I posted in the introductions section but realised I might get a better response in health
My baby, Trevor, has not been eating very well for the last month or so (since his last shed really which was about 5 or 6 weeks ago and I think he's a bit small for his age now,till then he was growing fine and eating like a horse).
It's not that he's not eating at all; he's on about 6-10 crickets a day and does eat some of his veg, but he was eating up to 80 a day.
At first I thought it was stress because we went away and he stayed with a friend and shortly afterward we transferred him to his new viv but he should have settled by now. He's not as alert as he was and seems to sleep a lot too. He is also 'digging' and tries to hide under or behind things. (He has no hide or anything that blocks the light because he needs the uvb but he does have places he can be out of sight)
How old is your dragon? Almost 5 months
How long have you had your dragon? Since he was 6 weeks old
How long is your dragon? 10”
What is the sex of your dragon? male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 4x2x4'
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Clay textured tiles
Do you use UVB lights? yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Tube, reptisun 10.0
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb? Less than 1 month; the old tube in his smaller viv was only 3 months old
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? About 6- 8”
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Incandescent 150watt in a reflector shade. I was using a 100 watt reflector bulb but I found it had to work too hard to maintain the temps
What are the basking temps? 110-115
What is the cool side temp? 80
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Digital with probe in the hot end and cool end, I also have a hand held probe thermometer and a temp gun
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? Directly on the spot he basks
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? no
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Medium crickets as many as he'll eat, small locust (occasional), dubia roaches 2-3 a day (my colony is still small).
He has fresh veg available all day and eats a small amount – dandelion, clover, alfalfa various greens, basil, mint, rocket, cress, butternut squash (his favourite), occasionally he gets small amounts of sweet pepper, strawberry, apple, kiwi, mango, bilberry
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? I was feeding 3 times a day until he started to refuse – he will now eat most in the morning and hardly any livefood through the day, possibly 1 or 2 in the evening (he used to eat up to 30 crickets at a sitting till about 5-6 weeks ago).
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? yes
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Calypso calcium 5 days a week on the morning feed, also sprinkled on veg, 2 days a week nutrobal instead
I have just started to give him avipro in the last couple of days
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? Yes but not as big or as frequent (down from 2-3 times a day to once a day)
Do you bath your dragon? How often? He really doesn't like baths so I bath him once a week or so
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? He has a shallow drinking bowl which he often sits in but rarely drinks from - since I've had the avipro I've been syringing a couple of times a day which he doesn't seem to mind
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? no, he's our only reptile
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? Waiting on the results of a fecal - free as part of research so it's taking longer than usual. He saw a reptile vet when I first got him; partly because he has bent front feet. His fecal then was clear. The breeder told me it was a birth defect but it seems he was probably born with mbd so he has been treated for mbd and I continue to keep his calcium supplements high and make sure his uvb is close. One of his feet has really improved although he still walks on one wrist
I would really appreciate any ideas, he is pretty lethargic at the moment which isn't like him at all
My baby, Trevor, has not been eating very well for the last month or so (since his last shed really which was about 5 or 6 weeks ago and I think he's a bit small for his age now,till then he was growing fine and eating like a horse).
It's not that he's not eating at all; he's on about 6-10 crickets a day and does eat some of his veg, but he was eating up to 80 a day.
At first I thought it was stress because we went away and he stayed with a friend and shortly afterward we transferred him to his new viv but he should have settled by now. He's not as alert as he was and seems to sleep a lot too. He is also 'digging' and tries to hide under or behind things. (He has no hide or anything that blocks the light because he needs the uvb but he does have places he can be out of sight)
How old is your dragon? Almost 5 months
How long have you had your dragon? Since he was 6 weeks old
How long is your dragon? 10”
What is the sex of your dragon? male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 4x2x4'
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Clay textured tiles
Do you use UVB lights? yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Tube, reptisun 10.0
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb? Less than 1 month; the old tube in his smaller viv was only 3 months old
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? About 6- 8”
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Incandescent 150watt in a reflector shade. I was using a 100 watt reflector bulb but I found it had to work too hard to maintain the temps
What are the basking temps? 110-115
What is the cool side temp? 80
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Digital with probe in the hot end and cool end, I also have a hand held probe thermometer and a temp gun
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? Directly on the spot he basks
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? no
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Medium crickets as many as he'll eat, small locust (occasional), dubia roaches 2-3 a day (my colony is still small).
He has fresh veg available all day and eats a small amount – dandelion, clover, alfalfa various greens, basil, mint, rocket, cress, butternut squash (his favourite), occasionally he gets small amounts of sweet pepper, strawberry, apple, kiwi, mango, bilberry
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? I was feeding 3 times a day until he started to refuse – he will now eat most in the morning and hardly any livefood through the day, possibly 1 or 2 in the evening (he used to eat up to 30 crickets at a sitting till about 5-6 weeks ago).
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? yes
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Calypso calcium 5 days a week on the morning feed, also sprinkled on veg, 2 days a week nutrobal instead
I have just started to give him avipro in the last couple of days
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? Yes but not as big or as frequent (down from 2-3 times a day to once a day)
Do you bath your dragon? How often? He really doesn't like baths so I bath him once a week or so
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? He has a shallow drinking bowl which he often sits in but rarely drinks from - since I've had the avipro I've been syringing a couple of times a day which he doesn't seem to mind
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? no, he's our only reptile
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? Waiting on the results of a fecal - free as part of research so it's taking longer than usual. He saw a reptile vet when I first got him; partly because he has bent front feet. His fecal then was clear. The breeder told me it was a birth defect but it seems he was probably born with mbd so he has been treated for mbd and I continue to keep his calcium supplements high and make sure his uvb is close. One of his feet has really improved although he still walks on one wrist
I would really appreciate any ideas, he is pretty lethargic at the moment which isn't like him at all
