Baby Beardie Not Eating

[Kimmer76]

My baby beardie is not eating, or it appears as though he is not eating. I weighed him this morning and he was 11g. He got weighed last week, at the vets, and he was 10g. He has vita sand substrate, the temperature during the day is kept at just above 100 degrees on the hot side, fresh water to drink daily, small to medium crickets to eat, small mealworms, and baby beardie pellets to eat as well.

When we brought him home and he had eaten 3 crickets that day, 3 the next day, and possibly 1 or 2 the following days after that. I took him to the vet to have an overall check up and tested for parasites. It came back negative for Giardia and Coccidia. The tests were done the day after we purchased him, so he was tested before the "not eating" started to happen. His poop is well formed and long. I have seen him taste the vita sand but it doesn't seem to be a problem at this point as he continues to have bowel movements.

He recently started to shed, just the tip of his nose and tail, so far. I am uncertain if he is going to continue to shed "in pieces".

Is there any reason why he would not eat or his eating would slow down? We have already lost two baby bearded dragons, both of which were supposed to be a present for my daughter's birthday. I am doing everything in my power not to lose a third. The other two bearded dragons passed away from parasites, unfortunately. I cleaned and sanitized the tank and made double sure that nothing would get transferred to this dragon.

Any advice would be extremely helpful!

Thank you,

Kimberly Isaacs

 

[AHBD]

Hi Kim....pics would be extremely helpful, of the baby, the set up including light placement [ please list brand of lights ] and also the size of the crickets next to a coin. Medium crix may be a bit too large if he's a 6-7" baby. Shedding may be playing a part but most babies will still eat while shedding. Here's how to post pics :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to attach pics

 

[Kimmer76]

 

[Kimmer76]

 

[Kimmer76]

10.0 reptisun uvb, zoo med 100 w basking bulb, at night 100 w ceramic heat emitter and under tank heater as well, medium cricket next to quarter

 

[AHBD]

Nice set up and cute baby . It's good to have lots of climbing areas, it gives them much more actual space to utilize. One concern is the vita sand, beardies can lick it just for the taste and it is not at all easily digested but can turn in to a sludge like mix in the stomach. Think about changing it to non adhesive shelf liner which can be easily wiped up.

The medium crix may also be a problem, try to go with smaller ones than that. You can still use that one or if you have a few of them by taking off the head and feeding only the abdomen.

 

[Kimmer76]

Ok, thanks you for the advice. Is it okay to switch back to the vita sand once older?

 

[CooperDragon]

I wouldn't advise using sand. It can harbor bacteria if not cleaned regularly. In my opinion it's better to stick with a solid substrate that is easier to clean and sanitize. I use ceramic tile and it works well. I put down some fleece to provide a soft area if needed.

 

[Kimmer76]

Is this better?

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah that looks great.