My new baby beardie will NOT eat!?

[Shelbsalexis]

So my beardie of 10+ years recently passed away. A family member bought me a new baby. I’ve had him for about 11 days now. The first 2 days I had him he ate a decent amount of crickets & Dubias. No greens/vegs. By day 3ish-4 of having him he will NOT eat anything at all! Nothing. I’ve offered so many bugs several attempts through out each day. And he always has a fresh salad each day that he has NEVER touched. Honestly all he really does is bask all day long. Doesn’t leave his rock. I’m not sure what to do or if this is normal!?!? (His basking temps are a perfect 105’f. His cool side is about 79’f. Currently I have a coil UVB 10.0 bulb. But I have a reprising T5 10.0 coming in the mail tomorrow. Rango does poop every single morning. Does that mean he is eating without me seeing? Any advice would be great!

 

[KarrieRee]

I think I may have to… it’s now day 11 since I’ve had him. And he only ate the first 2 days (maybe 3-4 roaches day 1 &2) and then absolutely nothing since then. I’ve tried bugs that he can “hunt” for. As well as roaches in an escape proof bowl so he can eat without anybody watching but with absolutely no luck at all. I’ve tried even putting him a bin with a bunch of roaches, nothing. And trying with tongs.. to no avail. Ugh I feel so helpless. My local pet store is quite a far distance so I’m going to have to order the syringe substitute online which will take 2 days unfortunately. Any advice on the syringe feedings/how to do it/how much?

Unfortunately my family member got him for me and he knows nothing about beardies so I think he tried picking the “prettiest” rather than the healthiest looking one. And it was from a pet store that does NOT have good feedback with their animals at all.
I just hate having to watch him slowly deteriorate. But I’m truly trying everything at this point.

You can feed him some green slurries collards turnips mix w/ the roaches you wont be able to use your blender after that tho - or get some baby food ckn mix w/ a pinch of calcium D3 and a drop of honey for sweet --- feed him that way - see if he will lick off the spoon if not make sure the consistency is kind of runny so mix w/ water and syringe feed .5mls 3 times per day -- go slow and make sure he swallows what you put in --- start w/ that for now -- when the UVB comes in please post so I can help you get it placed for your tank

 

[Shelbsalexis]

Something else you can do till you get your uvb corrected if it's warm enough where you are, you can take him out in the sun to get natural uvb.

Unfortunately I’m in NY and it’s been freezing. About 50’f next few days. I did get the reptisun T5 10.0 UVB today in the mail so thankfully that is now set up for him. I have tons of fruits, veggies, greens, and roaches. How would you recommend making the slurry? And how much/how often should I syringe feed? Going to buy the smallest syringe I can find now.

 

[KarrieRee]

Unfortunately I’m in NY and it’s been freezing. About 50’f next few days. I did get the reptisun T5 10.0 UVB today in the mail so thankfully that is now set up for him. I have tons of fruits, veggies, greens, and roaches. How would you recommend making the slurry? And how much/how often should I syringe feed? Going to buy the smallest syringe I can find now.

I posted above w/ info --- look on you tube for help on how to feed or you can look at this link

is your screen on the tank a fine mesh like a screen door or a wide hole type this makes a huge difference w/ rays

 

[Shelbsalexis]

You can feed him some green slurries collards turnips mix w/ the roaches you wont be able to use your blender after that tho - or get some baby food ckn mix w/ a pinch of calcium D3 and a drop of honey for sweet --- feed him that way - see if he will lick off the spoon if not make sure the consistency is kind of runny so mix w/ water and syringe feed .5mls 3 times per day -- go slow and make sure he swallows what you put in --- start w/ that for now -- when the UVB comes in please post so I can help you get it placed for your tank

Thank you! I have an extra junk blender I’m able to use for now. But I will get a baby food too just to be safe and have on hand. The reptisun T5 10.0 UVB did come in earlier today. I set it on top of his wide holed top currently because if I mounted inside I believe it’ll be much too close to him. It’s about 9-10 inches away from him as of right now on TOP of the screen. I will take pictures when I get out of work. In about 2 hours.

 

[KarrieRee]

Thank you! I have an extra junk blender I’m able to use for now. But I will get a baby food too just to be safe and have on hand. The reptisun T5 10.0 UVB did come in earlier today. I set it on top of his wide holed top currently because if I mounted inside I believe it’ll be much too close to him. It’s about 9-10 inches away from him as of right now on TOP of the screen. I will take pictures when I get out of work. In about 2 hours.

Ok good on distance- make sure the uvb is directly above the basking decor - watch his behavior - he should start eating w/ the correct uvb- and surface basking temps-- if he does not bounce back something else is going on

 

[Shelbsalexis]

Ok good on distance- make sure the uvb is directly above the basking decor - watch his behavior - he should start eating w/ the correct uvb- and surface basking temps-- if he does not bounce back something else is going on

Thank you so much for the advice! I will post pictures of UVB in a bit just to be sure it’s correct. And will keep this thread updated on the little guy. I hope this all works

 

[Axil]

Good luck tonight, rooting for you guys.

 

[AHBD]

So sorry 2nd reply: But do you think I could make the food supplement at home? I’m buying a syringe now. I have many different fruits, veggies, greens, and roaches. Do you think that would be okay? I’m going to try to do some research before attempting it. But I feel like he can’t wait for something to come in mail

Yes you can use a blender to make slurries but that blender would then be fit only for that but it's worth it . ETA, Karrie already covered that point, I should have checked. So, good advice on feeding and I hope it works out !

 

[Shelbsalexis]

Ok good on distance- make sure the uvb is directly above the basking decor - watch his behavior - he should start eating w/ the correct uvb- and surface basking temps-- if he does not bounce back something else is going on

Here is his current lighting setup. UVB is just about directly above his basking rock. I have his heat bulb currently in a dual dome. But I do have a single dome as well if that might be better (it’s just a lot bigger so that’s why I’m using the dual to keep the UVB closer to his basking set up).
A small update for this morning: he did go to the bathroom but it was VERY small. Almost non existent. No luck on getting him to eat but after all your guy’s help I have everything to make a slurry and was able to do better research on how to assist feed. I tried a slurry last night but it was more difficult than I thought. This morning I got 6 small Dubias coated in calcium D3 and was able to open his mouth to assist feed. After about the third one he actually started holding his mouth open! I’m so relieved (for right now) that he at least has some food in his belly. I didnt want to over due it and give him too many since it’s been over a week that he’s had no food. So I’m hoping he’s able to hold the 6 down. I will give him a few more this evening. (The BSFL will also be here today so maybe that will be more intriguing to him)

 

[KarrieRee]

Here is his current lighting setup. UVB is just about directly above his basking rock. I have his heat bulb currently in a dual dome. But I do have a single dome as well if that might be better (it’s just a lot bigger so that’s why I’m using the dual to keep the UVB closer to his basking set up).
A small update for this morning: he did go to the bathroom but it was VERY small. Almost non existent. No luck on getting him to eat but after all your guy’s help I have everything to make a slurry and was able to do better research on how to assist feed. I tried a slurry last night but it was more difficult than I thought. This morning I got 6 small Dubias coated in calcium D3 and was able to open his mouth to assist feed. After about the third one he actually started holding his mouth open! I’m so relieved (for right now) that he at least has some food in his belly. I didnt want to over due it and give him too many since it’s been over a week that he’s had no food. So I’m hoping he’s able to hold the 6 down. I will give him a few more this evening. (The BSFL will also be here today so maybe that will be more intriguing to him)

Ok go slow w/ the food- make sure he's hydrated - make the slurry watery he will get hydration

 

[xp29]

I went back and reread this thread. I wanted to elaborate on my earlier post. When i said that babie is malnourished i wasn't implying if eas your fault, from what i can tell your doing everything possible for that baby. I wholeheartedly think the problem came from the breeder and/or the pet store. So i apologize lf it sounded like i was blaming you.

 

[Axil]

Here is his current lighting setup. UVB is just about directly above his basking rock. I have his heat bulb currently in a dual dome. But I do have a single dome as well if that might be better (it’s just a lot bigger so that’s why I’m using the dual to keep the UVB closer to his basking set up).
A small update for this morning: he did go to the bathroom but it was VERY small. Almost non existent. No luck on getting him to eat but after all your guy’s help I have everything to make a slurry and was able to do better research on how to assist feed. I tried a slurry last night but it was more difficult than I thought. This morning I got 6 small Dubias coated in calcium D3 and was able to open his mouth to assist feed. After about the third one he actually started holding his mouth open! I’m so relieved (for right now) that he at least has some food in his belly. I didnt want to over due it and give him too many since it’s been over a week that he’s had no food. So I’m hoping he’s able to hold the 6 down. I will give him a few more this evening. (The BSFL will also be here today so maybe that will be more intriguing to him)

So glad you managed to get some food in him. Hopefully between that and his UVB he will perk up and start eating on his own.

If getting the slurry in the mouth is hard, you might be able to get him to lick it from his lips.

 

[AHBD]

Good job assist feeding him, I know that was a relief for you ! Can you show the size of the dubias next to your baby ? Just to be sure they're not too big.

 

[Shelbsalexis]

Good job assist feeding him, I know that was a relief for you ! Can you show the size of the dubias next to your baby ? Just to be sure they're not too big.

It is such a relief to know he has some nutrients at least! Yes the first picture was the last time he ate. Which was March 14th (about 3 roaches) and then the second picture is one that I just took. I believe they are 1/2 inch if I’m remembering correctly. Is that an okay size?

 

[AHBD]

O.K, those are fine if he chews them well. No larger than the one you have in the tongs.