When should I worry?

[dna14]

Twitch has been acting very strange. Her appetite has cut WAY back. She won't go after crickets, if they are not hand-fed to her she won't eat them. So I've been hand-feeding her a few a day so she's getting SOMETHING which irritates my husband and daughter because they don't want to have to hand-feed her and don't want her to be used to that which makes sense. She'll eat a few worms but I'm out again which reminds me need to order worms after this post. She has been off and on with her salad. One day she may eat her whole salad and then no salad for 2 or 3 days in a row. She has been sleeping all day every other day, and on the floor under her basking log, (this is where she sleeps every night) not on it. But then some days she appears fine, basking as normal... yesterday was her best day in 2 weeks, she seemed back to normal! Is she just spoiled and lazy? Does she need less food now that she's 20 inches long? We don't know her exact age for sure but think she's around 10-11 months old. Her weight is fine and her double chin is growing nicely. She has not gone poo since Thurs but went twice on Thurs and 5-7 days in between has been normal for her. I found that her UVA light was malfunctioning last week, and replaced it. Her warm side had only been 88 degrees and I felt so bad! Now her basking spot is 104.4 and her cool side (where she never goes) is 82. The UVA light was changed out a week and a half ago. Her UVB is a Repti-Sun 10.0 and it's only a month and a half old.

 

[TazzysMamma]

Does she get bathed frequently? Maybe she's a bit dehydrate?

Other than that and the possibility that she was affected by the warm side being too cool, Im not sure what else could be wrong? Are her poo's and urates normal looking?

Sandi

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How old is Twitch? At 20 inches, she is probably slowing down on growth. If you are feeding twice per day you can cut down to once per day. Since she is close to 1 year of age, you could cut the feeders back to 50 or so per week as well & focus more on greens & veggies.
How close is the Reptisun 10 to her, & it is a flourescent tube bulb, correct? Is the basking light a bright white light or a colored light?

Tracie

 

[dna14]

I was really good at bathing every other day until she started acting like this, the days she doesn't sleep all day she's been putting herself to bed before I have a chance to give her a bath so she's been down to every 4-5 days... I did give her a nice long 20-minute bath last night and I guess I'll wake her up if I need to to make sure she's getting well hydrated... last night she was ready for sleep when I took her out but she seemed happy in the bath and was happy to cuddle.
We don't know how old Twitch is for sure as we did get her from PetCo. Going by what I've learned here my guess is she is 10-11 months old. (looking at pics and hearing from everyone here about beardie growth.) She grew really fast! And yes she is certainly slowing down on growth.
The repti-sun sits on top of her tank screen. It is a flourescent tube light. She is probably about 12" from that light and about 10" from her basking light when she's up on the log. The basking UVA light is a white spotlight. I put her basking light up a bit higher yesterday it was 105.3 before I raised it and 103.8 after.

 

[spurlee01]

She really needs a spot where she can get within 6-8 inches of the bulb. It made a HUGE difference in the appetite of my boyfriend's 11 m/o. He was about 10 inches from it before.
Sara

 

[dna14]

ok, I'll see what we can do to get her up higher! Thanks so much

 

[dna14]

Here's what her tank looks like

I will have to actually measure when I get home because looking at this picture, it seems her basking log is closer to the UVB than I thought. Also her log is a bit lower than in this picture, and the UVA is a bit lower too. I'm thinking we can probably take out the cactus, she has gotten too big for it, she actually tried to jump on it a few weeks ago and knocked it over, and look for some different furniture that will get her closer to the bulb.... I had put in a repti-hammock but she never used it and I was actually wondering if it scared her, because coincidentally (or not?) that was right around the time when she started hanging out in her sleeping spot.... so I took it back out, I wonder if I should try that again but in a different corner? We also plan to tile 1/2 her tank and make her a cave.

 

[dna14]

Does she get bathed frequently? Maybe she's a bit dehydrate?

Other than that and the possibility that she was affected by the warm side being too cool, Im not sure what else could be wrong? Are her poo's and urates normal looking?

Sandi

Oh yes, and I didn't answer this, like I said she has not poo'ed since Thursday, but it was normal looking.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The tank looks good. It is nice & bright. Remember that the screen does filter out alot of the UVB emissions. So, perhaps you could mount the UVB on the underneath side of the screen top, if possible? Or, cut a hole in the screen perhaps?
She does look nice & has good fat stores as well.
So she loves being handfed, well, alot of them do & get spoiled very quickly also!

Keep us posted on her.
Tracie

 

[dna14]

thanks! We are first going to try putting the repti-hammock in the end of her tank where the cactus is (I had put it at the other end originally) and see if she likes it better there because she can get up to it either from her log or from her cactus. If she doesn't use it we will try to hang the light inside. Cutting a hole in the screen's a good idea too hadn't thought of that at all!

Also thanks to whomever moved this thread to the ER forum. I originally tried to post this thread in the ER, and got a message that I could not post a thread on that forum because I had started another thread there recently.

U are all the best. I love beardeddragon.org! :love5:

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great, it sounds like you are making some good changes to Twitch's tank. How is she doing today?
I am sure that she will like the hammock though most of them love to lounge around, the lazy lizards! :mrgreen:
Yeah if you don't mind cutting a hole in the screen, that will really increase the UVB emissions for that light. Just make sure you leave enough around the edge to support the light fixture so it doesn't fall in.
Keep us posted on her. We are here to help.

Tracie

 

[dna14]

Yeah D and I decided that cutting a hole in the screen would probably be easier than trying to hang the light inside. I didn't put up the hammock yet, cuz I went home sick from work yesterday and was glued to the couch all night. She was laying around when I got home but perked up around 2:00. She ate about 1/2 her salad which is awesome compared to how she's been eating lately. No crickets I have too hard of a time hand-feeding those no matter how hard I shake them up. Hopefully the phoenix worms come today!

 

[zebraflavencs]

Aimee, how are you feeling today ? I hope better !
As for slowing those crix down, try placing them in the freezer for around 5 minutes, then hand feed.
Janie.

 

[dna14]

Aimee, how are you feeling today ? I hope better !
As for slowing those crix down, try placing them in the freezer for around 5 minutes, then hand feed.
Janie.

OK I will try that! I am feeling much better. Some weird stomach virus going around both at my work and home

Just to be clear, it's OK to put the hammock up 6-8 inches from the Repti-Sun and cut a hole in the screen or should I try one or the other first?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I hope you are feeling better.
You can go ahead & place the hammock 6-8 inches from him, & go ahead & cut the hole in the screen too for better exposure. You don't have to cut the hole the entire length of the light just enough to where he can get more out of the light.

I hope that the hammock works out well & that he likes it.

Tracie