Baby Beardie Not Eating After Shedding

[wesgtp]

I got my first bearded dragon, Spyro, about a month ago from Petsmart, he/she looked healthy with all toes intact and eyes clear. He was about 6 inches when I first got him and he has grown to about 7.5 inches now. He finished shedding completely two days ago and he ate very little during the shed, maybe a few crickets a day and occasionally collard greens. He has been fairly lazy the past two days, only staying in his basking spot which stays at about 100 F measured with probes. He has also been closing his eyes more often than before. I have tried to feed him crickets, dubia roaches, and phoenix worms but he has only eaten about one or two live insects a day for the past few days. His enclosure is 20 gallons with a reptisun 10.0 tube, reptile carpet as the floor. I'm wondering if it is normal for beardies to eat less even after they finish their shedding? I regularly bathe him. He used to eat about 10-15 live insects a day before he started shedding. Now he will look at the insects for a few seconds and then ignore them. Here are some pics, does he look too skinny? I am thinking of getting some soy yogurt today to see if it will increase his appetite. There is still a small piece of skin hanging off his mouth, so maybe he is still shedding part of his beard under the mouth? He still poops and deurates everyday, but not as big as they used to be. Thanks for any help, I'm hoping he isn't sick

 

[wesgtp]

Spyro has eaten one cricket so far today, he is still active if I take him out of his viv. He loves running around and seems to still have energy. Is it normal for beardies to not eat even a few days after shedding? At this point I will try soy yogurt and if he still isn't eating I will do a fecal test if I can find a vet nearby. Does anyone think these signs could indicate parasites? I don't think he has gained any weight since he started shedding and it looks like he is only getting skinnier

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He is a cutie pie, very tiny.
Shedding can cause lethargic behavior & loss of appetite, yes, but his appetite should be coming back though.
What type of basking light are you using in combination with the Reptisun 10 tube bulb? How close is the tube bulb to him? It is the long tube correct?
The non dairy soy yogurt may help him out some for his appetite. You can also get some bee pollen too for immune system help.
I would get a fecal done as worms or parasites could be the cause of his lack of appetite. Do you have a vet you could take him to for a fecal?
Since he isn't doing well right now, try to keep the tank around 80 over night also to help him out.

You can get some chicken or turkey baby food along with some squash baby food to feed to him if he is not eating much. Are you using calcium powder daily also?


Tracie

 

[wesgtp]

His eating is still very small, he didn't eat anything at all yesterday. I am taking him to a vet today to do a fecal test. I always used calcium powder on crickets but have stopped since he rarely eats anything period. I sprinkle it on collard greens along with multivitamin pellets, he will sometimes eat a small leaf or two. He is usually about 7 to 8 inches from his uvb tube (an 18 inch tube, not a coil). His heat bulb is a 65 watt soft white indoor spotlight which says produces 700 lumens. I'll probably have to start feeding the baby food at this point until I find a different diagnosis. One other thought I had was the new stick I recently put in his viv. I have no idea what kind of tree it is but I cut it out of the woods. I soaked it in bleach and scrubbed it clean before putting it in. I've heard of some respiratory problems from certain types of trees but his breathing seems fine. Thanks for helping!

 

[wesgtp]

Spyro's fecal test came back with elevated levels of coccidia. I am going to try 5% Toltrazuril as it seems to be the most recommended treatment for coccidia. I will use this in combination with acidophiliz, any suggestions would be great!

 

[wesgtp]

It has been a few days after giving Spyro a two day dosage of the toltrazuril 5% and he still shows little to no interest in food. I hand feed him baby food everyday and his weight is down to 9.8 grams. He eats one or two live foods a day max. I've been giving him reptaid daily and have not seen any improvements after 3 days. I've also been giving him acidophiliz+ everyday. Any help would be appreciated because I really want to save this little guy