Almost 5 Month Old Beardie Throwing Up

[Delta250]

Hello all. I got a female bearded dragon named Marigold from a breeder a couple days ago. She was shipped to me. Shipping was a bit stressful as she was delayed a day and went through an ice storm! When I got her, she was VERY cold and barely responsive. I slowly heated her up and she began to perk up very fast. She ate roaches, mealworms, and a few wax worms that same day and I was quite surprised!(Now that I think about it, I shouldn’t have given her mealworms) That was Friday, fast forward to yesterday, she ate the same things in the morning, and when I went to feed her yesterday night, she vomited up her bugs, twice. She was still acting pretty normal, still being skittish and jumping around and basking. Same thing today, except she won’t eat. She also has not pooped since she’s gotten here, but she did poop on her way here. Could her being that cold when she got here affect her GI tract? Her temps are fine, basking spot in the 105-110 range, and the cool side being in the 80-85. She is in a 67 gallon tank with a T5 10.0 reptisun UVB light. I’ve had a bearded dragon before, but not one this young. Any advice would be appreciated!!

 

[KarrieRee]

Hello all. I got a female bearded dragon named Marigold from a breeder a couple days ago. She was shipped to me. Shipping was a bit stressful as she was delayed a day and went through an ice storm! When I got her, she was VERY cold and barely responsive. I slowly heated her up and she began to perk up very fast. She ate roaches, mealworms, and a few wax worms that same day and I was quite surprised!(Now that I think about it, I shouldn’t have given her mealworms) That was Friday, fast forward to yesterday, she ate the same things in the morning, and when I went to feed her yesterday night, she vomited up her bugs, twice. She was still acting pretty normal, still being skittish and jumping around and basking. Same thing today, except she won’t eat. She also has not pooped since she’s gotten here, but she did poop on her way here. Could her being that cold when she got here affect her GI tract? Her temps are fine, basking spot in the 105-110 range, and the cool side being in the 80-85. She is in a 67 gallon tank with a T5 10.0 reptisun UVB light. I’ve had a bearded dragon before, but not one this young. Any advice would be appreciated!!

Sounds like something upset her stomach - relocation stress can have a factor in that too - I would not feed her any more meal worms as they do have a exoskeleton on them that is harder to digest - has she eaten any salads since shes been w / you or just insects? I would keep offering her the food if she eats she may not eat a lot and that is usually the case w/ relocation stress - if she does eat tho even a little that is good

 

[Delta250]

Sounds like something upset her stomach - relocation stress can have a factor in that too - I would not feed her any more meal worms as they do have a exoskeleton on them that is harder to digest - has she eaten any salads since shes been w / you or just insects? I would keep offering her the food if she eats she may not eat a lot and that is usually the case w/ relocation stress - if she does eat tho even a little that is good

Yeah, definitely not offering her those again! She had a little bit of salad the first day she came here, but she isn’t too interested in it. I always have greens in there just in case she wants them and I top the with bee pollen and brightly colored fruits. I just gave her some baby food just to get something in her, and she pooped for the first time! It was massive but seemed pretty normal, no looseness! I’ll keep offering her food and keep letting her get acclimated. Thanks for the reply.

 

[KarrieRee]

Yeah, definitely not offering her those again! She had a little bit of salad the first day she came here, but she isn’t too interested in it. I always have greens in there just in case she wants them and I top the with bee pollen and brightly colored fruits. I just gave her some baby food just to get something in her, and she pooped for the first time! It was massive but seemed pretty normal, no looseness! I’ll keep offering her food and keep letting her get acclimated. Thanks for the reply.

If you want you can get her some bsfl they are a good staple feeder and a good lure to the salad bowl you will need a glass or ceramic dish to keep them in -- you can hand feed her a few then drop them in the dish in front of her -
www.symtonbsf.com

 

[Delta250]

If you want you can get her some bsfl they are a good staple feeder and a good lure to the salad bowl you will need a glass or ceramic dish to keep them in -- you can hand feed her a few then drop them in the dish in front of her -
www.symtonbsf.com

Yes, I will definitely try these guys out. Appreciate the link!

 

[SPandS]

How large are the roaches? Could they have been a little large and maybe she isn't able to get them down fully?

 

[Delta250]

How large are the roaches? Could they have been a little large and maybe she isn't able to get them down fully?

They weren’t too big, I forget the number but they were pretty small. Little smaller than the space between her eyes. I think she’s just a bit stressed out, new environment and all. Could being so cold when she got here affect her at all?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Wow, poor girl, amazing actually that she made it.
I totally agree that she is stressed out, & definitely affected by the cold. It is very normal to have relocation stress so give her some
time adjust & go slowly with getting food into her.
Can you keep her warmer overnight right now?
Let us know how she is doing!

Tracie

 

[Delta250]

Hello,

Wow, poor girl, amazing actually that she made it.
I totally agree that she is stressed out, & definitely affected by the cold. It is very normal to have relocation stress so give her some
time adjust & go slowly with getting food into her.
Can you keep her warmer overnight right now?
Let us know how she is doing!

Tracie

Right? Glad she perked up fast and for the most part she’s doing well! I’ve had a CHE on at night for her so definitely trying to keep her warmer at night. She finally decided to eat some roaches later yesterday so that’s a relief! I had my first beardie put down a month ago due to an unknown illness, so when she threw up it made me SUPER worried. Really appreciate your guys advice!

 

[CDHarder]

I'm so sorry you went through this with Marigold!! We had an almost identical shipping nightmare with our 4mo male Coach Beard here a few weeks back and he arrived in a very similar frigid state. Once he warmed up (and just to give you fair warning), he has been what can only be described as voracious. It is not uncommon for him to demolish 20-30 dubia at a sitting and to finish a significant salad every day. We've added Phoenix Worms to try to just find a few different ways to satiate him but his appetite these first few weeks has been off the scale, to the point where we've contemplated if his cold shipment experience threw him into brumation and his little reptilian brain thinks he's been asleep (and thus nutrient deprived) for months instead of hours. We've started to see the smallest of a slow down (closer to 20 instead of 30) but we've also moderated the number provided at a time simply to avoid him astro-blasting multiple roaches in a mouthful and risking choking. His fecals are voluminous (to be kind) but not always every day...at least every other day though. So here's hoping that Marigold comes around more slowly but if she does get into food-demolisher mode, maybe just multiple smaller meals a day will help settle her stomach.

 

[Delta250]

I'm so sorry you went through this with Marigold!! We had an almost identical shipping nightmare with our 4mo male Coach Beard here a few weeks back and he arrived in a very similar frigid state. Once he warmed up (and just to give you fair warning), he has been what can only be described as voracious. It is not uncommon for him to demolish 20-30 dubia at a sitting and to finish a significant salad every day. We've added Phoenix Worms to try to just find a few different ways to satiate him but his appetite these first few weeks has been off the scale, to the point where we've contemplated if his cold shipment experience threw him into brumation and his little reptilian brain thinks he's been asleep (and thus nutrient deprived) for months instead of hours. We've started to see the smallest of a slow down (closer to 20 instead of 30) but we've also moderated the number provided at a time simply to avoid him astro-blasting multiple roaches in a mouthful and risking choking. His fecals are voluminous (to be kind) but not always every day...at least every other day though. So here's hoping that Marigold comes around more slowly but if she does get into food-demolisher mode, maybe just multiple smaller meals a day will help settle her stomach.

Oh my goodness! Now that you mention the brumation, that makes a bit of sense! It was so scary, I thought she was dead, but she slowly opened her eyes so that’s when I rushed to action to warm her up. She also ended up eating 30 roaches plus some worms that night! So I will definitely be spreading out her feedings. Wish she’d touch her veggies though! Glad your little guy was okay!