Ellentomologist
Hatchling Member
Hi All,
Used to be a regular but haven't posted in a while. Life's been crazy and I've been working two jobs, so less time to spend doting on my wee little dragon overlord (luckily my girlfriend dotes on him when I'm not around). My beardie's name is Guacamole and I've had him for... A while now. I am not the best with time but it's been ~5 years I believe? Give or take a year. He has a few little deformities due to coming from a chain pet store that only fed him pellets and, admittedly, my dumb ass not knowing how to properly take care of him at first, but over all is an active healthy dude these days. He's in a 4 foot by 18 inch enclosure I hope to upgrade to a 4 foot by 2 foot soon (plan is to order it in May), T5 UV mounted inside enclosure with a ~100 F hot spot. Cool side of the enclosure is high 70s to low 80s, humidity is around 30% same as the rest of my home.
He came out of brumation in early January and has been doing fine, but recently (past week or two) I have noticed him passing certain foods through his system without getting fully digested. Furthermore, many of his stools are loose and watery. Squash is the main culprit that isn't well digested, as are some other fruits that come out "chunky", like berries and the like. Cucumber also doesn't seem to be digesting very well. Insects, leafy greens, and other vegetables like bell pepper and summer squash seem to be digested just fine and are, erm. More typical "poop" color/consistency when they come out.
Is it possible I'm overfeeding him fruit? At a guess, they make up about 10% of his diet, though I suspect my girlfriend sneaks him a little extra when she's responsible for his salads. Should I just avoid fruit moving forward and/or feed it only as a treat? He loves blueberries and apples so much that it seems a little sad, but also I am a little concerned for me wee little buddy here. :-(
Behavior is normal, except he is in that feisty spring mood where they will black beard and bob their heads first time they see you in the morning, trying to impress/dominate you.
Regardless, it's around time for me to take him to the vet anyway, I just know it'll be a bit before I get an actual appointment so I figured I'd ask around here to see if anyone had short-term solutions/theories.
Thanks in advance!
Used to be a regular but haven't posted in a while. Life's been crazy and I've been working two jobs, so less time to spend doting on my wee little dragon overlord (luckily my girlfriend dotes on him when I'm not around). My beardie's name is Guacamole and I've had him for... A while now. I am not the best with time but it's been ~5 years I believe? Give or take a year. He has a few little deformities due to coming from a chain pet store that only fed him pellets and, admittedly, my dumb ass not knowing how to properly take care of him at first, but over all is an active healthy dude these days. He's in a 4 foot by 18 inch enclosure I hope to upgrade to a 4 foot by 2 foot soon (plan is to order it in May), T5 UV mounted inside enclosure with a ~100 F hot spot. Cool side of the enclosure is high 70s to low 80s, humidity is around 30% same as the rest of my home.
He came out of brumation in early January and has been doing fine, but recently (past week or two) I have noticed him passing certain foods through his system without getting fully digested. Furthermore, many of his stools are loose and watery. Squash is the main culprit that isn't well digested, as are some other fruits that come out "chunky", like berries and the like. Cucumber also doesn't seem to be digesting very well. Insects, leafy greens, and other vegetables like bell pepper and summer squash seem to be digested just fine and are, erm. More typical "poop" color/consistency when they come out.
Is it possible I'm overfeeding him fruit? At a guess, they make up about 10% of his diet, though I suspect my girlfriend sneaks him a little extra when she's responsible for his salads. Should I just avoid fruit moving forward and/or feed it only as a treat? He loves blueberries and apples so much that it seems a little sad, but also I am a little concerned for me wee little buddy here. :-(
Behavior is normal, except he is in that feisty spring mood where they will black beard and bob their heads first time they see you in the morning, trying to impress/dominate you.
Regardless, it's around time for me to take him to the vet anyway, I just know it'll be a bit before I get an actual appointment so I figured I'd ask around here to see if anyone had short-term solutions/theories.
Thanks in advance!
