Reptile & Amphibian Forums

it's one of those 33W GE Flueroescent lights...I thought my cage might be a little dim even with my Powersun and 36" regular flueroescent so I thought maybe this would increase POGO's appetite!...Anyone else agree or am I just infactuated with lights?????

its soundsl ike you got plenty unless its a super big cage. but whatever makes you happy
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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)

i have "somewhat" followed your plight of a poor appetite in your dragon.
I too got a dragon from a great breeder. Beautiful little boy it is, too.
He also didn't have much of an appetite. He would eat, just not with much gusto....and just not very much.
Well, my instinct told me that he might very well have a high coccidia count, and i took him to the Vet.
I was right, very high coccidia count, only 2 weeks after i received him. The stress of shipping and a new home must have set the infestation off.
Thankfully there was absolutely nothing else in his fecal, only the coccidia.
He just finished treatment with albon, and i'm giving him probiotics for another 3 days.
His appetite has gotten much better, although he is now spoiled and prefers his food "handfed".
LOL.
He has now finally gained quite some weight, and is catching up to what is considered a good size/weight for his age.
I know beardies take a while to get used to a new home, and might not have an appetite because of that.
However in your case i would make a Vet appointment asap, if nothing else, for your piece of mind.
After my experience i suspect, your dragon might have a parasite problem.
The sooner it gets detected/taken care of, the better.
Just IMHO.
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reps-r-us

It happens so often with babies, coccidia is believed to occur natural in bearded dragons and not a problem in minimal amounts, but babies can stress really easily, even with the best of husbandry care and this allows the coccidia to flourish, overwhelming them sometimes and affecting their eating and general health.

Joel has an interesting theory that crickets may be the source of it and when shipped or changing enviroments it happens when they are stressed and by feeding pellets only prior to their permanent home avoids that. We have a wonderful girl from him and she has been here 2 months and is parasite free, so he might be right there and this may be one way to avoid the outbreaks of them that occur in young dragons when changing homes.

it does to a dragon and how...and what is the prescribed method of treatment if one does have that...Also Yes I will make a appt for the vet. Problem is with my work schedule I can only do it weekend times and vets around here are either open till only noon or not open at all. I know for a fact where I live there are no herpvets, so is there any links that tell where the closes one is? I know there are some about 45 minutes to 1 hour away in either directions but I don't know the exact location.....Seems to me a ride like that would stress POGO out even more than he is now....

Coccidia is a parasite that happens ALOT in beardies. When stressed, the coccidia levels skyrocket. You don't neccessarily need a full appointment for a physical. Just bring in a fecal. For ~$20 they'll look at it... Any vet should be able to do that, and if they're suspicious they can call a herp vet about medication.
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0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Zeo)
0.2.0 Leopard Geckos (Unnamed, being sent right now from a reptile rescue)
1.0.0 Golden Retriever, Rocky, 10 years young