Male Beardie Not Eating And Sleeping During The Day! Help!

[wazfra]

Okay, so I've had my male beardie for almost 2 weeks now. I'm pretty new to this so all help is appreciated and any experience you have shared.
In the past week and a bit he hasn't eaten anything. I put fresh greens down every day and always provide a good mixture. I feed him on Locusts and Crickets every other day and the occasional wax worm yet he just sticks his tongue out at it and turns away. My female is a lot smaller and would put him to shame with the amount that she eats. It's leading to him being very lathargic and tired. He sleeps from about 3pm onwards (although I do take him out after this to let him run around and he seems a little more lively). He doesn't deficate a lot either (probably due to the fact that he's not eating much).
Now, the guy I bought him from told me that when he's shedding he doesn't eat a lot but he's not eating anything. He's in the final stages of shedding, (just 2 patches to come off that are quite loose at the moment) should I wait until he's fully shed before I have to take him to the vet? I took him before a few days after buying him for a quick check up and he absolutely hated it. He bearded at me and the vet and bearded again when I got him home. I really don't want to stress him out uneccessarily again.
I'm from Northern Ireland so I doubt he's in brumation (that and it's summer!)
He seems to perk up a lot when I put him with my female but that's obviously gonna happen. I'm at a loss as to what it may be.
His viv his very good. It's a 3ftx2ftx2ft Penine with a thermostat and ceramic heat emitter. I use a 10 UV Bulb (Repti-Sun) and a 80 watt household bulb. The UV bulb is about 45 cm away from him. I have a wood chipped terrain, large water bowl and feeding bowl, large basking rock and large wooden climbing frame for him as well as artificial greenery for him to hide in.

Is there anyone who can give me a reasonable explanation? Anybody who has been through the same scenario?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How old is he now? They will have a little bit of relocation stress when they come to a new home. When he has gone to the bathroom is it really runny or smelly?
Which Reptisun 10 do you have, the flourescent tube bulb or the compact or coil light? At 45 centimeters, if you are using a flourescent tube bulb, that is way too far for him to be getting any decent UVB emissions. You will want to move it to 15-21 centimeters away from him with the bright white household light bulb placed directly beside it to protect his eyes.
What type of thermometer do you use to measure the temps with, & what are the temps in the tank?

Tracie

 

[wazfra]

Okay, I can lower the UV bulb quit easily.
I'm just looking at it though, its more like 30 cms away from him. I let him out in the yard to run around and thw weathers quite good good at the moment so he's getting a lot of natural sunlight so the UV emittance shouldn't be a problem. oh, it's a tube by the way. I use a habistat thermostat and keep the temperature between 80 - 85 degrees and at night keep its between 68 - 72 degrees.
I don't know if its stress because he was eating when I got him and he did so for a few days.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great you can move the UVB light closer, can you move it to within 15-21 centimeters easily? I am glad to hear that it is a flourescent tube bulb.
That is nice he is getting some sunlight somewhat regularly also, that should help him out. Does he have a basking spot that reaches 95-110? If his basking spot is only reaching 80-85 that could be one reason why he is lethargic. He is not warm enough at those temperatures.
Are you using a bright white light or just a ceramic heat emitter? He needs bright white light inside of the tank. Can you post a picture of your tank for me?

Tracie

 

[chancellor91]

no he is using a white light, if you read closely :study: the 80 watt household bulb, what about impaction from the wood chip substrate? i would recomend getting rid of the particle substrate, and use a tile or carpet substrate, tile, or linoleum

 

[wazfra]

My female doesn't have a ceramic heat emitter and just makes do with the standard heat bulb yet she's such a great feeder so I don't know if the temperature is the factor in this. Besides, the thermostat and ceramic heater only kick in when the temperature drops lower than the setting on the thermostat, which it never seems to do as the temperature is always hotter in the viv.
Now, get this, I took him outside of the viv this morning and fed him which I never seem to do. It could have been the food (I gave him butter worms and morios for the first time and he never touched the locust which is his staple) or it could have been the fact that he doesn't like eating in his viv. Does anybody else have the same problem? He is a stubborn big guy! In all though, he only ate 3 worms so I can't be too happy about that! Could I feed him Morios as a staple?
I also fed my female a Pachnoda grub! She seemed to love it but I suspect it might be an occasional treat? Am I right? Does anybody else feed their beardies these and are they good for them?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is he doing today? Which dragon are you using the ceramic heat emitter on, the male or the female? I ask because during the day neither one of them need a ceramic heat emitter. If your female has a bright white basking bulb, but your male does not, then the lighting is the problem in the males tank if he only has a ceramic heat emitter & a UVB light.
What are the ambient temps in his tank? If the tank is staying hotter than normal & the ceramic heat emitter only comes on when temps get too low, what are his basking temps running at? You had mentioned 80-85? If so, that is too low for his basking spot. He needs it higher, to 95-110.
Could you post a picture of your male's setup for me?
Some dragons do not eat in their tank & prefer to eat out of their tanks, so that is fine if you want to feed him out of his tank.
You can use morio or superworms as staples, no problem. If you feed only supers I would go for around 35 or so per week, along with greens & veggies for a good balance.
Well, grubs are actually a staple that they eat in Australia, but I am not sure what kind of grub over there. I would make sure that the ground has not had any pesticides or chemicals that have penetrated in it etc, to ensure he or she doesn't get chemicals that could kill them. Otherwise, grubs can be good for them.


Tracie

 

[wazfra]

He's had the ceramic heat emmiter all his life so that's why I suspect its not the problem. His viv is always warmer than hers. He ate another morio yesterday afternoon but its still worrying. Its been going on 2 weeks now, should I take him to the vets Monday for a check up? I know its best for him but I don't wanna take him unneccessarily.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Well, please try taking the ceramic heat emitter out & replace it with a bright white light like you have for your female. That is not bright enough to stimulate activity & feeding behavior. Are you using the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb with the ceramic heat emitter together, or are you also using a household light bulb, too?
Did he have a ceramic heat emitter before you got him? You have only had him for 2 weeks, or a little longer, so, I am pretty sure that if he doesn't have bright enough light, that is going to make a huge difference in his behavior.
Anytime you use a UVB light without bright enough light, it can hurt their eyes.
Just try it & see if it makes a difference, please.
The ceramic heat emitters do not get basking spots near as hot as they need to be, because if his spot is only getting 80-85 that is not near hot enough.


Tracie

 

[wazfra]

Right, this is what I have in the viv:

1 ceramic heat emmiter with thormostat
1 household lightbulb (80watt)
1 reptisun UV 10 flourescent bulb

I have plastic greens and scented bark in. His viv is immaculate and he gets a good variety of food.

Don't really think his viv set-up would have anything to do with it. The heat issue is not an issue really. The thermostat only kicks in when the temp drops below the pre-set temp (and it never does drop below it!). I think a visit to the vets is the only option. It could be impaction, that's my worst worry.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ok, that clears it up. It sounded like you were only using a ceramic heat emitter alone, without a basking light. Just making sure.
I still need to know exactly what his basking temps are though, directly underneath the basking light? Since you have a basking bulb & a ceramic heat emitter, are you sure that he is not getting too hot? They will not eat if they are getting too hot, or too cold.
You mention that his temperatures stay between 80-85, is that on the cool side, or the overall ambient temps, etc? What are his basking temps reading?
The ambient temps & the basking temps are completely different than each other so we need to know the basking temps that he is at. That makes a huge difference. As I have said, if his entire tank is only 80-85, that is not indicative of what the basking temps need to be. What type of thermometer are you using to measure the temps with? What type of thermometer is the thermostat hooked up to, a digital probe? What did you set the thermostat to in order to maintain the temps, 80-85? Do the lights turn off when it hits those temps, or just the ceramic heat emitter?
I would start by taking the bark out in the tank, that can & will impact him if he has ingested it.
Taking him to the vet is good. You will need to get an x-ray to determine if he is impacted. Then, you will need to be giving soft foods such as pumpkin, sugar free applesauce, squash babyfood & a couple of drops of olive oil daily, along with extra oral fluids to help him pass any impaction that he has. If he is dehydrated, it will be harder for him to pass an impaction.

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[diamc]

Hi, I was reading through your concerns and info about your beardie. Is the 80 to 85 temp for the cool side? If so, that would be about right. But, if it's the temp of the basking side, then that could very well be the reason of the loss of appetite and long sleeping period. Those behaviors certainly show that something is not right and you certainly should be concerned. Are you using a type of stick-on thermometer like a round gauge, digital WITHOUT probe or a strip thermometer to get the temperatures? If you are, those can be as much as 20 degrees off and the only 2 ways to get an accurate reading are with either a temperature gun or digital thermometer that has a long wire & probe end. Perhaps you were mislead about the basking temp and didn't realize that they need a temp of about 100 in order to be able to digest properly as well as having the proper temp affects their total health. There are some great care sheets at the top of the forum that you may want to check out, lots of helpful info there.

You mentioned that you're using scented bark, that can be very dangerous due to impaction and the type of bark that is being used. If he does have an impaction from ingesting some and the temps are too low, it will make it impossible to pass. Are you bathing him frequently and rubbing his right side from armpit to vent to look for hardened areas?

Moving the UVB closer is a good idea too because at a distance of 30 centimeters, it's doing him no good at all, 15 to 21 centimeters would be more beneficial. Are you dusting with calcium and vitamins, if so, how often?

Please fill us in on the unanswered questions so we can try to help further. Have you decided to take him to a vet?

 

[diamc]

Could you give us an update?

 

[wazfra]

Oh yeah, sorry guys. Charlie is doing fine, he's still n ot eating the best but he manages 3-4 morios every other day and he's not as tired as he has been. I did as you guys told me and lowered the UV bulb, turned the temperature up and that seemed to do the trick as he pooped the very next day and was eating a day later.
One question though, does anybody have a beardy with A.D.D? Honestly, when I have to cover the vivs with a blanket in order to get him to eat as all he does is watch them. Even the peninsular cooters distract him. Also, he won't eat unless it's only me in the room with him.
I recently bought another male and female and they chase you around the house if you dangle greens in their face, why won't he eat like them? He is the biggest beardie I've EVER seen, he's huge, so I guess he didn't get that way by not eating.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is great Charlie is doing better. I thought that a slight increase of basking temperature would help him out. Are you using a digital probe thermometer, or a temp gun?
Some dragons do get distracted & will oftentimes stop eating when someone walks in the room or moves. It is kind of like they want their privacy or something.

Tracie