Help, Star burping/stressed!?!

[Freddiemom]

Stardust, a approx year old 19.5" hefty weight girl got a new viv for christmas-to a 40 gal breeder From a 55 gal. We moved her in it right after christmas. She can now see Freddie (the girl). Fred is having a great time waving at her all day. Star has a window view she likes, I close the curtains at night and in the morning she does her stinker routine until I open them for her. BUT-She doesn't seem too happy, haas been darker than usual, didn't poop for 2 days, got a nice long bath and squash baby food with a little olive oil in it. Next day poop. No poop for 2 days again, today she's doing this odd llittle burp thing. I was holding her and felt a hiccup kinda movement in belly. Then she started licking frantically for like 15 sec. She did this twice. I gave her another nice long bath again today (got one yesterday,too) while messaging her belly. She was very quiet in the sink, not like her at all. All she wanted to do tonight was snuggle, acting very sleepy. Showed little interest in food today I think she ate 1 super. I fed her some squash bb food w/ olive oil and gave her some acidophoulos +. Ate a few teaspoons of the bb food mix and then wiped it off on my chin (stinker, but too cute). And last night the heat went off by mistake- it got cold in our house. They both have CHEs, but it was still too cold for both of them. Star was colder than Fred. Her digital said 59*! So is this just stress from the move or seeing each other? They play nice together alot. Fred could see Star alittle b4. So am I being the overly nervous, worried mom or is this more? Brumating? Help!

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Sounds like their is some stress going on their. I would try to separate them from seeing each other all together! How is your set like as in UVB how old and what are the temps and how are you measuring them? Temps can change a bit going from 55 to a 40 and the pooper my in fact feel that. It could be still a bit of stress going to a smaller tank as well. The little burp my be a bit of gas from the squash bb food w/ olive oil and acidophoulos +. What else are you feeding your pooper? Please let us know how she is. Just my 2cents..

 

[DragonMomSandy]

Liz, I do think it is mostly relocation stress. You may want to cover the area where she can see fred for a few days and let her get used to her new surroundings without Fred waving all day. Any move for them can do this, and their appetites can drop for a few days to a couple weeks. I think if she was going to brumate she would be doing it already. The cooler temps for one night is not going to hurt, it was about 1 to 5 degrees lower than it should be, but not fatally cold. What are the basking temps running now with the new viv? and the cool side? The larger viv can be tougher to keep those temps up where they need to be. Her not pooping for a couple days could be due simply to her not eating as much. Be aware also, that once they hit a year old, their appetite starts to decrease as well. They will shift to eating more veg and less feeders. By 18 months, they are adults and should be eating veg daily and feeders only 2 to 3 times per week. Keep offering the veg and feeders daily, keep an eye on the temps, and keep doing the baths. If she doesn't eat for a day, she will be alright, if she goes a couple days, give her the baby food to help stimulate appetite. She should settle in soon and start back to eating. I do think that her appetite will decrease (where feeders are concerned) so don't panic if she doesn't go back to plowing through them. Keep an eye on her color, watch for a frequent black beard and darkened tail, that is the first major sign of stress and illness. If she doesn't start to settle in after a week or two, then make an appointment with the vet. I do think she is ok, just a little stressed.
Your a good mommy, thats why your concerned. Keep us posted how she's doing.

 

[DragonMomSandy]

Oh, and yes, I agree with Lance. The burps could be from the baby food w/olive oil and the acidophilis. I would go easy on the olive oil and the acidophilis, only every couple days if needed.

 

[Freddiemom]

The burps were before feeding her-that's way I gave her the acidophlous! It was just a drop or 2 for oil in her bb food. The last time I gave it to her was early last week. The temps in the new tank are pretty close to being perfect. The cool side is between 70 and 72 (digital Probe type), the basking is the one I haven't gotten a good reading on cause she's always knocking down the probe. But on the floor next to her rock it is 92 so I'm thinking we are probably ok. The UV bulb is brand new! It's a 36'' reptisun that I had to angle in to fit the tank. Star has been eating crickets, she was pounding them for a while, she would snatch 3 or 4 at a time so I had to feed her slow -she would devour a dozen in a sitting if I let her.. She lloves mustard greens ,turnip greens are next. Once in while for a treat I give them the baby greens with the escarole in it. She had her first wax worm for christmas! The reason I moved her to the 40 is cause she was always wedging herself against the glass in the 55 with no room to turn around. I thought she would like it better. I have no problem moving her back to her old tank but would that even stress her more?. The 55 was a nightmare to get set up just right because it is so high. I did figure it out! Hopefully Star is finally adjusting to eating like a real dragon, too.Not knowing her real age doesn't help-she could be just hitting her year mark for all I know. She was fed nothing but pellets by her previous owner. She was so amazed with fresh bugs and greens for quite a while. You know, Thank you guys for your help. If I didn't love her so much I wouldn't be such a goon about all this stuff. I just freak out everytime they do something off! I hope I answered all the questions ok-it's late and I can't think straight anymore

 

[DragonMomSandy]

Liz
I really do think it's location stress. Give her time to get used to the new viv. I would try to get the temps up a little higher on the cool side, closer to 80-85F. Try and get a good reading of the basking site, it's tough though I know, Assassin is always knocking the probe down! Don't switch her back to the other viv, I think it would just stress her more and with time she'll get used to, and like the new viv. Her buping could just be a little tummy upset from the stress since it's been a week since she had the olive oil or acidophilus. And, since she hasn't eaten as much lately that may also contribute to it. Give her time and keep an eye on her. I know that she and Fred are both healthy, you worked really hard to get them parasite free, so I don't think you have any underlying problem there. And, Star is so much healthier looking now than she was when you rescued her(Pat on the Back!) and she has filled out more and her color has gotten much brighter. Hang in there Liz, your just a worried mommy, and thats ok!

 

[Freddiemom]

The good part of that is I know I'm obssesive (nuts, coo coo, whatever you want to say) about my critters, especailly the beardies. I feel I just don't know enough, YET. So I worry, worry, worry.... I took your advice & covered Star's viv, color was better, no eating yet. Stardust was alittle happier today. Lots of mom time for her, too. We napped after dinner on the couch. Fredward ate like a little pig this am. He woke up and started chowing down. Light on, eat. So he's happier, too. No waving today. Raising the heat. I have a heat lamp, a che, and a 100watt bulb on the tank. What else can I do? The house is cool, it's a big house and I keep the heat down as low as I can stand it. I was thinking of moving her into my room but it is even cooler in there, furthest from the furnance

 

[DragonMomSandy]

Temps are always a battle here in the frozen tundra! And your farther north than me too! Once you get the MVB running, monitor the temps and you can use an extra dome with a lower watt household bulb on the cool side to keep ambient temps up. This in turn helps keep the basking area temps up. I fight with this every winter! And I monitor the temps all the time. One day I need the extra bulb, the next I don't.
And, you are no more nuts/coo coo than the rest of us!!! LOL Worrying goes hand in hand with having dragons!

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Just popping in to see how things are going! I am glad they are coming around now. And Sandy I am not coo coo I am just a very well trained slave! :lol: :wink:

 

[Freddiemom]

So Star is fine today! Ate a big plate of greens and a few crickets, made a huge mess. I think she might be getting ready to shed, too. Her chin is getting lighter. Sometimes I just freak myself out. Lance a big thank you to you, too. I don't know what I would do without you guys. Yes, I take everything you guys tell me to heart. I think part of the reason I freaked out was Star has taken everything we have thrown at her with hardly a blink. Even when she first came here and had to learn to live with all the other critters did she ever show any signs of stress. Although she was probably so excited about getting fed real food... My daughter came home from school with a new swear word :evil: beach as in Life's a beach. And BTW I'm proud to be a little coo coo for coco puffs

 

[Twobeardieguy]

You are very welcome! How is your pooper doing today? And you gotta love the new words they learn everyday! :roll:

 

[DragonMomSandy]

Liz
Glad to hear Star is her old self. It's good that you are so observant, it's always better to careful than find out somethings gone wrong too late. Your daughter could have learned a LOT worse words than that! It shocked me when the first time I heard the F-bomb out of my sons mouth when he was 16. He has been pretty careful about the words he uses in front of me since then, he could tell I was pretty disappointed. Told him I knew that he and the friends said words like that, although I'd rather they didn't, but not to let me hear it.

Lance, coo-coo or well trained slave, same dif! :wink: Your as obsessed as the rest of us! (More I'm thinking!) :shock:

 

[Freddiemom]

Today Star was alittle grumpy, every other day she eats great & is happy. Got the reptaid this weekend gave her a little-Massive poop later today. She loves to poop on the furry critters while out running around. I accidently caught her in the act while taking pics. She was climbing on Sam the cat & pooping. I now have the whole viv covered with towels for warmth and privacy (except by the lights).

The whole swear word thing is so tricky. You know they are gonna hear it in movies and on tv. Funny, I don't censor things and she gets upset when she hears kids swearing on the playground. 16 the first time you heard your kid swear? That my dear is awesome. Just goes to show what kinda kids us coo coo for coco puffs dragon people raise. Thanks again you guys.

 

[DragonMomSandy]

16 was the first time I heard the F-bomb. And only a few times in the 5 years since. Before that, when he was about 5 he said the word sh1t, but didn't understand that it was bad-funny though, he used it correctly! LOL as in piece of sh@#! I never censored things either, but, I explained to him that words like this shouldn't be used by kids, and that adults use these words, although it's not always acceptable either. Always tried to be very straight forward and honest with him and I must say, I have a pretty good kid who was never really in trouble and never really rebelled the way many kids do. Pretty blessed, I thank God for that!

Give Star a few more days and she should be back to her old self. She's adjusting and her system needs a chance to bounce back a little. I would go easy on the reptaid. Many have used it and had good results, but I haven't really seen too much with it that really impresses me about it's use yet. I just think it needs to be tested more thoroughly. Just my opinion. Sounds like you have it all worked out though so I think this will pass soon.

Too funny that she chose poor Sam to do her business on! I'm sure he wasn't terribly impressed!!

 

[Freddiemom]

No it was too funny that I got it on the camera! I didn't realise it until I went to get her off of him. Then I saw the poop. Poor Sam just loves the other animals and they all do mean things to him.

Same here kid wise. She's just the best. A perfectionist and smart and a very talented artist! It always worries me when I hear a parent swear around their children and then punish them when the kids do it. Sophia got in trouble awhile ago in school. She's been getting beat up by another kid since last year. The teacher then sat the bad kid next to her, thinking it would be a good influence on him. Well, the kid just pushed it too far and Sophia yelled at him "you are an a**. Leave me alone" I called the teacher and she apologised to me for the discipline. She said she felt like cheering her on. The school doesn't know how to handle this kid apparently. This was the only time the kid ever got in trouble. Poor kid, she comes home almost in tears every day. Sad.

Yes I agree about the reptaid. I don't plan on using it very often at all. But, just like I keep Rescue Remedy on hand at all times for all other creatures (humans, too), it seems like a good idea. I don't think there are any bad ingrediants in the product. They are all herbal. We will see. She was burping today again, too. I hope this helps reset her tummy.