Feeding habits have drastically changed

[PuffMagic]

Hello All. Long time no talk. I give everyone who doesn't remember me or know me a little low down and my 2 lizards.

I have a girl Blaze about 6 yrs old and a boy Puff about 1.5 yrs old. They both a very healthy got the thumbs up from the vet. All their lighting, temps, and cage size are all correct. They have perfect basking spots. Everything is the same as before except that I moved in August, ever since then they haven't been eating nearly enough. I thought I would just give them time and they would come around from the big change, but so far they haven't and it is now November.

Blaze eats okay maybe 20 superworms a month (she could care less for crickets) she also eats her salad every so often and she never hesitates to eat her butterworms.

Puff on the other hand I am more worried about. It seems that only if he is honestly starving will go near his salad (which is fresh everyday) He used to eat his butterworms like mad now he doesnt even seem to notice them. He eats maybe 5 superworms a month. Poops twice a month and clearly that is because he doesnt eat.

I give them both baths where they both drink the water off their noses and splash around (very cute) Blaze uses her bath too poop which isnt very often but never has been since I got her.

Anyway I just want all of your opinions as to what is going on with puff he used to eat like a mad house before the move.

Thanks!

 

[Twobeardieguy]

It could be a matter of anything! The first thing I would do is get a fresh fecal done to rule out any parasites! Also recheck your husbandry as in how old is the UVB light and your temps! It could also have been stress then followed by brumation! Also they get tired of eating the same old food day after day so maybe try changing things up again! Good luck just my 2cents and hope this helped!

 

[PuffMagic]

It could be a matter of anything! The first thing I would do is get a fresh fecal done to rule out any parasites! Also recheck your husbandry as in how old is the UVB light and your temps! It could also have been stress then followed by brumation! Also they get tired of eating the same old food day after day so maybe try changing things up again! Good luck just my 2cents and hope this helped!

Thanks for your reply, but like I said the vet gave them a clean bill of health so it wouldnt be parasites since they cant get it unless they have a filthy cage. Blaze doesnt poop in her cage and they both have tile so when puff does poop in his cage he usually goes on the papertowel I have in his cage and if not then I take out the tile and clean it asap. I check my temps daily with a probe thermometer and change my UVB every 6 mths. They havent brumated yet. I always switch up the food. Different salad (beautifuldragons.com/nutrition) and I switch between crickets,superworms,butterworms,silk worms, & horn worms. I am in the process of breeding dubia roaches which are coming along well but cant use them for feeders yet as I only have a few hundred.

So like I said before I am super stumped as to why he isnt eating. I know the relocation stress is hard on my babies but it has been 4mths almost since they have been moved and they are in similar situations as they were at the other place.

Any other opinions would be greatly apprecaited.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Actually they can and usually will get the parasites from their feeders! Also you can try backing your lights down to about 8 hours and see if they slow down more! Good luck..

 

[PuffMagic]

Hmm. I didnt realize they could get parasites from feeders, but I haven't noticed any other symptoms that would point towards parasites. A fecal wouldn't hurt though. Now backing off my lights....why would I want to force them into brumation? and Puff shouldn't brumate for the first 2years of his life..right?

 

[Twobeardieguy]

They can go into brumation as early as 6 months. I am just trying to help you narrow down a few things. You are pretty much going to see if that is what your dragon wants to do. If your dragon falls asleep when the lights go out or earlier then that is what it is. I'm just trying to give you my thought. if not then we will keep looking into more things.

 

[PuffMagic]

They can go into brumation as early as 6 months. I am just trying to help you narrow down a few things. You are pretty much going to see if that is what your dragon wants to do. If your dragon falls asleep when the lights go out or earlier then that is what it is. I'm just trying to give you my thought. if not then we will keep looking into more things.

No I totally understand and appreciate it. I didn't mean to come across ungrateful the whole reason for posting is to receive others opinions. I am just trying to dissect every possible angle. Would you shorten their day gradually? i have them on a 12/12 cycle right now and have always had it like that. Blaze has only gone through it once.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

O its ok. Yes I would turn it down an hour everyday and see if that is what it is. I would go down to about 8 hours and see what happens. I am just trying to give you my advise and I agree with you on wanting more opinions.

 

[PuffMagic]

O its ok. Yes I would turn it down an hour everyday and see if that is what it is. I would go down to about 8 hours and see what happens. I am just trying to give you my advise and I agree with you on wanting more opinions.

Thanks for your help. I am gonna try cutting down on his hours of daylight!

 

[artie]

i dont think he likes his new environment. face his tank to something more exciting. hand feed him for a while. if you already are, and ur temps and uvb are fine, then feed him some mealworms or put him in a dry bathtub with some toys and let him explore for 5 minutes and feed him there. might be more exciting for him

 

[PuffMagic]

i dont think he likes his new environment. face his tank to something more exciting. hand feed him for a while. if you already are, and ur temps and uvb are fine, then feed him some mealworms or put him in a dry bathtub with some toys and let him explore for 5 minutes and feed him there. might be more exciting for him

Thanks for your feedback Artie. It doesn't matter what type of food I introduce right now he doesn't give a care. I let him run around rather often in my room. He usually goes for a little tour then finds a dark corner to go to sleep in. I always hand feed him his less gross worms like butterworms but like I said he has no interest. I haven't tried the dry bath although I do put him in a wet bath with little items floating around (sometimes he seems to get annoyed with the items) I think he might be going into brumation or wanting to anyway. I did some research regarding brumation and he has the symptoms of brumation. In Alberta we went through a pretty dramatic climate change, so I think that is what set him off because that is around the time he stopped eating altogether.

Thanks.

 

[artie]

i dont think he likes his new environment. face his tank to something more exciting. hand feed him for a while. if you already are, and ur temps and uvb are fine, then feed him some mealworms or put him in a dry bathtub with some toys and let him explore for 5 minutes and feed him there. might be more exciting for him

Thanks for your feedback Artie. It doesn't matter what type of food I introduce right now he doesn't give a care. I let him run around rather often in my room. He usually goes for a little tour then finds a dark corner to go to sleep in. I always hand feed him his less gross worms like butterworms but like I said he has no interest. I haven't tried the dry bath although I do put him in a wet bath with little items floating around (sometimes he seems to get annoyed with the items) I think he might be going into brumation or wanting to anyway. I did some research regarding brumation and he has the symptoms of brumation. In Alberta we went through a pretty dramatic climate change, so I think that is what set him off because that is around the time he stopped eating altogether.

Thanks.

In Alberta? Haha. Are you sure you don't need another basking light? Haha. Just kidding. What part of Alberta are you from?

 

[PuffMagic]

To be honest I do have a ceramic heat emitter on both tanks for when I cannot keep their temps regulated haha. Just gets to cold. I am in Edmonton. Brrrrr.

 

[artie]

To be honest I do have a ceramic heat emitter on both tanks for when I cannot keep their temps regulated haha. Just gets to cold. I am in Edmonton. Brrrrr.

haha i love calgary...albertas too cold for me though

 

[PuffMagic]

So Puff hasn't been pooping because he doesn't eat a thing, not even one worm. Not lethargic, he still basks every thing is normal but his eating. He 'urated' today and there is blood in it. So this means parasites right? His stomach doesnt feel like he has an impaction but I could try apple sauce and see if maybe he passes his impaction if there is a small one. I did switch him to superworms a few mths ago. (16 inches long)

I cant get a fecal done as he doesnt poop anymore. I cant afford the vet appt right now so if the majority says it is parasites I will just buy some reptaid as I used it before and it works like wonders.

I dont understand how he would get parasites and my other dragon blaze wouldnt they eat the same food? Maybe it is an impaction. I dunno. Opinions please.