetite, even the start of MBD can directly be related to these particular uvbs.
Janie.

 

[MichaelT]

Yes she does have her eyes closed alot in the cage and her activities have been slowing down a lot latley as I said before she will just sit there during feed and doesnt move much. Is her weight ok for her age and length.


Thanks for all the help.

 

[zebraflavencs]

Micheal, 510 grams is just fine ! Great job on that !
Janie.

 

[Embee]

Hi Michael,

I just wanted to concur with everything Janie has said. When and how a compact will effect a dragon does vary, but they almost always do in some way, be it appetite, growth, eye issues, and worst case scenario, MBD due to the low level of UVB in these bulbs not being favorable for D3 sythnesis/calcium absorption. Our dragon was one that felt the effects of the compact rather early, within a month or two of getting her. She seemed fine at first, eating ok, but then her appetite dropped off to near nothing, she was sleepier and sleepier and at 3 months old, she was still only 6 inches. She also had an eye issue, where her left was closed most of the time. With a change of bulb, we were able to avoid a worst case scenario for which we are forever grateful to BD.org, of course. :mrgreen:

You've been most fortunate as to the weight and size of your beardie. Many beardies do not fair as well for as long under these bulbs (mine of course, among many others), so something to be thankful for there at any rate. While many beardies are affected rather quickly, others will do ok for a time before the poor UVB emissions have a visible effect. It most likely depends on how close your beardie was able to get to the bulb, and also his/her overall physical health. As these bulbs wear, they become more and more dangerous to a beardie's health. The already low level of UVB deteriorates as to border on UVC which are the more hazardous type of UV rays.

As Janie suggested, I also highly recommend a switch to a ReptiSun 10.0 tube great price here: http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html, or if you have a viv that is 40 gallons or larger, you can opt for a mercury vapor bulb (MVB) such as the MegaRay, T-Rex Active Heat or the Exo Terra Solar Glo (take care to AVOID the ZooMed PowerSun as it's been causing issues for beardies of late).

Let us know if you need any information on either of those two scenarios (ReptiSun tube or MVB)... we're happy to share what we know!

The best,
Em