I have a 5 month old beardie that is recovering from what I think is a pretty serious impaction due to mealworms. I've taken her off the mealies and won't be going back to them. We've spend the past 10 days cleaning out her system by feeding her a mixture of chicken baby food, pumpkin, water and a little calcium with a eye dropper a few times a day. Warm baths twice a day too. For 2 days she has been pooping nothing but baby food poops with no more mealie casings so I think we're in the clear.
Here is the problem. She was previously fed half mealies and half crickets for protein. She prefered the mealies but I'm not going there again. I've learned the hard way by making a noob mistake and learning from it. I tried to give her some crickets today and she looked at me like I was crazy and then went to the eye dropper spot and looked at me. She obviously wants baby food but I want to get her back on a proper diet, you know? She just had no feeding response at all. So what do I do now?
ETA: She eats her salad just fine everyday so that isn't an issue. It's just the protein that's the problem.
How old is your dragon? 5 months
How long have you had your dragon? Since she was 6 weeks
How long is your dragon? 10" or so
What is the sex of your dragon? female (I think)
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 36"x12"x12"
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Tile
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? 18" florescent tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? reptisun 10.0
How old is your UVB bulb? Less than 2 weeks
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? Within 6"
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Yes, 60W ceramic heater
What are the basking temps? 102-106
What is the cool side temp? 75
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Probes at both end
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? The probe lays on her basking rock and she lays next to it
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Dandelion greens, endive, kale, mustard greens in a salad with grated squash daily. I also add different fruits and veggies daily like peas, green beans, banana, apple. Gutloaded crickets - 3 week size
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? Morning, mid day and night
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? I buy them gutloaded in small quantities from a leo breeder
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Rep-Cal Herptivite and T-Rex Bone Aid 5 times a week each
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? He is now
Do you bath your dragon? How often? Everyday
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? I mist 3 or 4 times a day and give her drinks with an eye dropper
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? No, but I took her to a PIJAK certified reptile tech who recommended the course of treatment that got rid of the impaction
Here is the problem. She was previously fed half mealies and half crickets for protein. She prefered the mealies but I'm not going there again. I've learned the hard way by making a noob mistake and learning from it. I tried to give her some crickets today and she looked at me like I was crazy and then went to the eye dropper spot and looked at me. She obviously wants baby food but I want to get her back on a proper diet, you know? She just had no feeding response at all. So what do I do now?
ETA: She eats her salad just fine everyday so that isn't an issue. It's just the protein that's the problem.
How old is your dragon? 5 months
How long have you had your dragon? Since she was 6 weeks
How long is your dragon? 10" or so
What is the sex of your dragon? female (I think)
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 36"x12"x12"
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Tile
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? 18" florescent tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? reptisun 10.0
How old is your UVB bulb? Less than 2 weeks
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? Within 6"
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Yes, 60W ceramic heater
What are the basking temps? 102-106
What is the cool side temp? 75
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Probes at both end
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? The probe lays on her basking rock and she lays next to it
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Dandelion greens, endive, kale, mustard greens in a salad with grated squash daily. I also add different fruits and veggies daily like peas, green beans, banana, apple. Gutloaded crickets - 3 week size
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? Morning, mid day and night
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? I buy them gutloaded in small quantities from a leo breeder
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Rep-Cal Herptivite and T-Rex Bone Aid 5 times a week each
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? He is now
Do you bath your dragon? How often? Everyday
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? I mist 3 or 4 times a day and give her drinks with an eye dropper
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? No, but I took her to a PIJAK certified reptile tech who recommended the course of treatment that got rid of the impaction