Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, so as I mentioned earlier, we suspected Norbert to have parasites because of his lethargic behavior and unusual stool. We took a fecal sample to the vet, not once but TWICE, and both times it came back negative for any kind of parasite oocyst or anything. Norbert is still acting funny - he's extremely inactive, keeping his eyes closed for most of the day and huddling up in a corner of his cage. I thought it may have been something to do with the substrate (harboring parasites, bacteria) so I changed it to reptile carpet because it's easier to clean. Norbert doesn't eat as much as he used to (now just about 6 crix a day) and he doesn't chase any crix anymore - he'll only eat the ones I put right in front of his face. Every bit of veggie I have put in his cage has perished as he won't even consider the green stuff. I mist him often and I can see him drink. I keep his basking spot at about 105, and a uva-uvb flourescent bulb off to the middle of the cage to give him the uv rays he needs.

Anything else cause this kind of behavior? Could it be related to brumation? Since the season is changing and it's getting darker outside....I was just wondering if Norbert could sense that and go dormant for a while. His cage is in a corner but there's a big patio sliding glass door on the opposite end of the room from his cage, so he can easily see outside and sense when the sun is out and when it's not......do BD's respond to that kind of thing? HHHMMMMMMM! oh yeah, I'm in Illinois by the way.....and it's gettin' chilly up here!

Anyone have a guess???? I sure don't!

how old is he?

first, i would get your basking temps up to around 110 and be sure his cool side is warm enough also, no cooler then 80 no warmer then 85, make sure his enclosure is very BRIGHT, you can add an additional regular florecent tube for this. making sure he has the proper temps and keeping things good and bright are key for keeping a good appetite for these guys. i would also stop misting him in his enclosure, for now, could the humitidity be getting a bit high? i know those carpets really take in the moisture, try using a dropper and dropping water on his snout to drink. also i would try some acidophiliz and parazap for him, even with no parasites i have used these two in combination to get a picky dragon eating well. i think you really need to figure the cause of his sluggish behaviour, have you had a vet examine him? there could be other health issues aside from parasites and a good herp vet might be able to diagnose any other problems that may be present.

well let us know your complete set up, and your dragons stats, age, size etc and perhaps we can come up with some more suggestions. you may want to cover the front of his cage also so he cannot see outside.

>>Okay, so as I mentioned earlier, we suspected Norbert to have parasites because of his lethargic behavior and unusual stool. We took a fecal sample to the vet, not once but TWICE, and both times it came back negative for any kind of parasite oocyst or anything. Norbert is still acting funny - he's extremely inactive, keeping his eyes closed for most of the day and huddling up in a corner of his cage. I thought it may have been something to do with the substrate (harboring parasites, bacteria) so I changed it to reptile carpet because it's easier to clean. Norbert doesn't eat as much as he used to (now just about 6 crix a day) and he doesn't chase any crix anymore - he'll only eat the ones I put right in front of his face. Every bit of veggie I have put in his cage has perished as he won't even consider the green stuff. I mist him often and I can see him drink. I keep his basking spot at about 105, and a uva-uvb flourescent bulb off to the middle of the cage to give him the uv rays he needs.
>>
>>Anything else cause this kind of behavior? Could it be related to brumation? Since the season is changing and it's getting darker outside....I was just wondering if Norbert could sense that and go dormant for a while. His cage is in a corner but there's a big patio sliding glass door on the opposite end of the room from his cage, so he can easily see outside and sense when the sun is out and when it's not......do BD's respond to that kind of thing? HHHMMMMMMM! oh yeah, I'm in Illinois by the way.....and it's gettin' chilly up here!
>>
>>Anyone have a guess???? I sure don't!
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reiko
photos

Norbert is about 4 mo. old, and I keep him in an aquarium with a 60-w heat lamp at one end and a 15-w flourescent uva-b light in the center. I have a heat pad under the tank to keep it warm at night. Everything's on a timer so it's all routine (and I forget a lot, lol).

Would acidophiliz and parazap restore the appetite lost in BD's?? How about activity? Where would I be able to get those two medications?

Norbert really hasn't grown since I bought him. I measured him the day I got him and he was 5.1 cm SVL on 9/21. Just a few days ago (10/10), he was 5.5 cm SVL. I thought these BD's grew fast????? I know something's wrong, but what is it?

Hi
only if youre roomtemps drop at night below the 55 i would use a heatpad.
i also think you need more spot light you mentioned a 60watt
how big is the cage?
110 under the baskingspot is needed for a good and fast grow.
and the under tank heater ON can some times stress a beardie to .
they only recomended when roomtemp is below the 55.
i think you need a 75 watt spot.
beardie grow faster if the baskingspot is higher !!!!
then the food wil be digesting very fast they wil poop very fast and eat and hunt again very fast !
beardie under 1 year is not recomend to brumated.
maybne more light and heat can get him out brumation and help him digest better his food.
byeeeee

turn the heat pad off, let your dragon cool at night, how cold does your house get? double check your temps and add another light for brightness, it can only help and will do no harm. how long are your daytime lights on? what substrate is he on? when was the last time he went to the bathroom?

parazap and acidophiliz can help restore appetite, one has a natural appetite stimulant and the other is a digestive tract conditioner/good bacteria, you can get parazap from www.parazap.com and also www.beardiecrazy.com/page6.html, you can get acidophiliz from your local petsmart.

i would have him examined by your vet, he should be growing quickly at this time as most babies do. we can take guesses and give advice here but only a good herp vet will be able to examine him or run tests and find out what might be causing this.

>>Norbert is about 4 mo. old, and I keep him in an aquarium with a 60-w heat lamp at one end and a 15-w flourescent uva-b light in the center. I have a heat pad under the tank to keep it warm at night. Everything's on a timer so it's all routine (and I forget a lot, lol).
>>
>>Would acidophiliz and parazap restore the appetite lost in BD's?? How about activity? Where would I be able to get those two medications?
>>
>>Norbert really hasn't grown since I bought him. I measured him the day I got him and he was 5.1 cm SVL on 9/21. Just a few days ago (10/10), he was 5.5 cm SVL. I thought these BD's grew fast????? I know something's wrong, but what is it?
-----
reiko
photos

Hi
i dunno how old he is?
it sounds like brumation .
byeeeeeee

I am in Illinois also and I wanted to share my experience with one of my beardies that happened to me. I am not saying that your vet is not reputable but let me just tell you the story. I have one of three beardies that was very, very ill. He was not eating, not moving, not going to the bathroom and I had taken him to a "reputable" vet in the Champaign area THREE times and was told that nothing was wrong with him. They sent me home force feeding him some kind of cat food to "bulk" him up. Finally when nothing changed and at a year and a half old he weighed less than 1 ounce I took him to the University of Illinois clinic to a fantastic vet that took ONE fecal sample and found 4 different parasites in my little guys limp body. He has now fully recovered and fatter than ever. You would never know the terrible path he has been down but I just wanted to let you know that you may consider a second opinion. We only have two herp vets in this town but the U of I has been a fabulous experience and all my beardies, if necessary, go there. Hope things work well for you.