mybeardeddragons.co.uk

Hi. We have a 3 month old beardie called Bernie, a Christmas pressie for my 12 year old daughter who saved and saved and saved for a whole year to put half towards the viv. At first, he ate very well, hoppers and various types of veg. we drip water on to his nose and he catches the drips and now, on the advice from the pet shop where we got him, we spray his plants and habitat so he can get the condensation too. What is worrying us is that over the last month, he has stopped eating any veg or hoppers at all and has chosen to spend as much time as he can digging the sand, then lying flat on the cold glass and either staying under his hollow log which was at the cold end of the viv (we've now moved it towards the heat) or sitting on a false plant in the cold end. The worrying thing is that he doesn't eat anymore. In the last week, he has had a total of 5 wax worms (given to us by the pet shop after we have tried everything else). he seems to be attracted to their movement but won't eat hoppers or veg anymore. I have just read on this forum that it might help to turn off the IR heat bulb over night as it is on constantly so I'll try that. Is there a certain period of time that he can go for without eating anything? And are there any signs we should look out for that he is very unwell?
The temperatures in the tank are usually 100 under the IR bulb and 75 at the cool end.
We are just a little concerned about the sudden change in his eating behaviour as we bought him in December which is obviously a cold month like we are in now so we didn't expect to see such a change.
Many thanks.
Ali

Temps sound OK - but he does need to cool down over night and as long as the house doesn't drop below around 16C then no heating/lighting is needed. Please stop spraying his enclosure as it's possible you will give him a respiratory problem, these guys come from a hot dry area and do not like humid damp conditions viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1372 . A photo of his viv would help although it sounds as if he may be trying to brumate ( although he is too young to do this). What does he weigh and have you had a fecal sample checked for parasites? This latter will rule out one of the usual causes of appetite loss viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9783 One last thing - changing the IR light to a standard household spotlight ( around 75 watt) may well brighten him up as they prefer to bask under bright lighting as they are a "sun loving" reptile.

Rick

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Beardies from an Australian point of view.

Thanks so much for advice. Will the household light bulb generate enough heat on the basking rock if we use it to replace IR one? He weighs 21 grams and the viv is 4ft long, 15inches deep and 16 inches high. I put him on his basking flint rock today and yesterday with a wax worm wriggling next to him but he wasn't interested and so hasn't eaten for 3 days again. I'll get poo sample tested, does a regular vet do this? It's so useful to be able to ask these questions and get such detailed information back, thanks again.

Regular vets will do the tests but may charge pretty heavily. Do you have a vet near you that specialises in reptiles - at his size he really should be eating like a pig so it may help to have him checked over? A Phillips RO80 75 watt spotlight should provide plenty of heat, it's what many people use. What are you using for his UV supply?

Rick

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Beardies from an Australian point of view.

Thank you, I'll get one of those bulbs today then. There is a specialist reptile vets nearby so I'll make an appointment. How is it best to transport him there and back? We have two tube lights at the roof of the tank, one of them is a UV tube light, new with the dragon, I can't remember the details but the specialist at the pet shop chose the right one for us. 5 days with no food again and still under hide, very lethargic. Hope vet can spot something...thanks again.

He can be carried in a small box lined with kitchen paper so he doesn't slide around. UV tube should be at least 10.0 % best type currently is Arcadia.

Rick

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Beardies from an Australian point of view.

Bernie to an exotic specialist vet who was brilliant - did blood test and an enema (poor little dragon!) and all results were negative. She suggested syringe feeding twice a day with veg based baby food for a week and turning the temperature up. Dragon is trying to brumate so we need to help it realise that it's spring, not winter. He/she is digging like mad again today and moving around the tank a lot more - I still think he's trying to dig to get cold but hopefully the feeding will get his metabolism kick started. We have been advised to not feed him at all for a week after the syringe feeding and then to put a bowl of wax worms next to him at the hot end of the tank...fingers crossed this finally works because otherwise, haven't got a clue what else to try!