Beardie Still Won't Eat!

I've had Wiley for about a week now, and we've already gone through some rough patches. It's taken plenty of research on here to get his tank right, but I'm pretty sure it's good now. His temps are all at the right levels, his UVB is close enough to him, etc.

For a few days while he was shedding, Wiley wouldn't eat. I began getting worried, but after 2 days with no food he finally started eating (15 crickets) and was active. I figured he was just stressed/in pain from shedding. But then the next two days again he hasn't eaten (maybe a single cricket? no veggies) and is acting fairly lethargic. That's when I found that my UVB was too far away and corrected everything necessary in his tank. He's been a bit more active but still hasn't eaten (day 3 now). I'm not sure what to do.

We've tried superworms and crickets which he seems to love on days when he does eat. The only other point of concern is that we bought him from a friend whose beardie had babies. She says he's about 7-8 months but he's only 8 inches long snout-to-tail. From what I've seen between pictures and discussion here is that that's the size of a 2-3 month old.

Any ideas?

Hello,

They sure know how to worry us don't they? Which UVB light are you using now?
If he has recently been shedding that will definitely affect his appetite.
What are you measuring the temperatures with?
He is pretty small for his age if that's his true age. If he wont eat much right now, you can
try getting some chicken or turkey baby food & some squash or sweet potato babyfood for
him. Mix that together & get some bee pollen to help with appetite. Use either a plastic
dropper or syringe to drop some food onto his nose to see if he will lick some food off like
that. Hopefully that will help him with his appetite.
Do you have any pictures of him & the setup we could see?

Tracie

I have a T8 (18") that is 6" above is basking spot, under the mesh top. He is finally active again now that his shedding is done, but he is still barely eating. He eats maybe 5-6 small crickets a day? We keep offering him fresh greens, refreshing it a couple times a day, but he won't touch them. I have new accurite thermometers to measure temps and he's in a 40 gallon tank. He seems much happier but I'm just nervous now that he's not getting enough food/calicum. But at least he's eating more than before.

Drache613":3ht6x8lc said:

Hello,

They sure know how to worry us don't they? Which UVB light are you using now?
If he has recently been shedding that will definitely affect his appetite.
What are you measuring the temperatures with?
He is pretty small for his age if that's his true age. If he wont eat much right now, you can
try getting some chicken or turkey baby food & some squash or sweet potato babyfood for
him. Mix that together & get some bee pollen to help with appetite. Use either a plastic
dropper or syringe to drop some food onto his nose to see if he will lick some food off like
that. Hopefully that will help him with his appetite.
Do you have any pictures of him & the setup we could see?

Tracie

Click to expand...

Hello,

Ok, that is good his eating has picked up a little bit then!
Which brand of T8, the Reptisun or Arcadia? That's great it is mounted underneath of the screen
top, too which helps with UVB exposure.
You can try offering some chicken or turkey baby food mixed with squash or sweet potato baby
food dropped on his nose with a plastic dropper or syringe. That may help to spark his appetite
some as well. You can add a small amount of calcium in with that also to be sure he's getting
enough since he isn't eating enough yet.
Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

I have the Reptisun brand. His eating has picked up steadily and he's seeming much better. Maybe it just took a day or two to adjust to his set up being corrected. Still not eating greens very often though, but he is eating crickets and acting much more lively! Thank you for the advice though, I'll have to try the baby food if it happens again!

Drache613":18arvawt said:

Hello,

Ok, that is good his eating has picked up a little bit then!
Which brand of T8, the Reptisun or Arcadia? That's great it is mounted underneath of the screen
top, too which helps with UVB exposure.
You can try offering some chicken or turkey baby food mixed with squash or sweet potato baby
food dropped on his nose with a plastic dropper or syringe. That may help to spark his appetite
some as well. You can add a small amount of calcium in with that also to be sure he's getting
enough since he isn't eating enough yet.
Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

Click to expand...