Baby beardie has been eating 5 dubia roaches a day

[MiraC]

I have a new baby bearded dragon that's about 7-8 weeks old. I got him from petsmart 3 weeks ago( I know it's not the best choice.I made a mistake).He has been eating 3-5 dubia roaches a day and nothing else. I'm concerned about his health and I don't know what to do. His set up is perfectly fine. I have been researching about bearded dragons ever since I got him.

He has 10.0 reptisun t8 mounted in his tank
he also has combo deep dome lamp with 10.0 uvb and 150w heat lamp
100-105 warm side 80-85 cold side

I have been trying to feed him with dubia roaches and small super worms because he doesn't eat crickets on a separate feeding box or in his tank. I have to kill the crickets one by one and put it in front of him so he can eat them. I dust dubia roaches and super worms with calcium 5 times a week and with multivitamin 2 times a week. He seems to eat his salad but not that much. I always put fresh salad in his tank just in case he wants to eat something. I use a bowl to keep the dubia roaches in his tank from running away.

He is active and energetic. He basks most of the time but I'm not concerned about that since he needs the heat to poo. He poops every day. I give him warm baths ever other day. He sometimes drinks water if I drop some water on his mouth.

He is 4 inches long. I only handle him to take baths and let him sleep in my hand at night so he can get used to me. I also noticed that all of his body gets dark colored when he sees me in his tank.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Does he have parasites ? Should I take him to the vet? I know that his cociddia count can get higher when they are adjusting to their new environment but it has been more than 3 weeks.

Please help!!!

 

[KarrieRee]

The roaches hes eating is good -- you dont need to supplement him w/ crickets- 1 dubia roach = 6 crickets -- hes doing good - the super worms I would cut out - hes too young and they are hard on his digestive system -- also crickets tend to give parasites so the dubias are better for him-- its good hes eating greens - I couldnt get Hiccup to eat greens at that age - their main diet that young is bugs -- the dark usually means hes absorbing the heat is he sitting under his basking lamp? I dont think you need that extra UVB the dome one- the Repitsun you have inside the tank is good others may recommend a T5 bulb -- but I wouldnt worry - he sounds like hes in good hands-
Karrie

 

[MiraC]

I always see people taking videos of their beardies eating 20 dubia roaches or even more. Mine doesn't seem interested when I give him dubia roaches. He just stares at me then he suddenly changes his color to darker black.

Under the light he's usually lighter dark but when he sees me he gets dark black.

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[MiraC]

So it’s officially a month now since I got him. He’s not eating dubia roaches anymore( he only ate total of 3 for the last 2-3 days). He drinks water when I bath him but nothing else. His poo’s are getting smaller and I don’t know what to do with him. I try feeding him 4 times a day. He doesn’t seem interested when I show him his food. He sees them but doesn’t go for it. He’s definitely getting skinnier but doesn’t look really unhealthy. I really want him to live. Can someone please help me ?

 

[vrenee1018]

I think taking him to the vet would be a good decision now.

 

[KarrieRee]

I would get him into a reptile vet -- if hes losing weight --- something else is going on---
Karrie

 

[MiraC]

Okay I will definitely do that. Thank you so much for the help!

 

[MiraC]

So I took my baby bearded dragon to the vet and got a fecal test done. He doesn’t have any parasites or coccidia. He got a vitamin shot and that’s it. They said that he’s a little bit underweight and they can’t do anything since he’s so small. He’s still not eating and I don’t know what his problem is. He went from 5 dubia roaches to 0 dubia roaches. I asked the vet what can be the problem and she said that she doesn’t know.

Any recommendations? I have tried everything so far and the only way he eats is if a mix reptaboost with chicken/squash baby food.

 

[KarrieRee]

we are gonna check lighting -- how old is the UVB bulb in your tank ? T 8's need to be changed out every 6 months-- how are you taking temps? Is he sitting under the UVB ?
Karrie

 

[AHBD]

Hi Mira, can you post pics of the baby as well as the set up ? Here's how :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload

When did he last eat the superworms ? Those can cause impaction in a small baby. Try feeding him some Reptaboost, baby food squash + sweet potato. Just drip it on his snout. Those can help him poo if he DOES have an impaction. And like Karrie asked, what exact bulbs are you using ? Show pics of those as well.

 

[MiraC]

This is him. He has t8 and also zoomed uvb and heat lamp. The only way he eats is if I mix reptaboost with squash and chicken baby food. I am not too sure why he's not eating well. Temperature in the terrarium is 105 hot side and 85 on the cold side. Also the vet told me that he's about 8-10 weeks old and 17 grams.

 

[CooperDragon]

He looks pretty good based on the photos. Setup is nice although you may consider moving the T8 over next to the big branch/basking site and try putting it directly overhead rather than shining outward from the wall.

 

[KarrieRee]

Yes could be why he's not eating very well try moving UVB as cooperdragon suggested see if that changes his behavior
Karrie

 

[MiraC]

I will try moving his tree to the right side of the terrarium. Hopefully he will start eating better. Thank you so much for the help !