ok, let's see if you guys can help me because i am freaking out here, my little guy just recently got out of a state of Brumation, he was very lethargic for a long time about 2 months, but he still ate, about 2 weeks ago he started refusing to eat, he then went into a full deep sleep for about 4 days, then he woke up and was extremely active running around and eating like a champ, except his greens, he has only eaten a little of his greens, he is still active and all, but he has not had a bowel movement since he woke up on Saturday, which was July 21st... is this normal?... i have given him 3 warm baths between yesterday and today, he seems perfectly fine, but that just worries me... any help?...
He is about 11 months, He eats about 20-25 Large (full grown) crickets on a normal day (6 times a week dusted with calcium, and 1 time a week dusted with multi vitamin), usually he won't eat more than that many crickets in one day, he eats some of his greens, (a collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, and butternut squash salad) but he used to eat almost all of it a few months ago. I have Slate Tile substrate... and I bathe him twice a week...
If he hasn't really eaten anything since waking up, there wouldn't be much to poop out.
You may want to increase the heat a little bit to help his digestive system moving along, in addition to giving him fluids orally.
Thanks for the response!! Today I actually took him to the Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic here in Miami, and here is what they told me...
-he is pretty healthy.
-he is extremely big for his age.
-he has a bad temper when being handled by people he doesn't know, which is a sign of good health.
-after doing a fecal exam, they found worms.
-they gave me medicine for the worms.
-I'm over feeding him so they suggested I bring down the amount of crickets he eats in one day.
-they also suggested that while bringing down the cricket intake, too much greens is not a bad thing, so he can continue to overdose on greens.
-reason he's been lethargic isn't really brumation, it's more of his body trying to slow down the food intake, which explains why he has been on and off about eating.
-they want me to bring him back in a few weeks for a follow-up.
The presence of parasites would definitely change his appetite. Be sure to supplement some good bacteria while he's on the antiobiotics, as that could affect his system and give him tummy ouches.
Where do you buy the crickets from? For being less than a year old, there's no reason to cut back on the amount of crickets, especially if he knows when to stop. He still needs the protein.
well, he seems to be doing a lot better after just 2 days... the medicine they gave me to administer is "Panacur".
what do you mean supplement good bacteria?... how would i do that?... :shock:
i get my crickets from 2 different places, 1 is Pet Supermarket, the other is place here in Miami called Pangea Pets, a very well known exotic pet supplier.
and well according to the vet who is a very well known Reptilian Vet, he says i should be feeding him less, and it makes sense, as he went from eating 25-30 crickets to eating 10-15 crickets, and refusing to eat any more than that no matter what i put in front of him.
Alot of people here use soy yogurt. Basically, you want to give him some 'good' bacteria to cover the ones being zapped by the Panacur. You could also try Bene-Bac.