Please help, beardie not eating :(

[minipumpkin]

Please help my dragon is acting unusual
Our male dragon has not been himself lately when we looked into it we found out that he wants to mate with our female dragon... The trouble is now he hasnt eaten properly for nearly 2 weeks, some days he eats 2 or 3 crickets other days he eats nothing not even salad anymore.... When I put the food next to him he turns away and often just runs off... because of this he isnt pooping anymore either, he is still weeing a little but that has a slight orange/yellow colour to it....
Has he stopped eating because he wants to mate?? If so how long will it go on for?
What can I do to get some food in him? im worried he is not getting enough calcium and vitamins as he is not eating his crickets
Could it be brumation?
Ive not been through a mating season with a dragon before and dont know what the normal behaviour is like and how long it will last
and im really worried

He is about 8/9 months old
There is uvb tube lighting
A basking spot light
Temps are 100-105f hottest, 75f coolest
The humidity level is good
The flooring is lino

Please help!!
Thank you

 

[diamc]

Hi, sorry to hear that your male is concerning you. He sounds pretty active except for the not eating and not pooping. Is he in view of the female beardie? If so, I would block his view of her to help him to calm down. Definitely sounds like puberty has hit and that can affect some beardies a lot more than others. It could actually last for a month if not more so trying to keep him as stress free as possible and out of view of the female is a good idea.

If his urates are slightly orange and with a yellow tint to them, it sounds like he is either getting a little too much calcium or he is somewhat dehydrated. How often are you dusting with calcium and how often is he getting a bath?

When one of my males was that age, he decided he didn't want any crickets at all so I tried different feeders. Have you considered repti-worms, horn worms, silk worms, superworms or roaches? I always prefer having at least 2 feeders available to keep their interest and it has seemed to make a difference, so something to think about.

It's also possible that he is showing slight brumation symptoms with the lack of eating. How is his weight, has he lost any?

What brand UVB are you using and how old is the bulb? It's hard to tell in the picture, but is the UVB alongside the basking bulb so that he can get the benefit of both bulbs at the same time?

I see a wire in the picture, is that to a digital thermometer with probe?

Let me know if you think any of these things would be helpful or if you have any questions.

 

[minipumpkin]

Hey thank you for looking at our post and giving us some answers.
we use calcium dust 5 times a week in the morning and then use nutrobal(vitamins) in the evening, the other 2 days theres nothing on them. so maybe not so much now?
we bath him once a day if we can. we do it at least 5 times a week. we have seen him bath him self in his water before and drinking at the same time. ill look getting some worms. hes not lost any weight hes put on 1-2grams which isnt alot but at least he hasnt lost any.

the tube is repti-glo 10.0(1 week old) which is the only one the store has and i have a arcadic 12 on order and at the moment this one is probably just in reach of the basking area but the new one i have on order is longer so im on top of that

yes we have a digital thermometer with probe reads 38.3c but if he goes higher it gets warmer so its up to him if he wants to be warmer or cooler.



i will try the worms as soon as i can, if not i will have to get some baby food( i dont want to force feed but i want to keep him healthy )

 

[minipumpkin]

The store didnt have any worms so I have fed benny some chicken baby food, he didnt seem pleased about having to eat and started to get a black beard as he was being fed , i will keep an eye on him to see how he goes