Hey All,
I got my beardie at a few weeks old from the local Petco in August '12. Around 2 months ago, after eating crickets voraciously every day since I brought him home, he just stopped eating them. I'd been offering Kale, dandelion greens, bell peppers, green beans, and the occasional carrots and fruit all along and his interest in them grew as he got older. I haven't been able to get him very interested in live food since then, and his consumption of greens has never been substantial - maybe twice a month he'll clear a full plate (4" diameter) most days I can't be sure he even touched them. With the drop off in live food I've been dusting his veggies, which he actually seems to prefer.
At the time he was 16" to 17" tip to tail, now he's just under 18". I dont know his starting weight but he's about 360 grams now.
His activity level is still high though he's been going to bed earlier than when he was a baby (just like me...). He clocks in a little less than 10 hrs daily before he shuts down though some of his day is spent in a hide but with wide eyes and lot's of alert observation. He sits under an 80 watt Megaray for about an hour or two on the days I'm home to watch him and he has a UVB-free basking spot that's a bit cooler for most of his day. The gradient is 80 degrees on the cool side, 95 to 105 on the hot side (Depending on where he is). The viv is 4'X2'X2' and he has a hide on each end.
For new food I tried superworms which he likes but will not take them regularly (He chews them well and, when the volume of food is up he passes them as well), he isn't crazy about dubias (only eaten 3 in 2 months) which are around 3/4" of an inch. He still eats wax worms like crazy but we all know that's not a staple. Pheonix worms are ignored.
He has had a vet trip which gave him a clean bill of health. They did a fecal (they had to go "in" for a sample, you should have seen his face afterwards), no parasites. The vet did give me some laxitives in case there was an impaction, which resulted in semi-daily bowel movements and no increase in appetite.
Soooo... I don't know. He seems too young for brumation or a big shift in diet. His temps, supplements, and lighting are all in spec. The behavior doesn't seem alarming and he's still growing apparently. Am I crazy to be worried? Is this maybe a winter thing? Should I be concerned once this becomes a 4-6 month trend? Is this a phase?
Thanks,
Brian
I got my beardie at a few weeks old from the local Petco in August '12. Around 2 months ago, after eating crickets voraciously every day since I brought him home, he just stopped eating them. I'd been offering Kale, dandelion greens, bell peppers, green beans, and the occasional carrots and fruit all along and his interest in them grew as he got older. I haven't been able to get him very interested in live food since then, and his consumption of greens has never been substantial - maybe twice a month he'll clear a full plate (4" diameter) most days I can't be sure he even touched them. With the drop off in live food I've been dusting his veggies, which he actually seems to prefer.
At the time he was 16" to 17" tip to tail, now he's just under 18". I dont know his starting weight but he's about 360 grams now.
His activity level is still high though he's been going to bed earlier than when he was a baby (just like me...). He clocks in a little less than 10 hrs daily before he shuts down though some of his day is spent in a hide but with wide eyes and lot's of alert observation. He sits under an 80 watt Megaray for about an hour or two on the days I'm home to watch him and he has a UVB-free basking spot that's a bit cooler for most of his day. The gradient is 80 degrees on the cool side, 95 to 105 on the hot side (Depending on where he is). The viv is 4'X2'X2' and he has a hide on each end.
For new food I tried superworms which he likes but will not take them regularly (He chews them well and, when the volume of food is up he passes them as well), he isn't crazy about dubias (only eaten 3 in 2 months) which are around 3/4" of an inch. He still eats wax worms like crazy but we all know that's not a staple. Pheonix worms are ignored.
He has had a vet trip which gave him a clean bill of health. They did a fecal (they had to go "in" for a sample, you should have seen his face afterwards), no parasites. The vet did give me some laxitives in case there was an impaction, which resulted in semi-daily bowel movements and no increase in appetite.
Soooo... I don't know. He seems too young for brumation or a big shift in diet. His temps, supplements, and lighting are all in spec. The behavior doesn't seem alarming and he's still growing apparently. Am I crazy to be worried? Is this maybe a winter thing? Should I be concerned once this becomes a 4-6 month trend? Is this a phase?
Thanks,
Brian