Beardie won't eat on her own

Status
Not open for further replies.

LeeLizard

Member
I have a ~6 year old bearded dragon (I've had her for ~6 months) who refuses to eat anything on her own. I mean that no matter what it is I have to assist feed her. Once something is in I can kind of "choo choo train" the rest of her food, but this really isn't sustainable. She has a bad eye, which might account for her not eating bugs, but she won't eat greens on her own either and I'm kinda getting worried now. She apparently ate fine, if sparingly, for her former owners, but not for me. Any advice?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok 6 months is too long for relocation stress- I could see if it was a couple of weeks-- we need to see her tank lighting - the set up would be good- if she has a bad eye please post pics of that too - go to top of page click on user image uploader- download click on top of message box XIMG click on pic it should post
Tell us what her basking temps are how your taking them? No stick ons they are inaccurate-- no colored bulbs they cause eye damage and disrupt sleep
Karrie
 

BeardedDragonSteve

Juvie Member
LeeLizard":2i85dojv said:
I have a ~6 year old bearded dragon (I've had her for ~6 months) who refuses to eat anything on her own. I mean that no matter what it is I have to assist feed her. Once something is in I can kind of "choo choo train" the rest of her food, but this really isn't sustainable. She has a bad eye, which might account for her not eating bugs, but she won't eat greens on her own either and I'm kinda getting worried now. She apparently ate fine, if sparingly, for her former owners, but not for me. Any advice?
Where did you get her from. Did you get her from a friend
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Likes being handfeed , enjoy it , make a routine and ritual of it and you'll end up with a very tight bond with the dragon.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Bless her, she sounds very sweet!
If you can post some pictures of your tank setup just so we can be sure it's all correct.
Do you hold the food in your hands then & she eats off of your hand? You could try putting
a worm, etc on your hand, then rest it on the floor to let the bug crawl a little to see if she is
interested in eating that way.

Tracie
 

LeeLizard

Member
Original Poster
full


 
full


Here are the photos of her enclose and her bad eye. The bad eye photo isn't great because she doesn't open that eye very often. Her enclosure temperatures usually get ~95 degrees, although recently they haven't been exceeding 90, which I need to get fixed. It's a 40 gallon, I don't have a food dish in there right now because she won't eat on her own (obviously) there also is no water dish because the local reptile people told me that due to my area's high humidity that would be too much, so I bathe her 3 times a week. I got her from a friend who was moving away and couldn't keep her so I got a full set up, but they hadn't been taking proper care of her (not replacing UVB, baths once a week) so I had to try and figure it out. They had also only had her for ~1 year. She only eats if I put food in her mouth first, so I have to feed her outside of the enclosure. Once she has food in her mouth she eats it quite enthusiastically (if she likes the food) she gets treats once in a while, but they usually are just a tomato or grape or 2 blueberries. I hope this helps, please respond if you have any suggestions.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Need better pics of the eye -- close up of her -- next what are you using for a UVB ? The lighting and basking temps make the difference of the dragon eating -- temps for basking should be 95-110 -- what do her poops look like ? are they runny? they should be formed moist and dark the urate formed moist and white --
Karrie
 

LeeLizard

Member
Original Poster
full


This is what I'm using for a UVB bulb, I also have a basking bulb and a ceramic heat emitter. Her poops are usually runny, I thought that was how they were supposed to be until recently and I wondered if that was related to her eating. Do you think that i should talk to the reptile people about buying another heating element for her enclosure? My parents won't heat the house to a nice enough temperature for her.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The UVB is no good! Basically she is getting no UVB this is why she is not eating! You need to replace asap w/ this go to this website they have cheapest fixture that I have found so far- http://www.pangeareptiles.com go to fixtures it will be the first one you see its a T 5 fixture/ hood get the 24" $32- next go to T 5 lights get the Reptisun 10.0 T 5--- you need this ASAP- what watt bulb are you using? The temps in the tank at nite are what? If it's below 65 then yes you need it but w/ her not having that UVB keep using it--- how long have you had that coil? She has runny stools- cuz of the UVB-- she cannot absorb her calcium w/ out UVB thus runny poop
Karrie
 

LeeLizard

Member
Original Poster
Ok, thanks for the advice! I'll order it right away. So you have any advice for boosting the heating? I'm probably just going to buy another ceramic heater, but I'll listen to any advice!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
What is the wattage of the basking bulb? The coil is probably what's causing the eye issue-- they are known for that---- we need to see if we can get temps up w/ out another heat emitter
Karrie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok get a 150 watt before you get another CHE ---- make sure you have your probe to get a basking temp - set the probe where she sits for her basking spot let it sit there for 10 minutes take the temp
Karrie
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

No members online now.

Still Needs Help

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,897
Messages
1,255,656
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom