Juvenile beardie refuses to eat, getting skinny. please help

[kingofnobbys]

On the right track.

Regards giving worms :
What I do with poor feeders ( sick , injured ) with BSFL is I take 6 large BSFL out at a time ( place in a tiny tub ) then snip off 1mm or 2mm at their "pointy end" , squeeze and some of the meat will come , give the dragon a taste / sniff , might be enough to get him interested.
Can even squeeze all the meat out between the finger tips , discard the outer skin , deposit the meat on the lips or snout of the dragon , nothing hard or resistive to eat, just slow and tedious and a bit mucky.
I you have mealworms handy, snip off their head ( about 4mm ) and squeeze out the meat , not meat a lizard who doesn't like mealworms. They like mealworm pupae even more . same deal with pupae.

Sometime a good started is to mix one mealworm lavae or pupae's meat with 3 or 4 bsfl 's meat.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww! But does seem like it would be very effective!

Yep …. works a treat …. I have had skinks and dragons and geckos licking my finger tips clean to get every last bit of the stuff …. is really cute and tickles too.

And a great way form a great / very strong bond with a pet lizard and to get wild rescues to trust you.

[PathfinderMom91]

On the right track.

Regards giving worms :
What I do with poor feeders ( sick , injured ) with BSFL is I take 6 large BSFL out at a time ( place in a tiny tub ) then snip off 1mm or 2mm at their "pointy end" , squeeze and some of the meat will come , give the dragon a taste / sniff , might be enough to get him interested.
Can even squeeze all the meat out between the finger tips , discard the outer skin , deposit the meat on the lips or snout of the dragon , nothing hard or resistive to eat, just slow and tedious and a bit mucky.
I you have mealworms handy, snip off their head ( about 4mm ) and squeeze out the meat , not met a lizard who doesn't like mealworms. They like mealworm pupae even more . same deal with pupae.

Sometimes a good starter is to mix one mealworm lavae or pupae's meat with 3 or 4 bsfl 's meat.

Hello!!! Sorry, I’m just getting to this post. I have tried this method with calciworms. No luck. He really doesn’t want to eat. I’m still doing the syringe feedings.

[AHBD]

As long as he's still getting nutrition that's what counts. You can try other methods every now + then and when he feels better he should start taking some food.

[kingofnobbys]

If he's not eating much , don't expect much in the way of feces , just urates if his renal system is OK .

Regards an alternative :
Crop feeding using a straight suitably sized crop/feeding needles and a syringe ( needs a bore about 2.5mm for good flow of thick slurry style foods )

see this for more information :
viewtopic.php?f=45&t=232687
Your vet will be able to demonstrate how do this feeding procedure with your dragon. Looks scary but it works and will help save a sick reptile.

key info :
14 Gauge Length/ Internal Diameter- 90mm/2.0mm straight feeding needle for your hatchling
Will look like


gut volume about 4ml / 100g bodyweight
ie if dragon is 33g bodyweight , volume of gut = 4ml / 100g BW x 33g BW = 1ml (33/100) = 0.33ml
meal sizes of slurry style food 1ml / 100g bodyweight several times per day.

I've used this method with skinks as small as 6g.
I think every lizard keeper should have an 8 Gauge and a 14 Gauge straight crop needle in his reptile first aid kit as well as either a proper feeding syringe or a medicating syringe which has had the little hole at the needle end bored out to internal diameter of 3mm.

[AHBD]

He doesn't need force feeding tube down his throat. He's eating via syringe and has gained 2 grams.

[claudiusx]

Good lord I definitely wouldnt recommend working a syringe into the stomach to deliver food directly.

Just continue with how you are doing things now. No need to get so extreme.

-Brandon

[PathfinderMom91]

As long as he's still getting nutrition that's what counts. You can try other methods every now + then and when he feels better he should start taking some food.

Thank you! I do think syringe feeding is starting to scare him. I have to be careful to not hold him the way a person would when crop feeding, because his head starts to tremble and I’ve noticed his heart pounding.

[claudiusx]

Poor thing. Yes keeping him as comfortable and stress free as possible is key too. The least intrusive way possible that is effective is always the way that should be chosen.

Bless the poor fella breaks my heart imagining him trembling and heart pounding out of his chest.

-Brandon

[PathfinderMom91]

Poor thing. Yes keeping him as comfortable and stress free as possible is key too. The least intrusive way possible that is effective is always the way that should be chosen.

Bless the poor fella breaks my hear imaging him trembling and heart pounding out of his chest.

-Brandon

I know!!! I felt so bad when I saw it. I’ve since stopped trying to hold him that way. I talk to him every day and tell him to eat so he can get big and strong. 😂🤷🏻‍♀️ Don’t think he understands me though!

[claudiusx]

Youd be surprised. I do feel they can pick up on our intentions and our energy. You're doing great and it might be tough for him now, but he knows you're trying to help and it will only strengthen your bond later down the road

-Brandon

[kingofnobbys]

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=235583 for less aggressive methods.

[PathfinderMom91]

Hello all!

Here is an updated pic of pathfinder.

[Click image to enlarge]


The top and left pic are from before, the bottom right was taken today. I feel like he is definitely changing in appearance, almost like he lost his “baby” face. I have tried as suggested to cut off the head of an insect and squeeze the guts in his lip gently. He still will not eat it. I was able to get some calciworms, I’ll be making another slurry soon. Anyone got any “recipes”? I was thinking some collards with crickets, mealworms, waxworms, and calciworms.

[AHBD]

He does look reasonably healthy and very cute as well ! Your slurry sounds delish for a dragon. You can add any of these greens but of course you might get the smallest batch of them unless you eat them yourself so they don't go to waste [ some people put them in soups ] Turnip, mustard, dandelion, escarole, arugula, bit of squash or sweet potato. Mealworms aren't needed but can be used if you run out of calci worms.

[PathfinderMom91]

He does look reasonably healthy and very cute as well ! Your slurry sounds delish for a dragon. You can add any of these greens but of course you might get the smallest batch of them unless you eat them yourself so they don't go to waste [ some people put them in soups ] Turnip, mustard, dandelion, escarole, arugula, bit of squash or sweet potato. Mealworms aren't needed but can be used if you run out of calci worms.

Good afternoon!

I wouldn’t mind getting some of those greens into my system as well, I probably could benefit from eating healthier! 😅 How long should I keep the slurry in the fridge? Also, if by any chance this goes on longer than expected, can he survive eating like this?

[claudiusx]

if by any chance this goes on longer than expected, can he survive eating like this?

He can, but I doubt you will want that to be the case. Best case scenario is you are feeding him like this only until he gets his strength back and starts acting normal again. Then hopefully he will start eating on his own

-Brandon