loss of appetite

[maryanne]

Hello! I have an adult bearded dragon male named Chico. he has been doing great in the almost year I have had him but I have noticed he is not eatin as usual the last four days and its freaking me out! he usually likes the super worms and kale and carrots but isnt eating them. he hadnt been using a heat bulb in a while cause the weather was warmed and i didnt think he needed one but it has been chilly lately so i bought him one today in hopes once he warms up, his appetite may come back. this is my first time having a dragon and im not sure what to do . but its very stressful. i feel bad. he appears to be somewhat active when he is out of the tank.

can anyone help me w suggestions? otherwise he looks fine. sometimes he is darker in color which i read could be from stress

thank you!

 

[Mom of blazey]

No matter what the weather they should always have a basking bulb and a uvb this is 1 of the most important things your beardie needs I, too, have a room that gets on the warmer side, what I've done is get a room cooler which put their room at a comfy 87F, . Is your beardie near a window that gets sun? If so move him, they can't get their uvb from a sunny window. If you can't cool the room try a low watt basking bulb 25 watt. Basking side should be 95-103F, for adults. Try giving him collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, carrots are not good all the time, same with kale. He needs the uva from the basking bulb to help digest certain vitamins, like I said their proper lighting is paramount. Hope this helps

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[maryanne]

hi, i didnt realize the proper lighting helps all the time. good to know. i bought him a 100 watt bulb for now and he is near window but i dont always have it open. there are times when its nice out he has sat in the windows and it seems he enjoys the air and climbs up the screens. w summer approaching, cause we live in a small house, he is currently in a 40 gallon, but i will have to move his tank from the air condition cause i dont want him to get too cold. would he be ok w the air on and still the 100 watt or he should go to a cooler room w a smaller watt bulb? and ok on the diff veggies. good to know!

 

[Mom of blazey]

Did u get a basking bulb? A regular light bulb will not help to digest and will hurt him in the long run. A uvb is sooo important, might be pricey but it only gets changed 2X a yr
Does he run loose in the room?

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[Mom of blazey]

You'll have to check the temperature of both sides of his tank, that way you won't be guessing his temps

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[Mom of blazey]

A suggestion Invest in a temperature gun, keep us posted plz, good luck☺

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[maryanne]

it just says 100 watt basking bulb. its for reptiles. the girl at the pet store said it was ok. doesnt say UVB. and yes he runs loose in the room a bit. but not super long . and ill check out the temp gun. thanks!

 

[maryanne]

so what is the right temp his tank should say w the bulb i stated?

 

[Mom of blazey]

You've got the right bulb, plz asap get him a uvb bulb. His temp should be 95-103F, cool side 81-85F

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[Mom of blazey]

He can't live properly and digest properly without a uvb. Love to see some pics of your guy

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[maryanne]

ok thanks for helping me... so when do i use the UVB and what watt? and i have so many fun pics of him! where can i post them so u can see? his name is Chico!! lol

 

[maryanne]

i guess im still kind of new at this even tho ive had him a while. he is technically my son's but of course i take care of him more. today was a crazy pet day between the cats and him lol is your beardie young or older?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Hello! I have an adult bearded dragon male named Chico. he has been doing great in the almost year I have had him but I have noticed he is not eatin as usual the last four days and its freaking me out! he usually likes the super worms and kale and carrots but isnt eating them. he hadnt been using a heat bulb in a while cause the weather was warmed and i didnt think he needed one but it has been chilly lately so i bought him one today in hopes once he warms up, his appetite may come back. this is my first time having a dragon and im not sure what to do . but its very stressful. i feel bad. he appears to be somewhat active when he is out of the tank.

can anyone help me w suggestions? otherwise he looks fine. sometimes he is darker in color which i read could be from stress

thank you!

Welcome to the forum!! Right below several of our comments you will find links, in those links we have put together all information you would need for general care... it includes food links, lighting links/info and much more.. I would start with getting the basking bulb (which I saw you got) and a tube style UVB most of us have Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 You want the UVB to cover 2/3rd of the tank and slightly overlap with the basking bulb.. They have to have the heat and the UVB to properly digest food and to process the vitamins and covert them for what they need.. Improper lighting will cause decreased appetite, dragons that throw their food back up and pieces of food in their poop..
you said that he is darker in color is that when he is in the sun or just normally? Likely he is darker because he is trying to absorb everybit of warmth..(dark colors attract more heat)..

Like I said check these links below this statement it will help a ton!! (if your using taptalk you won't see these links so let me know)

 

[maryanne]

ok thanks i will def check the links out! he seems i think to be darker in color when in the tank but at times when out too but it doesnt seem to last for long. then he goes back to the citrus color he is

 

[Hdrydr31]

ok thanks i will def check the links out! he seems i think to be darker in color when in the tank but at times when out too but it doesnt seem to last for long. then he goes back to the citrus color he is

They can also turn darker in color when they are exploring something or something has their interest.. When my male is out and excited he turns darker and his tail gets black tipped.. then all of a sudden goes back to tan.. but when in the sun he gets really dark taking it all in...

 

[maryanne]

omg thats way cool and good to know! i always thought it meant something bad lol ... i like when he is lighter much better lol

 

[maryanne]

so where can i post pics of Chico for you to see?

 

[Mom of blazey]

I'm pretty sure all of us have posted something in the sub forum: introduce your dragon.

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[Hdrydr31]

so where can i post pics of Chico for you to see?

Yep in the Introductions section there is a sub folder labeled photos and videos

 

[maryanne]

cool, thanks i will! lol