Signs Your Bearded Dragon is Malnourished
Ideally, we hope that we can keep our pets healthy and properly nourished for our whole lives. But if you notice something is wrong, it’s important to learn to identify it and deal with it properly. Malnutrition (or malnourishment) can take a lot of different forms with bearded dragons, but there are telltale signs to let you know what’s going on.
So in this article, we’ll talk about what malnutrition looks like and how to deal with it if it ever happens. Let’s dive in.
Malnourishment vs Malnutrition
First, we should make a distinction about our terms. In this article, we’re going to use the blanket term “malnourishment” to mean “lacking some kind of vital dietary good stuff.” But in reality, we’re combining the term malnourishment, which means a lack of calories and macronutrients, with malnutrition, which means lacking vitamins, minerals, and other things you get in your diet.
Our blanket term for malnourishment can present itself in a lot of ways, and they’re typically symptomatic of something being missing from your beardy’s diet.
Things That Look Like Malnutrition (But Aren’t)
But that’s not always the case. In fact, weight loss and lethargy (two of the main symptoms of malnutrition) are also the two main symptoms to look out for with just about any health problem your pet might have.
So how do you know if it’s malnourishment, or some kind of infection, or a parasite, or something else going wrong? Short answer: you don’t. That’s why if you see any of the following symptoms, your first step should be to call your vet and talk to them. They might want to run some tests, like a stool sample, to make sure your pet doesn’t have any underlying issues, before deciding what the best course of action is.
At any rate, you shouldn’t be using this article as your main piece of information to make decisions. Malnourishment is a serious health condition, and something you should talk to a professional about, always.
What Should I Do If My Bearded Dragon is Malnourished?
So if you think your beardy is malnourished, step one is to talk to the vet. Once you’ve figured out what your beardy is lacking, these are the steps you can take to fix them. Ironically, these are also the steps you should take to prevent this stuff from happening. The best way to avoid dealing with these issues is to do everything you can to stop them from coming up in the first place.
A Balanced Diet
First and foremost is making sure your beardy gets a balanced diet. Bearded dragons need a mix of fat and protein from insects as well as a hearty mix of leafy greens and fruits.
You should ideally use two feeders: one staple feeder that’s more lean (high protein) and another to use as a “snack feeder” (high fat). Supplement this with kale, carrot tops, chard, or mustard greens and one piece of fruit per day. Beardies love berries, melon, fig, papaya, mango, and apples.
Hydration
Beardies get most of their water from their food. They’re native to the deserts of Australia and are adapted to living in a low-water climate, but they might still need a drink from time to time.
You should keep a shallow water dish in your beardy’s tank. Some owners find that misting their pets’ noses will inspire them to drink. You can also give them a shallow bath twice per week to get them to drink water.
Micronutrients and UVB
We mostly talk about calcium when it comes to micronutrients. Calcium deficiency causes major health problems, so it’s important to make sure they get enough by dusting their feeders. You also need to provide your beardy with UVB light to help them turn the calcium into vitamin D3 in their bodies. You can find dusting supplements that contain a whole spectrum of good vitamins and minerals.
Beyond that, make sure you’re giving them a variety of veggies and fruit. Some beardies don’t like to eat their veggies - if that’s the case, just give them their salad in the morning and wait until evening to give them their insects.
How to Tell If Your Beardy Is Malnourished
There are a few major things to look out for when it comes to malnourishment. Again, these things might be caused by a lack of nutrition, but they can also be caused by an underlying health problem. Either way, your first reaction should be to call the vet.
Fat Loss
Beardies store fat in their bellies, around their tails, around their hips, and in little fatty pads on their heads. A healthy beardy should have a little (not a lot) of baby fat on them. When they’re not getting enough chemical energy, they start burning fat. If you start to notice their fat stores getting thin, or start to see hip bones, a thin tail, or cups around their skull, something is off.
Lethargy
Lack of energy from food will cause your beardy to get clinically lazy. Like, concerningly lazy. If you notice your beardy is reluctant to move around its enclosure, that’s almost always a bad sign. They may also be less alert and won’t respond to stimulus like noise.
Shakiness and Tremors
In more serious cases, like with calcium deficiency, your beardy may have tremors or shakes. This happens because your bearded dragon needs calcium for its nervous system to work. Without it, its nerves might fire unexpectedly, causing trembling. Remember, your beardy needs both calcium from dusting and UVB light to get everything it needs.
Dehydration
Last but not least, dehydration. Dehydration can be trickier to notice, but it’s important to keep an eye out for. If your beardy isn’t getting enough water, its eyes might start to look sunken. Another test you can do is to pinch your beardy’s skin between your fingers. If the skin stays peaked and doesn’t spring back, it’s probably dehydrated. Dehydration can also cause the white part of your beardy’s poop (the urate) to turn yellow or orange.