Help with beardie not eating (long)

[Zoom]

Zoom is about 7-8 months old, male (pretty sure as he has the 2 hemipenal bulges) weighs 350 gms, is in a 4' long X 2' wide x 2' cage with UVB, with temps of 80°-85° on cool side and 93°-100° on warm side, substrate is coconut husk. The problem seems to have started about 3 weeks ago with a notable decrease in his appetite. I had gotten him some superworms as a treat and once he got a taste of them it was like he was on lizard crack and he wouldn't even look at his crickets (I also offer greens every day but he has never been big on them). Anyway I quit giving him the superworms but he still wouldn't barely eat any crickets- unless I hand fed them and then he would only take a couple. I also noted at this time that he appears to be digging into his substrate and sleeping alot. I worried about the decrease in appetite so I got him some mealies and he seems to take those ok but he will only eat 4-6 a day. He used to gobble down 50 crickets a day. I thought perhaps he was impacted as he had not defecated in a couple of days (although he only goes 3-4 times a week normally) so I gave him a warm bath and he had a large but normal looking stool. Anyway does anyone have any idea what could be going on? Sorry this is so long.

[eyespy]

Lots of different things can be going on, so let me throw a couple of probables at you.

Get a fecal checked. Parasites are the #1 reason for appetite loss, they cause bloating and discomfort.

Beardies need a core body temp of 103 in order to digest properly. Now that he's bigger and has more bone mass to heat you might need to raise the basking temp. Raise it to 120 to see if he gapes and moves away. Keep lowering it by a couple of degrees until you find a temp where he spends about half of his time, that is his preferred comfort zone.

Sexual maturity is another issue here. Many beardies naturally go off a high animal protein diet and switch to a more salad-heavy one. Once his body tissues have finished forming he doesn't really need the protein anywhere near as much. Males hit sexual maturity somewhere between 6 and 10 months of age so your boy is right on track in that department. Try offering a variety of greens with a little bit of chopped fruit and veggies for color and texture to see if it increases his appetite.

Temperature and weather changes might be a factor as well. Did you get the same heat wave we did here in PA? He might be dehydrated and therefore having trouble digesting. Try daily warm soaks for 20 minutes to see if that stimulates his appetite. Since he wasn't pooping daily he might have a long-term dehydration issue going on. With all the chitin in 50 crickets a youngster should be pooping daily if everything else is working properly.

Hope this helps and let us know how he is doing.

[Zoom]

Thanks for the advice eyespy, I did up his temps to 112° hot side and gave him warm soaks. Today he seems much perkier (is that a word?) and is chasing his crickets down and munching a few dandelion greens. He has not defecated in 4 days but then again he was not really eating. I am going to get him to the vet this week anyway, hopefully with a stool sample. And yes the weather here is all over the place with highs in the upper 70's one day and in the 50's the next. Thanks again for your help.

[eyespy]

I'm glad to hear he's perked up and hope things go well at the vet visit. Please keep me posted.