Possible brumation with weight loss questions

[cmoo]

I have a juvenile female who is approximately 1 year old. For the past two weeks, she has been hanging out more on the cool side of her tank, or under her hide. She stopped eating her usual BSFL one week ago and stopped defacating about 5 days ago. She was more active then usual for a few days in the beginning, especially when seeking the cooler side of her tank. For the past few days she has been sleeping more than usual. She shows no signs of stress otherwise. Temps and uvb are good. I did get her to eat one silkworm and one hornworm yesterday, she basked for a bit afterward and had a small poo. She ate one hornworm today. I of course offer more, but she refuses.

I assume all of this is possibly brumation, but would appreciate a more experienced opinion. I'm trying not to worry too much (she is my first beardie). However, when I weighed her today, she lost 20 grams since last week (went from 360 to 340 grams in 7 days). I have not been able to get a fecal sample since she isn't pooing enough. Would that much weight loss be a concern?

She also has MBD/calcium deficiency and was on daily liquid calcium and serrapeptase. If this is brumation, should I continue to give her those throughout?

Any and all advice is most appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

[CooperDragon]

A 20g drop is quite a bit, but a large poop could account for that and a large bug meal could make up for it so it's not concerning on it's own. 340g is still OK but I would keep a close eye on it to see if her weight keeps trending downward. Keep your lights on a nice long daylight cycle to try and encourage her to stay awake during the day.

 

[cmoo]

I've upped her lights to 13 hours. Im currently using reptisun t5s for uvb, one of which is brand new, but read recently that I the uvb output on those isn't great. I bought arcadias instead. Could this be a uvb issue?

 

[kingofnobbys]

I've upped her lights to 13 hours. Im currently using reptisun t5s for uvb, one of which is brand new, but read recently that I the uvb output on those isn't great. I bought arcadias instead. Could this be a uvb issue?

13 hours is too short, bump up to 15-16 hours.

 

[CooperDragon]

While the ReptiSun T5 didn't give off optimal UVB in my last testing, it shouldn't be low enough output to cause a problem unless it's mounted quite far away (more than 16'' or so, more than 12'' through a screen top). The Arcadia seems to have a higher output based on my limited testing which will help.

 

[cmoo]

I switched to the Arcadia bulbs today just to be safe. I upped her lights to 15 hours as recommended. I even took her outside yesterday to show her that it is actually spring here in the US...

I was also able to get a fecal today, and coccidia was present, so I'm treating her for that as well. Hopefully those changes will help. She wasn't sleepy today, but she still refused to eat. Any other suggestions are most appreciated!

 

[CooperDragon]

OK that's good. If there was coccidia, be very thorough with cleaning. You'll want to clean and disinfect everything that comes in contact with poop. Best to use a steam cleaner or an ammonia solution (10%) to disinfect as coccidia won't be killed by a lot of traditional disinfectants. Good idea to pick up some Vetericyn as well to spray the bum after a poop to help minimize the threat of spreading and re-infecting after treatment.

 

[cmoo]

So I've done 3 days of coccidia treatment (will repeat fecal in one week), steam cleaned AND used a coccidial ammonia spray in both of her tanks. Replaced UVB bulbs with Arcadia 14% +d3 t5HOs. Basking temps are 105-110 and cool side temps are 75-80s with an IR gun. She ate two hornworms yesterday and refused all food today. I gave about .5mL of benebac probiotics mixed with water yesterday and today to follow the dewormer.
She dropped 5 more grams in weight as of yesterday. She is not sleeping as much, but now seems more restless. She is disabled from the MBD, so it's very noticible that she's trying to move around her tank more since she flounders all over the place. She's even damaged some of the scales on her chest from all the movement, which is a whole other issue. I have vetericyn on the way since it was recommended already, and I will use that on the damaged scales too.
Any other ideas what might cause this? I'm getting worried.

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm not sure. I'd give her some time to settle after the treatment and some time under the new lighting. How far do you have that 14% mounted overhead? They are pretty powerful from what I've read.

 

[cmoo]

It's about 10" from the basking site, unobstructed. I'll try to be patient and give her a few days to respond to those changes. It's hard not to worry when you care about them so much!

 

[CooperDragon]

That might be pretty intense at that range. I haven't tested them myself but you might want to move it back to maybe 12-14'' if it is unobstructed or at least provide easy access to some shade in case she wants it.

 

[Taterbug]

Absolutely move the lamp to 12-14" away, they are strong and too much UV exposure is possible. Since she is disabled it will be harder for her to manage her self regulation.

 

[cmoo]

I have moved it and placed it on top of the screen lid.

 

[cmoo]

Well she is still refusing all food, but her weight has held steady at 330g for the past three days. However, now she is digging incessantly at her enclosure. So today I made her a dig box in case she is looking to lay eggs. Eggs don't make sense since she doesn't look fatter, but I'll try anything at this point!
I have her dog box outside in the sunlight, with part of it shaded. The temp in the sun with an IR thermometer is about 85. Should I add a light to make it warmer?
Also, she gave me the biggest blackest beard ever when I put her in there. She is not pleased with me one bit!