sudden loss of appetite/unusual feces

[xoashh123]

hi everyone, so my bearded dragon Mushu suddenly loss his appetite for some reason and his poop looked watery. im not sure what is going on. is his poop normal? he would chase his dubia and act as if he would eat it but then look back up and run off somewhere else. he is well aware of the dubia but he won't eat it, nor will he eat by hand feeding. its been like this for 2-3 with his eating habit. he only eats about less than 5 dubias now. im not sure what to do. (poop photos are from today, top is in the morning, bottom was in his bath in the late afternoon). any feedback is appreciated. just want my Mushu to eat again.

He is almost 5 months, lives in a 55 gallon tank (48 l x 15 w x 18 h), has a 75 watt bulb since aug 9, has a reptisun 10 uvb since aug 9, temps over 100 for basking and he gets within 6-8 inches of his bulb, cold side in mid 80s. Bathes everyday for about 5-10 mins since he doesnt drink water. Diet consists of dubis and collard greens/mustard greens. sometimes carrots. Dusts with calcium 4 times a week once per day and with vitamins 3 times a week once per day. Substrate is non stick shelf liner and ceramic tile.

 

[jacody]

Does it smell stronger than normal?? I'd try laying off the bath in everyday and switch to every other, he may be "over" hydrated if his poops are swimming n a puddle of water like that. I had the same issue with my Crixus poops. As for eating, are you waiting at least an hour after lights on in the morning to feed?? Are the temps up to normal when you offer a meal? Maybe he's bored with dubias, have you tried offering a different live feeder??

 

[xoashh123]

Does it smell stronger than normal?? I'd try laying off the bath in everyday and switch to every other, he may be "over" hydrated if his poops are swimming n a puddle of water like that. I had the same issue with my Crixus poops. As for eating, are you waiting at least an hour after lights on in the morning to feed?? Are the temps up to normal when you offer a meal? Maybe he's bored with dubias, have you tried offering a different live feeder??

Not really, smells the same with all his other poops before. He could be over hydrated but he doesn't drink water or eat his vegetables and he only baths about 5-10 minutes a day, but I will try every other day. I wait about 2 hours before I feed him in the mornings. And his temps are good in the mornings, mid 105s-110s. He had crickets when we first got him, but then switched to dubias about a month or two after. Been eating dubias since. No other live feeder.

 

[xoashh123]

[UPDATE]

So Mushu has pretty much stopped eating. So we had to force feed him. He was relocated into his bigger tank about 3 weeks ago. He may still be stressed but he was eating fine when we first moved him in. His tail and his back legs are due for a shed, but he always still had an appetite when he was shedding. His eyes sometimes look a little droopy but I'm not sure. I even had to resort to some baby food, squash and prunes, which he seems to actually enjoy. I just wanted to get something in his stomach. I'm thinking of getting Pedialyte and he could take a bath in it and possibly drink a little to maybe help with his appetite. And I might just be an overly worried mommy but I feel like he closes his eyes alot more, I'm probably just paranoid now. Really worried about him =/

 

[jacody]

Are you in a locale where the weather has changed, winter temps setting in?? I know many will say younger dragons will not brumate, but I've had a couple and this time of year there's always a shutdown as far as appetite and energy.. I've never had s full out sleeping brumation, but mine will only nap this time of year.. I know you prob. feel dubias are the way to go as far as live food which I get and respect, but is there anyway to get a small amount of any other live just to see if he'll take to them temporarily?? I agree with the pedialyte to be on the safe side.

 

[xoashh123]

Are you in a locale where the weather has changed, winter temps setting in?? I know many will say younger dragons will not brumate, but I've had a couple and this time of year there's always a shutdown as far as appetite and energy.. I've never had s full out sleeping brumation, but mine will only nap this time of year.. I know you prob. feel dubias are the way to go as far as live food which I get and respect, but is there anyway to get a small amount of any other live just to see if he'll take to them temporarily?? I agree with the pedialyte to be on the safe side.

Kinda yes. Weather is changing here, getting colder. Mid 70s area. I was able to get superworms at a reptile store. He ate them. I cut their heads off, because, well, you never know. I probably shouldn't have given him so much but he hasn't eaten anything yesterday besides a little bit of squash baby food. I gave him 14 :| and he ate them all just fine. I fed him 2 hours before his normal lights turn off but i left them on for another 30 minutes so he can digest more. I even gave him a pedialyte bath before he ate. And I also tried to syringe some in his mouth to drink.

This morning I found that he pooped. Its not that watery anymore and looks more formed but there was red, looks like blood. I'm not sure if its because he was straining or because of something else. Past few days he was straining to poop. I fed him some baby squash mixed with a little pedialyte and some calcium powder. I'll try a few more superworms later when I come home from school. I posted some pictures of his poop from this morning. Idk

 

[jacody]

Good that he ate, as for the blood, I'd watch that as I'm sure you will, if it happens again I'd IM one of the moderators and see if they've ever had that with their beardies, I've sent them messages before and they're more than happy to help..