Hello again, everyone. Quick question for you all today.
I rescued a juvenile bearded dragon about 9 months ago. He had behavioural issues from the start, but has gotten a lot better since bringing him home. The only thing I've yet to conquer is his extreme distaste for baths, which concerns me. Up until now his appetite has been great. He gets a variety of live feeders (crickets, hornworms on occasion, other worms) and a big bowl of greens on a daily basis (collards, dandelion, mustard), but recently he's only shown interest in worms. No salad, no crickets, nothing. I've also noticed that he hasn't shed in quite some time (yet is still maintaining his weight) and isn't quite as active. He's also not pooping regularly. Today, after maybe 4-5 days of not going, I noticed his urates weren't the stark white that they usually are. It was mostly a very pale orange with a hint of white along the top, which leads me to believe he could be dehydrated. The quick solution would be to give him a bath, but I cannot for the life of me keep him in the tub for longer than 5 minutes before he beards up and goes absolutely psychotic. The end result last time were scratches all over my body and the extreme fear that he was going to stress himself out more than I'd like him to. My question is, does anyone have any tips on how I can get him to enjoy bath time for longer than those 5 mins? Are there any vegetables I can give him that contain enough water to invigorate him? I've tried the eye dropper trick and he wasn't having it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Id like to nip the issue before it becomes an emergency. Thank you!
** would also like to ask if hornworms can help with the hydration process. Despite not really wanting food, he still goes crazy for them when offered.
Setup : 40 gallon, 105F basking, 80F cool. Reptisun 10 UVB. Carpet and slate substrate.
I rescued a juvenile bearded dragon about 9 months ago. He had behavioural issues from the start, but has gotten a lot better since bringing him home. The only thing I've yet to conquer is his extreme distaste for baths, which concerns me. Up until now his appetite has been great. He gets a variety of live feeders (crickets, hornworms on occasion, other worms) and a big bowl of greens on a daily basis (collards, dandelion, mustard), but recently he's only shown interest in worms. No salad, no crickets, nothing. I've also noticed that he hasn't shed in quite some time (yet is still maintaining his weight) and isn't quite as active. He's also not pooping regularly. Today, after maybe 4-5 days of not going, I noticed his urates weren't the stark white that they usually are. It was mostly a very pale orange with a hint of white along the top, which leads me to believe he could be dehydrated. The quick solution would be to give him a bath, but I cannot for the life of me keep him in the tub for longer than 5 minutes before he beards up and goes absolutely psychotic. The end result last time were scratches all over my body and the extreme fear that he was going to stress himself out more than I'd like him to. My question is, does anyone have any tips on how I can get him to enjoy bath time for longer than those 5 mins? Are there any vegetables I can give him that contain enough water to invigorate him? I've tried the eye dropper trick and he wasn't having it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Id like to nip the issue before it becomes an emergency. Thank you!
** would also like to ask if hornworms can help with the hydration process. Despite not really wanting food, he still goes crazy for them when offered.
Setup : 40 gallon, 105F basking, 80F cool. Reptisun 10 UVB. Carpet and slate substrate.