Hi Jennifer,
Thank you for answering my questions. I'm sorry your dragon is feeling poorly and not eating. The following are my suggestions.
He is 9.5" nose to tip of tail. The UVB is a coil type bulb, but it's hot right now, and I can't read it. I'll have to pull it out when the light goes out later tonight as I don't remember what I bought.
Ok, given your description of the circumstances, I was fairly sure that this is what we were dealing with but didn't want to assume. Sadly, it's all too familiar scene.
Your beardie is in a bad way, and you want to act fast. DO TURN OFF THE COIL BULB, and
discontinue any further use of it. Here is a link for more information: [ Invalid URL Removed / p= t=65424 f=1 ]
Certain coils tend to follow an eerily similar pattern of beardie decline: eyes closing (to shield from the UVB), and appetite waning to point of entire loss of appetite, beardie slowly shuts down. *sigh*
In the meantime, you'll want to get a quality UVB source. A ReptiSUN (not glo) 10.0 tube. Here is a link to the tube, at a great price:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-bulb.html You will need a strip fixture for it, which you can find at a pet store, however you'll likely find a cheaper one at your local hardware store. When on the tank, you want the strip and the basking bulb to align as follows:
_______tube
0 basking
...so that beardie has benefit of both bulbs while basking.
It's fine to have NO UVB for a few days, if you need to wait for the new tube. In fact, while your beardie is recovering from the coil, it is preferred to have
no UVB for a few days, or even up to a week.
Ok, the humidity thing is good to know. I'm doing ok there, but will discontinue the spraying of he tank. I will, however, continue the baths.
Perfect.
I'll go back to crickets and skip the mealworms. I've never heard of phoenix worms. I'll have to research where to get them. Thanks for the food link. I'll spend some time there tonight.
That sounds good. Indeed, crickets will work fine, over the meal worms, certainly. I realize it's a bit of a "moot" point, as your dragon isn't eating, but previously, were you dusting with calcium and vites? For future reference, it should be 5 meals per week with calcium WITH D3, 1-2 meal per week with vites. If you need links to a good calcium and vitamin products at a good price, just let me know. Phoenix worms can be found here:
http://www.phoenixworms.com They are an excellent natural source of calcium for your dragon, and tend to help stimulate appetite as most dragons love them. They are small, and I would say for your 9.5 dragon, to start with the mediums if you decide to go this route. They have a good protein/fat ratio, and can be fed as a staple if you like. Because of their high calcium, they do not need to be dusted with the calcium, but can be dusted with vites (1-2 time per week).
He hasn't pooped in weeks. He's very lethargic, too. I forgot to mention that before
.
Ok, I'm not surprised, this is fairly typical for this scenario. Your beardie is in a bad way. I would suggest having a fecal done, but it sounds as if you don't have a sample with which to work. The reason I inquired is when they experience this type of "poisoning" from the coil, is compromises their immune system, and makes it it more difficult for their bodies to manage parasites. Impaction is also a possibility (the mealworms, the loose substrate), but given that he hasn't eaten in a month, not pooping could be easily attributed to that as well. You've already received some good advice as to treating impaction, so I would try that along with the other suggestions.
I won't do anything about the eyes. Thanks for that info, too. He keeps them closed all the time now. It's been a gradual thing.
Turning off the coil light should help here, but again, it's been awhile since he started declining so I can't say exactly how well he will bounce back.
I'll also get rid of the wood chips. Boy, it sure would be nice to get good info at the pet store!!
*sigh* I hear you. I do. I've both been there, and done that. In fact, many of us here found this place because of pet store ignorance (and arrogance).
Thank you for all of your help Em. I hope you, or someone else chimes in with some more advice. He's just pathetic!
You're welcome. For now, as he is in a bad way (I would say critical), along with turning off the coil, you want to keep him warm, even at night. A CHE for nighttime if you have it. If not, a portable heat pack (like the the kind you put in your pocket on the ski slopes), wrapped in a towel and placed next to beardie. If you can't find that, you can fill a sock with rice, and warm it for a few minutes in the microwave, and again use a towel between it and beardie, so as not to burn his skin.
For getting food in, you can get some jarred chicken baby food, mix with a little water and place some on the end of his nose, see if he will lick it. If not, you might need to use a syringe.
As I mentioned in my above post, the correct temps (along with quality UVB) are crucial to beardie's health. I do recommend getting a digital with probe as soon as you can manage, so that you can know the exact temp of the basking area, in particular. With that,
what is the size is your tank, and also, what is the wattage of your basking bulb?
In an case like this, I am always moved to PM a moderator for some back up, which I will certainly do. Once you mentioned "coil" and lethargic" along with eyes closed and not eating, it put the picture into clearer focus. It is late however, so I imagine you won't be hearing until tomorrow sometime. In the meantime, we're all pulling for your little dragon, and so I will leave you with one last question:
any way you can get him to a vet, post haste?
Lots of support to you. Please feel free to fire away more questions if you have them.
Em
