Lethargic beardie not eating

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He seems to be trying to sleep most of the day and doesn't eat nearly as much as he used to. It os currently my first winter owning him and I am unsure if he might be trying to go into burmation. If he is taken out of his cage he perks up and will run around like usual. Its very strange

 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there...he looks very healthy, so it may just be the seasonal change. It's good to have a scale on hand to weigh him once a week and keep track, as long as he doesn't lose alot of weight he should be fine.
 

thegame345

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Original Poster
Ok. I have a scale coming in the mail since my old one crapped out on me. Last night I forced him to drink water. Had to open his mouth and my girlfriend used a little plastic syringe. I thought maybe dehydration could be why. Since he rarely drink water (at least I don't see him do it often). I usually mist his salad but since he hasn't been eating I thought it woukd be worth a try to make him drink. I'm not sure how much to make him drink though. I believe the syringe is a little over a milliliter and I'm not sure how much I can give him. He's 17 inches long (43.18 cm) and last time i weighed him he was around 305 grams (10.68 ounces).
 

thegame345

Member
Original Poster
I forced him to drink water for a couple days then gave him a bath while rubbing his belly. He let out a giant poop. However he still wouldn't eat so i decided to try using the calcium powder instead of the usual calcium spraý on his crickets and he kinda slowly tried eating one and then went absolutely nuts eating every cricket in sight. I think ye was just impacted and maybe a little dehydrated all is good now
 

premammalian

Hatchling Member
Most probably it is natural brumation or hibernation. It seems unfortunately many beardie owners dislike the fact that their animals get inactive during the winter and try to have them constantly up and interacting. Keepers of other reptile groups, like tortoises, have recognized long ago the benefits of hibernation and intentionally hibernate their animals. The lizard now is reacting to the lesser photoperiod and temperature by hiding and starting sleeping more. If he has a good weight, you can gradually cut all food and heat. Eventually he will fall in a true brumation, where only you need to wey him and trickle a little water on his snout when checking on him, aprox once a week or less. On the coming spring he will be strong and lively again.

ps. Many commonly kept reptiles, like red-eared sliders, leopard geckos, corn snakes are true hibernators as well. They come from temperate climates and not only slow down in winter, but they can safely become inactive. I don't know why the overwhelming majority of keepers and caresheets ignore the fact. I believe if it is natural for an animal and the animal in question is healthy, hibernation should be induced. It might have beneficial effects on hormones and the lifespan.
 

thegame345

Member
Original Poster
I thought at first it might be brumation but now he's eating and active again so I think it was just a bit of impaction. If he starts sleeping a lot I will let him go into brumarion. I am not at all trying to keep him out of it just trying to pay attention to his health is all
 

premammalian

Hatchling Member
Why impaction? Has he eaten something different the days before? Because if not, it might be the start of the slowdown and not true impaction. Now you can clear his digestive tract completely, lower the temps and brumate him. Or don't you want to brumate him?
 

thegame345

Member
Original Poster
I figure impaction because I forced him to drink a bit of water then gave him a long bath and rubbed his belly and ge took a big dump. Then the next morning he began devouring his daily salad that he had been ignoring for the last week, so I decided to give him some crickets and he went crazy. So I am asuming he was just avoiding eating because he was plugged up. He's been acting normal now. If he starts to sleep a lot then I will help him go into brumation but until then I'm just glad he's acting normal again
 
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