Baby beardie stopped eating? :(

Hi everyone! I just got a baby beardie from Petco about 2 weeks ago. He was eating small crickets just fine twice a day (along with some collard greens and celery, although he only eats a few pieces of leaves at a time) every day up until yesterday evening. He happily ate his breakfast, but wouldn’t touch his food in the second feeding. Today he seems less energetic, lays his head on the floor more often, and still hasn’t eaten anything. His 30 gallon tank is about 105 on the basking side and 75-80 on the other side. The humidity is about 45. He has reptile carpet and a uvb light strip across the tank too. When I got him at the pet store the lady said that the new babies were about 4 months but he was bigger than the rest, so I’m guessing he’s about 5 months old. I feel like the problem may be that I was feeding him too many? I’ve read that you’re supposed to feed him as many crickets as he’ll eat in 10-15 minutes and boy did he eat a lot. More than 10, maybe 15 crickets (dusted with calcium) at a time. He’s not impacted because he still poops every day. He still drinks water from a dropper just fine. I’m thinking about taking him to the petco vet since it’s free for the first 30 days that I have him. Thank you for the help!

This might be an issue but not necessarily if it has only been a day. Sometimes their appetites and energy levels fluctuate now and then. Do you see him displaying a dark black beard? That can indicate distress. Can you post some photos of him and his setup? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.

I haven't seen his beard turn black, although he does have some thin black stripes on his chin if that means anything. Today he successfully ate two crickets, which is good, but still not enough. The only thing he willingly eats are some dried mealworm treats and I know those aren't good as a staple diet for baby beardies. He still won't eat any of his greens either. It's just really weird because before a few days ago he used to go wild for some crickets and now is very hesitant about it. I just received an order of dubia roaches though so I hope he eats those!

SarahHardy":1bsvii56 said:

I haven't seen his beard turn black, although he does have some thin black stripes on his chin if that means anything. Today he successfully ate two crickets, which is good, but still not enough. The only thing he willingly eats are some dried mealworm treats and I know those aren't good as a staple diet for baby beardies. He still won't eat any of his greens either. It's just really weird because before a few days ago he used to go wild for some crickets and now is very hesitant about it. I just received an order of dubia roaches though so I hope he eats those!

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He's fine , and has nice little podge …. chances are he's has been eating but when you wasn't there to see him in the act.

As said , one day , even two , is not worth worrying about.

Just check the temperatures and keep offering food 2 or 3 times per day.

If the UVB tube is a t8 , even if it's a 10%UVB , it's too far away even from the basking spot to be effective , especially since it appears to be sitting ontop of a mesh lid.
See viewtopic.php?f=34&t=235611 for more information.

If it's not a Arcadia or a Zoo Med tube , it's worth removing it and returning it to exchange for a Arcadia or Zoo Med UVB tube of the same size.
Many Chain Petshops sell their own brand ie
Nomoy Pet,
Zilla,
All Living Things,
Reptile-One,
URS,
MegaRay Brand,
CrawlMiracle,
Nat Geo ,
Sparkzoo reptispar,
Repti-Zoo ,
Natural Selections ,
all of which are cheap Chinese clones made very cheaply using very poor quality quartz glass and cheap phosphors ==> very poor UV spectrum produced including UVC and bad parts of the UVB band.

I'm glad you both told me to wait a couple days! He started eating again He's had about 7 dubias, which isn't as much as the crickets he used to eat but maybe that's because the roaches are bigger? He also ate his arugula salad today. I'm so glad he wasn't sick. And oh no, I think I already threw away the box for the UVB strip I'll try to make a better light my next investment. Thank you for the advice! In the mean time, how do you recommend that I mount the UVB tube under the mesh? And is Exo-Terra a reliable brand? Thanks!

SarahHardy":igk7639b said:

I'm glad you both told me to wait a couple days! He started eating again He's had about 7 dubias, which isn't as much as the crickets he used to eat but maybe that's because the roaches are bigger? He also ate his arugula salad today. I'm so glad he wasn't sick. And oh no, I think I already threw away the box for the UVB strip I'll try to make a better light my next investment. Thank you for the advice! In the mean time, how do you recommend that I mount the UVB tube under the mesh? And is Exo-Terra a reliable brand? Thanks!

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T5HO or T8 UVB tube ?

The best available T5HO UVB tubes are Arcadia (made in Germany).
T8 UVB tubes I'd go for Arcadia again, or Exo Terra, or Zoo Med.
Compact UVB globes - I've had lots of success using Exo Terra 25W UVB150s for my skinks and 25W UVB200s for my dragons.

Mounting under mesh lid if you insist on keeping a mesh lid and don't replace it with a solid MDF or plywood lid, simply get some nylon cable ties , slip the end through the mesh , form a loop , slip the reflector hood into the 2 loops (one at each end) and tighten …. job done.