baby beardie still not eating....

[winfieldblue]

my beardie is nearly 3 months old now and only 6 inches, he hardly eats. i dont want to end up with a 14 inch adult beardie he so stubborn, only eating 5 - 6 crickets a day, theres gotta be something i can do to make him grow. everythng is righ in his tank. 100f basking spot, 10.0 reptisun 6 - 8 inches away, regular on/off cycles, im not handling him unless trying to get him to eat, its very frustratating, now that hes going on 3 months im starting to get worried.he also hasnt shed. surely it doest take 1 month for relocation stress does it ? also slkworm season has just started, can i feed these as a staple and how many should i feed a day for 2.5 cm ones?

 

[Jiffy]

bump
hope someone can help

 

[smurfthebeardie]

Has he had a vet visit?

 

[winfieldblue]

no i did have an appointment for a fecal but missed it, ill be taking him sometime in the next couple of days though. he looks fine to me, i also think he likes lower temps (94f) there is a hotter part on the basking rock (99f) but he basks on the 94f part of his basking rock, he sometimes goes under his basking rock coz it provides shade. today was a hotter then usual day and i dont think he ate anything. but he should still be eating rite? what other than parasites could it be???

 

[winfieldblue]

oh yeah i just remebered they were eating dog food before i got them, maybe thats it.....

 

[VEGASLIZARD]

Dog food? That is awful. That could definately have something to do with it. Have you tried feeding him any baby food like butternut squash in a syringe? Also might want to try Phoenix worms. They are great for picky eaters. I used to feed them to mine when she was a baby and she went nuts for them. If you find they will not eat the feeders but will eat the baby food you can blend the bugs into the baby food. It is gross but has worked for allot of us when they go on a hunger strike. I have also tried jump start and reptaid and both seem to work for stimulating apatite.

 

[winfieldblue]

ill try out the baby food, cant get pheonix worms in australia wish i could, im gunna get a fecal done n see if there anything wrong internally then ill post bak. cheers.

 

[spurlee01]

I don't know if silkies are as expensive there as here, but feed him whatever he will eat (as much as you can afford). Getting a fecal done is definitely a priority. Do you bathe him regularly? The other possibility is that he is just a "micro beardie". In the US, we are seeing some beardies that do to inbreeding or bad genetics, just don't get big at all.

 

[VEGASLIZARD]

Is it possible you have a Rankins dragon? http://www.rankinsdragon.co.uk/ They are basically a miniature version of a beardie that only gets to be 12" full grown. They also originate in Australia.

 

[winfieldblue]

well it was sold to me a inland dragon and if does turn to be a rankins im gunna report them, heres a pic up close, is he a rankins?

 

[spurlee01]

We would have to see the back to tell for sure.

 

[winfieldblue]

ok gimme 1 sec

 

[winfieldblue]

heres the back, also i noticed that his skin is folding, is he shedding?

 

[winfieldblue]

c'mon ppl still waiting for an answer.......

 

[VEGASLIZARD]

I am not an expert on Rankins but found an article that said this.

Rankin dragons also lack the distinctive inflatable beard belonging to the Vitticeps.

So if your beardie has never puffed up his beard then it may be a rankins.