Ostrommaysi
Hatchling Member
Lets start off with all the basics. (lighting, temps and whatnot) I keep my beardie in a 48L X 20W custom enclosure. Substrate is a cheap bit of stick on tiles until I can afford him better ones. (Before he always had newspaper) Lighting is a ReptiSun 10.0 18" strip at approx 8inch from his basking spot which hovers around 98 degrees. Cool side typically ranged from 84-90 depending on room temps. (Sadly I always struggled with keeping an even room temp.) Feeder is currently Hornworms and his salad consists of Collards, mustards and sometimes Kale. His Dietary suppliment is currently "Critical Care" which was prescribed by his Vet. (Prior with Calcium+D3 and Mutivitamin) His waking hours are from 7am to 5pm like clockwork. He'll usually spend an hour to two at the extreme daily for run around and cuddle time. Vitti is one day shy of being two years old. He is 25 1/4 inches long and a tad thin right now.
The first order of business is not so much of a problem perhaps as it is a lack of personal experience. That being the whole, 'Is he brumating or is he ill?" dispute. What I can tell you is he spends most of his days tucked in his hide spot in the corner. He does not come out to bask or eat. However he is not asleep I can see him sitting there kinda staring off into space. If I talk to him he'll snap out of it and look at me. If I hold him he'll look around, react to noises and even jump to the floor soo he can run to his favorite window. He'll eat his Hornworms, usually one or two in a day. He won't even touch his veggies (more on that later) when I put him back in his tank he'll sit under his lamp for a few then snuggle back into his corner. This has been going on for about a month now and I've been closely monitoring him to make sure his situation hasn't declined but its remained the same. IE the same lazy snuggling in the corner, staring into space during the day and sleeping at night. I suspect it may be partial brumation but I'd like y'alls opinion just to be sure.
The second problem is that he will not really bother with his veggies. I offer him fresh, veggies that I tear by hand every single day. They typically consist of Collards and Mustard greens with the odd Kale thrown in when I can bother to buy it. (Sometimes only Collards it depends on what is fresh when I buy them) I thought now that he is grown he'd not be so dependent on live food and move on to eating a lot of veggies but this is sadly not the case. He'll take a single bite maybe twice a week. I"ve tried putting worms in the Salad to get him interested. I've tried cutting it up in bigger and smaller sizes. No help at all. The vet had prescribed Critical Care for Herbivores saying that it may help him desire to eat veggies more. (Or at the very least give him nutrients) There is no water source in his viv and the only moisture he gets if from his worms really. (Well and baths) No matter what I do I cannot get him to eat his veggies. I'm not sure what to do anymore both me and the vet are stumped.
Small note related to eating is he is not a big eater. As I mentioned earlier he'll eat like 2 almost fully grown hornworms in a day. Before when I had roaches he'd eat only a handful, IE two to five, daily. I'm not really sure how to get him to eat more because he absolutely will not have it.
Last but not least is his pooping habits, or lack thereof. He will poop like once a week in his bath, sometimes once every two weeks. It has been like this for a year at least. He will not poop outside of his bath and I cannot get him to poop more. I took him to the vet at least ten times. It was discovered he had pinworms so we took care of that and hoped it would change. It did not. We started him on critical care and it did not help at all. I've tried different feeders, rubbing his belly, different bath frequencies and temps (Cooler to warmer never hot or cold) and tried giving him more and less run around time. Its bothered me for so long and nothing me or his vet does seems to help him at all.
I just want my Vitti to be happy and healthy but it seems to always be a struggle to get even his basic needs of eating and pooping down. Despite it all, prior to this laziness stint, he was quite the active beardie. He'd run, jump and beard his way all around my room. Even now he'll still run around a bit, usually straight to the window and act alert while I'm handling him. I don't know what else to do so I thought I'd ask you guys.
Thanks in advance. Sorry if its a lot to read, I wanted to make sure I got in as much detail as I could think of.
The first order of business is not so much of a problem perhaps as it is a lack of personal experience. That being the whole, 'Is he brumating or is he ill?" dispute. What I can tell you is he spends most of his days tucked in his hide spot in the corner. He does not come out to bask or eat. However he is not asleep I can see him sitting there kinda staring off into space. If I talk to him he'll snap out of it and look at me. If I hold him he'll look around, react to noises and even jump to the floor soo he can run to his favorite window. He'll eat his Hornworms, usually one or two in a day. He won't even touch his veggies (more on that later) when I put him back in his tank he'll sit under his lamp for a few then snuggle back into his corner. This has been going on for about a month now and I've been closely monitoring him to make sure his situation hasn't declined but its remained the same. IE the same lazy snuggling in the corner, staring into space during the day and sleeping at night. I suspect it may be partial brumation but I'd like y'alls opinion just to be sure.
The second problem is that he will not really bother with his veggies. I offer him fresh, veggies that I tear by hand every single day. They typically consist of Collards and Mustard greens with the odd Kale thrown in when I can bother to buy it. (Sometimes only Collards it depends on what is fresh when I buy them) I thought now that he is grown he'd not be so dependent on live food and move on to eating a lot of veggies but this is sadly not the case. He'll take a single bite maybe twice a week. I"ve tried putting worms in the Salad to get him interested. I've tried cutting it up in bigger and smaller sizes. No help at all. The vet had prescribed Critical Care for Herbivores saying that it may help him desire to eat veggies more. (Or at the very least give him nutrients) There is no water source in his viv and the only moisture he gets if from his worms really. (Well and baths) No matter what I do I cannot get him to eat his veggies. I'm not sure what to do anymore both me and the vet are stumped.
Small note related to eating is he is not a big eater. As I mentioned earlier he'll eat like 2 almost fully grown hornworms in a day. Before when I had roaches he'd eat only a handful, IE two to five, daily. I'm not really sure how to get him to eat more because he absolutely will not have it.
Last but not least is his pooping habits, or lack thereof. He will poop like once a week in his bath, sometimes once every two weeks. It has been like this for a year at least. He will not poop outside of his bath and I cannot get him to poop more. I took him to the vet at least ten times. It was discovered he had pinworms so we took care of that and hoped it would change. It did not. We started him on critical care and it did not help at all. I've tried different feeders, rubbing his belly, different bath frequencies and temps (Cooler to warmer never hot or cold) and tried giving him more and less run around time. Its bothered me for so long and nothing me or his vet does seems to help him at all.
I just want my Vitti to be happy and healthy but it seems to always be a struggle to get even his basic needs of eating and pooping down. Despite it all, prior to this laziness stint, he was quite the active beardie. He'd run, jump and beard his way all around my room. Even now he'll still run around a bit, usually straight to the window and act alert while I'm handling him. I don't know what else to do so I thought I'd ask you guys.
Thanks in advance. Sorry if its a lot to read, I wanted to make sure I got in as much detail as I could think of.