Help!

[Auav8r]

My bearded dragon is about a year and a half old and has stopped eating all together. He hides under his log and stays cold. I have Dubia roaches and he will not touch them. I give him collard greens and will only touch them after they dry out and he barely eats then. any ideas what is going on?

 

[Canicke]

can you give us a bit more info - ? what is his basking temp? what is the ambient temp? what is cold side temp? how long has he not been eating? is he losing weight? any environmental changes? Due to the season, my initial thought is brumation. Are you familiar with this?

 

[Auav8r]

I've read about it but I'm not sure that is it. Nothing has changed in his environment, his basking temp is in the upper 90's and the cool side is around 72. He has just been eating very little and yes he is starting to lose weight.

Here is a pic of his basking log...

 

[Eavlynn]

It sounds like your beardie may be starting their brumation cycle. Some just slow down, some sleep for days, weeks, even months. Because nothing has changed in his enclosure, it's likely brumation. It's completely natural, and not something we can really prevent as owners, it just happens. The best thing to do in a scenario like this is to get him checked for parasites, that way you make sure he's not being drained of nutrients when he stops eating.

Another thing you can check is your UVB. Over time they lose their mojo and need replaced. Lack of necessary UVB can cause lethargy, though given the season, I'm inclined to think that your boy is probably getting ready to brumate. You could offer him a hide on the cool side. If all he wants to do is curl up in there and sleep, you'll know that's what's going on. Definitely get a fecal run for parasites though, especially if he's lost some weight.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Mom2Dovakiin]

I'd just like to know, in the pic I see one of those stick on temp gauges, is this what you're basing the temps off of? Those can be way off (like sometimes up to 20 degrees off) either direction. I prefer using the infrared temp gauges to be more accurate. You might want to check that, just to be sure.

 

[Auav8r]

I thought that it may be brumation but it's been several months and he still isn't eating and is losing weight. I'm really starting to get worried. I have a Dubia roach colony but he isn't eating them and I'm about to be over run with roaches. I have a 2ft. T5 HO UVB bulb that I bought a month ago. The UVA basking lamp is 100 watt about 8 to 10 inches above his log but the lights are on top of a screen so they are filtered some.

I knew that temp gauge that came with the enclosure wasn't that accurate and I probably should invest in a better gauge.

 

[PatsyB]

The T5 bulb on top of the mesh is just fine. I would invest in a temp gun or a digital probe thermometer so that you can accurately measure the temps. at 1.5 years brumation is not out of the question but they shouldn't lose a ton of weight during brumation. If you check your temps and they are correct then you should do a vet visit and rule out any parasites or anything that would cause him to lose weight and not eat.

 

[Auav8r]

He has lost some weight but nothing drastic yet, he just isn't eating. Several months ago the kids went out in the yard and picked some dandelion greens and fed him, I'm wondering if he may have picked up a parisite.

 

[Auav8r]

This is him now, I had to put him on his log for the photo, he normally just lays under it.

 

[PatsyB]

It's never good to feed them outside bugs or veggies since you don't know what is on them.

 

[Hdrydr31]

He looks pretty good still, I would get a fecal done just to rule out parasites..keep offering different greens and bugs and see if you can peak his interest. Maybe add in a probiotic powder in case his tummy isnt feeling well.. Bee pollen can be a yummy item that's super good for them it is also an appetite stimulant.