Please help me, my bearded dragon doesnt eat!

Question
QUESTION: Hello!

I really hope you can help me, I am very desperate. I have a bearded dragon around 9 months old, male. I got him when he was 5 months old. He stopped eating 3 days ago and I don't know what to do! He started not eating 3 days ago when we had electricians in the house doing some work, but today they are gone and he still doesn't eat. He also seems overactive and much more eager to get out of the tank. He walks around in the tank and seems to try to see if there is a way out, that's what it looks like. Or maybe he is checking out his own reflection, thinking it's another beardie?! He is still basking a lot though. His color is like usual. He poops every day a little bit and it looks normal. I read a lot in the internet about how they stop eating when it gets colder and they brumate, but he is not hiding or sleeping in the day, he is still active and basking.

About his diet:
We started him off with crickets, but then changed to phoenix worms because we read they were better in nutritions and also have a lower chance of carrying parasites. We also gave him greens every day, collard greens, mustard greens, kale, dandelion greens a.s.o. 6 weeks ago he had very runny stool, so we took him to the vet and it turned out that he had pinworms, so we gave him reptaid once a week. It also turned out that we fed him too much (40 worms a day), so we gave him since then 30-40 worms every other day plus greens, and the other day we would feed him only greens. Sometimes he also gets veggies and fruit, like bell peppers, green beans, apple, winter squash and grapes (only occasionally). After 4 weeks he had no more runny stool at all and since then pooped normal. One more thing, since a few weeks we kept his phoenix worms in the fridge on advice of a friend of ours. Could that be a reason why he doesn't eat? Maybe the worms were already dead? They didn't move at all when we got them out of the fridge, but after 10 minutes they would start to move again, we didn't see every single one of them moving though.

So now to his temperature:
In the beginning we had one uvb light and one uva light (and a nightlight of course). His temperature was 85 degrees Fahrenheit in the basking spot. About a week or two ago we were told that this wasn't hot enough, so we got him another light (a basking spot light) and a heating pad, now the temperature is about 92 degrees Fahrenheit in the basking spot. We have all 3 lamps in one spot, so that the uvb and the uva light mixes up and he doesn't only get one light. They are touching the top of the terrarium, but our beardie can't touch the top, we have put the branch so that he is elevated but not too much (about half way up).

His environment:
We use this green floor thing as a "substrate", I'm sorry I don't know the word for it, my English is not perfect yet ^^ We also have a rock in his basking area and a branch above the rock and he always climbs on it to bask. We also have a water dish, he doesn't drink anything though, but we also mist him sometimes. We also have a plant in there, a dracenea. We made sure that plant was safe for him and he never eats it anyway.

What could it be? And how bad is it if he ate dead worms? Please help!

ANSWER: Hi, Angelina,

Well, I can offer a few theories.  First, at 9 months old, your bearded dragon should be fed the following way:
Offer greens with a bit of grated veggies, and the small amount of fruit (I recommend berries or cantaloupe, but apples and grapes aren't really the best--fruit is not an important part of their diet, anyhow, though).  You're using the right greens and veggies--doing very well.  He should get this salad every day.

Once every other day, offer him as many insects as he wants to eat.  Be sure crickets are calcium dusted, though it's not necessary to do that with phoenix worms.  Counting them is not necessary, just keep offering until he's full, and remove anything left over after 15 minutes.  Once he's 18 months old, you can cut back on the insects even further, to twice a week, so long as he's eating his salad well.  Always give as many as he can eat in one sitting, though.

Your temperatures are still too low.  His hot spot temperature should be at least 100F, and can go as high as 110F.  The minimum basking temperature is 95F.  At the same time, it's extremely important that the COOL side of the cage never exceeds 85F.  If the cool side is too warm, that may cause his agitation.  Be certain that you're using an indoor/outdoor style thermometer with a remote probe, and put the probe in the place where the dragon actually basks, so you know what temperature he's experiencing there.  Dragons need such high basking temperatures because reptiles use 'hind gut fermentation' to digest plant matter.  It's a high temperature process.

The cage carpet for substrate is fine.  Dead refrigerated worms aren't likely to cause any issues.  However, something else is:  Pinworms.

Reptaid is highly unlikely to actually kill them off.  If you check the site, here:  http://www.reptaid.com/reptaidingredients.htm , you will see that there's a little telltale disclaimer at the bottom:  'Not intended to treat, cure, or diagnose any disease'.  In other words, Reptaid is just an herbal supplement that has never been tested in clinical trials to prove its effects.  It's also not actually stated to help with worm infections, only protozoa like coccidia.  Like most over-the-counter home remedies, it's just not strong enough.  Instead, your vet should have prescribed a course of worming drugs.  

The drug of choice for killing pinworm in reptiles is called fenbendazole, and the brand name is generally Panacur.  The vet should also do another fecal exam afterward, to make sure that they are indeed all dead.  Pinworm can cause loss of appetite and diarrhea, though it won't necessarily cause either.  Parasites don't want to kill their host or make their host sick.  That generally only happens when the host's immune system becomes depressed, or the worms begin to build up in numbers.  In a cage environment, the dragon will be reinfected often with the pinworms he passes in his feces, and his parasite load will continue to rise.  His temperatures have been on the low side, so his immune system won't be operating at 100% either.  He needs a course of worming drugs to actually solve his problem, and you'll need to keep him in a disinfected cage on paper towel or newspaper, and disinfect EVERYTHING he's been in contact with.  Rigorous cleaning will be necessary during the treatment period, so he can't become reinfected.  I don't recommend ever returning that plant to his cage, either--it's probably contaminated with pinworm eggs.  Anything you can't thoroughly bleach should be discarded, including wood items.  (It may be possible to treat them by baking, but be careful, you don't want to start a fire).

As for his activity level and behavior, reptiles will always do their best to act normal when they aren't feeling well.  Abnormal behavior attracts the attention of predators, and rival dragons.  Showing any sign of weakness could be deadly, so reptiles won't show signs of illness until they are too sick to fake health any longer.  His loss of appetite is the first behavioral sign that he is getting sick.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello again!

I'm sorry I actually meant that we treated him with Panacur, I read about Reptaid yesterday and thought that was the stuff we gave him, but I asked the vet and she said it was Panacur. I got confused with the names.
I will drop off a stool sample at the vet though to see if the pinworms really are gone. I didn't put the plant back and I always disinfect the area where he poops and usually once a week I clean and disinfect the whole cage, but I will do so every day if he still has pinworms or other parasites.
I'll also check his temperature on the cool side of the cage now and see if I can fix that if it is too hot. What would you suggest me to do to rise his basking spot temperature? I have a 40 gallon breeder tank.
And thanks a lot by the way for answering so quick, it helped me already a lot!

ANSWER: One possible way to raise the basking temperature is to use a higher wattage heat lamp.  I like the new Mercury-Vapor UVB heat lamps, because their UVB output lasts for 3 years instead of the 6 months of a fluorescent UVB light, and they put out a lot of heat as well.  Remember, fluorescent UVB lights only penetrate maybe 6 to 8 inches, so they can't reach the cage bottom.  The basking area should be within the range for UVB penetration.  (The Mercury-Vapor lamps do a better job with this as well, and can send UVB up to 6 feet!  You should suspend them above the cage, though, as very close to the bulb, they emit a bit of UVC light, which is hazardous).

If you're using a heat pad for extra heat, also check the cage floor temperature over the heat pad--it could be too hot there, as well.  Heat pads need some sort of controlling device.  Heat pads are a bit of a risk for bearded dragons, because they use their 'third eye', a light receptor on top of their head, to help detect light and heat.  Their bellies aren't very sensitive to it, so they can sit on something hot until they burn themselves.  Make sure you have a rheostat or thermostat if you use a heat pad.  

Make sure he has a hide cave on the cool side, as security is also important to reduce stress in reptiles.  It strikes me that he may also be outgrowing his cage.  A 40 gallon cage may be suitable for a young bearded dragon, but your guy is growing up, and most recommend a 60 gallon sized tank as the minimum for an adult bearded dragon.  (Larger is always better, as they are active lizards).

You may want to start weighing him once a week, too, to keep track of his weight gain (or loss).  

Since you have raised his temperatures, he may be adjusting to the change, as well.  At this point, I would work on getting the cage environment adjusted, and see what the vet says about his health.  Keep offering food.  3 days is nothing for a reptile, but it's rare for a bearded dragon to stop eating for no reason--they are usually pretty voracious chowhounds.

Also, I was looking into it again more closely, and you were feeding the dragon correctly in the first place--insects should be offered, all he can eat, once per day.  That should continue until he is 12 months old.  I am not sure why you were told to reduce his food intake.

After age one, you switch to 2 days of salad, one of salad and insects, and so on.  Only once they reach full adulthood do they eat primarily vegetation, with some insects--as juveniles, they eat 70% insects, and 30% greens.

I've also found a reference to dragons going off feed and slowing down their eating between 6 and 9 months of age, due to hormonal changes perhaps.  (My female ball pythons fast over the winter when they're about 1200 to 1500 grams, so this may be a similar phenomenon).  If the vet says he is clear of parasites and healthy, the perhaps this is only a temporary slowdown in eating due to his entering adolescence.
Tracking his weight is the best choice--if he doesn't lose significant weight from his fasting, and continues to grow, he's probably fine.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello again!

As you can see I asked you about my bearded dragon a few days ago. That was when he didn't want to eat. Now I have another problem with him. He now eats again, but only a few worms a day, he doesn't want to touch his greens anymore. He eats now 10-15 worms a day and even when I offer him greens first, he wouldn't eat them.

Another thing I noticed is that since recently he tries to constantly climb the glass walls of his tank. He is walking by them constantly and then tries to climb like crazy. He used to do that before he got ready to poop, but now he is doing that all the time. He still basks in between though. Sometimes he also did that when he wanted to get out, at least that was what I thought, because when I took him out then, he would walk and climb around in the room and once in his cage he would sit in his basking spot calm again. But when I take him out now, he doesn't get calm. My husband noticed just now that he is starting to shed, but every time he shed before he never was that hyper or nor wanting to eat.

We were able to bring up the temperature in his tank to 85 degrees Fahrenheit on the cold side and 100 in the basking spot, and we put his cave on the cooler side and put another rock underneath the branch where he basks. We have a digital thermometer at his basking spot and on the cooler side we have the non-digital thermometer. And his stool sample came back negative from the vet, so we can rule out parasites.

Should I be worried? Is he just having a shed and behaves just more agonized then usual, or is he adjusting to the temperature? I would be so thankful if you could help me understand my dragon better and tell me if he is okay. You have been very helpful so far and I also wanted to thank you big time for that!

Thank you!

Answer
I think it's likely that he's adjusting to the temperature.  He was a low temperature for a long time, and perhaps he doesn't feel quite comfortable yet, so is looking for a way out.  Be sure to turn off the heat at night.  The fact that he's basking is a good sign that he's benefiting from the change.

The hyperactivity is just a sign that he's unhappy with his environment.  Since he needs the higher temperatures to stay healthy and digest food properly, he'll just have to get used to it.  Try providing more heavy climbing branches as well.  His activity level will be higher now that his temperatures are higher.

I would keep an eye on his weight--if he begins losing weight quickly, then take him to the vet, as that's a clear sign of a health problem.  

If he continues to refuse greens, try a few tricks to get him interested again--spray the greens with water before you offer them, and drop his worms into his salad so he has to fish them out, and may pick up some greens in the process.  He may just be hormonal, so I wouldn't be too terribly worried at this point.