Possible health issue? Seems weird...

[Dragonfan21]

So I'm already thinking I might wind up taking my beardie to a vet, but figured I'd keep an eye on him and in the mean time ask here to see if anyone might have any extra information. I typically drop a bunch of small crickets into Zen's tank daily (around 30 or so) and also supply him with greens and the occasional super worm. I've been keep a supply of crickets on hand in a separate tank and so picked up some bottles of the fluker's cricket food (the orange cubes that are supposed to supply food and water) and the water gel.

I had been dropping a few cubes of each into the tank for the crickets that Zen didn't immediately pounce on and mostly kept them out of his way in a cave that was supposed to be for him but he never goes in it. He apparently managed to eat some of the cricket food because I noticed an orange cube in his waste the other day and then some of the water gel yesterday. He had also been acting very skittish (weird behavior for him) and flaring his beard out when I would reach into the tank and run away prior to passing the cubes, then once he passed them he calmed a bit and I figured he probably just wasn't feeling very well.

Today when I got home from work and checked on him he was asleep up on his little hammock that he loves, but he seemed extremely thin. He's never been very fat but I'm a bit worried all the same. Best I can describe it is he looks a bit like an inflated balloon that lost a lot of its air. He seemed to be acting normally and ate just fine. I gave him crickets and he tried out some dubia roaches for the first time today.

I figured I'll check on him tomorrow and see how he looks but I was wondering if anyone had heard of a beardie seeming to deflate from one day to the next?

 

[Sauzo]

How young is he? I know my 10 week old has just started practicing inflating and deflating and trying to puff her beard up. She also has started arm waving at me. But anyways, yes they inflate and deflate. They usually do it in the bath but like I said, Harley does it here and there randomly, generally either on her hammock staring out the front of the tank or while sitting up on top of her log under her basking light. As long as your guy is still eating fine and pooping fine and not showing signs of distress, I prolly would chalk this up as a learning experience.

 

[Dragonfan21]

I'm not sure of exact age but I believe he's around 3 months. It's possible I'm just over reacting to this combined with bad timing of him eating the cubes. I've had him for around 2 months and he's been waving for weeks, it just seems like every time I've seen him his stomach seemed more spread out.

 

[Sauzo]

Well i'd guess the cubes wouldn't be deadly since afterall the crickets eat and then your beardie eats the crickets although it's also prolly not the best for him to eat the cubes directly. But like I said, I prolly wouldn't worry too much as long as he seems to be eating and pooping fine and generally acting normal.

 

[Soulwind]

The cubes won't hurt him. They aren't really good for him, but they won't hurt.

The inflating and deflating is normal -- especially for a young male who's growing up.

He sounds like he may be a bit dehydrated.

Be sure to give him regular baths for about 10-15 minutes, in luke-warm water (human baby safe temps) that goes up to his armpits (enough to cover his vent, they absorb water through their vent) at least once a week. We bath ours every 2-3 days or even daily if they start having pooping problems.

Don't leave uneaten crickets in his enclosure with him. Crickets are actually quite aggressive
little buggers and will chew on him, causing sores and even making him afraid of them.

Let him eat his fill for 10-15 (supervised) minutes per feeding, then remove any uneaten crickets.
You can leave him greens available 24/7.

 

[OpheliaBoneshatter]

Yeah don't leave crickets in his tank. They can bit him in his sleep and cause nasty injuries and stress! Dunno about the cubes... I wouldn't leave them in there. I have a separate feeding tank for ryuu.. the only food I leave in his tank is greens.

 

[Gail]

The orange cubes should be ok but do you have regular water crystals in the tank too? I've seen dragons get a impaction and die from them. Personally, I wouldn't leave any kind of cricket food in the tank except greens.