Please help. My beardie won’t eat.

[Georgesmom]

Hello everyone. First, let me say how thankful I am for this forum. You all seem so knowledgeable. I have a little 5 month old male beardie named George. He was doing well. Eating three times a day. He loved his greens and worms. But he suddenly stopped eating and started turning his color really dark. I was concerned that his lighting and heat were not sufficient as his basking spot wasn’t warm enough. I increased the wattage of his basking spot to 100, and ordered a reptisun t5 uvb hood and t5 10 UVB bulb. We got all of that in place. But I feel like I’m just waiting for him to die. I don’t know what else to do. He hasn’t eaten at all in a week. I’ve been misting him with warm water, and he will lick the droplets off his face. When I bathe him, he drinks a little. Since he hasn’t eaten, there’s no poo. Only a tiny bit of uric acid. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Everestbeardedragon]

is it hiding? if it is, it may be brumating. this is kind of like hibernation. i haven't had my beardie for too long, but since it's getting cold, this may be the case. i don't know much about brumation so you can search to find more information. i found this online, "Bearded Dragon Brumation In a nutshell, brumation is to reptiles as hibernation is to mammals. Brumation is a naturally occurring cycle that a lot of bearded dragons can go through. During the brumation period, a bearded dragon may not eat, drink, defecate, or move for several weeks." hope this helped

 

[KarrieRee]

Welcome to the forum-- let me clarify babies do not brumate --- something is off in the tank for him not to be eating ---- tell me where your UVB is top of screen or inside the tank ? What kind of screen do you have a fine mesh like a screen door or a wide hole type-- this makes a difference in placement and distance and is crucial here --- basking temps need to be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer and should be 105-110 --- stickons are inaccurate --- those things I have just asked about about are crucial to the dragons survival -- they control the overall health and behavior of the dragon --

 

[Georgesmom]

Hi. Thanks so much for your replies. I have looked into brumation, but I read that they don't brumate at his age. The UVB light is placed on top of the tank, shining down into it. The mesh is not as fine as a screen door. It is metal, and the holes are about three times the size of the ones in a screen door. I have thought of mounting the UVB inside the tank, but since it's a t5, I wasn't sure if I should. It is a 20G long tank. I know it won't last long. I am saving for a bigger one, as I know that it won't be long before he needs more space. I gave him a bath this morning, hoping that he would at least drink some of the water. He did, thank goodness. I am posting some pics of his tank and him. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Georgesmom]

 

[Georgesmom]

 

[Georgesmom]

 

[KarrieRee]

Please get a basking temp off the hammock of where he sits for basking w/ a digital probe thermometer --- your UVB is fine on top w/ the wide hole screen --- make sure the basking decor piece is directly underneath 8-10 inches --- if those are all good and corrected if need be he should be eating - if he doesnt start eating again here soon something else is going on -- at this point he looks good -- try w/ temps 95-100 first and see if that helps I dont know what they are now

 

[Georgesmom]

Thanks so much for your advice! I’ll have to get a digital probe thermometer tomorrow. I would also like to get a better thermostat. Any recommendations? He is looking and behaving better today. More active and not so dark in color. Still hasn’t eaten, but maybe tomorrow? If nothing changes, I’ll take him to the vet on Monday.

 

[KarrieRee]

Vet trip is ok -- let the UVB do its thing --- if you do go to the vet NO ENEMAS --- viewtopic.php?f=45&t=252267
If they want a fecal take them one ---
I am hoping he starts eating better in the next day or two -- and please get your basking temps correct that is another reason for them not to eat --