My 8 month old hasnt eaten in 4 days

Tonilee

Hatchling Member
Beardie name(s)
Ragnar
Hi everyone I am new to this site but this is always my go to when trying to find out what's right and what's wrong with my wee baby well say wee he is getting big now. He is 8 months old this month and am getting kinda worried as he hasn't eaten in 4 days :( he also hasn't touched his veg for a couple of days. He does sleep alot. Is this normal?

Thank you in advance any help would be appreciated
 

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Tonilee

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Ragnar
This is my wee guy sleeping on me just now 😍
 

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smaugthebeardie3756

Hatchling Member
Beardie name(s)
Smaug
Is the sleeping a lot new along with not eating or is that how he always is? Any other behavioral changes? What is the lighting like? Coil or tube for the UV and what brand and bulb?

If the lighting is good and the sleeping is new with the loss of appetite and those are the only behavior changes, my first guess would be that he may be starting brumation. He might also just be bored with whatever he's being fed if it hasn't changed in awhile. My guy used to love crickets until one day he decided he didn't anymore. They can get picky and stubborn sometimes! The other thing I might guess would be impaction. When was the last time he pooped?
 

Tonilee

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Ragnar
His temps are sitting at 38degrees. We use a 50w basking arcadia halogen bulb along with a T5 d3 12% reptile UVB in a t5 kit. He poops every couple days and gets a bath 2or3times a week which helps with the poop. No other behaviour changes apart from what has been described. I heard he shouldn't go into brumation that young as can stunt growth levels. I am just worried as he used to eat alot when younger and now only eats every couple days. This is longest without eating so far. Just wanted to check if this is normal. We fed crickets when we first got him but we ended up finding them all over the house even though were kept in cricket keeper lol so we have used locusts since. Still feeding 3rd hoppers but getting a delivery of 4th today to see if bigger will help. He used to like a treat of mealworms after his locusts but went of them and then tried waxworms as a treat. He loves them. Worms are only given as a treat and only a few per sitting as know this is not a good staple diet. He just seems lazier than normal.
Thanks
 

smaugthebeardie3756

Hatchling Member
Beardie name(s)
Smaug
Could be going through a shed too. They can get cranky. Have you tried BSFL/nutrigrubs/phoenixworms/calciworms (all the same thing)? If he likes the wax worms he will probably love those, and they are much more nutritious. They don't need to be dusted and can be a staple feeder, although a little small to be the only staple feeder. You can sprinkle some on top of his salads as a lure. Silkworms are another great staple if you can find them. I'm guessing you are in Canada so no dubia roaches, but I believe there are a couple of other options like Surinam or Australian roaches if you wanted to try something different. If it is brumation, I'm not really sure about how to prevent it, someone else on here might be more knowledgeable about that. The other potential issue that occurs to me would be parasites. It could also just be that he doesn't need as much food anymore because he isn't growing as quickly. Freaked me out the first time my guy refused his bugs too, but I've pretty much learned to follow his lead. As long as I'm offering and there aren't any other signs that something is wrong, I trust that he will eat what he feels like he needs. Hope this all helps!
 

Tonilee

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Ragnar
We are thinking he is coming into a shed cause he hasn't had one for a few months now. We live is Scotland we are get bug orders every week so we are going to try and get him something else to see if that helps. He had a few waxworms today he would eat the whole tub if we let him so he is hungry
 

smaugthebeardie3756

Hatchling Member
Beardie name(s)
Smaug
Glad to hear it's figured out! My guy is only a few months older than your's, so I'm still getting to learn his habits too. I would freak out at every little behavior change or anything that seemed weird, but even before I joined and started posting this site was always really helpful at allaying those fears, and usually it was, "Yeah, beardies can be weird like that sometimes." Smaug doesn't like berries which are usually favorites among dragons. He'll take a bite and then look at me like, "What is this garbage you're trying to feed me?" I am a big believer that a more varied diet makes for a healthier and happier dragon, so I will keep trying different things.
 

Tonilee

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Ragnar
Its so stressful cause they can be totally fine one day then not eat for a few. I get myself so worried wouldn't want nothing to happen to my wee ragnar. Hopefully we can pick up something that's good for him that he will love cause I know the waxworms aren't great but if he eats a few it puts my mind at rest cause he has had something to eat. I won't give him anymore for a few days now hopefully he will eat some of his locus and his veg. tomorrow :). Ragnar doesn't like berries or that either very fussy boy. It's his bath day tomorrow and that's where he poops all the time so that will empty him again lol. He loves a bath he likes to swim lol this is him right now
 

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Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

He looks very good, & at 8 months with his size, it is highly likely that he is slowing down for brumation. While it doesn't happen
with all of them, many of them at under a year tend to brumate or at least slow down if they are healthy.
Which T5 brand of tube bulb are you using, the Arcadia, since it is a 12%? How far is it from him? Is it mounted on top of or under
neath of the screen top?
A lot of times they will stop eating greens when they try to brumate, too. Has his beard been black at all?

Tracie
 
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Tonilee

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Ragnar
Yeah he is big he is sitting at 18"inch just now :) arcadia it's mounted inside on the roof plus he has a big log that he lays on underneath too so he is getting plenty uv. He doesn't eat greens as much just now. He also doesn't turn his beard black.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That is a good sized dragon, so at his age I think he should be fine wanting to be a little lazy for awhile.
Just monitor his weight, demeanor, etc to be sure he is maintaining his health. It does sound like he is
getting plenty of UVB right now, so just let him nap when he wants to. :)

Tracie
 

Tonilee

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Ragnar
Hi we got ragnar some roaches the other day he had 4 or 5 they were big ones but a couple of days before that he started eating his locus again :) but since yesterday he hasn't eating nothing. Am thinking it's all to do with the weather outside as its been getting mild and then really cold and it's been snowing here since yesterday. So am praying with spring coming up he will start eating again.
 

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