Hunger strike

[chemgrl08]

About 2-3 weeks ago I purchased a beardie from someone on craigslist. She seemed very healthy, the family was very nice, but they had lost interest in taking care of her. :roll: She had previously been on crushed walnut, but I immediately switched it to tiles. She is still in her same 50 gal enclosure, and I purchased a new UV light. She has places to hide, etc.
Unfortunately, she has not eaten at all since I've had her, and I'm getting concerned. About 10 days ago she seemed to show signs of wanting to lay eggs; trying to dig, running back and forth in the cage. She's also quite fat. I put in a container of playsand, but she hasn't touched it, and she seems to just stay in the same spot on her basking ledge.
Do you guys feel there is a chance she may be egg bound? I guess she's kind of lethargic, but it's hard for me to tell because I only just got her. Eyes are clear, nose is clear, no bone deformations- it seems like her owners took care of her for the most part. Is she stressed from moving? Could the presence of my small dog be stressing her out? (He shows interest in the cage, but she is much higher than he is and so I expect she wouldn't feel threatened. You never know though.) Is this to the point where I should consult a vet? Or do you have any other suggestions? (I prefer not to go to the vet for $$$ reasons, but she is my responsibility now and I will do whatever is necessary.) I have a good reptile vet that I trust; I expect he would take an x-ray.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....can you post a picture of your new girl ? It's possible that she is gravid, and if so she would need a laybox. Instructions for making one are in the breeding forum, the top of the page. Some other things to consider....has she poo'd yet ? Was it tiny or large amount ? Any sign of the walnut substrate in it ? It would be good to bathe her every few days [ if you aren't already ] in lukewarm water about 2" deep for about 10 minutes, and trickle water on her head to see if she'll drink. I hope she's not eggbound, it happens in fat dragons more often because they just have a lot of fat in and around all the organs, so if she's really obese there's a bigger chance of egg binding. If you really suspect it, an X-ray would be helpful. And if you get one, can you post it here ? Hopefully she's just stressed, and yes the dog can be scary if she's never seen one...just the relocation , everything around her is strange now.

 

[chemgrl08]

Thanks for the tips. She does have a lay box in her enclosure available to her (with the playsand in it.) Here is a pic of her fatness:

She has pooped once since I had her, a few days after we got home, but I didn't see anything unusual and she hasn't pooped since (probably because she hasn't eaten anything.) It was an average size, pretty unremarkable.
I am thinking I will take the side of caution and take her to the vet for an x-ray. I'm really concerned about the egg-bound possibility. Luckilyy I have a little cash saved up for emergencies; I just really want her to be happy. I'll try the baths too but I think I may use the herpa-vite appetite stimulant thing. (You mix a powder into water and squirt it in their mouth.)

 

[AHBD]

Wow, she's very pretty ! But she is definitely obese...people seem to have lost the ability to tell a very, very fat animal from a normal size. Even some vets seem to not know how fat reptiles are getting, she looks at least 150 grams overweight....but part of that could be from eggs. Have you offered her greens ? That should make up the bulk of her diet, [ once she starts eating again ] with only about 10 -15 large insects a week. Daily runs around the house for exercise [ closely supervised ] would be good as well. Hopefully your new girl will be just plain fat and not eggbound. Please give an update after she's been seen .

 

[chemgrl08]

@AHBD Keep in mind I didn't do this to her, I'm just trying to get her healthy and hopefully back down to size! I agree, she is way obese. (And judging from the family's beagle, they enjoy overfeeding their pets.) Maybe I should make her a beardie weight loss page? :lol:

Good news though. I took her to the vet yesterday and some quick x-rays showed that she has absolutely no eggs whatsoever. He also tried to look for impaction, but couldn't find that either. (See pics) It's really cool to see the x-rays! Anyway, he suggested trying some crickets, which are more active than the supers she had been eating before, and a live pinky mouse too. I asked him, "Isn't that really fatty?" but he said right now we just want her to eat SOMETHING, so even though it's fatty, she'll get something in her system. Crickets are lower in fat than supers, right? If that's the case, I will focus on those for her protein. I prefer supers because there are fewer escapees, but you gotta do what you gotta do!




She did finally eat a single scrap of collard green from my hand today. After that I got snubbed. For some reason she does seem to have some of her attitude back since going to the vet; you know, that beardie bossiness. Before that she sat in the same spot for 3 days. They didn't give her anything at the vet, but I guess I'm not complaining as long as she eats.
The vet also recommended warm baths and trying to feed her after that. (She can use the exercise anyway.) He said she could be stressed from the new environment, or she could just not be hungry (he's seen beardies go 3 months without eating.) He also mentioned brumation, but he said that's probably not it because its the wrong time of year.
I'm very relieved that she isn't egg bound, but that means all of the chub really IS fat! :shock: She currently weighs 747g (yep, like the jet.) I'm supposed to take her back in 3 wks if she hasn't started eating, and he wants to check the poo for pinworms and such just in case. (But don't parasites make the beardie eat more and still lose weight, because the worms suck up all the nutrients?)

And a funny side story, I was in the waiting room and put Daisy on the counter because my dog was there for his appt too; I thought it was good to leave some space between them. So I'm sitting down and I see a lady come up to the front desk, and she looks at Daisy and goes, "Ugh! That thing is so UGLY! Why would EVER WANT one of those??? Gross!!!" LOL She didn't know I was the owner! So I said, "Hey, that's MINE! She's a bearded dragon." :mrgreen: She apologized briefly and tried to change the subject; but I kept bringing her back to beardies because quite frankly she must be ignorant of how great they are if she thinks looks are the only good thing in a pet! A few other people also commented, "What does it DO? It just eats and sleeps? Why would you want one??" :roll: LOL I explained how nice they were, how a lot of them like to watch TV with you, etc.
And for the record, I think you're just lovely, Princess Daisy! :wink:

 

[AHBD]

Wow, 747,she is a jumbo beardie for sure ! :lol: And don't worry, I know that you didn't do it but it was the former owners. I know beardies can go a long time without eating, and I agree it's part relocation stress and also because of all the weight on her. As for her diet, really focus on the greens, and insects like crickets, dubias, hornworms, silk + superworms. She will be best off with a very restricted insect diet since she's overweight,[ but as many greens as she wants ] but she should do just fine. She may even go into brumation early , sometimes just going to a new place can trigger the instinct . I would avoid any mice, just think of what you would do if she just took a bite + left it to die [ like some do ] or didn't even want it. Then you'd have to set up a new habitat for mousie...or watch the little thing die. Bugs + greens are the way to go.