Shutter Speed help Nikon d5200?

I have a nikon d5200. I normally take stop motion pictures by putting the shutter speed as fast as it can go (1/4000) and then mess with the ISO. Or have the ISO on auto. I set the camera to continuous. This always takes great motion pictures, and my shutter goes up to 5 frames per second.

------Recently, the shutter takes for ever. I would say it takes 1 frame per second. This just started happening. I reset the shooting menu multiple times. I shut off my camera and took out the battery. I even bought a fast memory card…

Also I'm going to the circus tomorrow, and would love any setting tips for the circus.

You rarely ever need such a fast shutter speed. What are you trying to "stop", a bullet? Usually 1/500 to 1/1500 will stop anything you will encounter in the normal world. Are you also always shooting multiple bursts of frames? The "machine gun" approach, … Also sometimes called the monkey approach, because even a monkey can hold down a shutter button and take hundreds of photos instead of a few and sooner or later at least one will be a good photo.

The D5200 is not a pro level body and not intended to be used, or rather abused, like you are doing. I think you are, frankly, wearing the camera out. All cameras have a limited shutter actuation count, the entry level cameras such as the D5200 have lower counts than any. You have very likely gone past this amount and the shutter mechanism is dying on you.