bearded dragon question

[Rook]

my friends Beardie has been off food for the last few days and my friend is getting worried about it, Spike wont eat her crickets and she completely refuses to eat any veggies or fruits at all. Spike normally has a big appitite for her crickets and is very active, but all she is doing is sitting in the corner and not eating. its been about a week now and the temperature is fine, so its not too cold. is this normal? Spike is 6 months old.

[Lori P]

No advice, but good luck with Spike. I hope you and your friend can get to the bottom of what's wrong. Just because this is recent in my mind, you might have them get her checked for internal parasites...

[drache]

when was the last time Spike pooped?
perhaps a warm bath and some exercise?
also
sometimes younger dragons may go off food when they're shedding

[tikichick]

A fecal exam is always a good idea if it hasn't been done yet, especially since she's so young.

Is she getting the same number of hours of UVB as she was previous to this behavior?

She could be going into a brumation cycle. They do that in the winter. Mine didn't do that until she was a year old, though. It didn't matter that the temp was the same or the light was the same.

Since she's not eating greens, she should have a good 10 - 15 minute soak in warm (not hot and not too warm) water to help keep her hydrated. This may also get her to poop. It could be that she's constipated and doesn't want to eat for that reason.

Do you know what type of substrate she's on and if it could possibly be that she ingested some?

Also, taking her out for a some attention may wake her up enough to get her to eat. A lot of folks do that every couple weeks when their beardies are brumating.

[drache]

Is she getting the same number of hours of UVB as she was previous to this behavior?

also - the bulb may need to be changed

[KITKAT]

sounds like brumation.

Check her stools, the temps at which her viv is cycling day/night, and her overall health. If all checks come out normal, try a cooling period of 2 - 4 weeks.