Lethargic 2yr old beardie won't eat

[eleseur]

Hi i got a 2yr old adopted bearded dragon for my b-day on the 22nd of dec. I have been keeping him in his 40 gal tank with the previous owners setup. Since i have brought him home he has not eaten anything that i am aware of. I had crickets (about 6 or so) in his cage but three remain while the other three have died and not been eaten. The temp in his terrarium is approx 68-72 degrees. I have a 60w ceramic heater, a medium heat pad, a 60w clear incandescent bulb, a cfl Exo-terra repti-glo 10.0, and a standard 13w cfl. I give him daily salads of kale, and either apples or papaya but he will not eat, i have also tried bell peppers and strawberrys. I take him out and hold him or let him walk around daily. I have attempted to hand feed him too. Recently at nights he will dig down into his substrate and try to burrow down. My dad thinks he is trying to brumate, however i think it is something else. He has water but i don't think he drinks it either. I have not found a lot of poo, i don't believe any are fresh. Any suggestions as to what may be wrong with my setup or diet? Could he be impacted?

 

[haleygirl272]

Welcome to BD.ORG!!! Im sorry your baby isn't feeling well. I'll do the best I can to help. I've seen things similar to this and every one has turned out fine, so don't panic.

First of all, what is the substrate?
Second of all, don't leave crickets in his cage because they can bite him. 40 gal. is a little too small for a dragon of his age. How big is he? Are you sure it's not a girl? Digging is a sign of wanting to lay eggs.Next, the temperature on the warm side should be 90-110 and the cool side should be 75-85. The heat pad isn't needed because they cannot feel warmth on their bellies. The ceramic heater doesn't generate as much heat as a regular bulb, so you may want to switch. :wink: Next, try dripping some water on his nose, he should lick it off. It also may be relocation stress. What is a cfl? Anyway, some people say the repti-glo is bad, but I disagree. The reason they say that was a long time ago, there was a recall because the repti-glo had the coating taken off of it, giving some reptiles cataracts and other eye problems. But the coating has been re-applied, so it should be fine. My dragon used it until I switched to MVB, and he was fine. Sorry for question overload, but it's neccesary. (SP?)

 

[eleseur]

he is on coarse sand, a cfl is a compact fluorescent bulb or one of the curly fluorescent bulbs. He is approx. 18" and i am sure he is a he.

 

[haleygirl272]

ok, well cfls are bad, so get rid of that ASAP! I used it once and my dragon became very lethargic!

 

[eleseur]

Why would they sell them to reptile owners if they are not meant to be used for reptiles. I think i will keep the repti-glo 10.0 because there is no solid evidence that they will make reptiles lethargic. As for the other standard cfl, i will remove that one.

 

[haleygirl272]

Why would they sell them to reptile owners if they are not meant to be used for reptiles. I think i will keep the repti-glo 10.0 because there is no solid evidence that they will make reptiles lethargic. As for the other standard cfl, i will remove that one.

With all due respect, there is solid evidence b/c there was a recall, but like I said, it should be fin b/c they fixed it.

 

[eleseur]

Why would they sell them to reptile owners if they are not meant to be used for reptiles. I think i will keep the repti-glo 10.0 because there is no solid evidence that they will make reptiles lethargic. As for the other standard cfl, i will remove that one.

With all due respect, there is solid evidence b/c there was a recall, but like I said, it should be fin b/c they fixed it.

Then why do i need to get rid of it if they fixed it? Im confused lol

 

[haleygirl272]

Why would they sell them to reptile owners if they are not meant to be used for reptiles. I think i will keep the repti-glo 10.0 because there is no solid evidence that they will make reptiles lethargic. As for the other standard cfl, i will remove that one.

With all due respect, there is solid evidence b/c there was a recall, but like I said, it should be fin b/c they fixed it.

Then why do i need to get rid of it if they fixed it? Im confused lol

No, I said to keep it of you want b/c they fixed it, lol. Anyway, how is your boy?

 

[eleseur]

he keeps digging himself in the heat pad corner down to the glass, any suggestions on how to get him to eat?

 

[haleygirl272]

Hmmm.. you should take out the heat pad. Anyway, have you tried any other foods? Try sugar free applesauce or suger free/organic baby food. Put it in a syringe or eye dropper and put some on his nose.

When is the last time he pooed?

 

[Tatty]

If you said the temperatures are 68-72 in the vivarium, that is too low for the beardie. He may be trying to brumate. You should probablygo to the care sheets and articles on this web site and read about dragon care.

Let us know how he keeps doing.

Tatty

 

[Pleaides]

i agree with tatty
temps on cool side must be between 80-85f, warm side 90-95f, basking site 110-110f
with heat pads all i know there good for are unnecessary burns and as for the reptiglo i disagree that there safe, from what i know they are a big no no! many others here will agree.

 

[eleseur]

After reading the article about brumation fro the care sheets section, and hearing what temp his terrarium should be i think he is too cold. I'm going to swap out my 60w ceramic heater for a 150w ceramic heater. That should raise his temps all around and hopefully wake him up a little bit.

 

[Pleaides]

yep he was definitely too cold, but 150 should perk the lil fella up.
so along with the ceramic heat bulb, is it the one that doesnt give out light only heat?
you have a uv also, not the best but a uv all the same, do you have a normal white bulb alongside that?

 

[akingsley9000]

Hi,

What are you using to take your temps?

Where are you taking them?

For an adult beardie the basking spot should be 100-105F and the cool side should be 75-80F

Also, please swap out the CHE with an ordinary household bulb. Beardie thrive on bright white light. Also with out a bright white light the light from the UVB will hurt his eyes.

Many people who have used the Repti-glo 10.0 have had problems with their beardies. The problem was supposedly fixed but there is no way to tell the old bulb from the new bulb so if stores had old stock you could have an old bulb. People that have used this bulb have reported that their beardies become lethargic, have problems with their eyes (photo-kerato-conjunctivitis) along with many other issues including the inability to absorb calcium which leads to MBD (metabolic bone disease).

You can check out this link for some info on the diffrent bulbs that are out: http://www.uvguide.co.uk

Also - beardies do go through relocation stress. During this time they may also be lethargic and not eat. Relocation stress can last any where from a few days to a few weeks.