Beardie experts out there?

[Julia]

Hi there,

Any Bearded Dragon experts out there?

I have a rescue beardie that i got in August 2009. He is a full grown male, i am uncertain about his age. Recently he has been restless and eating very very little. He did not brumate this winter, and he was checked by a vet last month. He was given a clean bill of health.

The weather has become sunny and fairly warm, making it feel a lot like spring. He spends hours "dancing" at the front glass of his cage and literally leaps out when the cage doors are opened. Is this normal?

[Kurt]

Sounds to me me like someone is looking for love.

[Julia]

Sounds to me me like someone is looking for love.

Hahah! Thats what I was thinking. My frogs have been going crazy lately too, croaking non stop...

[mark a d]

hiya hows the humidity in the viv its got to be low for bds that can affect there appitite alot and whats its baskin temp right under heat source, and with coming upto glass he might want to go for a run around the room so if you let him out remove or valueables and things that are easy breakable they can climb like a whirling tirmish but leave door to viv open if he wants to go back in but never force him out let it happen in his time, if you can get back with temps can help, one more thing what type of diet you got him on.

[Julia]

His main staple is gut loading calcium covered crickets. On occasion i give him some meal worms or super worms. He always has fresh salad with a variety of veggies including Kale (but not too often) Romaine, Carrot, Squash...etc. But he never seems to eat it. I catch him eating a mouthful maybe once a month. Because of this I give him daily baths to prevent dehydration. Sometimes he drinks his bath water.

Temps under the basking area are 110, cool end is low 80s. I placed a hydrometer in the cage and am waiting to get a reading. It feels very dry so i don't think it will be a problem.

I do try to let him out when I can, but when I go to work he has to go in. I swear this past week he has been out of his cage more often then in! I would leave the cage door open all the time and let him run around the reptile room, but he is on the top shelf. He has jumped out before, which makes me nervous because its pretty high up, and he has no way to get back in.

I also think its pretty important to mention that I have a second beardie, who is looking more and more like a male every day. He lives on the shelf below. They do not get along and will fight through the glass of their enclosures if given the chance.

[mark a d]

well im stumped lol everything sounds to be right. normally the temps but they seem spot on. most likely hormones if the other is male they are very very territorial even more so when they know there is another male in its patch, will speak to my mate who breeds bds he might have a few ideas.

[Julia]

Haha, yeah, I've been researching and trying to find the problem but I cant seem to figure it out. My other Beardie is acting totally normal, and the biggest difference between the two is age. The younger one is only 6 or 7 months old. It must be Spring...

Any advice your friend might have would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.

[mikeald]

Hey I keep breadies too. Some of my older ones will slow down their eating to a level that makes me worry every winter while my younger ones will eat 24/7/365. This can seem like it lasts forever but when the days start getting longer their desire to eat returns. You can try feeding them jukefood like iceberg lettuce. If they eat that put some vitamin powder one one end. When this works I feel better until they return to their normal selves. But as long as they are eating a little I wouldn't panic yet. Not all beardies do this but some just do. Good luck.

[Julia]

Thanks for the reassurance. I picked up some "super worms" last weekend (something he has never had.) And he really likes them! After a few days of refusing crickets i will give him 3 or 4 worms. He isn't a salad eater but i will dust his veggies with some calcium just in cause he changes his mind. Thanks for the tips.

[Kurt]

I wouldn't feed iceburg to people, never mind an animal. Its worthless.

[mikeald]

A few months ago I took in a young beardie from some people who didn't want it because it kept biting them. He wouldn't take veggies either, and when a shipment of crickets would come in he would go nuts because he would only get a few. After awhile he got tired of being hungry and started eating his veggies. They can be spoiled if you are not careful. He now attacks his veggies and I can hide a little (very little) commerical food with the veggies and he eats it all.

[Julia]

My Beardie went two weeks with his little hunger strike, he refused to eat his crickets, and i refused to give him meal worms(his favorite.) During this time i offered him fresh veggies and he never ate them. In the past i tried mixing in mealworms with his veggies. He managed to pick out each worm with his tongue leaving the veggies behind. I think part of his problem is that when he was a baby he was not fed veggies. When he literally showed up on my door step, he was a full grown skinny dragon living in a 10 gallon tank. His tail is kinked from what the vet told me is lack of calcium as a baby. My other Bearded dragon that I got at 4 months of age, LOVES his veggies.

With that said, "Larry" is still very active BUT he did eat two crickets yesterday which makes me feel much better. I still think his strange behavior is just a Spring time thing...