Hi all,
First time owner, driven mad by the sheer number of varied opinions on the internet. I have followed much of the advice I see here, particularly from a user called Sadie (which I am certain will likely see this post as well, at least I am hoping.)
Given that I have dozens and dozens of hours of research, I already know to start with husbandry. So...
Age: 7-8~ months.
Sex: Male.
Tank: Dubia Roaches 120 gallon tank
UVB: Arcadia T5 12% UVB sitting approximately 12 inches above basking area
Basking: Flukers 120w and 100w bulbs.
Ambient temps: 80~ cool side, 93~ hot side.
Basking temps: 100-105+
Substrate: non-adhesive black shelf liner.
Diet before vet: 20-30 crickets a day and transitioned to 20-40 dubias a day, plus leafy greens and vegetables.
Diet after vet: 1-2 Dubias a day, 1-2 mealworms a week, leafys every day and veggies every day.
Calcium supplement: dusted bugs once a day
Vitamins: dusted bugs once a week.
Disclaimer: I am a bit distraught and probably going to overexplain and simultaneously underexplain.
Initial behavior/concern: Hiding all day after new 120 gallon tank upgrade at around 4 months of age. Like, not coming out at all from his hide at all. He was eating bugs when offered and going back to hiding. I was concerned he wasn't getting UVB, and he was no longer basking either.
I took him to the vet in May after a month of excessive hiding and decreasing appetite. He went from basking and perched up all day to hiding and dimishing appetite. He had blood work done, determined that he had fatty liver from overfeeding crickets and not enough veggies. Vet had me give him 1-2 Dubias a day, plus vegetables and leafy greens. He supplied two medications: Hepato Support Chicken, twice a day -- and Lactulose Suspension once a day for a week. I was unable to provide a stool sample at that time.
In early June, we took a vacation but he was acting the same all the way up to this point. However, when we got back from vacation he was perky and looked great?! Our house sitter must have worked magic, right? Except she followed the exact same things we did, minus handling him at all and it sounded like she wasn't even giving him UVB some days. After we were home for a few days, he went right back to the same old stuff.
Since then, I have tried literally everything from leaving everything in his tank as is and going up to a week without handling him at all, to buying a few things for his tank to help him reach his basking area better, have better hiding and handling him once or twice a day. I have continued to give him a healthy variety of veggies, leafy greens, and light fruits. Dubias and mealworms for his protein. I also gave up bathing him for a short time when I paused handling, but recently resumed a couple times a week because he is barely using the bathroom and eating now...
He seems to be getting worse now.
He is acting super sleepy in the day and hiding, and seemingly falling asleep. He basically won't eat any greens now either. He was eating some dried out greens yesterday and when I offered him fresh ones he just went into hiding. He will actually still lunge for bugs, and sometimes eats fruit. He poops MAYBE once a week for the last 2 weeks, and there isn't much there... I am trying to bathe him to hydrate him and stimulate him and I also let him bask in the natural sun in the window. Outside of getting him out of the tank for those two things, he just goes right back in and hides and sleeps again.
It's worth noting that he acts completely normal when he's up and about. His belly doesn't drag, he stands on all 4 legs. He is attentive and not sluggish. He does seem to freeze up and lock up from time to time, but these behaviors only follow handling or feeding. Any other time, and it's back to snoozefest 2023 and hiding.
I have an appointment in a couple weeks with a new vet to get a second opinion. I literally could go on with the amount of exhaustive effort I have put in trying to fix him and/or his tank to get him happy and healthy again. Ever since I upgraded his tank, his behavior drastically changed direction to what it is today. The only exception is the 3 days after we came back from vacation... (we were gone for 6 days.)
What do I do? Am I doing something wrong?
First time owner, driven mad by the sheer number of varied opinions on the internet. I have followed much of the advice I see here, particularly from a user called Sadie (which I am certain will likely see this post as well, at least I am hoping.)
Given that I have dozens and dozens of hours of research, I already know to start with husbandry. So...
Age: 7-8~ months.
Sex: Male.
Tank: Dubia Roaches 120 gallon tank
UVB: Arcadia T5 12% UVB sitting approximately 12 inches above basking area
Basking: Flukers 120w and 100w bulbs.
Ambient temps: 80~ cool side, 93~ hot side.
Basking temps: 100-105+
Substrate: non-adhesive black shelf liner.
Diet before vet: 20-30 crickets a day and transitioned to 20-40 dubias a day, plus leafy greens and vegetables.
Diet after vet: 1-2 Dubias a day, 1-2 mealworms a week, leafys every day and veggies every day.
Calcium supplement: dusted bugs once a day
Vitamins: dusted bugs once a week.
Disclaimer: I am a bit distraught and probably going to overexplain and simultaneously underexplain.
Initial behavior/concern: Hiding all day after new 120 gallon tank upgrade at around 4 months of age. Like, not coming out at all from his hide at all. He was eating bugs when offered and going back to hiding. I was concerned he wasn't getting UVB, and he was no longer basking either.
I took him to the vet in May after a month of excessive hiding and decreasing appetite. He went from basking and perched up all day to hiding and dimishing appetite. He had blood work done, determined that he had fatty liver from overfeeding crickets and not enough veggies. Vet had me give him 1-2 Dubias a day, plus vegetables and leafy greens. He supplied two medications: Hepato Support Chicken, twice a day -- and Lactulose Suspension once a day for a week. I was unable to provide a stool sample at that time.
In early June, we took a vacation but he was acting the same all the way up to this point. However, when we got back from vacation he was perky and looked great?! Our house sitter must have worked magic, right? Except she followed the exact same things we did, minus handling him at all and it sounded like she wasn't even giving him UVB some days. After we were home for a few days, he went right back to the same old stuff.
Since then, I have tried literally everything from leaving everything in his tank as is and going up to a week without handling him at all, to buying a few things for his tank to help him reach his basking area better, have better hiding and handling him once or twice a day. I have continued to give him a healthy variety of veggies, leafy greens, and light fruits. Dubias and mealworms for his protein. I also gave up bathing him for a short time when I paused handling, but recently resumed a couple times a week because he is barely using the bathroom and eating now...
He seems to be getting worse now.
He is acting super sleepy in the day and hiding, and seemingly falling asleep. He basically won't eat any greens now either. He was eating some dried out greens yesterday and when I offered him fresh ones he just went into hiding. He will actually still lunge for bugs, and sometimes eats fruit. He poops MAYBE once a week for the last 2 weeks, and there isn't much there... I am trying to bathe him to hydrate him and stimulate him and I also let him bask in the natural sun in the window. Outside of getting him out of the tank for those two things, he just goes right back in and hides and sleeps again.
It's worth noting that he acts completely normal when he's up and about. His belly doesn't drag, he stands on all 4 legs. He is attentive and not sluggish. He does seem to freeze up and lock up from time to time, but these behaviors only follow handling or feeding. Any other time, and it's back to snoozefest 2023 and hiding.
I have an appointment in a couple weeks with a new vet to get a second opinion. I literally could go on with the amount of exhaustive effort I have put in trying to fix him and/or his tank to get him happy and healthy again. Ever since I upgraded his tank, his behavior drastically changed direction to what it is today. The only exception is the 3 days after we came back from vacation... (we were gone for 6 days.)
What do I do? Am I doing something wrong?
