My bearded dragon is very fatigued, not eating, and seems to…

There are a number of reasons why your bearded dragon may not be eating a normal amount of food and might be more tired than normal. Some of them are transient and may be normal while others are more concerning and warrant a veterinary evaluation.

Bearded dragons may not eat normally due to emotional or physiological stress. Changes in environment such a new tank or changes in décor, or changes in lighting, temperature or diet might trigger temporary disinterest in food.

Dragons kept with other dragons may be bullied by a more dominant individual. The stress or physical intimidation may prevent a more submissive dragon from eating. Close observation of interaction between dragons is important and this may require separate feeding bowls, tank partitions or even separate housing.

Improper lighting (too little visible light or UVB light) or temperature can negatively impact appetite since dragons are visual eaters. As cold-blooded animals, bearded dragons require sufficient temperatures for proper digestion.

Before and after shedding, appetite may be down. Shedding is energy intensive and potentially itchy and uncomfortable so while they will commonly not eat during the shedding process, their appetites may be depressed just before and after shedding as well.

Appetite will also slow down in bearded dragons as their growth rate slows down, such as a transition from baby to juvenile or juvenile to adult.

Some abnormal causes for appetite depression and lethargy include inappropriate environmental temperatures (usually too low), dehydration, mouth rot (infectious stomatitis), trauma, sickness (viral (Adenovirus/Atadenovirus), bacterial, respiratory infection, parasitic (coccidia, pinworms), nutritional (metabolic bone disease)), indigestion or maldigestion, and gastrointestinal impaction.

The bottom line is that if your bearded dragon is otherwise acting and looking normally and the appetite depression is temporary then it may be normal. (Though it sounds like the signs you are describing with Otis are somewhat severe so these are more likely environmental or medical in nature.) However, if the bearded dragon is young, or is displaying any other signs of illness such as weakness, lethargy, weight loss, sunken eyes, skin discoloration, abnormal defecation or urination or the depressed appetite persists more than a few days, a visit to a local veterinarian with experience in reptile medicine is warranted.

To find a local veterinarian with reptile experience, here is a useful website you can use to search for a local reptile veterinarian:

https://arav.site-ym.com/search/

(please note this site may not work on older browsers like Safari)

These veterinarians are active members of the Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians, which means they have interest and experience in treating reptile patients.

It’s especially important with a sick bearded dragon to make sure that their tank is clean, food is fresh and prepared hygienically and that the temperature is appropriate and that your UV-B bulb is in proper working condition. Here are some additional recommendations of how you can support your bearded dragon while they are under the weather or awaiting veterinary care:

-Healing and normal metabolism are linked to proper environmental temperature. Provide a daytime temperature range with a cool side at 77-80F (25-27C), a warm side at 85-90F (30-32C) and a very warm, focal basking area of 95-105F (35-41C) for adults and juveniles and a slightly warmer basking spot 95-110F (35-44C) for babies such as Em. A nighttime temperature range of 70-75F (21.5-24C) should be provided. 30-40% humidity is recommended.

-Keep them warm. If your bearded dragon is not moving around much on their own, or are unable to move around at all, place them in a location in their enclosure where the temperature is warm but not super hot: 85-90F (30-32C). This will ensure proper metabolism but they won't overheat or chill at this temperature range. Do not put them on a hot rock or under the basking light hot spot if they cannot move off by themself, as they might get overheated or burned.

-To prevent or treat dehydration, especially when/if they are not eating, you can give your bearded dragon a soak in a shallow dish of warm water (85-90F or 30-32C) for 15-30 minutes once or twice a day. The water should only be shoulder depth and please monitor them while in the bath so their head doesn't submerge.

If they may be having some GI issues, you can help promote GI motility and defecation with gentle tummy massage during the warm water soak. Be gentle and stroke the tummy from front to back a few times every 5-10 minutes during the warm water soak.

Dry them off after the bath so they don't cool off too much from evaporation.

-Limit handling. If they are ill or injured limit handling and limit time out of the enclosure. If you must lift or remove them from their tank, go slowly and support their weight from underneath with your palm.

-Make sure you always wash your hands with soap and warm water after handling your bearded dragon or any cage furniture.

-Make sure the enclosure is clean as built up waste, dust and other irritants can predispose your animal to infection. Cleaning the enclosure more thoroughly at least once monthly with a reptile safe disinfectant is recommended. F10 Veterinary Disinfectant is a good option, safe with reptiles and comes pre-diluted and ready for use in a spray bottle. You can also consider lining the tank with disposable unbleached paper towels or newspaper while they are ill to make cleaning easier. The papers should be changed out daily or more frequently if they become soiled. Also, since they defecate into their water bowls often, cleaning the water bowl daily with soap and warm water before refilling it and weekly disinfection of the bowl is a good idea while they are ill (normally, it's okay just to do a daily rinse and refill of the water dish with 1-2x per week washing/disinfection).

-Offer food, even if not eating. If your bearded dragon is having difficulty reaching or getting to their food, put the food dish next to them or you can also hand or tong feed them. Place an insect gently against their lips and if they are hungry, they will bite at it. If not, don’t force it.

If needed for prolonged appetite loss, you can assist feed them an insect (I recommend removing the head first to prevent injury to the bearded dragon) or syringe feed them a replacement formula like Fluker’s ReptaBoost, EmerAid Intensive Care Omnivore, Oxbow Animal Health Critical Care Omnivore.

Another option is to assist or syringe feed Repashy Superfoods Beardie Buffet Omnivore Gel Premix. It's a diet that is normally mixed with boiling water and then allowed to set up into a solid to make a gel food to feed to omnivorous lizards, like bearded dragons. But if you mix it with room temperature (not boiling) water and a bit more water than the package recommends, it makes a slurry that is thin enough to go through a syringe which can be used for syringe feeding. Or you can make it according to the package directions, using boiling water to make a gel that sets up, then cut the gel into pieces that you can then assist feed (like you would assist feed an insect). This formula is nice because it's based on insect and plant based protein and has a good variety of vitamins and minerals. Treat any gel you make like you would fresh fish, store leftovers in the refrigerator and discard after a day or two.

With any assist or syringe feeding, go slowly and don't feed too quickly to prevent choking. If you’ve never done this before there are some good online videos that you can watch first such as these ones:

How to assist feed an insect video by hobbyist Curtis Lasane (2:50 to 3:50 in the video). Note, I recommend if assist feeding insects to a lethargic bearded dragon, that you dispatch the insect first by pinching off it's head.

https://youtu.be/96rfaETGLKY

How to syringe feed (slurry, water or medicine) video by exotic pet veterinarian Dr. Laurie Hess:

https://youtu.be/38BbTokTwjI

-Calcium and vitamin supplementation. It is important to still offer calcium and vitamin supplements if they are eating. This is usually done by gut loading insects with a diet that provides a good source of calcium and vitamins as well as dusting insects with powdered calcium and multivitamins. There is more specific information about how to properly supplement your bearded dragon in the care sheet I have shared with you.

If they are weak because they are experiencing a severe calcium deficiency related to Metabolic Bone Disease or dietary insufficiency, or they are not eating, you can buy a liquid calcium supplement at the pet store and give them a couple drops into their mouth once a day and this should help, but this isn't a replacement for a veterinary evaluation and treatment or proper diet and routine calcium supplementation.

Fluker's Liquid Calcium Reptile Supplement

If they are experiencing signs of hypovitaminosis (A or D) or they are not eating, then you can buy a liquid multivitamin supplement at the pet store and give them 2 drops for every 50 grams of body weight. If they are not eating, you can give this supplement every other day for a week before decreasing to twice weekly. The supplement can be placed onto a food item before feeding or dropped directly into their mouthes if they are not eating. Once they are back to eating or no longer have signs of a vitamin deficiency, this liquid supplement should be stopped in favor of multivitamin powder dusting of food and gut loading of insects, as described in the care sheet I shared with you.

Fluker’s Liquid Vitamin (Reptile Supplement)

It is also a good idea to re-evaluate your current husbandry practices as some common disorders, such as metabolic bone disease, are unintentionally caused by deficiencies or imbalances in diet, UVB lighting and calcium/vitamin supplementation. If you have any questions about the general bearded dragon care sheet that I shared with you please let me know. Thanks.

I should be notified if/when you respond with additional information so we can connect about your bearded dragon Otis but, in the meantime, I hope this information is helpful and I wish you both the best. Thanks again for posting your question to JustAnswer.com. Sincerely, ***** *****

Thanks for the additional information.

So a few comments about his current environment and diet.

The temperatures are way too cool for a bearded dragon. These are hot weather requiring desert lizards so the "cool" side of the tank should be around 80F and the basking spot at the hottest spot should be 105F.

They do require 12 hours a day of UVB light of sufficient strength for a desert lizard, so typically a 10% T5 linear fluorescent bulb would be your best option for a standard bearded dragon tank.

I don't recommend feeding parsley to the bearded dragon or it's food items, parsley is very high in oxalates and this can interfere with calcium metabolism. A better option is using a commercial gut loading diet. To boost the nutritional value of the feeder insects it is recommend to "gut load" them for at least 24-48 hours prior to feeding them out. That means to feed the insects a nutritious food so that the bearded dragon gets the benefit of that nutrition. Some good options for gut loading are:

Mazuri Better Bug Gut Loading Diet

Repashy SuperLoad Insect Gutload Formula

So the insects also need to regularly dusted with calcium (at least 3-4 times per week) and a multivitamin (2x per week).

SOME RECOMMENDED REPTILE VITAMIN AND MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS

Multivitamin

Zoo Med’s Reptivite with D3

Repashy Superfoods Calcium Plus

Calcium

Zoo Med Repti Calcium without D3

Rep-Cal Calcium without D3

So I am concerned about a couple possible causes but metabolic bone disease would be high up on the list given that he hasn't been getting any UVB light and has been getting limited calcium and has been fed parsley via the feeder insects. The weakness and lack of appetite stem from severe low body calcium.

Metabolic bone disease (MBD) is a complex disorder, also called nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism, that is unfortunately not uncommon in pet bearded dragons, especially juveniles. It is typically caused by improper nutrition: feeding a diet too high in fat, oxalates or phosphorus and too low in calcium and Vitamin D3. But insufficient lighting and low temperatures can also play a role. Deficiency of Vitamin D3 is either from a dietary lack or insufficient exposure to UV-B light which is needed to make the active form of Vit D. Signs of MBD can include skeletal abnormalities such as “rubber jaw”, softened or swollen jaw and facial bones, bumps on the spine, tail or legs, swelling and malformation of the limbs and pathological fractures of the bones. But as the disease progresses, signs may include loss of appetite, lethargy (low energy) or weakness, tremors, shaking or twitches, paralysis, seizures and death. X-rays can show bone changes such as decreased bone density, thinner than normal bone tissue, folds or bends or fractures in bones from areas of weakness, or fibrous osteodystrophy where bone is abnormally replaced by connective tissue. MBD is usually suspected based on clinical signs, physical exam findings and husbandry history and diagnosed with x-rays and bloodwork. Treatment involves correcting husbandry with proper diet, temperature, calcium supplementation and daily UV exposure.

I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a local reptile veterinarian to have your bearded dragon examined since MBD and other disorders that can cause similar signs are potentially very serious. They will perform an exam and may recommend some additional diagnostic tests such as bloodwork or imaging (x-rays). If MBD is confirmed, they will likely recommend modifications to your current husbandry practices as well as calcium and multivitamin supplementation.

To help find a local veterinarian with reptile experience, here is a useful website you can use to search for a local reptile veterinarian:

https://arav.site-ym.com/search/

(please note this site may not work on older browsers like Safari)

These veterinarians are active members of the Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians, which means they have interest and experience in treating reptile patients.

I do hope Otis feels better soon. I have provided a lot of information, so if you have any other questions, especially after reviewing the care sheet I shared with you, please feel free to do so. Or if you need help finding a local reptile veterinarian, please let me know.

Sincerely, ***** *****