Baby Bearded Dragon not eating much

Status
Not open for further replies.

kncoleman

New member
My boyfriend and I got a baby bearded dragon a little over 3 weeks ago, his name is Mushu. Since we have got him we haven't had much success getting him to eat. At first we just assumed it was just relocation stress, but now we are starting to get concerned. Everything with his set up is fine. He is in a 40 gallon with proper UVB/lighting, his basking temps and humidity are also good. He even poops on a regular basis and that is normal as well. All that being said, we are really struggling to get him to eat. The most he has ever ate in one sitting is 10 bugs (dubias, crickets, phoenix worms) and it is rare for him to eat that much multiple times a day. Getting him to eat salad is almost impossible as well. Some days he is really active and will chase his food others he is not interested at all and we have to feed him with tongs. In the last 3 days he has only eaten a few crickets and we are starting to get worried. We did notice today that he is starting to shed a little and thought maybe that might have something to do with it?? Any advice on how to get our little guys apatite up?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
They do go off the food w/ shed but we need to go over the lighting -- people always say its fine come to find out the lighting and basking temps are wrong --- your guy should be eating more than he is --- so we need to fix or maybe adjust the UVB if necessary
UVB brand and bulb coil or tube? If its a coil you need to replace it ASAP
Basking temps ? what are they and how are you taking them? NO stick ons they are inaccurate
Temps need to be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer
these things I just mentioned are the 3 MOST IMPORTANT THINGS in the tank -- if they are incorrect he will continue to eat very little or not at all
 

kncoleman

New member
Original Poster
I take his basking temps with a temperature gun and his temps range from 105-110 depending on the spot. The ambient temp in his tank on the hot side hovers between 88-90 and the low is between 80-82. The UVB light is the ZOO med UVB reptisun 10.0 tube. The UVB light is also on top of the tank lid and not mounted inside.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Is it a T 8 or a T 5? This makes a difference w/ placement and distance --- extremely important -- if the basking decor piece is a hammock IR guns cannot read off of them -- you need a digital probe thermometer
 

kncoleman

New member
Original Poster
It is the T5. His basking side has a hammock as well as a piece of tree decor that he can climb up and down. I have a small zoo med probe thermometer that I just put on the hot side. After moving Mushu so he stopped trying to eat the probe haha, the temperature was at 108 degrees. I'm going to place it in a few more areas to get more readings. Thanks for the heads up about the probe thermometer! I saw so many videos/forums saying to use a temp gun so that is what we have been going off of. If his temps are too low, should I get a basking bulb with a higher wattage? I am currently using the thrive 100 watt basking bulb.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Your IR gun is good for your solid decor-- it's good you have the digital as well the screen on the tank is a fine mesh like a screen door or a wide holed type- this makes a difference for those rays--- screens block 30% of the rays-- the thrive basking bulb is fine as long as it's bright white and keeps temps
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

No members online now.

Still Needs Help

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,897
Messages
1,255,656
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom