Beardie not eating but doesn't look unhealthy.

New here. Lots to say but will sum it up. I bought 2 dragons from a breeder in May. One is a regular beardie and one is a leather back. I've been in contact with him periodically during the past 7 months and he keeps assuring me that im doing a great job and they look healthy. When i explain the problem and my concerns he just tells me that "sometimes thats just the way they are" and "all beardies are different, like people, some might be smaller than others, not be as hungry or aggressive etc"

The regular dragon is doing fine shes huge and so far i have no problems with her. However, the leatherback is much smaller and has recently stopped eating. Her tail was nipped off as a baby and im not sure how as it was never explained to me. Im thinking she was traumatized as a baby and now has depression and mood problems thus maybe being the problem of her recent change in appetite.

I took into consideration that maybe the other dragon was just getting to the food first and leaving none for the leatherback... quite possible... but i do know that the leather was definitely eating at one point. Even when i toss a huge mound of lettuce in there, they both feasted. Plenty to go around no need for competition. To try and figure this out, i purchased a fair sized tupperware container and i tried feeding her seperately with her own crickets.. she wouldnt touch them and continued to ignore them as shes freaked out and tried to figure a way out. I let her calm down and she still ignored the crickets.

I dont know what else to do. My set up has been good up until now but i have no changed anything. Should i buy a new uvb? As i heard they may stop working properly after a few mo ths even though the bulb still turns on. ??

(Sidenote,: i had a few mealworms left and she would eat those when i tossed them into the tank but i ran out atm and that was the only batch of worms i tried, they mainly eat crickets)

First off you need to separate the dragons--- this is one guess why he is not getting any food - dragons are territorial and one will become dominant and it sounds like it is happening now --- your leatherback is suffering -- Next lettuce is not a good food to be feeding to your dragons--- they need foods off of this website everyday
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Along w/ dubia roaches or crickets dusted w/ calcium D3 5 x per week and vitamins 2 x per week ---
The UVB is it a T 5 or a T 8 and is it inside the tank or on top of screen --- the two of them together is why your dragon is not properly growing --- the female has taken over and the dragon is going to end up really sick or dead --- I would get them separated ASAP ---- how old is the UVB? Your going to need another whole set up for the dragons to be healthy ------ Next they need to be able to sit directly under the UVB from the picture it looks like they cannot sit under it ---- if its a T 8 basking spot needs to be 6-8 inches and if its a T 5 12-15 inches ----

I second Karrie they need to be separated. The larger one is dominating the smaller one that is why she is growing fine and the other is smaller. If not separated it might eventually lead to fighting or illness in smaller one.

I was afraid of that and having to do 2 setups... so in the interim while i find a used tank from someone, i did this:

I squashed a cricket and spread the guts and carcass on her face. Also used a small plastic bin/basket to lock the larger dragon in so she can still get crickets but in a controlled manner, the crickets will come thru the holes of the basket and she eats them at a slower pace than she normally would.

As a result of these 2 things, the leatherback has eaten 4 crickets as i type this. ? could this be a temporary solution until the leatherback becomes the same size as the other?? Id have to do this babysitting feeding session exactly the same way each time.

Also, i moved the hammock and the branch to directly under the uvb. I figure they need more uvb so they can now climb up and access the uvb light more. The basking spot will remain the rock as they always like to go there to bask. The would also go on the hammock but this will have to do until i purchase a second hammock.

Update: shes eaten 7 crickets, attempted 8 but wasnt quick enough. Also ate the one off her nose. How long should i keep the other one seperated?

You still need to separate them--- it is in the best interest of the unhealthy dragon --- a 40 gallon tank is bare minimum for one adult dragon let alone two--- petsmart and petco one of them had 40 gallon tanks on sale over this weekend for a $1 / gallon--- I would look there or try on FB marketplace or craigslist ---- but they do need to be separted ASAP--
Karrie

Hi there,

You can go to a home improvement store and pick up one of those large storage bins and use that as a temporary enclosure. You are looking at spending less than 10 bucks most likely. Of course you will want to buy a heat bulb and fixture and uvb light still, but that can be sourced relatively cheap too.

It really is a necessity at this point that they be seperated. Keeping one locked away in that overturned crate really is not a viable solution. and it most likely is going to stress the dragon out.

We see this all the time with cohabitation. One thrives while the other just survives. When it gets to the point it is now, there is no choice but separation. And the sooner you can do that the better for both of your dragons

-Brandon