Not eatting

[makubex01]

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this question about my beardie, but my beardie hasnt been eatting for 3 days now. At first I conclude that it must be relocation stress since his beard is black once in a while. Now I am thinking it might be brumation since he is not eatting and has a black beard most of the time. Does anyone have any suggestion what is wrong with him? The temperature on the cool side is 80degress and the warm side is around 100. Thanks.

p.s. I use rep pro mercury vapor bulb and use shelf liner.

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

OK. Where are you located that you got a Rep Pro?!
Black bearding doesn't sound like brumation to me. It sounds like a stressed beardie!

A couple Qs:
How old is your beardie?
How long have you had your beardie?
What are you using to take your temps (stick on/analog, temp gun or digital thermometer with a probe)?
What do you mean by "around 100"? Are you measuring directly on the spot?
How far away is the UVB source from your beardie?
How old is your UVB source?
What wattage is your Rep Pro? Is a self-ballast or external ballast (if you don't know, it's definitely self!)
Can your beardie see any other animal?
How are the poops lookin? (pictures are NOT necessary! )
What have you been feeding (bugs & greens) specifically?
How often are you offering food?
Is he still eating his greens?
Last but not least- what is your beardie's name & where are the pics at?

Hope I can help!

Kerry

 

[makubex01]

To answer the question:

1) My beardie is 1 and half year old.
2) His name is Ahn Ahn.
3) The UVB source is practically new, I just bought it. Its a 60 watt. I am not sure whether it is self or not.
4) I am located in NYC, NY. It's beginning to get cold here.
5) I try feeding him everyday with superworms and apples and or raspberries. But he won't eat. I try feeding him at random times of the time, to see if he wants to eat or not.
6) I do have some baby pics of him posted somewhere on the forum. I have no camera now.
7) He's no longer eating his greens too!
8) I use the stick temp analog. I don't think its accurate.
9)I would estimate...not good at it....that the UVB is 6 inches away from its source.
10) No, it cannot see any other animal.

Although my beardie is currently handle by alot of strangers. Could this be the reason for its stress and relocation stress? And why is it not eatting?

Any suggestion what might be wrong with my beardie?

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

All right, let's narrow this down a bit.

If you have a Mercury Vapor, your beardie needs to be an absolute minimum of 12 inches away from the light!! I don't know a whole lot about the rep pro- but the stuff I found implies that it is a Chinese made bulb and that the 60w isn't accurate and that it's more like 100w. First sign is that no company really makes a 60w self-ballasted MVB. If it is an external ballasted- then there is additional hardware and you cannot just screw the bulb into a fixture- additionally, the bulb will produce very little heat!
Either way- move that basking spot pronto!
That actually could resolve all your issues. That you just bought it and you recently started experiencing a change in behavior sorta points in that direction!

Additionally, let me strongly encourage you to get a digital thermometer with a probe. They are inexpensive. About $10-15 at a reptile store. And oh so worth it! So blood makes stuff go, right? Like your intestines, brains, lungs, heart, etc. Cold-blooded creatures need external heat to really get their blood going, which translates to really getting their system going- including their digestive system. (To a lesser extent, also true with humans- you know how you aren't supposed to eat right before you go to bed because your metabolism goes slower?) Without proper heat, a beardie can't properly digest his food. Not good.
Temps that are over 110 get dangerously close to being able to cause brain damage.

How did you relocate him? Did he change cages? Did you move? Some beardies are more change sensitive than others. My beardies both are handled by lots of people and often go out with me (on their leashes, of course!) and neither have ever blackbearded or refused food on account of a change in their surroundings. I suspect relocation stress largely results from beardies who are very young or have not been handled much, etc. Obviously there are exceptions to every rule- but I'm bettin' that's where most of it comes from.

 

[makubex01]

Thanks for the reply.

I kind of figure it has something to do with the new MVB bulb I bought. Since then, Ahn is acting all wierd like glass dancing and black bearding. It also affected his diet and is very stressful. Therefore, I remove the MVB and resort to using only the heating lamp and the repti sun 10.0. I also think it can be the relocation stress since my beardie is not handle by people all the time and now its handle by lots of people everyday. That could be one of the reason. And yes, I moved to a colder place in upstate New York for college. I decided to bring it along. Maybe the cold temperature here affected him to brumate earlier. I'm not sure. Since I moved here recently, I am hunting for a herp vet. Which is hard because it is such a small town here and I do not have car to drive to far places.

Also, I wanted to ask whether is wierd for beardie to run around my apartment looking for a dark places to sleep?! I also notice that he is slowly losing weight because its been eating only 2-3 worms a day. I had to slowly feed him raspeberries today for an hour as a treat?! But he's all worth it.

Please, if you have any more advice. Throw them at me!

 

[makubex01]

Also, since my beardie glass dance and is not sleeping most of the time when its in the tank, it shouldnt be brumation right? He seems to be quite active for a beardie in brumation.