My 13" juvenile bearded dragon Aries hasn't been himself lately. There are 3 main problems. These problems started about 3 weeks ago, when I left him in the care of my family and found out his main basking platform was moved to an area where it got 90 F at most for about a week. He stopped defecating and eating until they offered him butternut squash and moved the platform back.
Setup:
Enclosure - 36" by 18" by 18" (40 gallon breeder)
UVB - Reptisun 10.0 tube-style in a reflective hood
UVA - 60 or 75 watt florescent bulb in a dimmable lamp
Hood is egg crate/light diffuser panel
Temp gun reads basking spots at 117 F, 95 F, and 90 F. Cool side gets 83 F
Substrate - tile
Timer - 12 hrs sleep, 12 hrs awake
Access to water 24/7
Insects (gut loaded) - calcium dusted crickets offered twice a day, along with a few BSFL and mealworms. Twice a week, his live food is dusted with multivitamin. Vegetables - butternut squash, romaine lettuce, bell peppers, celery, and cilantro. Banana slice once a week.
First: Aries hardly eats compared to the past!
It's been frustrating to fight him to eat. I know 5-10 crickets and a butternut squash-romaine lettuce salad isn't enough for a growing dragon. He just seems to be overall less responsive and less interested in food! I chase him around with the tongs for 30 minutes or so before throwing together a salad, just to give him the option to eat. About 4 out of 5 times, he does eat the vegetables. I feel like it's better than him eating nothing, but this routine means his diet is at least 1/3 vegetables, some days close to 1/2. Even so, he just eats a lot less than he used to and doesn't seem to have the predatory instincts or interest to chase crickets.
Maybe he's lethargic?
Second problem: Aries has reoccuring diarrhea. It seems like the butternut squash may be causing it. He goes through phases where he gets diarrhea, and then it clears up. His feces get runny at least once a week, often more. He defecates once a day pretty consistently.
Lastly, assumingly due to the diarrhea, Aries's vent has been dirty and seems a bit swollen. I'm sure bathing him will wash it away, but how can the diarrhea be prevented? How can I get him interested in live prey again?
Is there a chance that he has pinworms, or that his stomach bacteria is out of whack?
Setup:
Enclosure - 36" by 18" by 18" (40 gallon breeder)
UVB - Reptisun 10.0 tube-style in a reflective hood
UVA - 60 or 75 watt florescent bulb in a dimmable lamp
Hood is egg crate/light diffuser panel
Temp gun reads basking spots at 117 F, 95 F, and 90 F. Cool side gets 83 F
Substrate - tile
Timer - 12 hrs sleep, 12 hrs awake
Access to water 24/7
Insects (gut loaded) - calcium dusted crickets offered twice a day, along with a few BSFL and mealworms. Twice a week, his live food is dusted with multivitamin. Vegetables - butternut squash, romaine lettuce, bell peppers, celery, and cilantro. Banana slice once a week.
First: Aries hardly eats compared to the past!
It's been frustrating to fight him to eat. I know 5-10 crickets and a butternut squash-romaine lettuce salad isn't enough for a growing dragon. He just seems to be overall less responsive and less interested in food! I chase him around with the tongs for 30 minutes or so before throwing together a salad, just to give him the option to eat. About 4 out of 5 times, he does eat the vegetables. I feel like it's better than him eating nothing, but this routine means his diet is at least 1/3 vegetables, some days close to 1/2. Even so, he just eats a lot less than he used to and doesn't seem to have the predatory instincts or interest to chase crickets.
Maybe he's lethargic?
Second problem: Aries has reoccuring diarrhea. It seems like the butternut squash may be causing it. He goes through phases where he gets diarrhea, and then it clears up. His feces get runny at least once a week, often more. He defecates once a day pretty consistently.
Lastly, assumingly due to the diarrhea, Aries's vent has been dirty and seems a bit swollen. I'm sure bathing him will wash it away, but how can the diarrhea be prevented? How can I get him interested in live prey again?
Is there a chance that he has pinworms, or that his stomach bacteria is out of whack?