Baby bearded dragon not eating! almost a month HELP PLEASE!

[neojak]

Hello me and my girlfriend recently got a baby bearded dragon from a local pet store on December 24th. Around January 5th he started shedding and stopped eating. We noticed its eyes where doing some unusual movement as if he was trying to get something out we realized he had some gunk and we helped it get it out. we suspected an eye infection so we got an ointment to help him get rid of it. he/she no longer has any gunk its eyes but always keeps them closed.

Our problem is that now he wont eat and its eyes are always closed. he was in a 9gal tank
tropical UVB fluorescent bulb 13 Watt
50w heat bulb
his hotpot was at 95-100 deg F
and cool side at around 85 deg F

we suspected that the UVB light (coil light) was damaging his vision so we took it out and ordered a reptisun 10.0 HO Tube+ fixture however this has notcome in yet. so we replaced both the UVB light and the heat light with a Exo Terra Solar-Glo 125w
we also got him a 30 gal tank because we thought the gal was to small

so its current setup is:

exo terra solar-glo 125w (claims to provide both UVB/UVA) (waiting for reptisun 10.0 HO Tube)
http://tinyurl.com/zz9uk3l

Hot spot(highest point of his basking rock): 105-110 deg F (lights on for 8-12 hours)
coolside: 75-80 deg F
nighttime: 70~ deg F
Terrarium: exo terra large low (around 30~ gal) (http://tinyurl.com/z2zgbca)
substrate: Repti Carpet

we always provide the beardie with crickets(dusted with calcium),veggies/fruit and water(he drinks occasionally). After he stopped eating we tried some mealworms (ate 3) and my girlfriend also started force feeding him some baby food (squash, yam with calcium powder) in a syringe. she is also able to force feed him about 1 cricket a day before he spits them out. we are also getting a multivitamin tomorrow.


also one last comment when he started shedding he never fully shed the skin around his arms he/she still has them around its arms since the first week of January. my gf gives the beardie daily 15-30 min bath. he always poops in it, sometimes the poop has chunks and sometimes its only white. its toes are a bit curled has loose skin, and a weak tail. His mouth isn’t pink colored anymore. it’s almost transparent

the beardie looks smaller than the day we got him and its eyes are closed for most of the time. he still runs and explores his terrarium in the mornings but then remains inactive for the rest of the day.


we are really worried! we love our little guy any advice would be really welcome thank you!

pictures of him and setup:

 

[AHBD]

He should start doing better once you get the Reptisun uvb. The solar glo is O.K but may burn too bright for the first few days. Keep trying the baby food and another tip is to squish a cricket until the guts come out, then rub it lightly on his snout. That can spark the appetite. Shorten the baths to no more than 10 minutes every other day.

For nutrition and hydration get some Pedialyte to mix with the baby food and a bit of extra water and drip that on his snout. Drip, then wait, then drip again right on his lips. If he doesn't go for that or the smashed cricket, get a small thin piece of cardboard [ like from a cereal box top ] and wedge that gently in to open his mouth. Use a feeding syringe or eyedropper to get a bit of the mix in if you can. Just be very careful to see that he swallows it and doesn't aspirate any.

Hopefully he'll be feeling better soon.

 

[neojak]

He should start doing better once you get the Reptisun uvb. The solar glo is O.K but may burn too bright for the first few days. Keep trying the baby food and another tip is to squish a cricket until the guts come out, then rub it lightly on his snout. That can spark the appetite. Shorten the baths to no more than 10 minutes every other day.

For nutrition and hydration get some Pedialyte to mix with the baby food and a bit of extra water and drip that on his snout. Drip, then wait, then drip again right on his lips. If he doesn't go for that or the smashed cricket, get a small thin piece of cardboard [ like from a cereal box top ] and wedge that gently in to open his mouth. Use a feeding syringe or eyedropper to get a bit of the mix in if you can. Just be very careful to see that he swallows it and doesn't aspirate any.

Hopefully he'll be feeling better soon.

Thank you AHBD i forgot to mention we have been trying crushing the crickets but no luck yet. however yesterday he ate a cricket on his own witch was really exciting because he has not done that in weeks! we will definitely try the cereal box top and Pedialyte mix for hydration. my i ask the reason for shortening the baths? im only asking because our beardie has not fully finished shedding and i was reading that daily baths where good for them but we will shorten them thanks

 

[AHBD]

That's good if he'll eat some crickets on his own. Be sure they are no longer than the space between his eyes, and only a few at a time since he hasn't eaten in a long time. One thing to slow the cricks down is to put them in a jar with a pinch of calcium powder and put the lid on, then shake them until they're dizzy. Drop 2-3 near him , most babies will go for the slow moving weak crickets.

Long soaks are never necessary and increases the risk of aspirating water or chilling the beardie. I raised lots of babies right from the egg and they never got soaked unless they were soiled from stepping in poo. I kept them well hydrated by spraying them daily and this also kept them shedding very easily.

 

[neojak]

That's good if he'll eat some crickets on his own. Be sure they are no longer than the space between his eyes, and only a few at a time since he hasn't eaten in a long time. One thing to slow the cricks down is to put them in a jar with a pinch of calcium powder and put the lid on, then shake them until they're dizzy. Drop 2-3 near him , most babies will go for the slow moving weak crickets.

Long soaks are never necessary and increases the risk of aspirating water or chilling the beardie. I raised lots of babies right from the egg and they never got soaked unless they were soiled from stepping in poo. I kept them well hydrated by spraying them daily and this also kept them shedding very easily.

thank you so much this is grate advice we will try that out immediately!