Baby beardie won’t eat

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shannon1

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Hi there, 4 weeks ago I bought a baby dragon from a local store. All was normal he gained some weight and shed for the first time, i’ve been bathing him a few times a week and taking him out for some play time. I’ve never seen him eat his salasds but i still give him one every 2 days along with as many crickets as he’ll eat twice a day for 15 mins. Yesterday i gave him his salad with crickets on top and he didn’t seem interested in the crickets so i tried tong feeding him and he ate a few, today he won’t eat anything at all and seems very lethargic but still alert to some noises but barely opening his eyes. I give him calcium every few days on his crickets, he has a MVB brand new and a ceremaic heat bulb for the day and night, temps in the day are 105-110 in hot area and 85 in cooler area and night time is roughly 75. I’m worried that there is something wrong because he’s not eating and doesn’t seem himself but i don’t know what it could be
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Sorry you are having some trouble with your new baby!
They are notorious to not eating their greens/salads when they are babies. Keep offering it
to him, but try dicing up small pieces of berries like strawberries or blueberry, or even some
diced butternut squash or acorn squash, diced to mix up in with the greens. The colors may
help to entice him to try it out.
Which brand of MVB light are you using & what distance from him is it?
What sized crickets are you feeding him? They need to be smaller than the space between the
eyes to avoid impaction issues.
If possible, try to post some pictures of him, along with the tank setup for us, so we can see
everything for him.

Tracie
 

shannon1

New member
Original Poster
Drache613":ljrojxxr said:
Hello,

Sorry you are having some trouble with your new baby!
They are notorious to not eating their greens/salads when they are babies. Keep offering it
to him, but try dicing up small pieces of berries like strawberries or blueberry, or even some
diced butternut squash or acorn squash, diced to mix up in with the greens. The colors may
help to entice him to try it out.
Which brand of MVB light are you using & what distance from him is it?
What sized crickets are you feeding him? They need to be smaller than the space between the
eyes to avoid impaction issues.
If possible, try to post some pictures of him, along with the tank setup for us, so we can see
everything for him.

Tracie

Thanks for the reply, the brand i believe is exo tera and it’s no farther than 6 inches from his highest basking spot. I’m not too worried about the veggies but yesterday he only ate aprox 4 or 5 crickets and today none. They are a little smaller than the size of his eye distance. I just bathed him in like warm water and massaged his little belly but it’s weird his eyes didn’t open the whole time. I’ll attach some photos
102040-1153328070.jpg
I’m new to this website so if the image didn’t upload i’d be happy to email it or whatever works for you
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Which wattage is your Solar Glo? The 80w should be about 6-8 inches above the basking area but the 125w should be about 10-14'' away for proper UVB exposure. That is based on estimates but may vary slightly in your setup. Your temperature gradient sounds good though. Do you see signs of a shed coming on? Dull colored or waxy skin? That can cause them to change mood and lose appetite sometimes.
 

shannon1

New member
Original Poster
CooperDragon":12bkwwh6 said:
Which wattage is your Solar Glo? The 80w should be about 6-8 inches above the basking area but the 125w should be about 10-14'' away for proper UVB exposure. That is based on estimates but may vary slightly in your setup. Your temperature gradient sounds good though. Do you see signs of a shed coming on? Dull colored or waxy skin? That can cause them to change mood and lose appetite sometimes.


It is the 125 watt and he just finished shedding maybe 4 or 5 days ago. i bathed him and he drank a lot but still won’t eat, i booked a vet appt for him hopefully they can help out
 
I didn't see any mention of if he is pooing normally, but that can be another good indicator of what's going on with them. It's also good to bring a fecal sample with if you're visiting the vet. The only other things I can think of that might indicate an illness are checking mouth, nose, ears for anything abnormal. Hope your little guy is feeling better soon!
 
Hi!
I have baby bearded dragons also, and as some others said, they are very known to "hate" salad and rarely eat it. I wouldn't worry about that. However, about the crickets. Is this new behavior? Or did he do this from the beginning? Are the crickets he is eating the space between his eyes? It might be that he is eating too big of crickets. I suggest dusting the crickets with reptivite. I have had luck with this calcium and I really recommend it. Is his cage too small, or too big? He might be in the wrong heating lamp temperature too.
 
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Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
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