Baby Beardie not eating

Hi,
I got a very small baby bearded dragon on Friday. He/she is the length on my palm including tail and weighs 8g. Tiny.
Te first night home he ate 10 crickets, but I had to hand feed them. Since then he has bee refusing hand feeding and been very inconsistent with eating. He ate 3 crickets Sat. Nothing Sun, a small piece of mango Monday, nothing Tuesday, and 2 crickets last night. I had to take him off his basking spot and put him directly in front of the cricket to get him to even do that. I have tried popping the head off the crickets and hand feeding, no dice. We tried feeding in a seterilite tub, and he just tried to wall climb. No interest in the crickets.

I am offering salad with collard green, squash, and carrot run through the food processor, as well as a few tiny pieces of mango all dusted with repashy calcium plus, along with small dusted crickets.

I originally had him in a 10 gallon, but switched him to the 40 gallon with half blocked off when he started having problems. Right now he has a reptiglow 18 inch UV light (waiting for my 24 inch fixture to get her to set up a reptisun 10.0). He can get within 6 inches of the light. Basking spot is 110, hot side temp about 90, and cool side closer to 80 during the day. I am using a 75 watt basking bulb and a 75 watt ceramic heat emitter in a combo dome. I turn the basking bulb and UV off at night and temps drop to about 73.

He is very handle able, doesn't run from me when I try to pick him up, lays on my hand, and clings when I try to put him back in the tank.
Is there anything else i should be doing or do I just wait out the relocation stress.

Your temperature gradient looks good, if a bit warm on the low end. What are you using to measure them?

It's most likely a case of relocation stress. Don't handle him/her any more until they start eating regularly again, and moving your dragon to feed won't help.

I have digital probe thermometers in both ends and a temp gun to spot check on the basking spot ect. I am hoping its just stress and will definitely not be handling. I ordered some phoenix worms and will try those when they come in as well. Thanks!

I hope he starts eating again soon!

Went by the local independent pet store tonight and got some tiny dubia roaches. There were 16 in the cup. He ate 13 of them!

Hooray!!

Thought i would post an update. He is eating most days, but not in the volume that I am reading he should. He weighs 8g and is eating about 5 dubias and 2-3 phoenix worms a day. I have to take him off the basking log and put him on the floor of his enclosure to get him interested, and try to keep the bugs right in front of him, but he is eating. Most of the care sheets I am seeing say 20-40 insects a day. Should I be concerned, or is he eating appropriately for his size?

Dubias are more filling than crickets (the standard insect for the 20-40 number you're getting), but I'd say that's probably still not enough. Do you switch him to a different enclosure for feeding? Also I think it might be helpful if you posted a pic of your enclosure. Just use the User Image Uploader tool at the top of the page.

I have tried a different enclosure for feeding, but he would not eat, just tired to climb the walls frantically. I will post a picture when I get home this evening. He ate about the same amount last night. 7 or so dubias then lost interest and scampered back to his basking spot. He is down to 7g so he is definitely not eating enough. I am hoping you guys can give me some more insight once I post pics. I have tried everything I know to do. His temps are right, I his basking spot is close enough to the UV, I have a good UV bulb, I just don't know what else to try. I have until Friday to decide if I want to to return him to the pet store or not. I HATE the idea of doing that. I don't like giving up on animals. We have 3 other reptiles that are thriving. I just don't want to keep him and have him die on me. If he goes back I will be getting one that is a good bit older/ bigger. I really don't know what to do here. I want to do what is in the best interest of the animal.

Baby was listless when I got home. I took him back to the pet store. Girl said several from that clutch had come back not doing well. I am disinfecting everything and will start over with and older baby soon.

Hello,

Sorry you had to take your dragon back. For future reference, it often taken 1-2 weeks for
them to settle into a new home, especially the youngsters.
That's too bad the entire clutch wasn't doing well.

Tracie

I know it takes them a while to settle. We have several other reptiles and have been though it before. This was definitely different. Something wasn’t right.

Sorry to hear you had to take him back. It's probably a case of failure to thrive. Unfortunately due to sloppy breeding practices, many young bearded dragons nowadays (especially those found in large chain pet stores) have faulty genetics and don't survive more than a few months.

I should have known better than to buy from a chain. I do, but I succumbed to cuteness. My reputable local pet store is getting some 2-3 month olds in Friday and I am going to look at them. They are where I have gotten all my other reptiles and I trust that they are getting quality animals. Plus they offer a 30 day vet guarantee. If anything goes wrong in the first 30 days, they pay for vet visits. Their prices are a little higher than the chain stores, but its worth it. I will post pictures of the new baby if I find one I click with this weekend.

Just wanted to update this thread for those following. My reptisun t5 hood and 10.0 bulb arrived last night and I set it up and got temps worked out. My tank is only 16 inches tall so I have the hood on top of the screen so he can have some vertical option. He has a couple of places he can get that are within 10 inches of the light. Pet store called today and said the new babies had arrived early. I went in after work and spent some time. I have a new baby!
Here is the new setup

He took to it well. I let him settle in for a couple of hours and then tried some food. He at 30 Dubai! Chased them all over the tank, he is now on his log digesting the feast!