3 Month old Bearded dragon won't eat HELP

[Chris5299]

I got my bearded dragon on September 21st. So it's been a little close to 2 weeks and Bossk my BD was eating perfectly for the past week. He was eating a mixture of about 15 crickets and dubia roaches every night. Just recently he started eating only maybe 4 insects. I ran out of crickets so he's been eating roaches these past few days and he seems to like only eating 4 or 3. In between this happening I bought a 20 gallon and setup his tank and put him in it. He sits on his basking rock which is close to the lid and the warm side is about 95 to 100 degrees and the cool side 80 degrees. The basking lamp is 50 watts and the uvb is 13. I bathe him every other day and spray him everyday. Hes only eaten his greens once since I got him and he barely bit into it. His poops seem to be normal and he sometimes runs around in his tank but he is mostly active when I take him out of his tank. He didn't eat at all today so tried to feed him phoenix worms but he didn't take any so I considered force feeding him and I'd say I forced fed him a mix of 10 crickets and phoenix worms.. I am really scared because he's my first reptile and he's my world. Also quick note since I got him his tail was white and a day ago his right leg turned white as well. I would like to think of this being because he is shedding but I just don't know.

 

[KarrieRee]

Sounds like hes gonna shed--- and as far as eating the dubias they are more filling meaning its 6 crickets to 1 dubia- I would recommend you keep him on the dubias if you can -- they carry less parasites and pin worms--and since hes only 3 months old they will eat little vegies -- their main diet now is bugs - they need the protein along w/ the bugs being dusted w/ calcium powder 5 times per week and vitamins 2 times per week--- please dont force feed him --- they will eat when they are ready unless he is sick and w/ all the energy I dont think hes sick but getting ready to shed-- the misting is good as long as you are doing it out of his tank - the UVB should be like a Reptisun T10 or T8 I believe--- tip of the week on the right side of page gives the proper UVB --- along w/ the other articles on the right side of this page can also give lots of answers to questions-- hope this helps

Karrie

 

[Glamamama]

Aww, this is a baby? About how old? Are you measuring temps with a digital thermometer. I like Acurite from Walmart or on Amazon under $10 and most accurate. It also sounds like you have a coil UVB bulb which don’t put out enough UVB to regulate their body appropriately. Reptisun strip UVB covers more area the T5 goes on top of the screen or you can mount a T8 in the tank. That helps appetite and calcium/vitamin absorption to keep their bones healthy. If it isn’t hot enough or their isn’t enough UVB that can affect appetite. It sounds like you got a bigger tank and the temp might not be warm enough. Babies need it about 105-110 degrees.

 

[Chris5299]

Aww, this is a baby? About how old? Are you measuring temps with a digital thermometer. I like Acurite from Walmart or on Amazon under $10 and most accurate. It also sounds like you have a coil UVB bulb which don’t put out enough UVB to regulate their body appropriately. Reptisun strip UVB covers more area the T5 goes on top of the screen or you can mount a T8 in the tank. That helps appetite and calcium/vitamin absorption to keep their bones healthy. If it isn’t hot enough or their isn’t enough UVB that can affect appetite. It sounds like you got a bigger tank and the temp might not be warm enough. Babies need it about 105-110 degrees.

THANK YOU SO MUCH I FEEL WAY BETTER NOW!!! I'll stop force feeding him. I'm just concerned because what should I do if he doesn't eat?

 

[Falkorsmom]

My little one Falkor doesn't like eating a whole lot when he is about to shed. I bought a little mini "planner" book so I can keep track of how much he's eating and his weight every week. He's averaging about 23-30 crickets a day, but when he's getting ready to shed, or... getting ready to get ready to shed (if that made sense), he suddenly will drop down to about 15-19 crickets a day, but then it picks right back up. It only lasts a few days with him, and then he eats like normal, but every dragon is different. This is after watching him shed three times and logging everything. Give him time to eat (about 10-15 minutes at a time) to make sure he's eating as much as he wants. My guy tries to reverse out of his feeding tank when he's done eating so its easy for me to tell. My roommate's beardie just stands there and closes his eyes though, so sometimes you just have to watch him lol.

How long has his shed been going on? Has his appetite decreased around the same time that it started?

 

[Chris5299]

My little one Falkor doesn't like eating a whole lot when he is about to shed. I bought a little mini "planner" book so I can keep track of how much he's eating and his weight every week. He's averaging about 23-30 crickets a day, but when he's getting ready to shed, or... getting ready to get ready to shed (if that made sense), he suddenly will drop down to about 15-19 crickets a day, but then it picks right back up. It only lasts a few days with him, and then he eats like normal, but every dragon is different. This is after watching him shed three times and logging everything. Give him time to eat (about 10-15 minutes at a time) to make sure he's eating as much as he wants. My guy tries to reverse out of his feeding tank when he's done eating so its easy for me to tell. My roommate's beardie just stands there and closes his eyes though, so sometimes you just have to watch him lol.

How long has his shed been going on? Has his appetite decreased around the same time that it started?

Ever since I got him (September 21st) his tail has been white/grey but maybe a day ago to be honest I'm not sure I didn't notice it until yesterday but his right leg is also white. As I said he is my first reptile so I don't have experience with them shedding. Does the shed start with one limb and then go on to others?

 

[Chris5299]

Aww, this is a baby? About how old? Are you measuring temps with a digital thermometer. I like Acurite from Walmart or on Amazon under $10 and most accurate. It also sounds like you have a coil UVB bulb which don’t put out enough UVB to regulate their body appropriately. Reptisun strip UVB covers more area the T5 goes on top of the screen or you can mount a T8 in the tank. That helps appetite and calcium/vitamin absorption to keep their bones healthy. If it isn’t hot enough or their isn’t enough UVB that can affect appetite. It sounds like you got a bigger tank and the temp might not be warm enough. Babies need it about 105-110 degrees.

He is about 6 and a half inches I'm assuming 3 months (pet smart didn't know squat about him) I'm measuring the temp with the stick on adhesive thermometer. And my uvb is a reptisun 10.0 UVB 12 watt desert minicompact bulb. As for my basking I'm not sure and right now the tank is at 105 degrees + (105 degrees is the range it will go up to)

 

[Chris5299]

Sounds like hes gonna shed--- and as far as eating the dubias they are more filling meaning its 6 crickets to 1 dubia- I would recommend you keep him on the dubias if you can -- they carry less parasites and pin worms--and since hes only 3 months old they will eat little vegies -- their main diet now is bugs - they need the protein along w/ the bugs being dusted w/ calcium powder 5 times per week and vitamins 2 times per week--- please dont force feed him --- they will eat when they are ready unless he is sick and w/ all the energy I dont think hes sick but getting ready to shed-- the misting is good as long as you are doing it out of his tank - the UVB should be like a Reptisun T10 or T8 I believe--- tip of the week on the right side of page gives the proper UVB --- along w/ the other articles on the right side of this page can also give lots of answers to questions-- hope this helps

Karrie

THANK YOU SO MUCH I FEEL WAY BETTER NOW!!! I'll stop force feeding him. I'm just concerned because what should I do if he doesn't eat?

 

[Falkorsmom]

They shed different areas all the time. Falkor shed his tail, then a week later his head... 2 weeks later it was his torso and 2 legs lol. He looked a mess for 3 weeks but a cute mess. Try bathing him every day to see if it helps his shed along more. If he still isn’t eating, you could try taking him to the vet for tests. I took Falkor for a check up and found out he had a high level of coccidia and adenovirus. (I’m not trying to be an alarmist). But ultimately, if you feel like something is wrong, then a vet visit is definitely a good way to be safer than sorry.

 

[Falkorsmom]

this is my grumpy little guy while he was shedding his head