New time owner - experts advise.. Normal shed? Not eating.

[Commissaar]

New beardie here. I've owned her a couple of weeks but her temperament is just adorable. Always alert and a little rascal. She weighs 98g and is about 13 inches long. She was 86g last week at her check up! My issue is she seems real inconsistent about eating. Some days she will refuse to eat anything until later in the day. She will eat 5 crickets at a time and then refuse food - I've had a bit more success with calci worms and wax worms but Ive heard wax worms are bad. I've gotten her to eat coriander, blueberry, dandelion greens and pumpkin and squash but it's very hit and miss. Max 15 crix a day if that. She poops regularly, once a day or sometimes twice but it isn't runny, looks healthy. She seems to have a horrible white patch on her tail which she's had since I got her. Some of it shed with the help of a bath and tooth brush but she gets horribly antsy when I go near her tail. Is something up maybe? Vet says she was healthy aside from a large number of pin worms which I've given her drugs for - could this cause loss of appetite? She is alert and happy - no stress marks. Thanks for the help! Also attached some pictures... Does she look OK? Also, anyone know if she's a citrus tiger? Will she possibly get brighter? I ask cuz of the bright orange on her face.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, she looks alert + healthy. Being relatively new to you + her new environment can cause a certain amount of stress which will get better over time. Uneven sheds are very common, don't worry about that, no need for lots of bathing or toothbrushing.

The meds. can affect the appetite so it's good to get some non dairy fruit flavored soy yogurt to give just a few drops at a time to keep her good gut flora in check. How long was she on the paasite meds. + what kind was it ?

It would be good to list the exact type + brand of lights you have [ is the uvb long tube, coil, compact ] as well as several pics of her tank + lights. She may have some citrus tiger in her, it's the markings on the back that can be more definitive in determining [ tiger bars ] but MANY dragons have orange color + marked backs....all very beautiful as your girl is.

 

[Commissaar]

The meds are oxfendazole - she took the first dose two days ago, 0.25ml by mouth. She is due another dose in 2 weeks then back to the vet for a fecal. I've attached pics of enclosure, I have a long arcadia t5 12% uv long tube, a ceramic heat lamp (for night, as I'm in the UK) and a compact mercury vapor basking lamp from exo terra that's 5% uv. The t5 is on top of mesh with reflectors so hoping between them that's enough uv? Basking temp is 41c, not sure what that is in Fahrenheit, sorry! Her substrate is an exo terra faux sand mat though some loose bits come off and I'm hoping to change it to something less likely to have pieces that come off. Also attached more cute pics! Couldn't resist. Today I managed to feed her by gently opening her mouth and placing in 2 calci worms and a small cricket which she slowly ate. She's basking now. Hopefully she gets her appetite back later, moving in can be stressful I know.

 

[Commissaar]

Forgot to add humidity lingers between 20 and 40 percent. Her tank is 36 by 18 by 12 in inches. So 36 long 12 high 18 wide.

 

[AHBD]

O.K, that's a drug like fenbendazole [ Panacur ] but I've never seen it given or prescribed in that form. So it was just one dose ?

And yes, she's a real cutie pie and looks quite healthy. Can you get the probiotic that I mentioned ? [ Soy yogurt. ] That can help her tummy to feel better. Be sure to offer water orally via syringe/spray bottle dripped or very gently sprayed on her head. Drip, stop, repeat until she drinks. It may take 30 seconds or so before she begins to drink.

Your set up looks great + lighting is spot on. Only thing I would do is move the heat/MVB bulb closer to the tube uvb, about 6-8 inches [ about 17-18 cm ] to the right. And I don't like the sand mats either but as long as there's not much coming loose it should be fine. I just wonder how hard it would be to keep clean.

 

[Commissaar]

Yeah, two doses over 4 weeks, 2 weeks apart. I think it's long lasting. I couldn't find much info on it... I'm willing to trust the vet as he has written many books about beardie care and I'm still a noob. This forum has helped so much tho. I'm able to get a soy yoghurt. Unflavoured? I also have a probiotic, I think it's called avipro plus? I haven't given it to her yet as I'm unsure how to use it. I will try to keep her hydrated - should I lay off the baths? I've been doing it in an attempt to help her shed as she splashes about and scratches some shed off in there and also tends to drink. Surprisingly easy to keep clean with a vacuum and she's decided that her rock is the pooping spot so that's very easy to clean. Hopefully her appetite can come back soon. I hope I didn't spoil her with the wax worms... I've decided to only offer calciworms crickets and veg, as I gave her 3 yesterday and she couldn't get enough and I heard they're junk food? Is this true? Also is an estimate of 5 months about accurate? I'm looking forward to see how much my baby grows.

 

[Commissaar]

Also I just swung the light out to take a pic, it's usually just next to it. XD

 

[AHBD]

Oh yes, I know the light was swung out, I was looking at the last picture. It looks like it sits on the screen to the left of the Arcadia tube.

And if Avipro is what you have that's fine. The dragons sometimes enjoy fruit flavored soy yogurt, but again it's just a few drops if you get it.....but if she willingly takes the Avipro then you don't need yogurt.

If she like baths then that's fine, esp. if she drinks. It's a win-win situation. Only every 3-4 days will be fine and as she gets older even once a week will be good. For her size + weight she can be anywhere from 3-6 months average. Some grow faster, some slower. You'll have people posting about how big their dragon is at such + such age but I've raised many + can tall you they all grow just a bit differently and of course right now your girl's appetite is a bit low but should pick up in the near future + she'll probably gain size more quickly.

 

[Commissaar]

Ah OK I will try. Last time I moved it like that it burned a bit of plastic on the mesh screen....

I was just a little concerned that 13 inches and about 100g was a bit low, others have posted much higher weights! Hopefully the avipro is fine, would you suggest a mixture with some yoghurt? thanks so much for the help

 

[Commissaar]

Also, probably my paranoia but is this little patch normal? Looks like a scale has been ripped off...

bonus pic of her enjoying her new hammock that just came in the mail.

 

[AHBD]

It's up to you if you want to have the yogurt on hand. And what a sporty hammock, looks very comfy and stylish High fashion dragon she is.

And I don't see any problem on her nose, but the black lines are obscuring the spot a bit. Looks like nothing is wrong there though.

 

[Commissaar]

Also, how often should she poop? She hasn't pooped today and isn't eating, but seems very active and is acting pretty normal...

 

[AHBD]

Some growing dragons poo every day at her size, some every 2-3 days depending on various factors.

 

[Commissaar]

She usually poops daily... checked her belly and can't feel anything hard. Will feed her probiotics, and perhaps some olive oil?

 

[AHBD]

That would be fine, just a drop or two. If she doesn't go for a day it doesn't mean she has any kind of problem though. You might just wait until tomorrow or even a 3rd day. She'll be fine.

And you mentioned in one of your first posts that she had some waxworms, and yes it would be good to cut those out altogether. Some finicky dragons will hold out for those and snub other good insects hoping to get the waxies. What size crickets are you feeding her regularly ? She's big enough for mediums for sure, even close to large.