My beardie, Cairo, is a little over a year and a half old. I've attached pictures of when I first got her in January 2018, and today - shes beautiful in both of them 
I've also attached a pic of my set up. I tried to be thorough...
I read a lot of about beardies all the time, and just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I would appreciate any feedback that may help our situation.
Cairo has been very lethargic and not eating. She was sleeping so much, I thought it may be brumation, but it lasted for months. I grew concerned that she wasn't getting enough UVB from sleeping so much, and took her to an exotic vet a few months ago.
The vet said she could be starting to develop MBD, but said her body and tail looked good (no lumps), and said my priority should be force feeding her calcium. He gave me a couple plastic syringes (small and large) and recommended getting a pack of Oxbow overnighted off Amazon, which I did. Oxbow has been her main source of nurishment, since she doesn't have the energy or drive to eat on her own.
The vet also recommended trying different insects (worms), in case she got sick of the same diet. I tried getting some worms (I forget which, the big gross fat green ones) and some raspberries to mix into her greens. She watched the worms with a little interest, but never tried anything.
If I take her out to give her a bath, she perks up (tail and head on alert mode), seems to enjoy the bath, and always poops. If I set her on my porch, she'll stay perked up in the same spot for awhile, but never explores or runs around.
Symptoms:
1.) She's been very lethargic. She will sleep in the corner for days if I don't get her up. When she is up, she's not very mobile.
2.) No appetite. She hasn't willing eaten something on her own in months.
3.) She doesn't poop on her own, without me helping warm her belly, through either a bath or being on the patio.
3.) When she walks, she drags herself a little.
4.) It's rare, but sometime she whips her head around for a few seconds at a time and stops. This also seems to happen more often after squirting either the calcium or the oxbow in her mouth. Different than a headbob, which she has never done. I've also never seen her show any blackness.
Her Diet:
1.) I switch off between Kale, Mustard Greens, and Turnip Greens (daily).
2.) Calcium-dusted Crickets (a few times a week).
She never eats either of these anymore though. She sometimes will try to lick a cricket, but she doesn't have the speed or accuracy that she used to, and always misses.
Other Notes of Interest:
1.) I recently added the ReptiSun UVB bulb in the screenshot. She previously just had the Solar Glo, which should have everything she needs. This is my main suspect, because it seems like she is lacking UVB to get enough energy to hunt or eat, to get the calcium off the crickets. I replaced the Solar Glo every 6 months (I tracked the dates of purchase on the box), so maybe this product has issues? I've always bought the same brand, same bulb.
Now that I have the ReptiSun UVB light, is there such thing as too much UVB? Should I replace the Solar Glo with just a heat lamp?
2.) I read recently that beardies could get too much vitamin D12, which could be harmful. I'm having a tough time weighing what the vet set about force feeding calcium, and having too much D12 (which is in my calcium). How often should I squirt a calcium/water mix into her mouth? It seems like a lot of liquid to do regularly for a dessert animal. I'm afraid of overloading her trying to help.
Any help is appreciated.
I've also attached a pic of my set up. I tried to be thorough... I read a lot of about beardies all the time, and just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I would appreciate any feedback that may help our situation.
Cairo has been very lethargic and not eating. She was sleeping so much, I thought it may be brumation, but it lasted for months. I grew concerned that she wasn't getting enough UVB from sleeping so much, and took her to an exotic vet a few months ago.
The vet said she could be starting to develop MBD, but said her body and tail looked good (no lumps), and said my priority should be force feeding her calcium. He gave me a couple plastic syringes (small and large) and recommended getting a pack of Oxbow overnighted off Amazon, which I did. Oxbow has been her main source of nurishment, since she doesn't have the energy or drive to eat on her own.
The vet also recommended trying different insects (worms), in case she got sick of the same diet. I tried getting some worms (I forget which, the big gross fat green ones) and some raspberries to mix into her greens. She watched the worms with a little interest, but never tried anything.
If I take her out to give her a bath, she perks up (tail and head on alert mode), seems to enjoy the bath, and always poops. If I set her on my porch, she'll stay perked up in the same spot for awhile, but never explores or runs around.
Symptoms:
1.) She's been very lethargic. She will sleep in the corner for days if I don't get her up. When she is up, she's not very mobile.
2.) No appetite. She hasn't willing eaten something on her own in months.
3.) She doesn't poop on her own, without me helping warm her belly, through either a bath or being on the patio.
3.) When she walks, she drags herself a little.
4.) It's rare, but sometime she whips her head around for a few seconds at a time and stops. This also seems to happen more often after squirting either the calcium or the oxbow in her mouth. Different than a headbob, which she has never done. I've also never seen her show any blackness.
Her Diet:
1.) I switch off between Kale, Mustard Greens, and Turnip Greens (daily).
2.) Calcium-dusted Crickets (a few times a week).
She never eats either of these anymore though. She sometimes will try to lick a cricket, but she doesn't have the speed or accuracy that she used to, and always misses.
Other Notes of Interest:
1.) I recently added the ReptiSun UVB bulb in the screenshot. She previously just had the Solar Glo, which should have everything she needs. This is my main suspect, because it seems like she is lacking UVB to get enough energy to hunt or eat, to get the calcium off the crickets. I replaced the Solar Glo every 6 months (I tracked the dates of purchase on the box), so maybe this product has issues? I've always bought the same brand, same bulb.
Now that I have the ReptiSun UVB light, is there such thing as too much UVB? Should I replace the Solar Glo with just a heat lamp?
2.) I read recently that beardies could get too much vitamin D12, which could be harmful. I'm having a tough time weighing what the vet set about force feeding calcium, and having too much D12 (which is in my calcium). How often should I squirt a calcium/water mix into her mouth? It seems like a lot of liquid to do regularly for a dessert animal. I'm afraid of overloading her trying to help.
Any help is appreciated.