New bearded dragon not eating

My son got a juvenile bearded dragon for xmas. Raptor is a little less than 7 inches long, not sure of the gender or exact age.

The first few days, Raptor ate ok (some crickets, salad, and reptiworms). The last 4 or 5 days Raptor won't eat a thing we give him. Raptor's weight has decreased from 15 g to 13 g. I have been able to get him to eat some baby food (chicken), but he doesn't eat much of it. He won't touch his salad or insects anymore.

He still moves around the cage, not overly active, but not lethargic either. He is only pooping around every 3 days, mostly normal, diarrhea one time.

He is in a 40 gallon terrarium, basking spot is at 108, cool end is 82. We have the zoomed reptisun 10.0 uvb tube bulb sitting about 7 inches from his basking spot.

What are the next steps to get him to eat? He shed early on after we got him, but he doesn't appear to be shedding anymore. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi there, can you post pics of him and the set up ? Here's how to post them :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them

What exact size were the crickets ? If they were even just a bit too large he may have trouble digesting them. If you can, post a pic of the crickets next to a dime.

And do you have a sand type substrate ? If so, be sue to take it out, babies can easily be impacted by it, it hardens in their tummies.

BTW, if you'd like me to try to sex Raptor, put him on a flat surface and lift his tail up, think of a happy or excited siberian husky with the tail almost arched over the back. Take a few pics of the vent area .

I don't have anymore of the crickets, he seemed to like the reptiworms better when he did eat, so I was going to stick to those.

I have reptile carpet as my substrate.

Setup

Pictures of Raptor

Your set up looks good, although he would get more uvb [ evenly distributed ] if the bulb were attached under the screen in the middle of the cage.

How big were the crickets he ate ? Losing his appetite and pooing only every 3 days might mean an impaction. Offer water dripped on his snout for a drink and get some squash + sweet potato baby food. Mix a pinch of calcium powder in as well so he gets calcium while he's not eating.

AHBD":12mec16x said:

Your set up looks good, although he would get more uvb [ evenly distributed ] if the bulb were attached under the screen in the middle of the cage.

How big were the crickets he ate ? Losing his appetite and pooing only every 3 days might mean an impaction. Offer water dripped on his snout for a drink and get some squash + sweet potato baby food. Mix a pinch of calcium powder in as well so he gets calcium while he's not eating.

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Thanks, I think the crickets were bigger than they should have been. But he has pooped twice (once was diarrhea) since he last had any crickets.

I'll pick up the recommended baby food and I'll move the UVB light to the middle as you recommend.

Anyway to tell from the last pic if Raptor is a boy or girl?

Oh, and if you can get a few more pics of the tail arched. You did a great job but my screen is somewhat dark and I have a hard time making out anything shaded ....so post a few more with light shining toward the rear end. I see the outline of one lump on the left but that could be the single middle lump that females get. I do think it's probably a male though but a few more pics would be helpful.

And I think it was probably the crickets were too big. Get some baby food + water in him and he may feel better any day now.

I'll take more pics when I get him out next time to eat, trying not to disturb him too much, wondering if part of his lack of appetite is relocation stress.

That can be a factor but since he ate for a few days + then stopped and also had some crix that were too big that would play more of a part in his behavior.

AHBD":380en88p said:

That can be a factor but since he ate for a few days + then stopped and also had some crix that were too big that would play more of a part in his behavior.

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Anyway to confirm if he is impacted and to help it along?

He pooped today, not quite normal, but not diarrhea either. He still won't eat anything unless I spoon feed him baby food, although he won't eat much. He's not acting sick. Is there a chance that even though he pooped that he is impacted?

It could be...keep up with the baby food and keeping his tank at the right temp. and he should be O.K.

And he needs to have the uvb closer ASAP. If he's not getting enough uvb it will affect appetite and all bodily functions.

AHBD":3b4iosav said:

It could be...keep up with the baby food and keeping his tank at the right temp. and he should be O.K.

And he needs to have the uvb closer ASAP. If he's not getting enough uvb it will affect appetite and all bodily functions.

Click to expand...

By closer, do you mean moving it lower?

Possibly lower since you dont have a reflective fixture which angles the uvb downwards more focusing it on where the beardie mainly is.

Oh, I read back to where I mentioned moving it to the middle of the screen on the underside. That would be fine if you did that, not lower. But if you can put a piece of aluminum foil behind it, that will act as a reflector + increase the uvb even more.