PLEASE HELP! worried..

[Megan1961]

My dragon lately has had stress marks, been eating less, and not as active...he also has been avoiding his basking area. He is a year old, and only 15inches because his owners before me when he was a baby didn't feed him a lot. He doesn't really like veggies, but now he isn't eating a lot of his phoenix worms. Any ideas? Included are pictures of him, and him avoiding his basking spot on the stairs which is where he has been lately. I put food in front of him on the ground and he will pick at it and move on. He pooped yesterday, and generally goes every day to every other day. Basking temp at 104, cool side at 84, reptisun 10.0 uvb as seen in photo, gets veggies in the morning, and worms towards the evening. He doesn't gap when basking, so it isn't too hot, but he avoids it to an extent. Any ideas? Semi-worried here....
Maybe about to shed..? He hasn't in a while. and his legs look whiter than normal in the last picture. Thanks in advance!!!

 

[MissBeardedDragon]

Hmmm :study:

He might just be brumating. A lot of Beardies start to Brumate around 1 year. My Bearded Dragon also did that for the first time when he was only a year old. It worried me quite a bit, but he eventually got out of it.

Do you keep him on sand? Has he been pooping lately? He could be impacted.

 

[Megan1961]

He isn't on sand, but tile!
He generally poops every day but has been pooping every other day, I am assuming that's because he hasn't eaten a lot.
I thought brumation was only winter...?

 

[MissBeardedDragon]

It is more common for them to brumate during winter but some brumate at any time.
Look at this article and read the third paragraph
http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/brumation/?page=3

 

[Megan1961]

He keeps hiding under his ledge away from the basking area. Is this ok..? Will he go under the light when he needs to..?

 

[Megan1961]

Just a few more questions, thanks for all the help by the way!
It seems like it is brumation...he will eat bugs, but no lettuce and is sleeping on/off.
Sooo...
1) Do i just feed him what he will eat? (aka phoenix worms/crickets/live feeders) and forget about veggies?
2) Do i change his light times so he has more time asleep and less time awake? and if so what times would be good? He is on a 12/12 right now.
3) And how often should he poop...? This is so stressful haha...

 

[MissBeardedDragon]

No problem! Just remember that i am not a certified Reptile Vet i am just giving you advice from articles and from past experience throughout years of Bearded Dragon owning! So make sure if you see any other symptoms or see that he is getting more lethargic than average that you take him to your local exotic/reptile vet.

Yes, continue to feed him what he wants to eat, but still place a small dish with his normal salad somewhere in his tank incase he wants some.

Assuming your dragon is on 10-12 hours of UVB & heat then you can reduce the light & heat cycle by shutting down 2 hours earlier than your regular shut down time for a week. After that you can reduce it another 2 hours earlier for a couple of days.

Don't be to worried if he goes without "emptying" himself for a bit. Although If he goes without pooping for more than 5 days place him in a warm bath for 10-20 minutes and rub his stomach in circular motions, he should poop.

Yes it is completely normal for him to stay away from his basking area during Brumation.

Also Brumation can last for anything between a day, a week or 2-4 months!

NOTE:
A dragon that is brumating or preparing to brumate does not lose vast amounts of weight. He may lose a little but it really shouldn't be noticeable. If he starts losing big amounts of weight take him to your vet

 

[Kriechtier]

Thanks for your advice regarding the bath.

My 10 month old female leather back dragon, who is basically now a very healthy adult size, just decided to start brumation in California June. About 4 days ago she was out in the morning doing her business, chomping some big crix down and then proceeded to try and hide under furniture to sleep not without first trying to dig into my concrete floor. Upon return to her vivarium she went into the hide and has not shown her face since. When I check on her, she seems fine and readjusting her position every now and then. But, since she has eaten crickets 4 days ago I think I'll have to give her a little bath in the hopes that she has bowel movement. Just don't want to bother her to frequently.

 

[Esther19]

Megan, what type of thermometer are using to measure temps?

 

[Gail]

You might try lowering the temps some. Many adult dragons like it bit cooler then what you have.