I recently moved to texas and my bearded dragon seems to be losing weight. Its unnerving because ive had him for 3 years and I don't want him dyeing on me.(im actually in the process of finding him a healthy breeding age female) I feed him 6 to 10 crickets a day and an adult mouse once a week. His appetite seems to waining from the live adult mice though, he used to be a voracious eater of them and now he either gets the mouses head on the first shot or he won't eat it. Should I possibly start dusting his crickets so he can get some added nutrition since he really doesn't seem as interested in the mice as much anymore? Also should I try feeding him hoppers and see if he takes better to those? I know adult mice may sound large, but my bearded dragon is 8 inches head to vent and 18 inches head to tail, his mouth is 2 inches across. And up until I moved he wasn't haveing any trouble downing a full size mouse. Besides the weight and eating issue ive noticed that he is very dirty, I soak him for an hour in warm water once every other week, but that doesn't seem to be loosening up the dirt under his scales is there a reptile soap that could help with this? Any help I could get on the matter would be great. Also just to make sure im hitting all the bases, He has a high output 15 watt uv flourescent lighting setup with a 150 watt basking spot lamp, his basking spot is usually 85 to 90 degrees and there is a large basking rock for him. He is in a 55 gallon tank Long. his substrate is repti-cal calci-sand. I mist him 1 to 2 times a day on his head to make sure he gets adequate water, though he does drink out of his water bowl too. As I look at him now he actually seems dehydrated, his skin has the tendency to bunch if you pinch it. And his tail bones at the base of the tail are showing. I will post some current pictures if needed. Any help that I can get at this point is greatly apreciated, im honestly considering taking him over the vet because of how worried I am about him, he's my best friend...

Do you feed him inside the enclosure? Sand isnt the best substrate to keep him on, especially calci sand.If you do feed him in the enclosure he may be impacted. Bearded Dragons also need a basking spot of 100-110 deg. F. so he may not be digesting his food properly with the low temp. Also I dont think an adult mouse a week is a good idea, its too much meat for him, he may be having problems digesting and absorbing it...maybe switch over to a pink or hopper a week..good luck with him!

alright I hear you, i took pics of him just so you can see whether or not im overreacting or not

his bony tail...





his skin that acts like its dehydrated



his general palor as of now



and I wanted to have a shot to show his size proportions to something everyones familiar with; a dvd case works, i hope, I know its alot of pics but I wanna make sure I nail anything im doing wrong with him right now before this gets out of hand and I end up with a friend over the rainbow



yes I have been feeding him inside his enclosure since I got him three years ago

How often does he defecate? He may have a chronic impaction. A chronic impaction is the slow accumulation of sand that binds to the lining of the intestinal tract. Over time, and often years, it will create a blockage, usually it cant be removed. He does look a bit dehydrated, try to get him to drink a bit more. Also to prevent the intake of sand feed him outside of the enclosure...you can use a sterilite container or an ampty tank. you can also tweezer feed him. He does look a bit thin too, but not deathly thin. I think with higher temps he will get his appetite back.

he deficates anywhere from 1 to three times a week.. He tends to defecate about 12 hours after eating mice if that makes any difference, Tweezer feeding sounds like a good idea, i'll try that, i don't know how much more water I can get him to drink I mist him plenty and I even watch him drink out of his dish. n/e ways im gonna go to sleep and im probably gonna take him to either the petstore or vet tomorrow the last thing I want is for him to die.

I dont think hes gonna die...and If hes defecating as much as you say he is then he sounds like hes fine. Just be sure when he eats theirs no way he can ingest any of the sand. To help rehydrate him soak him for about half an hour a couple times a day

He does look skinny. Sav is correct on the temps and the calisand issue. temps need to be boosted to 100-105 and the cali needs to go,,,all it does is clump when wet and can cause impaction. I strongly suggest taking him to the vet for a check up and take along a stool sample, he may have a parasite. You an also try feeding him some waxworms which are a bit fatty and may help with his weight. If he is eating the proper foods, he should defacte everyday. He doesnt need to be soaked for and hour,,, 15-20 is plenty of time.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Pet stores are notorious for telling people that what they sell is safe for the animals. Calcisand is one of the worst things that you could use as substrate. Regular playsand is much safer (even though I do not use it, I use newspaper). I hope your Bearded Dragon is eating better soon. How long has it been since you moved? Could he still be stressed from that? Good luck.

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Warmest Regards from Lyn

Yep lose the cacium sand. Nasty stuff! And up the basking spot temps.
I notice that all you mentioned feeding him are mice and crickets. Are you not feeding him any veggies? Adult Bearded Dragons should be consuming more plant material than animal protien. THATS where they get most of their water.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

He should be eating a healthy lizard salad every day and assorted bugs 3 or 4 times a week. I would never recommend feeding a mouse other than a pinky once a month...I don't feed the Bearded Dragons mice at all.