Juvenile beardie doesn’t eat unless I feed it to them

Hi! I’m a new beardie owner, who received a beardie from petsmart (bad, I know but I didn’t know anywhere else to go.) Once I got home, I noticed how they wouldn’t eat anything given to them. Wouldnt eat veggies, crickets, or worms. I was really worried. Then I brought it up to their mouth and they ate. I was relieved, but they still wouldn’t eat by themself.

I’m getting a bit worried. They’ll simply just stand or stare at the food, then I have to bring it up to them with my hand. Still, they don’t even trust me yet. What do I do?

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on XIMG at of message box and then click on pic-- they go thru relocation stress but they should not quit eating all together - when we see whats going on w/ the tank then we can better help --- please post pics of the tank and lighting --- this is crucial to the health of your dragon
Karrie

KarrieRee":224azuwt said:

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on XIMG at of message box and then click on pic-- they go thru relocation stress but they should not quit eating all together - when we see whats going on w/ the tank then we can better help --- please post pics of the tank and lighting --- this is crucial to the health of your dragon
Karrie

Click to expand...

Hi there,

How long have you had your little guy? It's not uncommon for them to go through relocation stress and not want to eat much at all, if anything. And this can last a few days, or a few weeks.

All you can do is make sure your husbandry is up to par.
Unfortunately based on your picture, there are a few things you will want to adress.

First is your thermometer. The dials are fine, as long as you have another accurate means of measuring temps. You need to know what your basking surface temp is as this is the most important temp. And the only way to do this is with a digital thermometer with probe end, or an IR thermometer. I recommend the digital with probe.

Secondly, it looks like you went with the double dome fixture that is often sold at petstores. The heat bulb in these are fine (as long as they provide you the temps you need) but the UVB bulb (the CFL) is not adequate for our dragons. You will want to upgrade to the reptisun 10.0 long fluorescent tube. You will need a seperate fixture for this.

So make sure your temperatures are proper and measure with an accurate device, and upgrade your UVB and you shouldn't have anything to worry about besides letting your little guy settle into his new home.
Your tank looks quite nice by the way

-Brandon

Nice big tank ---- first thing I see is a coil UVB ---- you need to replace it w/ this
Which UVB light should I use?
The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube HO (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia). UVB lights should be replaced every 6 months. The T5’s are a strong bulb and only need to be replaced once a year – the T 8 every 6 months--- where as the T 8 are not as strong—they need to be placed inside the tank the T 5 10.0 bulb approx 12-15 inches from basking spot – the T 8 approx 6-8 inches from basking spot—the cover needs to be off the bulb for full effect of the UVB rays-- you need to replace ASAP-- this is crucial to the health of your dragon-- you will need to get a fixture for the tube and I recommend a 24" for your tank - you dont want one the same length of your tank --- also basking temps --- are you taking them w just the stick on that I see in the tank --- those are inaccurate and you need to get this a digital probe from Petco or Petsmart for around $5-- and a infrared hat gun from your local home improvement store for around $10-12 -- does not haft to be expensive -- basking spot needs to be 95-105 for a juvenile -- what has his poops looked like? A healthy poop will be firm moist and dark and the urate will be firm moist and white ---
please get the lighting in order and accurate basking temps and his eating should straighten out
Karrie