Baby Beardie Not Eating Enough?

[jake1191]

So i got my newest beardie because my sister inlaw bought him at petsmart. I have been offering crickets and greens every day but he only will eat about 5 crickets a day and no greens at all.

After reading some other threads I now fear he isnt getting enough to eat.

How do I go about supplementing his diet otherwise?

How would i go about syringe feeding? What do i use?

He is currently 6 inches long and .28 ounces(7.9 grams).

 

[icelore]

How long have you had him? That's the most important question. If it hasn't been long, he is probably going through a period of relocation stress.

Secondly, what was he eating (and how much) before you got him? If you've changed his diet suddenly, that could account for him not eating much.

Lastly, is he pooping? If he is, he may not be eating a ton, but he's eating some!

 

[jake1191]

I got him on the 13th. They said they were feeding them crickets every other day and mealworms every other day.

Apprarently at the store they keep 5 or 6 of these guys together and just throw in 10 or 15 crickets and let them free for all. And they supply a piece of tomato to eat on as well.

He does poop a few times a day.

 

[Sauzo]

My beardie only ate around 5 or so for a week or so. Then once she settled in, she started pigging out. You can also try Phoenix worms/reptiworms or dubia roaches. Beardies love those things. Mine won't even eat crickets anymore after dubias. Babies usually don't eat much greens to begin with and especially if stressed from relocation stress. Beardies can go awhile without food but you should definitely give him/her baths daily or every other day to make sure he/she stays hydrated. That's the most important part since at that age they dehydrate very fast. Here is a good link to stuff to try for him/her http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[jake1191]

I have that nutrition chart posted right next to my feeding calendar. I went last night and bought every staple item on the list that I could get from Wegmans. So far Lizzy is loving her salads today. She has ate 3 small food dishes full.

I have been giving him two baths a day because when I got him he was shedding and after that it was just habit.

 

[CountofCasualty]

If you're worried about your baby not getting enough protein(very important for babies), you can syringe feed baby food. It's what I'm doing with my little one since he's not eating as much as I would like.

I go with 1:1 ratio of store bought organic chicken and veg stage 1 baby food, and home cooked spaghetti squash blended until smooth. In that I put Carnivore Care in the whole batch. I got it from a local vet, but you can buy it from here: http://www.beardeddragon.co/index.php?route=product/product&path=61&product_id=118
I put just over 1/8th of a tsp in for every tsp of food. It's packed with protein, so it's great for dragons that aren't eating their bugs.

From there I split it into 2 batches and mix in his calcium in one. It should be about 1 part calcium to 3 parts food. (1/3tsp for every tsp). He gets that for 1 feeding 5 times a week. The other is plain food for his other feedings, and 1 time a week he gets a little bit of multivitamins mixed in(again a 1:3 ratio). I only give multi's once a week because the Carnivore Care has a lot of vitamins in it. If not using Carnivore Care, do multivitamins 2x weekly.

And from there you syringe feed. You can put a little on the nose and lips and they should lick it right off. Keep doing that until they stop eating for at least a minute. My boy eats as much as 1/3 of a tsp per feeding and I try to feed him 3x a day with crickets between if he'll take them. I offer veggies, but he won't take them, and since I know there's lots of veg in his baby food already I'm not super worried about it.

Hope this answered your syringe feeding question. You can do feed without carnivore care, but I would go straight chicken and veg and no squash mixed in.