MY BABY BEARDIE! HELP ME PLEASE

I have had my baby since March 14 (almost a week now). Its only about 3 weeks old.

I have a 20 gallon tank with one side being 92degrees (top of log 100) and the cool side being 80. The substrate is papertowel. He has a water bowl and a food bowl always filled with finely chopped strawberries and spring mix (hasnt touched it but i keep offering it to him). He gets warm baths every day and sprayed twice a day. He is a very friendly little dude and likes to roam around on my bed and arms. Most of the time he is active but other times he sleeps.

My problem is this: he only eats one cricket a day and hasnt pooped since i have gotten him. I am very worried. I called a local petstore for help (the breeder did not get my call cause he was at work) and they told me he was going to die because he hasnt gone to the washroom.I balled my eyes out cause the little guy has so much personality and ive been trying sooo hard.

The breeder and m y manager said that he will poop and eat when he wants to and to just give him time. But im reading online peoples posts about similar situations stating that the dragon may be impacted and so forth. I know he might be stressed inhis new environment but he honestly doesnt show it!

im so stuck i need help please!! im so upset right now

Hi
I am sorry you are having trouble with your beardie.Let me ask you how are you measuring his temps?Also what size crix are you feeding?The not eating isnt a big issue right now because he is suffering from relocation stress most likely however I would like to see him poop for you.Its great that your giving him a bath daily as it is important IF he is impacted to keeo him well hydrated.Now a few other things you will want ot do is go out and get some apple or squash babyfood.What you want to do is to mix some of the babyfood with a little water to thin it out and 2 drops of olive oil and a pinch if his calcium supplement and warm it in the microwave.You can try to see fi he will lick it on his own off a spoon or his nose but if he wont you may have ot syringe feed with a needless plastic syringe.This will help get things moving hopefully.When he is in the bath you will want to gently massage his abdomen starting from the armpit downwards toward the vent.How long have you been leaving him in the bath?

I have a digital thermometer that i rotate on from side to side occasionally. The crickets are pinheads which are no larger than the space between his eyes. I leave him in the bath for 10-20 mins. Its hard to leave him in there for a while cause i cant use alot of water and therefore gets cool quickly (even with the basking light on it). I will get the baby food tomorrow. I have been rubbing his sides of his tummy but in the bath hes usually just laying down so i dont want to frighten him by moving him and rubbing him.

Am i able to use a medical dropper for the baby food or does it have to be a syringe?

Also, the breeder said he wont poop unless he has eaten food. He does have one cricket a day, though. Im confused...
what does the baby poop look like?

Ok well first yes he wont poop as often which is why I want you to get sone babyfood in him because not only will it help with impaction but if he isnt impacted then it will make him begin to poop either way.I just noticed he is only 3 weeks old?That is VERY young to be sold to you.Beardies shouldnt be sold until they are at least 6-8 weeks old so I am gethering the poopr little guy is suffering alot of relocation stress right now.You may if you can want to double up on the daily baths as babie dehydrate very easily.Your digital therm,does it have a probe?Alos for the basking SURFACE temp since he is so young you want it to be around 105-110 and you want to make sure the cool side doesnt go past 80 but all of these temps are dependant on an accurate thermometer and it needs to have a probe because its surface temp on basking that needs to be measured.Do you have calcium and multivitamins for him?

First of all, I want to assure you that it doesnt sound like he's in danger of dying at this point. He "may" be impacted, or may not be... but he's active and alert for the most part, so we'll just work on getting him to poop for you. Baby poop looks like a small bit of "regular poop" usually longish and thinnish, and is also usually accompanied by urate which is the same shape, but white.

Im sure you can use an eye dropper to feed him, like has already been posted, please make sure to keep up with the bathing to keep him hydrated. The baby food and oil should help him move his poo... and if you can definitely try to massage his belly. He should be eating 30-50 crickets a day, and the ones you are feeding sound just fine. Beardies are quite hardy, so as long as you keep working with him, he should be fine.

Does he have a UVB light? If so, what type? What kind of lighting are you using?

BIG hugs to you!

Sandi

Yes Sandi is right he sounds to be safe at the moment so dont panic and I did miss the answer about the dropper.As long as its plastic it is fine.Do please answer the questions about the UVB and be specific as there are some pretty bad ones on the market right now.

Exoterra glow light porcelian clamp lamp plus glow reflector with a Mega Ray Mercury Vapour UVB bulb. This was recommended by the breeder saying that it gives off heat as well as light and i do not need two fixtures. The whole tank is bright.

Im not sure what you mean by probe. It has a little box that shows the degree and there is a wire that i put inside the tank that can be attached to the side of the glass. It has a metal piece at the end of the wire which i assume gives the temp.

I have calicum andmulti vitamins. However, i havent been able to get alot of it in him considering he doesnt eat.

That bulb is fantastic your breeder is correct.Its the on ei use and I would use no other there is one issue though that bulb is supposed to be used with tanks 40 breeder size or larger as there is a minimum distance requirement on them of 12 inches for the 100 watt and 18 inches for the 160.Is yours on a stand of some sort so that it isnt in such close proximity?
On the therm I am a little confused but it does sound like a probe therm.Does it look similar to this?It could be bigger just for an idea:
http://www.petco.com/product/100375/ESU-Reptile-Digital-Thermometer.aspx
If yes then your good but the probe should be resting directly on the basking SURFACE and left there for at least 45minutes to get the right temps.

lol very sorry about my description as i am new to beardies! Its identical to the one you linked me too

The thing is i am in a basement. Its very cold down here and i need the light to be as close to his tank aspossible inorder for the little guy to be toastey and comfy! it has a stand but i dont use it simply because i will not get good enough temps. It sits directly on the mesh

Ok great on the therm but you cant let that bulb get that close to him.I totally understand about the heat issue but that bulb emits massive amounts of UV and anything closer then 12 inches will make him quite ill which may be why he isnt eating.You can get a 2nd clamp lamp and just put a small wattage household bulb next to it in addition to the megaray.

I just put the probe on his log and its 110. I know you said wait 45 mins but i wanted to post it now

The second lamp: where could i get a lamp for cheap? Is that even possible? because the one i bought him n ow was $100 Canadian, which is a lot.

Im going to put the lamp on the clamp right now (well my boyfriend is . tehehe) and see the temp in 45 mins or so

Ok just make sure your resting the probe directly on the basking surface.Any hardware store sells very inexpensive clamp lamps usually.I pay about 6$ american for them or ou could order online from a herp supply but they are usually more expensive in pet stores.Looks like this although they are usually silver in the hardware stores:
http://www.petco.com/product/9469/Fluker-s-Clamp-Lamps.aspx

Forgot to mention at hardware stores they are called brooder lamps:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=203213-1373-FL-300PDQ12&lpage=none

Thank you guys verryyyyyy veryyy much for your help!!!!! I appreicate all your help and care!!

Ill update you guys on Crunch when something new happens! Have a great night/day