Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I got on this formum from someone in my tree frog forum hope you do not mind me posting.

My sister has a bearded dragon. it is three year old male. He is now very sluggish and she wanted to know if he was trying to hybernate. She got it from some one who got married and the new wife did not want it around, took up too much space. the Dragon also lost a mate at this time due to impacted eggs.
I do not know that much about them except what I have found on the net.
She does not have internet service right now so I am helping as much as I can. Ozzie(dragon) has also slowed way down in eating. He had been eating every day - lettuce (roman), other vegetables and fruit(not sure what) meal worm (not many~5), crickets~ 12 to 24 once a week She has feed two pinkies every other week.
He is in a 90 gallon aquarium, sand,tree,heat lamp, and water pond(large dish) She was told to do it this way. I questioned her about getting without knowing about it and she said she should not have but it was an emergancy and the guy who owned him told her how to take care of him so she thought she had enough information.
Thanks for the read and help if any one can.
Robyn

He very well be going in to brumation (beardie form of hibernating). It's that time of year. If she is concerned though, she could take a fecal sample to a vet to make sure there are no other problems.
Something I noticed..You said she feeds him Romaine lettuce? Collard, dandelion, mustard, kale are more nutritious. Lettuces are mostly water and of little value.
The other thing..
At that age, she should cut back on crickets/worms.
The diet should be 80% greens and 20% protein.
Pinkies aren't needed at all, they can be full of parasites and have quite a bit of fat.
Adult dragons that are fed more protein then what is needed are showing signs of fatty liver disease.
Ask her to cut back for her dragons health.
Good Luck..
Christy~
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TheClassyLizard

isnt once a week pretty low, even for an adult? i thought it was still a couple times a week?

also, did she mention whether she dusts with calcium and vitamins?
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.1.0 leopard gecko (sebastian and vilma),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.1 bearded dragon (kaipo, dulce, and kellen), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

To me, 12-24 crickets a week didn't seem like very much for an adult beardie.... how many should they get in a week? (average sized beardie) my guys just little still, so I havn't had to encounter this yet. I know the 80/20 ratio, but I cant gauge by that... lettuce/greens don't look like crickets!! very hard to tell the 20% when you can't gauge by amount really.

just wasn't paying attention.
Had 4 hrs sleep, sorry. I'm old..lol
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TheClassyLizard

There are many things that could be wrong, but I have a few ideas. I don't know what the temp is but you should have a basking spot that gets at least 115 deg. Make sure it is eating the proper food like collard greens and crix. No canned veggies, too high in sodium and preservatives, could also be too fattening Maybe it's sick of it's everyday food, so give it some variety like maybe mealies,pinkies,pellets or other suggested food items. It may have a disease, or some bactereal/viral problems. It could be sad that it's mate died. Shingle-back skinks have the same mate their whole life! Hope this helps and I hope it gets better.