Not eating nearly a week after shedding, normal?

[lw12047]

Hello all, my first post here glad to see these forums exist.
I have a juvenile beardie, purchased about a month ago, he's about 6 inches long.
He was eating very well until last tuesday, when he only ate 2 crickets, then 1 on wed., thursday he began shedding and I assumed this is why his appetite was less than usual (he was eating on average 8 crickets per day, the monday before he stopped eating, he had 10). He was basically done by friday night, head, body, legs, don't know if he shed on his tail at all, I see no loose skin there that he would still be attempting to shed. It will be a week tomorrow since shedding and since last thurs, he's only eating 1, or at most 2 crickets per day, and has visibly lost weight, body thin, skin wrinkly, some thinning at base of tail.
He has 1 bowel movement per day, seems no less active or alert, but the weight loss concerns me.
Basking spot temps are correct averages right around 105-110. He has a small UTH beneath his sleeping area to insure night time temp doesnt drop to low. Bedding is reptile carpet, he has a 10.0 UVB bulb. Crickets are dusted with "Dragon Dust" before feeding, and gutloaded Flukers high calcium cricket food.
There have been no changes in his environment or the house that should be causing him stress.

So in short, adequate temps, UVA/UVB, correct bedding, good nutrition, no impaction, nothing new to produce stress...is it normal for reduced appetite to last this long after shedding?
ONe more thing, I did consider that perhaps he's just sick of crickets, my anole has done that before for a week or so...I offered him a waxworm (I know they're junk food but just to see if he would eat something different) he ate it, but only one, then back to his disinterst in food.
Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[dolcedragon]

Hello, welcome to the site. :wave:

Your husbandry seems just fine. Some dragons are more stressed than others during sheds, especially since this was a full body shed. The regular bowel movements and alertness are definitely good signs, but I understand your worry. Try some more coax feeding. Phoenix worms, baby food, feeding by hand... if possible try a different place to feed. I've heard of beardies that suddenly refuse to eat in their viv anymore and have to have a separate feeding house.

Another thing to check is parasites. Low levels are enough to make them feel sick to their stomach but not enough for all the symptoms such as lethargy, nasty stool, etc. Dropping off a fecal sample to the vets is usually around $14 and they can just call you with results rather than you stressing your dragon more with a car ride.

Let us know how he's doing or if you notice anything different. Hope your little guy feels better soon!

 

[lw12047]

Thanks for your advice, here's a bit of an update:
I have not gotten a fecal done yet as I am having trouble finding a local vet that will do it. Still looking. I did try feeding in a seperate container, no luck...More coaxing, not interested...The very day I made the post, he stopped eating altogether, became less active, and appeared visibly depressed. Belly dark most of the time, heavy lidded. It occured to me that the one change I had made since I got him was in substrate. He started life on sand, and after reading enough about impaction I switched to reptile carpet. I did not think this could be the problem initially as he was fine with it for the first 4 days. By saturday I decided, why not try changing back to sand and see how he responds, he's not eating anyway. I thought that perhaps he felt too exposed, at night especially, he used to dig a little nest for himself to sleep in. So I put the sand back...the change in his mood was immediate. Within 10 minutes he had eaten a cricket, his belly brightened, he began spending considerably more time on the floor of his tank again, and his eyes were wide and bright. He has remained bright and active since, he ate two crickets yesterday and three today, not "up to par" yet, but considerably better than he had been. Hopefully he keeps improving. I know the sand is a bit of a risk, so I'll have to keep a close eye on him and see that he's not ingesting it. Once he's back to normal I am going to try and establish a habit of feeding in another tank to minimize accidental sand ingestion. For now I don't want to add any stress to his life and I'm glad to see him eating anything.
After reading the Coccidia article I began to wonder, could the stress apparently caused by the carpet have caused Coccidia levels to rise enough that he lost his appetite? And perhaps now that he seems happy again his immune system is getting things back under control?

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,
Sorry your little one seems a little down.

Sand generally isnt recommended for adult beardies, and it is a definate no-no for juvie dragons because the risk of ingestion is hightened.
Furthermore if you are using sand she should not be fed in her viv. Every time she misses a cricket or eats one too vigourously she will be ingesting a tiny bit of sand which will end up in her gut and will eventually cause her to become impacted. You cant watch your little one 24/7.
Even if she seems to sulk when you change her substrate personally I would rather have her sulk for a week or so and be safe.

If you insist on keeping the sand I would only give her greens in her viv and feed her live feeders elsewhere. She isnt likely to start eating the first time in a new place, but keep trying her outside and she will eventually get it.

Food wise i would try her on different foods, you can try butterworms, hornworms, silkworms or small pheonix worms. Are you offering her fresh greens daily?

Fecal wise every vets should offer this service, even non reptile vets. Just call and ask to drop off a fecal sample for a basic paracite screening.

If you really start to worry about her weight whilst you are waiting for the fecal results you can offer her some babyfood with vitamins mixed into. Try putting a blob on her nose and hopefully she will lick it off. If she refuses to play ball I can describe how to safely syringe food into her.

Also are you bathing your dragon? Dehydration can lead to loss of appetite and activity.

Holly x