emilybortz":b205e said:
I've got an adult male coming up on his 9th birthday, healthy as can be, and I want to keep it that way for as long as possible. He has an appt. with his vet in a couple of weeks so I'm sure I'll get info from her, but what are some things that I can start doing for him to make his life longer and more comfortable? Certain vitamins? Certain foods?
my male is over 13 and i've begun posting to look for people with actual old age experience, and i'm sad to report that they seem to be few and far between. i'm not an expert, but here are some thoughts.
1) he looks healthy, so 9 isn't quite old age yet for him, but it's a good time to start watching for changes in his behavior and sorting out which ones seem normal and how you can accommodate them [from which ones indicate problems]. For example, mine changed his preference among greens as he matured [kale, mustard green, collards, and now bok choy] which may reflect his changing vitamin/mineral needs. Now that mine is definitely old, he climbs around a whole lot less, so i've revised his set-up to include fewer high perches and more ground and mid-level options, but i have an under-terrarium thermal pad, so the spot lamp isn't the sole source of heat. there's some disagreement about whether old dragons do or don't like a lower basking temp. so my suggestion is to let him decide.
2) since he's not growing anymore, too much protein may not be a good thing, especially if it's high in fat. BTW, being overweight isn't healthy and may shorten the lifespan [it definitely does in snakes], so he shouldn't gain weight at this point. since mine isn't growing or active as much of the time, i feed him fewer crickets at any given feeding than i used to, although i've always set the frequency of cricket feeding by his poop schedule. speaking of the crickets, i don't think you mentioned gut-loading them, but that's a good way to get additional supplements.
3) activity and poop: it seems to be normal for them to become less active in terms of climbing, but in terms of energy and responsiveness, he should still get excited by whatever stimulus is usual for him to respond to. [stimulus is still good]
no one has suggested to me that the composition of the poop should change.
4) the vet visit is a very good idea, as long as your vet is experienced at recognizing what lizard bones and muscle tone should be. but chances are that you're not going to develop any problems on that score at this point, if he's lasted this long.
in terms of old age issues, your vet may not be able to help [mine's never seen a dragon that's lived past middle age.]
5) mine is shedding less at any given time and less frequently, and the consensus is that it's normal since he's growing less. if the shedding takes longer, that may indicate some intervention could help -- can anyone else chime in to say whether that might indicate a dehydration issue?
hope this helps,
athena