Lazy Bearded Dragon

[DragonToothless]

In december 2019 i got my first bearded dragon and he was very active, he used to do this thing id call a 'mad hour' where he would sprint around his vivarium. i know as bearded dragons get older they get lethargic, but my bearded dragon seems to be overly lethargic, he recently came out of brumation and started eating his usual diet of locusts and greens with the occasional waxworm/morioworms, but he would never hunt for them himself. i would usually feed him the worms using feeding tongs but if i tried to get him to essentially work for it, he looses interest, he would hardly turn around to eat it. I'm sure this has something to do with me essentially pampering him as he grew up but im not sure how to get him out of this habit without starving him. I got him a specially made tank for an adult bearded dragon so im sure it has nothing to do with lack of space.
Something else i should add is the temperature is set to the right temperature, and has a cool, and basking area on a log.

 

[doki_doki_dragon]

How long has he been overly lethargic?
Do you ever take him out of the tank to run around?
I let my beardie run around quite often. He always tires himself out and takes a nap.
Lately, everyday I've been opening my blinds for him to sit in the sun on my bed and he loves it.

Maybe try putting your dragon in a smaller container, and put some bugs in it
Maybe if they are closer to him, he doesn't have to do as much work and will eat them by himself.


My dragon used to be very underweight so I understand the stress about them eating.
I always always have greens in his tank and he gets up and eats them whenever he wants.
Do you have greens in his tank?
Does he get up and eat them?


One thing I would try is putting some dubias or crickets in his salad
That way he would eat the salad and realize there's live bugs


I pamper my beardie too, but he still gets up and chases crickets if he's hungry enough.


Another problem could be lack of calcium.
If they don't have enough calcium they can become sleepy and unmotivated
If this might be the case, respond to this post and I'll give you tips on how to help with that

 

[DragonToothless]

How long has he been overly lethargic?
Do you ever take him out of the tank to run around?
I let my beardie run around quite often. He always tires himself out and takes a nap.
Lately, everyday I've been opening my blinds for him to sit in the sun on my bed and he loves it.

Maybe try putting your dragon in a smaller container, and put some bugs in it
Maybe if they are closer to him, he doesn't have to do as much work and will eat them by himself.


My dragon used to be very underweight so I understand the stress about them eating.
I always always have greens in his tank and he gets up and eats them whenever he wants.
Do you have greens in his tank?
Does he get up and eat them?


One thing I would try is putting some dubias or crickets in his salad
That way he would eat the salad and realize there's live bugs


I pamper my beardie too, but he still gets up and chases crickets if he's hungry enough.


Another problem could be lack of calcium.
If they don't have enough calcium they can become sleepy and unmotivated
If this might be the case, respond to this post and I'll give you tips on how to help with that

Thank you for the reply. He has been like this for a little while, maybe around September time? and i took him to a nearby reptile shop as the sudden laziness confused me, and they said he was just preparing for brumation, so i just let him be and offered him food as they suggested. He does come out the tank a lot and he sits on the sofa with me etc, during summer id take him outside on a blanket and sit with him. He used to run around before September occasionally, but when i take him out he always just sits in one spot or finds a dark corner to sleep. Im sure its nothing to do with this day might schedule as we turn off the light at 6:30pm and turn it on at 9am. He eats his greens if i was to hold it for him but other than that if i was to leave it in the tank in a bowl it'll just be left. The bug in the salad idea i will try to attempt. I did try the feeding container trick, which didn't work, and i tried feeding him outside the tank by leaving a worm on the floor, and he just turns a blind eye to it, but if i was to hold it in front of him he suddenly becomes interested.

How long has he been overly lethargic?
Do you ever take him out of the tank to run around?
I let my beardie run around quite often. He always tires himself out and takes a nap.
Lately, everyday I've been opening my blinds for him to sit in the sun on my bed and he loves it.

Maybe try putting your dragon in a smaller container, and put some bugs in it
Maybe if they are closer to him, he doesn't have to do as much work and will eat them by himself.


My dragon used to be very underweight so I understand the stress about them eating.
I always always have greens in his tank and he gets up and eats them whenever he wants.
Do you have greens in his tank?
Does he get up and eat them?


One thing I would try is putting some dubias or crickets in his salad
That way he would eat the salad and realize there's live bugs


I pamper my beardie too, but he still gets up and chases crickets if he's hungry enough.


Another problem could be lack of calcium.
If they don't have enough calcium they can become sleepy and unmotivated
If this might be the case, respond to this post and I'll give you tips on how to help with that

 

[DragonToothless]

Thank you for the reply. He has been like this for a little while, maybe around September time? and i took him to a nearby reptile shop as the sudden laziness confused me, and they said he was just preparing for brumation, so i just let him be and offered him food as they suggested. He does come out the tank a lot and he sits on the sofa with me etc, during summer id take him outside on a blanket and sit with him. He used to run around before September occasionally, but when i take him out he always just sits in one spot or finds a dark corner to sleep. Im sure its nothing to do with this day might schedule as we turn off the light at 6:30pm and turn it on at 9am. He eats his greens if i was to hold it for him but other than that if i was to leave it in the tank in a bowl it'll just be left. The bug in the salad idea i will try to attempt. I did try the feeding container trick, which didn't work, and i tried feeding him outside the tank by leaving a worm on the floor, and he just turns a blind eye to it, but if i was to hold it in front of him he suddenly becomes interested.

On the calcium situation, i feed him calcium every other day over the live food and salad

 

[Sadie]

Your uvb and basking temps control the overall health and behavior-- what are you using for a UVB? No coils please basking temps need to be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer