Baby bearded dragon lathargic

Hello all, I am a new bearded dragon owner. My bearded name is mako. I recently took mako to the vet to have him/her checked out. He was not eating. I was feeding him crickets he acted scared. I then switched to small dubia roaches he at a few one day then just stoped. The vet said he is very young and not sick she thinks he is just lethargic because of his refusal to eat. She has me force feeding 3 times a day 1 cc of carnivore care. He does not like it. He still isn't acting right he is basking all the time and doesn't move much. He always seems so sleepy even when I get him out. I have had him over a month now and he just doesn't seem to be getting better. Any suggestions?

Welcome to our forum. I can sure understand your concerns, he should be eating a bunch. So my first question is what kind of UVB are you using and what are the temperatures on his basking spot. Also how many baths do you give him. If they get dehydrated, they can become lethargic and stop eating, so hydration is very important. So once you get those answers to me, we'll figure out what could be wrong.

I use the reptiglo 10.0 uvb 18 in tube basking spot is at 100 with a 150watt heat lamp I use a infrared thermometer to tell the temp. I give him a bath everyday or every other day because he stays in his basking spot all the time and I don't want him to be dehydrated. He is pooping atleast once a day some times 2. He is never on the cool side which is normally around 80. He has several hides he never uses. He is always on his hammock or tree basking he is never in the bottom of the tank.

Oh dear, wrong UVB, those are for geckos. ReptiSUN is the tube you want. That explains everything. Can you get the Reptisun asap? It has full spectrum UVB and that's what beardies need. I only know this from using it on one of my dragons years ago and the same happened to Issy that is happening to your baby. I learned quickly I had the wrong light, from this site as well.

You should see a huge difference once you switch the UVB, keep me posted, k?

I have it coming in 2 days is the quickest I can get it here... should I turn off the light until then. Or just leave it.

Hi there, I also answered on your E.R. post.....along with what Sweetie said here, that is way too much food for the baby, are you sure that's how much the vet said ? It should be maybe 1/5 of that amount, no wonder the poor thing threw up. Plus, the tank is very large.....is the heat being measured on the hammock ? If so, he would have to be there the entire time or very near it to get enough heat to digest his food. That uvb bulb you have could be O.K if mounted under the screen, def. don't turn it off but mount it like I have pictured in your E.R thread.

I found one store that carried the reptisun 10 and switched it this morning and have it mounted inside of the tank now no on top. How soon should I be expecting him to feel better?

AHBD is giving you great advice and so glad you got the Reptisun. Make sure the temps on the hammock that you're using are the right temps, for babies between 105-110F. You'll need to put the hammock higher maybe to boost the temps. I haven't checked your ER and not sure how old your dragon is. Is he in a 40 gallon tank? That might be the problem with the basking heat. He needs higher temps to digest better. You can also add pedialyte to his baths, he's probably low on electrolytes. This is a homemade version. So 1 qt hot water, 2 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, then add cold water to get the temps you need. He can also drink that by syringe to get his levels up. So do that for a week.

As for the Carnivore Care, it's great, but you should do the mix I made for Imp when he was like that. 1/4 tsp Carnivore Care for protein & calcium), 1/4 tsp Critical Care (for all the vit/min & calcium), 1 tsp butternut squash baby food and sprinkle with bee pollen (to boost immune system). Add a bit of water, whisk to smooth so can go into syringe easily. My Imp was lethargic, had tremors and seizures, he ate that for a month and was better. Now he's 2 years old. So try that for his mix, he might eat it better. And don't force him to eat, Imp was 4 mo old when I got him, and he ate at max 5 ml, but I never forced him, when he was full I stopped. I still added a bit of calcium to that mix, too, but no vit/min, as Critical Care is a complete vit/min supplement. The bee pollen makes it taste a bit sweet, so that helped them eat it. Maybe that would work better.

I'll try that i thought he was 2 months but the vet said he's younger than that but I've had him for a month and a couple weeks. His hammock is normally around 100 I'll move it up a little bit more but it's directly under the heat lamp. I am checking it several times a day with a infrared temp gun. His tank is 29 gallons

Did you still feed him 3 times a day

Trying something new. Rearranged his tank hopefully it works better for mako. Also tried feeding him the squash with the carnivore care and water not a huge success but I'm going to keep trying. I still have to get the critical care. Still no live bugs but i keep offering them just incase. He was a little more squirmy when I was trying to hold him and feed him so that's good he actually tried to get away instead of just laying there lifeless. Only time will tell and i will keep you guys posted. Thanks for the help so far the temp I'm his basking rock is at 105 right now going to get some large slate or something to raise it a little to get the 110 115 area.

That's good....looks like he is more alert there. Please do keep us posted !

He had been pooping once or twice a day today there were about 4 or 5 so that's good! He does seem to be keeping his eyes open a little more often seems a touch more alert so all good things we just gotta get him eating!?

Also he drank about 5 drops of water today too which he normally never does which is why I try to give him more baths than needed.

The oral hydration is the way to go, he gets a lot of hydration from the syringe feedings as well. If he's drinking a little, that's a good sign. A few baths a week at most, only if he is not stressed in the bath and if he drinks. Otherwise just the oral hydration is best.


Try hand feeding him a cricket, but squish it a bit to get the guts to come out [ I know, gross ] and rub it lightly on his snout.