TeddyLC
Member
Hello.
I'm in my semi-regular "panic over the state of my lizard" mode. My 2 1/2 year old beardie's weight and color have remained stable, but he has been listless for about two months now (since late July/early August). Because of the time of the year, I don't think it's brumation, and the only thing that's kept me from actually panicking is that his color is still yellow and he hasn't really lost weight. He's barely eaten - he'll wake up to eat a few bites of salad maybe once a week, if I'm lucky. Obviously, this means he hasn't been getting his calcium or vitamins, either. He hasn't defecated or passed urate since August. His viv's temp has been fluctuating but still within 85-100 (we've been having weird weather patterns lately, so sometimes the temp spikes up during the day and other times it doesn't). I am having a problem with his UVB tube - it burnt out unexpectedly early while I was out of town, and while I ordered a replacement, my roommate was afraid to try and put it into the fixture. When I got home I tried to put it in, but it seems to be defective - it won't latch into place and turn on. I sent it back and am waiting for a new one to be sent, but this means he's been without UVB about three weeks now. However, the lack of energy and appetite have been an issue for twice that duration of time. I don't have an exotic pets vet near me and I don't have a car to take him farther away... any thoughts? Advice of things to try? Should I just leave him alone since his weight looks fine, or should I be fretting since he's been low energy for so long?
On an unrelated note, I feel like he takes an incredibly long time to shed. Even giving him an extra long weekly soak while he's shedding to keep the skin soft and keep him hydrated, he'll only shed a tiny bit at a time and take upwards of around two months to finish a shed. This doesn't seem normal to me? Is there something I should be doing differently?
@mods - I meant to put this in the ER forum, oops! Could it please be moved? Thank you!
I'm in my semi-regular "panic over the state of my lizard" mode. My 2 1/2 year old beardie's weight and color have remained stable, but he has been listless for about two months now (since late July/early August). Because of the time of the year, I don't think it's brumation, and the only thing that's kept me from actually panicking is that his color is still yellow and he hasn't really lost weight. He's barely eaten - he'll wake up to eat a few bites of salad maybe once a week, if I'm lucky. Obviously, this means he hasn't been getting his calcium or vitamins, either. He hasn't defecated or passed urate since August. His viv's temp has been fluctuating but still within 85-100 (we've been having weird weather patterns lately, so sometimes the temp spikes up during the day and other times it doesn't). I am having a problem with his UVB tube - it burnt out unexpectedly early while I was out of town, and while I ordered a replacement, my roommate was afraid to try and put it into the fixture. When I got home I tried to put it in, but it seems to be defective - it won't latch into place and turn on. I sent it back and am waiting for a new one to be sent, but this means he's been without UVB about three weeks now. However, the lack of energy and appetite have been an issue for twice that duration of time. I don't have an exotic pets vet near me and I don't have a car to take him farther away... any thoughts? Advice of things to try? Should I just leave him alone since his weight looks fine, or should I be fretting since he's been low energy for so long?
On an unrelated note, I feel like he takes an incredibly long time to shed. Even giving him an extra long weekly soak while he's shedding to keep the skin soft and keep him hydrated, he'll only shed a tiny bit at a time and take upwards of around two months to finish a shed. This doesn't seem normal to me? Is there something I should be doing differently?
@mods - I meant to put this in the ER forum, oops! Could it please be moved? Thank you!