Appetite Decreased

My 3 year old Bearded Dragon recently (over the past few weeks) has had no appetite AT ALL. I'm lucky if I can get him to eat 1-2 superworms and a slice or two of greens/fruits. Everything else is normal (pooing, activity, coloration, etc). I've offered him different veggies/fruits, and 3 different feeder options of supers, crickets, and phoenix worms. I want to order hornworms, butters, and silkworms, but I don't want to waste my money on them if he won't eat!

I really don't know what to do... He hasn't seemed to have lost any weight, but I don't have a scale to weigh him. However, his fatty areas still seem plump and healthy.

Anyone have any ideas?

Maybe wants to go in to early brumation.If he seems healthy+ not sluggish that could be it.Has he brumated in the past? You know,like hibernate[ not everyone knows what it means]

haha, yes, I know what Brumation is.

Anyway, no he hasn't brumated for me. I do not breed him so I've never induced it and he's never wanted to go into Brumation before. I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility, but if that's the case then I don't know what to do as I've never dealt with this before.

Well,he may look for a place to "flop",give him a hide log or if you aren't picky even an upside-down shoebox with one end cut out.He may just take a break from eating without brumating...but if he does go to sleep,he'll be fine.Put small amount of food every few days and decrease the wattage on the basking bulb.Since it's summer/fall you can turn it off completely and just watch for him to become active again.I've had them brumate for over 3 months with no problems.Keep in mind that he MAY just be a little tired of his diet...but if he wants to go into partial brumation he will.

It might be worth a fecal to check for parasites. Although if he had parasites he would probably be lethargic...

How about the UV bulb? What type is it and when was it last replaced?

The UV is a T-Rex Active UV mercury vapor bulb. 100w It's not near it's replace date yet. I keep his temps between 100-105F with occasional peaks up to 107F. His cool side is 80-85F.

Originally Posted by Crazy4Herps

Although if he had parasites he would probably be lethargic...

Not necessarily, depending on which parasite he may be carrying. Bearded dragons are notorious for carrying coccidia and pinworms and show very little and sometimes no symptoms. Most of the time when they actually DO start showing symptoms from parasites, you've got a heck of an infestation to deal with. I'd do the fecal exam as soon as you can.

I wouldn't shut off the basking bulb until you are sure that your dragon is in fact, brumating. I'm sure you know, but for everyone else reading, UV is super important when it comes to these guys.

Do you offer him a variety on a regular basis? You can try all kinds of stuff with him...not only fruits and veggies, you can try fish flakes, baby cereal...you can even use pinkies and hoppers

Temps / UVB sound great. I give, I'm stumped.

Originally Posted by JordanAng420

Not necessarily, depending on which parasite he may be carrying. Bearded dragons are notorious for carrying coccidia and pinworms and show very little and sometimes no symptoms. Most of the time when they actually DO start showing symptoms from parasites, you've got a heck of an infestation to deal with. I'd do the fecal exam as soon as you can.

Oh yes. When Budo (my beardie) came to me, he was absolutely loaded with both. Some mornings he wouldn't even move, poor guy. It took six months of vet care to get the last of the coccidia out. Not to mention he had MBD on top of all of this... anyways, I'm so glad that nightmare is over now.

After reading everything i think Angie is right.
If a dragon has parasites there a some ways you can check: i think it was mentioned but i will mention it again. a dragon that has parasites coccidia or pins. have runny really notice able stinky poo. it will also be a green color and not have any shape. another way. if your dragon is losing an appetite because of coccidia or pins, it's usually because there belly is half full or full of them, so pick up your dragon and feel his/her belly. is it a empty flat feeling, or is it a solid full round feeling??? also have you recently introduced another dragon into that dragons environment? dragons pick up parasites from walking laying in other infected poo. or when infected poo is eaten by insects, and the dragon eats the insect.

i have a male that started hiding under the paper a week ago and stopped eating 2 weeks ago. that was my sign to put him down. just remember if you go to brumate him feed lightly to nothing but make sure the animal stays hydrated and your good!

So it sounds like hes just ready to go down. but hey its 30 bucks for a fecal test, why risk it? but its that time a year again when all the dragons want to relax, eat less, sleep more. Feed them less and give them less light, take advantage of it. i save so much on my electric bill and insect bill this time of the year. i love it come on winter!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by dragonluver83

After reading everything i think Angie is right.
If a dragon has parasites there a some ways you can check: i think it was mentioned but i will mention it again. a dragon that has parasites coccidia or pins. have runny really notice able stinky poo. it will also be a green color and not have any shape. another way. if your dragon is losing an appetite because of coccidia or pins, it's usually because there belly is half full or full of them, so pick up your dragon and feel his/her belly. is it a empty flat feeling, or is it a solid full round feeling??? also have you recently introduced another dragon into that dragons environment? dragons pick up parasites from walking laying in other infected poo. or when infected poo is eaten by insects, and the dragon eats the insect.

Really, the only way to know if an animal (or human, for that matter) has parasites is to have a trained eye examine a fecal sample under a microscope.

They don't always have diarrhea and pungent smelling bowel movements. Like I said, I have seen MANY dragons with pins and coccidia show NO symptoms at all.

I could be wrong, and it could be something compleately different. We could all be way off base. That is why we shouldn't try to diagnose one another's animals over the internet.