1 Year old BD - Fussy or something else..............................

[RONDABEARDY2020]

Good Afternoon,
We have a 1 year old BD called Ronda. Who has never been a massive eater.
We have had her checked over a few times by the seller and he confirms she is a good weight and looks healthy.
However she goes through periods of not wanting any food live or veg, and then subsequently not passing any waste.

The latest episode of this has now lasted about a week.

We replaced the strip light in the vivarium a week ago, after discussing this with the seller. And it does not seem to have worked.

She seems very lethargic and lacking energy, and spends most the day with her head up against the wall.

Please see pictures attached, which shows setup/temperatures at each end of enclosure and Ronda herself. She does seem a little bloated around the belly.

We mostly try her with - Moria Worms / Locusts / Wax Worms and she is not interested in any veggies at all.

Welcome any guidance here as to whether the vivarium is not correctly laid out or heated. Or dietary suggestions to reset her eating pattern.

Thank you, Ian Mitchell.

 

[HoomanSlave]

What brand is the UVB bulb? I can't quite tell from the picture. Do you have it in a reflector fixture?
Check if she is gravid, you should be able to see/feel the eggs if she is.
Does she get regular supplements? Which brands?

 

[RONDABEARDY2020]

HoomanSlave, thank you for your message.
Please see attached pictures showing the brand of bulbs used.
Also the supplement calcium used also.

I will feel for eggs in a moment, would that stop her from eating?

Thank you.

 

[HoomanSlave]

Sometimes they'll go off food for a bit when gravid, that may not be the whole problem though. Your lighting setup looks good.
Do you notice any patterns (i.e, only lethargic at certain times of year)?

 

[RONDABEARDY2020]

Sometimes they'll go off food for a bit when gravid, that may not be the whole problem though. Your lighting setup looks good.
Do you notice any patterns (i.e, only lethargic at certain times of year)?

I have had a feel around her belly but could not find anything that felt like eggs.

She does have spells where she appears to get bored of a certain food/bug type and then is happy with something different.
This time she does not seem interested in days.
We have tried a few times to skip a day, in the hope she would wake up hungry.

We made changes to the vivarium, in the summer getting rid of woodchip substrate and adding the reflector to the UV light. That seemed to help things for a few months.

This is our first winter with her as she was born October 2019, so last year was very new to it and had nothing to compare it against.

Should she now be showing more interest in vegetables?

Thanks again for your help.

 

[RONDABEARDY2020]

Good Morning All, Things have not greatly improved.
She has not not eaten properly for about 8 days. We took her to the vet last week who gave her a good bill of health, we have been give a electrolyte powder and told to bath her twice a day with the powder in.
There has been no change in mood or apetite since then.
She did seem to say it could just be a bit down in the dumps and depressed, due to the season and weather?? Is that common?

We have been told if no improvement in a week that she may need to do blood tests.

Just wondered if anyone else had been through this sort of seasonal change? And anything else I could be doing to make her life better?

Thank you.

 

[Knight98]

Good Morning All, Things have not greatly improved.
She has not not eaten properly for about 8 days. We took her to the vet last week who gave her a good bill of health, we have been give a electrolyte powder and told to bath her twice a day with the powder in.
There has been no change in mood or apetite since then.
She did seem to say it could just be a bit down in the dumps and depressed, due to the season and weather?? Is that common?

We have been told if no improvement in a week that she may need to do blood tests.

Just wondered if anyone else had been through this sort of seasonal change? And anything else I could be doing to make her life better?

Thank you.

This could be correct, it’s cold here in the uk and beardies tend to slow down abit under this circumstance

 

[Sadie]

Make sure the Arcadia is in a reflective fixture approx 6-8 inches directly above the basking decor piece - the T 8 needs to be changed out every 6 months - I dont know the brand of the Euro bulb but your best bulbs on the market now are the Reptisuns and the Arcadias --- next make sure your basking bulb is a bright white bulb from the pic it looks off white like a yellowish color --- you want temps 95-110 F for her -- those two things I mentioned are the most important things in the tank - if all this is correct then it could be her w/ the weather - most do not eat alot in the winter time they do slow down -- Is she digging at all ? Like Hooman asked is she possibly gravid and you said you couldnt feel any eggs correct? Is she losing weight? Get a weight on her w/ a kitchen food scale and weigh in grams---