6.1 Gram baby, not eating much across 12 days. Dosage info?

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Karsondm

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We got solaire on the 29th of june, and since hes eaten less than 50 bugs. His basking temp is 108f and his cool side in his hide reads around 88f. He's basked almost exclusively. Initially we bathed him every day but we were steered towards that making it harder for him to adjust. We also have two cats that stalked him for the first few days. We've removed their sight lines but he still just basks in their face, seemingly fearless. He has a 18" reptisun tube, and a high up hammock is his preferred spot. He's in a 30 gallon wide aquarium with a screen top. Humidity is goo ranging for 29-55 in the late night. He's very small and weighs 6.1 grams. He has never show a big appetite since we got him. I've contacted tthe breeder, however after a suggestion from a forum user i researched a little farther and found out that underground reptiles arent as reliable and healthy as they boast. I'm really concerned he's gonna have his growth stunted by this. I have small BSFL from symtomBSFL, and i've tried to feed him pinhead crickets. I have reptaid supplement, and acidophilz to replenish his gut bacteria. I was wondering if i should procede with this medication, and what dosages to use. I'm very concerned for him, i've cried about this a few times now. Any help or suggestion i would love. We've left him completely alone the last 4 days but he still just basks. We we were handling him he was very exploring and seemed to be having a good time, but he's so tiny. Thank you
 

kingofnobbys

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I VERY strongly suggest - DO NOT LET him even see the cats - lizards instinctively know cats are predators and it WILL BE stressing him having cats hanging about watching him.
The cats must be banished from the room where his tank is FOREVER, lizard and cats MUST NEVER MEET , and they will NEVER be friends.

6.1g may be up to 6 weeks old. My Puff was 8g and Rex was 7g at 6 weeks old and when we brought them home from the breeder (2 hr car ride in little tubs on my wife's lap).

As to why your hatchling isn't eating ….
> I suggest the most issue is likely stress (cats stalking him) ,
> is he cohabiting with another hatchling (sibling) . if so he's being dominated and they need to eb separated immediately for him to thrive also,
> combined with temperatures (how are you actually measuring the temperatures)
> or inadequate UV (A and B) , this will help you work out this out methodically : viewtopic.php?f=6&t=236150&p=1815390#p1815390
> 108F is a tad too hot …. I'd reduce that to no more than 100F at the basking spot.
See this for why : viewtopic.php?f=5&t=233516

UV adequacy :
Is the 18" reptisun tube a T8 or a T5HO ?
Is it rated 10%UVB ?
Is it in a reflector hood ?
How far from the basking spot ?
Is it under or ontop a mesh lid ?
How long is it and the basking globe on each day (photoperiod) ?
Guide for temperature and UV gradients and setup viewtopic.php?f=34&t=235611

Feeders :
Pin heads are too small.... I'd be uping the crickets to 20 day old (1/4 size (?))
smaller_crickets_sizes.png

Expect him to catch and eat maybe 6 - 8 per feed , 2 to 3 per day. Only at most 2 crickets given at a time , let him eat them , then give another couple , repeat til he looses interest (is full) …. will more easily keep track of these fast moving insects this way.
I'd be feeding him in his tank , less stressful for him this way.

Blowfly and Housefly gents are likely going to appetising along with medium sized white very active BSFL , the flies were a hit with all my baby skinks and hatchlings too (I'd leave pupae in a little lid and they were eating them as they emerged , and even leaping to catch them in mid flight.
gents_size_close_to_pupal_stage.png

scale in cm.

Small silkworms are an excellent staple feeder too
SILKWORMS_27_JUL2017_18mm.png

18mm
3aug2017_batch_1_are_up_to_33mm_long_closeup.png

33mm
these are about 1 inch - 1.5 inch long which is perfect for small hatchling (3 or 4 are a good feed).
 

Karsondm

Member
Original Poster
I use a ir temp gun to check temperatures. The reptisun bulb is a t8 in a non reflective ge light fixture with no cover, mounted inside the tank. The cats have not seen him in several days. The outside of his tank is covered almost all the way around to achieve this. He won’t eat crickets anymore, he’s just not interested in them. I guess I should buy a medium container of bsfl, my first container is small and the worms are now old and they don’t move a ton. He is not cohabitating.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Karsondm":29hicnuv said:
I use a ir temp gun to check temperatures. The reptisun bulb is a t8 in a non reflective ge light fixture with no cover, mounted inside the tank.
<< Inside tank is GOOD
<< T8 tube is NOT GOOD (very weak UVA and UVB emissions)
<< no reflector in hood is NOT GOOD , your dragon will need to be able to get closer than 3" to the tube if it's the 10%UVB version, and literally have to sit on the tube if it's a 5%UVB tube. Neither of these are practical or beneficial to an bearded dragon.
Need to be aiming for about 200 microW UVB / sq.cm and 1000 microW UVA / sq.cm at the basking spot and half these elsewhere for your dragon to get sufficient UVA & UVB .
The lack of UVA is contributing to lack of activity and poor apetite , the lack of UVB will result in MVB.

easy fixes
- add a focusing reflector (these are sold as slip ons) , this will double UVA and UVB and direct it all where you need it to be.
- make sure the tube is rated AT LEAST 10%UVB
- consider upgrading to a 10%UVB to 12%UVB T5HO tube , will require a new hood.

The cats have not seen him in several days. The outside of his tank is covered almost all the way around to achieve this.
<<<< careful when covering sides , this will enhance reflections (he's see himself staring back at him everywhere he looks - almost as bad as cohabiting as it will stress him , especially of he's actually a boy (very territorial).
Better off banishing the cats from his presence.


He won’t eat crickets anymore, he’s just not interested in them.
<<< you mentioned you've been giving pinhead size crickets …. a lot of work for him to catch them and get get a feed , yes hatchlings loose interest in feeder insects if they are too small , he'll benefit from 1/5 to 1/4 size crickets = more meat per insect and so more worth his energy to chase and catch and eat.
.

I guess I should buy a medium container of bsfl, my first container is small and the worms are now old and they don’t move a ton. He is not cohabitating.
Some places sell small size, medium size and large size (ready to pupate) BSFL , get the mediums (they will remain lavae longer and can be refrigerated to make them go dormnant too). Expect to use 40 medium BSFL per day
 

Karsondm

Member
Original Poster
We’re building a 4x2x2 wood vivarium with plexiglass doors so that should resolve the reflections and cats issues, I plan to mount a t5ho reflector and t5 ho reptisun in it.i was being cautious about giving him larger crickets because I don’t want him to get impacted, I will try slightly larger ones, additionally I will purchase some medium bsfl.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Karsondm":38x653rx said:
We’re building a 4x2x2 wood vivarium with plexiglass doors so that should resolve the reflections and cats issues, I plan to mount a t5ho reflector and t5 ho reptisun in it.i was being cautious about giving him larger crickets because I don’t want him to get impacted, I will try slightly larger ones, additionally I will purchase some medium bsfl.


Get an Arcadia T5ho 12%UVB tube that's 24" long , this will be just about the ideal length for 4ft long viv , and will give very good levels UVA and UVB at the basking spot (try to have the basking about 12" from the 12%UVB T5ho tube and reflector hood).

Arcadia also have T5ho 14%UVB tubes which will allow the basking spot to be 20% further away , these are the most powerful T5ho UVB tubes available and excellent (probably the best around - made in Germany).
 

Karsondm

Member
Original Poster
I’ve since lines the inside of the tank with black construction paper, and moved the hammock and lighting so that his basking spot gives him as much uvb as possible. I will check temps in the morning. I have a Arcadia 14% in my cart from light your lizards for the 4x2x2. I cancelled my order of reptaid and acidophiliz because I couldn’t find dosage info for babies so I assume it’s unsafe to administer it. Medium bsfl will be here in a few days. I will continue to hand feed him as much as he will take from me, and leave a bowl of worms available for him at anytime. Should I dust them with multivitamin occasionally?
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Karsondm":26wx9mes said:
I’ve since lines the inside of the tank with black construction paper, and moved the hammock and lighting so that his basking spot gives him as much uvb as possible. I will check temps in the morning. I have a Arcadia 14% in my cart from light your lizards for the 4x2x2. I cancelled my order of reptaid and acidophiliz because I couldn’t find dosage info for babies so I assume it’s unsafe to administer it. Medium bsfl will be here in a few days. I will continue to hand feed him as much as he will take from me, and leave a bowl of worms available for him at anytime. Should I dust them with multivitamin occasionally?

Sounds like you are moving towards giving your little spikey child a great home and great care.

I've never used Reptaid , found this though http://www.reptaid.com/Administering-to-Bearded-Dragons-and-Other-Larger-Lizards_ep_43.html , anything that says Organic Suppliment usually means to me "snake oil" and I am dubious of it's benefit.
Better liquid foods are
VetaFarm Herpaboost see http://vetafarm.com.au/product/herpaboost/ (I keep a bottle in my fridge at all times)
VetaFarm Reptile Critta Care see http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/vetafarm_critta_care_reptile?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImpOQu-2Y3AIVVA4rCh3lywSbEAQYBCABEgIrhPD_BwE&gdfms=0FACE03B71074D1E943C7E5665E213C7&gdffi=10600f223f474e1c9ae213f32fb3a662 ( I keep a bottle in my fridge at all times)
and maybe Reptoboost see https://www.vetark.co.uk/pages/Reptoboost.aspx

A little taste of soy yogurt (maybe about a ml once a week if he's sick to top up his gut flora with acidophiliz…. otherwise , I wouldn't give it to him) .

Multivitamins - use sparingly …. most of us give these as a LIGHT dusting on the bugs once or twice a week.

A tip for handfeeding bugs - what I do is to snip the head off and squeeze some of juices inside the bug out, this end is the end I gently press against the lizard's lips, once they taste the yummy stuff they will generally take the bug from between your finger tips , you might score a few nips at first while the lizard is getting the hang of being handfed.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Karsondm":3jin5t1u said:
crickets are very fast, should i cool them down so i can handle them easier?

I never bother cooling the crickets - this is the kind of set up I used to dust and hold my ready to use crickets when I using smaller crickets
cricket_gutloading_tub_and_dusting_tub.gif


I gut loaded them in the bigger tub for 24 - 48 hrs, and dusted then in the little round tub. Then fished them out by hand to feed to the little lizard.

I've handling crickets for a long time - near 10 yrs , so I don't have any problems with catching them , I do loose a few who show up later or the wild skink who takes up squatter's rights in the lounge room under/ behind the lounge gets most of the rogue crickets (and the roaches that wonder inside and a lot of the spiders too).
 
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