Hello! My two year old female dragon, Vhagara, came out of a 4 1/2 brumation and has not been eating well. In fact, she has not eaten at all for the past two days. She won't even eat her hornworms which she loves. She looks great and is running around and climbing on her branch. I soaked her two times once she came out of brumation and have been dusting her food with supplements. She has never liked greens/veggies so that has been a challenge also. I have and appointment with a vet in four more days but am worried she may need to be seen sooner. The temps in her habitat are correct and she is getting her UVB and basking lights for 13 hours per day. Any ideas? Thanks!
Dragon not eating
- Thread starter mshaverly
- Start date
It could take a while for the appetite to come back ---- NO enemas at the vet please take a stool sample in w/ you-- I would get a weight on her and see if she has lost weight and if she is losing weight -- did she drink any water since shes been out?
Please get a weight and recommend you take the fountain out -- they can raise humidity levels to high
Ok still at good weight-- keep offering food
Is your hygrometer a digital probe
Watch her behavior and keep feeding her -- lets see what she does here in a week or so -- I can have ahbd respond to your post -
@AHBD
Today Vhagara is so hungry and did her little "bulldog" stance she does when she is hungry. So I fed her a piece of collard greens dressed in a little bearded dragon salad dressing and a few sprinkles of bee pollen. She gobbled it up then clawed at the right side of her mouth and rubbed her face on the basking stone she was sitting on. So I fed her a roach and she did the exact same thing. After that, she would not eat. So I made her open her mouth twice so I could get a good luck and I didn't see anything. So I took her to the vet. They didn't see anything and took X-rays. She has been running all around her habitat today and bumping her nose on the door as though she is wanting out. Strange behavior for her. They checked her for eggs in the X-ray and there were none. They put her on meloxicam (anti-inflammatory) for 5 - 7 days to see if she is experiencing pain in her mouth due to some sort of injury. The vet is very knowledgeable of dragons and said if she is not better in three days and eating again, to bring her back.
Hello,
I am ok with the meloxicam for a week or so, if she appears to be having some discomfort on her mouth.
It doesn't look red or swollen? Not sure she could have
an injury since she just came out of brumation. Could
she be getting ready to shed on her face & mouth area
perhaps?
They can sometimes have trouble coming out of brumation, so just try to encourage her to bask as much
as you can right now.
Tracie
I am ok with the meloxicam for a week or so, if she appears to be having some discomfort on her mouth.
It doesn't look red or swollen? Not sure she could have
an injury since she just came out of brumation. Could
she be getting ready to shed on her face & mouth area
perhaps?
They can sometimes have trouble coming out of brumation, so just try to encourage her to bask as much
as you can right now.
Tracie
Hi Tracie, Nothing is red or swollen on her body. Her weight is good. No appearance of shedding on her face. There is a small area on her tail. Of course, they offered more x-ray interpretations by a specialist and bloodwork. I declined as the cost was very high. Giving her the meloxicam is very stressful and she really fights me and then wants nothing to do with me afterwards. So then she really refuses food. She has been trying to hide a bit like she is wanting to go into brumation again. So when I see her doing that I take her out of the hide and place her under a basking temp of about 100 degrees. I am not sure I want to give her another dose of meloxicam. She has had two doses. Meloxicam can be hard on the stomach and should be taken with food. What are your thoughts? I bought a lot of roaches and hornworms that I may end up feeding to my chickens. I also offer collard and mustard greens as she refuses any other green or vegetable. Thank you for your advice. Marcia
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She was having a staring contest with a mealworm. I guess I never taught her to not play with her food, lol.