Baby Beardie not eating....

[JCHendrix]

He wants nothing and I mean nothing to do with crickets. The only thing I've gotten him to eat is meal worms, and he ate a cricket once. I thought after that one time he ate it he would catch on but it seems after he finally ate one hes only been more scared of them. He is eating very little and has a BM about every 3 days. Basking area is around 100, cool is around 85, 15 gallon tank, and reptile carpet.

Edit: just went over to his care and saw his head shaking up and down pretty fast kinda like a seizure. Is this normal?

 

[smurfthebeardie]

He's too young for head bobbing, so I guess it could be calcium deficiency.

What size crickets are you using? They should be no bigger than the space between their eyes. (just a general guideline)
Mealworms are not great for BDs especially young ones. They can impact them, although it is somewhat rare.
Have you tried any veggies?

 

[gini]

How long have you had him? Could he still be dealing with relocation stress?

 

[berdie]

try wax worms or what type of theremometer do u have it should be a digitaal one with a probe the ones that stick to the cage aren't useful after i changed my theremometer and got the temps right my baby beardie also started eating!

i think it's the temps

 

[JCHendrix]

Im using "small" crickets. I have tried carrots and cucumber chopped very small and he never touched it. Ive had him little over a week now. All the others suggestions i'm going to just start trying until one works. Thanks guys. If anyone else has any other ideas please let me know.

 

[SARBEAR]

Like someone else said, it could still be relocation stress.
It can take a beardie days to weeks to get over relocation stress.
So I wouldn't worry too much yet.
But about the head shaking Idk...

-what kind of UVB do you have?
-is he defecating?

No more meal worms either!
You can try squash baby food for right now, just to get a little peace of mind on your part but my guess is he will be fine.
Baby beardies will often not touch their salads until they're older, so that's not abnormal.

 

[JCHendrix]

I only fed him three meal worms to get him a little something in his stomach. i would think it was relocation if it wasn't for the fact he runs from them. I'm worried that if it is relocation stress he wont get used to his surroundings in time before he suffers malnutrition.

 

[SARBEAR]

Babies can be really nervous, especially in a new surrounding, give him time.
Like I said you can try feeding him squash baby food with an eye dropper to get something in his tummy.
Just drip some on his nose and wait for him to lick it off.

-what kind of UVB do you have?
-is he defecating?

 

[JCHendrix]

yeah I'm gonna try leaving something on his nose for him to lick off. I have a reptiglo, and i know there "bad", but before i only had a UVA and since I got the reptiglo he has at least opened his eyes and as far as his behavior has made a HUGE improvement all except he is a VERY picky eater. I had him out last night and he tried to eat my hot pocket! maybe he likes tomato sauce (it was a pizza hot pocket.) Could I try giving him mashed tomato?

 

[SARBEAR]

Oh well that's good at least, if you switch to a reptisun I'll bet you'll see an even bigger difference.
As far as the tomato goes, on the nutrition chart here it says feed rarely..so Idk if that would be okay or not..
Any other input??
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

 

[Leo123]

JCHendrix, i would try ordering Phoenix worms there is no need to dust them with calcium and Beardies love em! I also had the reptiglo 10% , my beardie stopped eating for 3 weeks (2-3 crix a day) and after i gave him a tub of Phoenix worms over 2-3 days his appetite was back to normal, he now eats 10-30 crix and 4-5 Locusts a day plus he's started growing again which is great. The Reptiglo 10 as you will see in most posts not one person has a god thing to say about them, as i said before i had a reptiglo 10% i had it for the first 2 months of having my beardie, he started slowing down eating and became very lethargic, i switched it off after getting info from this site and bought a Arcadia 6% which is also a good source of uvb, it made a big difference. I would buy Phoenix worms (great appetite stimulator) and a Reptisun 10% or an Arcadia 12% (i'll be buying one of those next) and you should see a big difference.

 

[JCHendrix]

Thanks so much for the advise on phoenix worms I will try them asap. I guess I'm the first one to say I like the reptiglo, besides his not eating he has a personality again and is very active. As of now I bought a heat emitter to see if it is a temperature thing since, due to the major improvement with the reptiglo, I don't think its a lighting thing. The lighting, however, is next on my list to fix. I spoke with a man at the pet store (and yes they never know anything), but he said he has six bearded dragons and was very educated on the subject. He recommend reptomin soft gel for his fruit intake and wax worm since he will not eat the crickets. I am giving him some time to warm up with the heat emitter and then I'm going to try the wax worms. Wish me luck and thanks so much for everyones help so far.

 

[PlantWac]

Did you say that your beardie runs from crickets?
I've heard that beardies can become afraid of crickets if too many are left in the tank for a long time and they begin to bite.

Any chance this could have happened with the supplier or during the first few days of ownership?

 

[Leo123]

Im not sure if this will work for you Jimmy but you could try putting his crix in a tub then putting them in his viv, if you use a tub like the pic below (maybe you should try a smaller tub due to the size of your beardie) you should have no escape of crix, thats how i feed my beardie, when i put him in the bigger tank he seemed a bit scared of the amount of space the crix had too run, if there isn't alot of things in your viv try taking everything out when its time too feed.

In regards to the Waxworms they are full of fat and should only be used as a treat not a staple, too many can cause problems, try the phoenix worms or silkworms both very good staples, you should see a big difference in his eating and he might go back to crickets like my beardie.

I wasn't against the Reptiglo either, it seemed fine to start with but after a couple of month he seemed very lethargic and not eating very well, i would change and save taking the chance, he wasn't right for weeks until i got the Phoenix worms and the Arcadie 6%.

One more point i picked up along the way, it takes half an hour for beardes to reach the required temperature to get them active and ready to hunt food and an hour to cool down, i always put my beardie on the baskin spot for half an hour before i feed him and he always seems keen after that time.

Good Luck

Tam

 

[mehett]

You also may want to try butterworms if you can get them. I have a 3 mo old male and he is rather fussy. He will eat the phoenix worms but seems to really like the butterworms. Also neither one of my baby beardies really liked crickets either. As for the greens-simply offer them each day-they will eat them when your not looking !