im a happy new beardie owner but???

ok got my new beardy but he wont eat tried everything had him for 2 days now also i noticed hes shedding so i guess hes not going to eat any time soon right i mean when they shed they dont eat some times and then when you 1st get them they dont eat right so im sol on hime eating any way just like to hear its ok instead of the panic

Hello,

If you have only had him for a couple of days I wouldn't panic just yet! They normally take a couple of weeks to get accustomed to a new home. Plus, shedding will usually affect their appetites, also.
Have you reviewed your tank setup with us, so we can be sure everything is correct?
What foods are you offering him?

Tracie

everything is right crickets greens meal worms pellets been giving him baths so at lest he drinking lol but yea im just hopeing he will eat

Congratulations on your new beardie!
I'm sorry your little one isn't eating though. The beardie's appetite is reliant on proper husbandry, which is why Tracie asked about your setup. Basically, it's most important to make sure that your beardie is getting sufficient UVB via a quality UVB flourescent tube or a Mercury Vapor Bulb, and that your beardie has a hot spot to bask that reaches between 95 and 110 degrees F (lower end for an adult, higher end for a baby). Also, if your tank has sand, it's a risk that your beardie might accidentally ingest it while exploring, which will lead to impaction; so it's most advisable to have your beardie on a reptile carpet, tiles, or plain newspaper/paper towels.
Additionally, I wouldn't offer the beardie too many mealworms, as their tough exoskeletons also cause impaction. Crickets are just fine though! Make sure the crickets aren't bigger than the space in between your beardie's eyes.
These things are what most impact your beardie's appetite, so hopefully these tips help you figure out what's ailing your beardie! Of course, it might just be relocation stress. May we have photos of your little fella and their setup?

james1989":1s7tak4d said:

everything is right crickets greens meal worms pellets been giving him baths so at lest he drinking lol but yea im just hopeing he will eat

Click to expand...

How old is he ?

How big is he ? ( weigh him please )

Photos of him and his viv ( lights, setup , thermometers, and substrate used).

Please , even if the petshop told you pellets and mealworms are good , no more of these to him , especially if he is younger than 12 months old.

Crickets are fine , just remember to dust them LIGHTLY with calcium powder & gutload them (give the pellets to the crickets as part of their diet (if they are DRY HARD or DRY SOFT pellets) along with fresh calcium rich greens & chunks of fresh carrot (the last 2 are both food & water) and make sure the crickets are smaller than the distance between his eyes.
Better feeder insects for a beardied dragon are
>> BSF maggots (phoenix worms = calcigents = calciworms) - naturally rich in calcium (great feeders for hatchlings and juveniles under 6 months old.
>> silkworms , also very rich in calcium (small (1inch) for hatchlings under 4 months old, medium(1-2inch) for juveniles to 12 months old, large (loner than 2inch) for beardies older than 12 months.
>> crickets or roaches or locusts

Mealworms and superworms are only suitable for occasional treats for beardies older than 1 year.

if he's a very little hatchling , THREE MEALS OF LIVE INSECTS PER DAY
if he's a juvenile older than 4 months , TWO MEALS OF LIVE INSECTS PER DAY
older than 12 months , ONE MEAL OF LIVE INSECTS PER DAY

AND always offer fresh leafy greens daily.

Fact that your are offering mealworms and pellets infers to me you've received bad advise from the seller / petshop therefore it's highly likely therefore you think you have everything set up properly based on based on bad advise and it's very likely there are problems with the setup as well as the diet that are contributing to the problem you are having now.
We want to help you , so we can we need to interrogate your setup or have you work through your system using my cheatsheet so we can / you can identify problems with your setup and husbandry.

Here is my cheatsheet, viewtopic.php?f=6&t=234738&p=1806050#p1806050 , if you are methodical , you'll find problems will pop out at you.
Is very common that Noobs buy ready to use beardie viv kits , these are never good , the UVB globe is always inadequate, they come with sand for the substrate (BAD) , the basking light is often a red coloured "infrared" globe (BAD) or a neodymium (UVA) basking globe (POOR), and there are many other inadequacies.

Bathing
Only times my beardies get baths are :
>> when they've soiled themselves
>> when they are too hot (theoretically it's an option to help cool an overheated dragon ... carefully)
>> when they have a stubborn area of shed
>> when they are impacted (20mins with tummy rubs)
>> when they have an open injury that needs to be kept clean (dilute betadiene soak)

My Toothless has never needed a bath, the breeder told us she gave baths to encourage the hatchlings to drink, Peppa has had maybe 3 baths.
Peppa loves her bath and thinks she's a crocodile.... tries to swim in the very shallow water in the babys bath and really brighten up (happy colours) , I put the bath on the lounge next me and she wants to get in of her own accord.
Puff and Rex never had a bath.

If your beardie enjoys his baths it's fine to endulge him.

If you decide to bath your beardie
>> don't do this in the sink or bathtub , there is a chance they will poo in the bath which will mean you need to sterilize the surfaces
>> don't run the taps with the lizard present (the hissing sound of the taps will freak him out)
>> add warm / hot to cold , this way the risk of scaulding the beardie is reduced greatly , water that's too cold will only make beardie sleepy.
>> use as small a bath as possible , for a hatchling a 600ml plastic food tub is perfect
>> don't bath where if the dragon leaps out and runs he can land on a hard / unforgiving surface ( I bath mine on the coffee table and the floor is carpeted so soft and forgiving , better still , sit on the carpeted floor next to the bath which is on the floor, if beardie leaps out , he'll not fall.

i got the mealworms after he wont eat his crickets i have a bio active set up with retpi 10.0 basking
area then a clear bulb for light he/she is about 5 inches or a little more sorry no camra yes its bioactive but i take him out into a another tank to feed him cause yes and help him learn to hut
and i have check the temps there right and i have diffrent levels for hime like low 90s high 90s to 110 to 105 for him to pick

Hi James, I must say that you really put an interesting an stimulating set up together for your baby.
A couple of things about babies [ BTW, where did you get him ? He's very thin which is concerning ] Babies always do best in a tank that is not so overwhelming and is easy to get around in. Especially since he's not very well right now, he should be in a tank that has just a few climbing areas but also is easy for him to find any food.

I raised beardies for nearly 25 years, here's how I set up them up and they thrived.
https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/30051/full
https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29889/full
https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29895/full

Another thing to do is cut the mealworms out, they can be very hard for a baby to digest and can cause impaction. Offer crickets that are smaller than the space between his eyes [ very important ]
Just get a few at a time and shake them up in a jar with a pinch of calcium powder. Shake until thy're very weak + dizzy, then drop them 2-3 at a time . Then offer as many as he'll eat in 5-10 minutes but only a few at a time. Do that in [in a set up like the one I posted .

pet smart i got him i do feed him oust side his cage he just wont eat and he was that size when i got him all we wants to do is be held for some reason and thats all even fall asleep on you

i did try crickets i try them all 3 times a day and still no food manege to get him to take very small amount of baby food like peas ect i even let him sit on me for about 10 15 mins out side in the real sun moves right pooing right and eventhing i did research for about 2 months befor i got him

He may not be comfortable eating outside his enclosure and I'm sure crickets will get lost in all the stuff in his enclosure. I would try dubia roaches and black soldier fly larvae. You can put those in a bowl and leave them in the enclosure. In the meantime I would get some turkey baby food with squash or sweet potato baby food and mix up his calcium or vitamin. Just put some on his snout or under his lip from the side of his mouth and see if he'll eat that way.

That's good that he's taking some water + some baby food. The set ups I showed are meant to to the temp. home of a baby, not just a feeding bin. A baby or a sick dragon usually does best if set up like this. Some dragons won't eat when taken to a different area to feed them.

He may be adjusting but since he's been that small + thin since you got him he also may not be very healthy. Try smashing a cricket until the guts come out the back and rub it lightly on his snout....that may get him to eat. And since he [ like most beardies ] enjoys worms, try some Phoenix or Calciworms. They don't cause impaction like mealworms do and are more nutritious.

the funny part is he wont even touch the mealworms eather lol

Poor little dude. Try the smashed cricket trick, it works quite often.