Hasnt eaten in over a week, no poop, getting skinny, and mor

[Ejames1226]

So my little guy has barley eatin anything since thanksgiving. Ive been trying to hand feed him some collard greens but hes not intrested. Hes just been laying around and sleeping and getting skinny.

I just saw him go up to the food bowl and he grabed a cricket and ate it, but then he started shaking and he started running around with his butt in the air, and with his toes almost backwards, it was very weird. Then he stoped moving and was shaking...

I have an apt on monday to see the vet, but does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,
Sorry your little one isnt behaving.

Could you answer the following questions for us?

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?

 

[Ejames1226]

How old is your dragon? Around 5-6 Months
How long have you had your dragon? About 3-4 Months
How long is your dragon? Roughly 12 inches head to tip of tail
What is the sex of your dragon? Male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 3'x1'x1'
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Repti Carpet
Do you use UVB lights? I had it running for a few weeks but then the ballast went out on the light fixture so i stopped using it. This was probably a month ago that i stopped.
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? I belive it was a flourescent? It was a reptisun 10.0
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? Reptisun 10.0
How old is your UVB bulb? It was only used for about 3 weeks
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? He was able to get about 6 inches away when he climbed to the top of the cage, but where he normaly basked i would say it was about a foot away.
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Im using 2 60 watt household lights and the temp reads 90 degrees.
What are the basking temps? 90 degrees
What is the cool side temp? Not sure
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Stick on
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? I have the stick on on the glass on the basking side of the tank, at lizard level where he always hangsout
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Freeze Dried Crickets from Petco, Collard greens, Green beans. Sometimes live crickets though.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? I have the crickets in a little food bowl that he used to always eat from whenever he was hungry. I would usually handfeed him afternoon some greens, or at night a few hours before bed some greens.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? No
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? I was using dragon dust by T-Rex every other time that i filled up his feeding bowl. So probably 2-3 times a week i dusted them.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? He was untill he stopped eating. Once or twice a day.
Do you bath your dragon? How often? No hes been mad at me lately and wont let me pick him up. I mist him with warm water once or twice a day though.

Please tell me what i am doing wrong so i can give him a better home! I am currently building a big cage for him that will have a working uvb light fixture in it, but the one i have now isnt working properly so thats why im not using it.

Thankyou very much

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,

Firstly your dragon needs a UVB bulb. A household bulb is not enough for your dragon and he should not be without one for more than a couple of days, let alone a month.
This will be why your beardie is doing so badly.
He needs one immediately.

Temperatures are very important, and the stick on thermometres arent accurate enough. You need a digital thermometre with a probe. I hear you can buy one for $12 at Walmart.
Cool side should be 75-85 and basking spot should be 100-110 for a young beardie.

 

[Ejames1226]

Thank you very much.

I am off to the store right now and will post up when i get back.

Thank you.

 

[beardie parents]

Was your reptisun 10 the long tube? If so that's a good uvb for beardies. they need to be between 6 and 8 inches. The temps could be off as you are using a stick on thermometer and that only measures the ambient air temps. I suggest you go to your local Walmart (if you live in the US you can) and get the accurite digital thermometer with probe. The one I have costs about $12. and has 2 temps and a humidity reading. You put the housing on the cool side of the tank and put the probe on the basking side. This will give you a better idea about the correct temps in his tank.

I just noticed another post. That poster is correct, the fact that he's not eating is due to the lack of uvb. I have found this out from personal experience. When my reptisun 10 tubes are between 4 and 6 months old, my beardies appetite diminishes to their not eating much at all. You need to replace the housing or bulb, whatever failed. The bulb should still be good since you only used it for 3 weeks, it should still put out uvb for another 3.5 or 4.5 months.

 

[Ethelia]

Good good.
I hope your dragon picks up quickly.

Holly

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Where did you get your flourescent light fixture from? You can easily get one from Home Depot, Lowes, or most other hardware type of stores for a decent price. Good that you have the Reptisun 10 tube bulb, but he needs to be underneath of it, along with the basking lights. As suggested, 6-8 inches distance wise for the Reptisun 10 UVB tube is perfect.
When they are not getting adequate UVB exposure, they cannot absorb calcium very well or synthesize D3 as well which helps keep their bones strong. Once they become hypocalcemic, they begin to have neuromuscular problems such as loss of balance, coordination, muscular twitches & seizures. They have a major loss of appetite & begin losing weight as well. This is very fixable but it has to be acted upon quickly. Otherwise his calcium levels get dangerously low & it can greatly affect his health & his organs, too.
Let us know how the temperatures measure once you get a digital probe. Remember, you need to leave it directly underneath the basking light for at least 45 minutes to get a good & accurate reading. The basking temps should be 95-110, & the cooler end around 78-82.
A few other notes. He does need straight calcium 5 days per week at his age. The t-rex is ok, but they are vitamins & calcium mixed & alot of times they tend not to get enough calcium when the 2 are mixed. I strongly encourage you to find either Jurassical pure calcium powder or repcal calcium with or without D3. Both are pretty easy to find at most petstores.
Also, the feeders that you feed him such as crickets, need to be fed. They have no nutritional value if they are not fed 24/7. You can make your own feed, or you can purchase some either at the petstore or online at the online feeder supply stores. He is what you feed your feeders. At his age, he needs at least 50+ crickets or worms or a combination of both, per day to ensure proper growth.

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[Ejames1226]

I ended up getting a Desert Series 50 low profile double bulb fixture. It came with the bulbs, and this will fit perfectly in my new tank im building. Right now he is laying on his hammock about 6 inches from the uvb. He seems to be pretty happy.

Ill keep this thread updated, thanks for all the help.

 

[Ejames1226]

HE POOPED!!!!

I Was just about to post that i think hes feeling better as he is more aware of his surroundings, and he is sitting on his log checkin everything out, and i noticed a big huge poop! Never thought id be so happy to see a big huge poop in his cage!

 

[Ejames1226]

Do they know when enough is enough as far as eating goes? Im hand feeding him and hes eating a bunch. Im giving him a green bean and some crickets. That light sure did alot.

Really appreciate the help.

 

[vickson420]

They will not over eat themselves but the best way to ensure they are getting the right amount of feeders daily is to give them as many as they will eat in a 15minute window 3xper day.Also be sure to offer a full bowl of veggie daily.

I am glad you got the fixture its a good one unfortunately the bulbs that come with it are not.They dont emit alot of uvb which is what he needs at the moment.Does your reptisun 10 fit in it?How old is it?If your reptisun is less then 6 mos old and fits I would use that bulb just make sure he can get within 6-8 inches of it.If a beardie isnt giving proper uvb he will become lethargic,will develop MBD(metabollic bone disease),will have decreased appetite,slow growth and eventually this will all lead to him passing.Its good that he pooped that is one problem down and I am sure he feels better.