3mo only drinks water?

[linzl0o]

He's 3months old. I've had him for 3 weeks and he went from 7+ small crickets a day to only water for the last week. Should I be worried? I had given him leafy greens every few days too. He'd take a few bites. But last time i noticed he was only licking the water off them. So I held a bowl of water up to him and he drank a bunch. So I've shown him a bowl of water each day and he does drink, but that's it. I've tried crickets, small piece of strawberry, a blue berry. Should I be worried?

 

[KarrieRee]

He's 3months old. I've had him for 3 weeks and he went from 7+ small crickets a day to only water for the last week. Should I be worried? I had given him leafy greens every few days too. He'd take a few bites. But last time i noticed he was only licking the water off them. So I held a bowl of water up to him and he drank a bunch. So I've shown him a bowl of water each day and he does drink, but that's it. I've tried crickets, small piece of strawberry, a blue berry. Should I be worried?

Yes he should be eating something- they will go thru relocation stress so his eating will be off but when he is fully acclimated to the tank and no stress marks she will eat approx 20-25 crickets per feeding - he should be fed 2 times per day w/ salads offered every day --- so now lets talk about surface basking temps - 105-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer -- UVB -------please NO coils- something is off in the tank for him not to be eating at all --- I will help you get the tank set up correctly for him -- tell me what those things are that I mentioned your using

 

[linzl0o]

I have all of that in place. So if he isn’t eating I need to take him to a vet? Is it possible it is brumation? He doesn’t hide.

 

[KarrieRee]

I have all of that in place. So if he isn’t eating I need to take him to a vet? Is it possible it is brumation? He doesn’t hide.

Something is off --- 3 month old dragons do not brumate-- please post a pic of the tank - I need to look to see what is going on w/ the tank --- he should be eating something and we cant let him go on not eating at all

 

[xp29]

I agree with Karrieree, babies are ferocious eaters. Something is off. Please do post up pics of your setup and your baby. We need to get him eating so he doesn't become stunted or get sick.

 

[linzl0o]

 

[linzl0o]

Today I gave him a bath with warm water and did some abdominal massage in case he was impacted. The first time I’ve seen him start to go black on his beard, poor guy. But in a positive, he actually went to bed instead of sleeping where he was basking… here’s hoping tomorrow is better.

 

[KarrieRee]

View attachment 84475

Ok so the first thing get rid of the red light-- they will damage the dragons eyes and can cause long term eye damage-- next please get 2 digital probe thermometers - one for the surface basking temps of 105-110- the other cool side Zoo Med Reptile Terrarium Digital Thermometer | reptile Humidity & Temperature Control | PetSmart
The tank is very large for a 3 month old dragon I recommend cutting it in half - use a divider like cardboard and please get rid of the loose substrate - paper towels or some textured NON adhesive shelf liner w/ no grooves in it --- cut to the size of the tank - he is pretty little and will ingest the loose substrate causing impaction - the UVB looks like a Arcadia 36" length I am guessing - it needs to be inside the tank or unobstructed - 12-15 inches directly above the basking decor -- your dragon will not eat w/ out all these things being on par --- please adjust as soon as you can

 

[linzl0o]

Ok so the first thing get rid of the red light-- they will damage the dragons eyes and can cause long term eye damage-- next please get 2 digital probe thermometers - one for the surface basking temps of 105-110- the other cool side Zoo Med Reptile Terrarium Digital Thermometer | reptile Humidity & Temperature Control | PetSmart
The tank is very large for a 3 month old dragon I recommend cutting it in half - use a divider like cardboard and please get rid of the loose substrate - paper towels or some textured NON adhesive shelf liner w/ no grooves in it --- cut to the size of the tank - he is pretty little and will ingest the loose substrate causing impaction - the UVB looks like a Arcadia 36" length I am guessing - it needs to be inside the tank or unobstructed - 12-15 inches directly above the basking decor -- your dragon will not eat w/ out all these things being on par --- please adjust as soon as you can

How do you heat at night without the red light?

 

[hdochow]

How do you heat at night without the red light?

they only need heat at night if it gets below about 65°, and then you can use a ceramic heat emitter. they like it cool and dark at night.

 

[KarrieRee]

Please no more baths--- its another stress cause--- please drop water on his nose or use a eye dropper-- when he starts eating his salad you can rinse them before serving

 

[xp29]

The ceramic heat emitters are coils like on a stove, but encased in ceramic. They put off very good heat with no light.
Beardies are like us, they like to sleep in the dark, not only will that red light harm the eyes, it disrupts their sleep.

 

[xp29]

Work with Karrieree on your lighting, she will help you get it dialed in. The lighting is the MOST critical part of their care, once it's right thing are much smoother. The other thing is cleanliness. If they run through their poop and spread it around they can have flare ups of parasites. Coccidia in particular requires being reingested to reproduce and it's miserable to get back under control.

 

[KarrieRee]

Not to mention Yellow Fungus-- dirty tanks will / can cause this