Shedding or something else?

[Ralis]

Hi Guys, I'm a new beardie owner so doing lots of research and just trying to work out whether I should be concerned or not.

I bought a beardie at the beginning of December from PetSmart. I'm not sure how old he is but he's grown about half an inch since I got him and is currently about 5.5 inches from nose to tail. He started out eating really well. Lots of live crickets, a little dandelion greens although not so keen on the greens.

A few days ago he started showing signs of shedding and shed some skin around his face and feet. Since then he's been very lethargic and has eaten barely anything. Maybe 1/2 crickets a day. I've been giving him daily warm baths and misting several times a day to help with the shedding and to stop him from dehydrating.

At what point do I become concerned about the lack of eating? I know beardies will become more lethargic and eat less when they're shedding but how much is too much? He mostly just lays around his terrarium right now at the basking end but low down. Right now he's laying under his basking log. If I take him out he will perk up and run around over my hands or on the table but will go back to lounging when I put him back home.

Any ideas? I just want to make sure the little guy is ok.

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Can you give a run down of his set up?

 

[Ralis]

Well since I posted he has perked up a lot but still has yet to eat anything. He started by basking on top of his basking log and has slowly been getting more active through the afternoon, and he's now chasing his reflection in the glass ,but he still has yet to eat anything. He's been drinking every time I mist him though. I bought this when I got him http://www.amazon.com/Reptihabitat-20long-Beard-Dragon-Starter/dp/B00B39ROIS/ref=sr_1_sc_7?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1388096066&sr=1-7-spell&keywords=zoomed+reptihabitat and used a reptile carpet instead of the provided sand. He currently has a UVB compact (yes I know I'm going to order a tube light!) and I leave a red heat lamp on at night because it can get cold in our house (there'll be a CHE in the order with the UVB tube).

He's usually fed on crickets twice a day, dusted with calcium once a day and I use liquid vits every other day currently. He also gets dandelion greens but he's not so keen on those. I'm hoping it's just a funk he's in because he's shedding.

EDIT: Just taken temps with a digital thermometer. At the cool end of the tank it's 75-80F and the hot end is about 95 with a basking spot at about 105F

 

[Ralis]

Temp last night dropped to 69F at the cool end of the tank where he likes to sleep.

He was alert this morning and is back to basking. He pooped last night and this morning but it was almost exclusively water. Not like his usual poops which have the classic white urates. I guess it shouldn't be too surprising though since water is pretty much the only thing he took in yesterday. He still has no interest in his greens or the live crickets.

Can anyone suggest a different feeder that I could preferably get hold of today to try him with? Our local PetSmart only stocks crickets, mealworms and superworms and I'm pretty sure the supers would be much too big for him to eat and I know mealworms are out.

 

[Ralis]

So, a small update. Gorbash is definitely shedding. He has started shedding the skin on one of his back legs and his tail looks faded. It's sort of like somebody drew a line across where his tail starts and faded it out. I'll try to upload pics later.

However he's still not eating anything. He continues to poop once or twice a day but it's still almost exclusively water. I'm offering him fresh collard greens at the moment and not putting more than one cricket in his tank at a time but he's just showing no interest in them so I end up taking it out again. He spends most of the day basking or sleeping. He does have periods of alertness, usually when I take him out of his tank to mist him or bath him he will run around on the table. I'm trying not to handle him too much because I don't want to irritate him. This morning he was awake before his lights came on. I woke up at 7am and he was sitting on a log when his lights usually go on at 7:30am and go off around 8:30pm.

Apart from the lack of appetite he seems like a healthy beardie. Hopefully I'm just paranoid because he's my first reptile so I'm not sure what's normal for shedding, plus he seems so tiny!

 

[Ralis]

I just felt I should let you all know. Gorbash passed away some time last night.

RIP little guy. Know that for the short time you were with us, you were loved beyond words...

I would appreciate it if someone could give me some advice for disposing of him. We have two dogs who like to dig in the back yard and it just feels wrong to put him in the garbage.

 

[Tonja]

I am so sorry you lost your baby. I just lost my 2 yr old 5 days ago now. I went to home depot and bought a 99 cent plastic bin and wrapped Geico in his favorite blanket with his favorite stuffed animal, I put them all in the bin and duct taped the lid onto the little bin and buried him in the flower garden in my front yard. I to have dogs and didn't want to risk them digging him up. This may be an option for you. You can also take him to the vet and see about cremation although I don't know the cost on that. Its devastating when you lose a pet but know that he is over the rainbow bridge and waiting for you when its your time, for now you have a little beardie angel on your shoulder. Don't beat yourself up over this, beardies are good at hiding when they are ill or not feeling well. Will say a little prayer tonight for you and your beloved beardie.

 

[Ralis]

Thank you for your kind words Tonja. I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. I don't know if burying Gorbash will be an option at all. We now have 4 inches of snow on frozen ground. We have a fire pit so cremating him ourselves might be an option though I'm not sure how legal that is!