Baby Beardie Not Eating

laurencamp

Member
Beardie name(s)
Brea
I'm a new beardie parent, we've had our sweet Brea for a little over two weeks. I've included all of the stats on his enclosure in my profile. For the first week and a half, he was eating great! About 20 small Dubias per day and the occasional collard green, pooping about twice a day. I couldn't get him to drink but bathed him every 5 days. Starting on Friday of last week (8/19) he stopped eating entirely- showed no interest in dubias, even when i tried to feed him with tongs and my hand. Yesterday, Monday, I took him to the vet because I was super worried after 3 days straight of showing zero interest in food. Thankfully we have a great reptile vet who was able to fit us in that day. The vet said that he looked very healthy overall and was just dehydrated. He gave him some fluids and fed him via tube, to which he responded really well- was running around very excited. The vet wasn't able to test for parasites since he didn't poop that day (and still hasn't). I tried to feed him today and again no interest. I'm going to try to follow up with the vet tomorrow, but in the meantime I'm just so worried. While the basking spot temp seems to be ok, I am thinking that the temps on the warm side generally are too low- it rarely gets above 90, this evening it was 88. so i'm wondering if the temps are affecting his energy and appetite. I've ordered a CHE and am waiting for that to arrive so that I can get him warmer. Humidity has been around 35%. My main question is: have others experienced this? Is this within a normal range of baby beardie behavior? Most sources seem to say that they should be very active and eat a ton. Brea is always alert and holding himself up, but he rarely moves from the basking spot. How do I help him to eat and stay hydrated? What else can I be doing? Please help!
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AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Temps. + humidity are fine, how are you measuring them ? Can you post full pics of the enclosure ? Did you get Brea from a breeder, store or a show ? If from a store, can you go back and see how the other beardies, who may be his siblings, are doing ? Also, post pics of the exact size of dubia next to a coin. Is Brea still pooping ? For hydration you can drip a little water on Brea's nose.
 

laurencamp

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Brea
I'm measuring temps with an infrared temperature gun. I do have a thermometer with a probe and a humidity gauge as well on the warm side, and a simple digital thermometer/hygrometer on the cool side. I'm still worried about temps, as this morning it was only 82 on the warm side (basking spot was still 106; we are using a 100W Arcadia halogen bulb which sits on top of the mesh screen for a heat lamp). The CHE lamp I ordered will arrive tomorrow. We got her from a local store specializing in exotics, so I can def go check on the other beardies. He was the biggest and healthiest looking one of the clutch. I've posted full pics of the enclosure as well as of the dubias, which was an order of 3/8" from dubia.com. Brea was pooping normally up until Sunday but hasn't pooped since then (hasn't pooped since being fed by the vet on Monday). Thank you so much for getting back to me. I'm really worried about him. He also showed no interest in eating when I tried again this morning.
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AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Some of the bigger dbia might have been too much for him and causing a bit of constipation, how many was he eating daily ? Try some unsweetened applesauce, few drops of honey , baby food sweet potato or canned pumpkin. If it's not impaction it might be the temp. is too low so you can get another small aluminum dome from Walmart, Home Depot, etc and a 53 watt halogen bulb from the same place. You can get a 4 pack for less than what you'd pay for a reptile basking bulb. That should bump the temp. up if you set it a few inches from the other one. Another possibility is that the uvb fixture is not covering enough of the tank. I strongly always recommend that babies be started out in a smaller tank. Beautiful set up though, very well done. Can still be overwhelming for a baby.
 
Beardie name(s)
Moonshine
I’m having similar issues with Moonshine. But she’s pooping almost daily. She just doesn’t eat much. I try to bathe her daily and I’ve tried feeding her some baby food squash but she doesn’t seem interested. please post if your Brea has improved! I tend to be a worrier with my animals😂😂
 

fcooper

Hatchling Member
I’m having similar issues with Moonshine. But she’s pooping almost daily. She just doesn’t eat much. I try to bathe her daily and I’ve tried feeding her some baby food squash but she doesn’t seem interested. please post if your Brea has improved! I tend to be a worrier with my animals😂😂
As long as you keep a close eye on humidity levels in your enclosure you don’t need to worry about overbathing. Every days is a lot, and really isn’t necessary.
 

laurencamp

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Brea
I’m having similar issues with Moonshine. But she’s pooping almost daily. She just doesn’t eat much. I try to bathe her daily and I’ve tried feeding her some baby food squash but she doesn’t seem interested. please post if your Brea has improved! I tend to be a worrier with my animals😂😂
Hi there!!!! I hope that Moonshine is doing better! I'm a worrier too, so I certainly relate. I have some sad news about Brea- we had to put her to sleep last week. She stopped eating insects on her own, and I was syringe feeding her exclusively. Her joints became extremely swollen and she could barely move- she was just dragging herself along, and I would have to put her on her basking log in the mornings. In the three months that we had her, I think we went to the vet about 5 times. At our last visit, the vet said he was fairly certain it was gout and that while I was keeping her alive, she was clearly in pain. So we made the difficult decision to euthanize. I so wish that I had been more educated about irresponsible breeding practices before getting her. I got her from a mom and pop-type reptile shop and I'm certain she was sick when we got her, as we started having problems about a week in. I went back there the other day just to observe and it was clear to me their husbandry was lacking- older dragons with clear MBD, scrawny looking babies all thrown together in a tiny tank... it was so sad to see and it makes me so angry. Even though we had her for a short time, I loved Brea so much. We are getting a new juvenile from a breeder recommended by our vet and I hope that we get to have many more adventures with him when he arrives. I'll keep y'all posted. Thank you to all the members of this community for your kindness, expertise and concern.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I’m having similar issues with Moonshine. But she’s pooping almost daily. She just doesn’t eat much. I try to bathe her daily and I’ve tried feeding her some baby food squash but she doesn’t seem interested. please post if your Brea has improved! I tend to be a worrier with my animals😂😂

Hi there!!!! I hope that Moonshine is doing better! I'm a worrier too, so I certainly relate. I have some sad news about Brea- we had to put her to sleep last week. She stopped eating insects on her own, and I was syringe feeding her exclusively. Her joints became extremely swollen and she could barely move- she was just dragging herself along, and I would have to put her on her basking log in the mornings. In the three months that we had her, I think we went to the vet about 5 times. At our last visit, the vet said he was fairly certain it was gout and that while I was keeping her alive, she was clearly in pain. So we made the difficult decision to euthanize. I so wish that I had been more educated about irresponsible breeding practices before getting her. I got her from a mom and pop-type reptile shop and I'm certain she was sick when we got her, as we started having problems about a week in. I went back there the other day just to observe and it was clear to me their husbandry was lacking- older dragons with clear MBD, scrawny looking babies all thrown together in a tiny tank... it was so sad to see and it makes me so angry. Even though we had her for a short time, I loved Brea so much. We are getting a new juvenile from a breeder recommended by our vet and I hope that we get to have many more adventures with him when he arrives. I'll keep y'all posted. Thank you to all the members of this community for your kindness, expertise and concern.
I am sorry you put her down for the reason of gout ---- it could of been treated w/ Allopurinol --- was a blood test done to test the uric acid levels? That is sad to hear as the Allopurinol would of relieved the pain and the swelling ---
 

laurencamp

Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Brea
She was still too small to do a blood test... 27 grams I believe... the vet said he didn't think Allopurinol would get her to the point where she was able to lead a normal life, although he didn't go into detail as to why. I was pretty overwhelmed at the time and wish I would have asked for more explanation. I think he was thinking there were likely issues in addition to the gout that would have prevented a full recovery- I know he suspected possible ADV as well.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
She was still too small to do a blood test... 27 grams I believe... the vet said he didn't think Allopurinol would get her to the point where she was able to lead a normal life, although he didn't go into detail as to why. I was pretty overwhelmed at the time and wish I would have asked for more explanation. I think he was thinking there were likely issues in addition to the gout that would have prevented a full recovery- I know he suspected possible ADV as well.
I see --- sad ---- ok - well make sure you sanitize your tank w/ some F 10 - Rescue or Zoo Meds Wipe Out before getting another one since you arent exactly sure what the issue was --- especially w/ ADV that is extremely contagious
 
Beardie name(s)
Moonshine
As long as you keep a close eye on humidity levels in your enclosure you don’t need to worry about overbathing. Every days is a lot, and really isn’t necessary.
Thank you for the advice. Humidity levels are around 30-40% so I will cut back on baths. I did up the basking light to 100w and she/ he is eating more and is more active!
 
Beardie name(s)
Moonshine
Hi there!!!! I hope that Moonshine is doing better! I'm a worrier too, so I certainly relate. I have some sad news about Brea- we had to put her to sleep last week. She stopped eating insects on her own, and I was syringe feeding her exclusively. Her joints became extremely swollen and she could barely move- she was just dragging herself along, and I would have to put her on her basking log in the mornings. In the three months that we had her, I think we went to the vet about 5 times. At our last visit, the vet said he was fairly certain it was gout and that while I was keeping her alive, she was clearly in pain. So we made the difficult decision to euthanize. I so wish that I had been more educated about irresponsible breeding practices before getting her. I got her from a mom and pop-type reptile shop and I'm certain she was sick when we got her, as we started having problems about a week in. I went back there the other day just to observe and it was clear to me their husbandry was lacking- older dragons with clear MBD, scrawny looking babies all thrown together in a tiny tank... it was so sad to see and it makes me so angry. Even though we had her for a short time, I loved Brea so much. We are getting a new juvenile from a breeder recommended by our vet and I hope that we get to have many more adventures with him when he arrives. I'll keep y'all posted. Thank you to all the members of this community for your kindness, expertise and concern.
I am so sorry to hear your news. I got Moonshine from Cold Blood Creation out of Georgia. Owner Randy was very nice and he has YouTube videos that are helpful.
Hopefully you can get another beardie soon!
 

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