Baby Beardie Won't Chew

[Chipinators]

Hello everyone, I've posted on the reddit but nobody knew what was wrong so it was recommended to post over here as well.

First some background: My baby bearded dragon Ryuu has not eaten live food or veggies in probably a month and a half to two months now. I got him on December 31st and when I brought him home he ate perfectly fine. I then moved to school and he was still eating fine for a few weeks but then I noticed he started missing crickets and eventually gave up eating all together. At this point he also started losing a lot of his energy. I started feeding him baby food with calcium through a syringe so he would at least get some food in him. I brought him to the vet and they de-wormed him and put him on medication for 21 days but it didnt seem to do much. Towards the end of the 21 days he started getting a little more energy but still wasn't eating. I called the vet and they told me to bring him back in so I did and they ended up de-worming him and saying that there's wasn't anything really wrong with him and just to keep an eye on him (what a waste of $63 am I right?).

Since then I've upgraded his tank to a 20L and bought him a new UVB because people said that the one I had wasn't the best for him. Since the new tank upgrade a week ago he has definitely become more active and back to his old self but the problem still remains; he will not eat live food or anything that he has to chew. I first noticed this chewing thing when I got wax worms to see if he'd like those: he didn't. As a last resort I squished one in a syringe and tried feeding it to him that way and he would lick up the juices but whenever a solid piece touched the tip of his mouth he would pull his head back and stick his nose down into my hand and shake his head as if saying "no". I figured that he realized it was something that was alive and wasn't having it but then shortly after I tried more baby food and when a more solid piece of it came through the syringe he did the exact same thing.

A few days ago I also got some Nature Zone Baby Bearded Dragon Soft Moist Food so see if maybe he'd eat something that wasn't alive but he didn't like that either. He loves the baby food and will always lap that up without a fuss but I really want him back on a normal diet.

Is he just become lazy and expect to be fed that way or is something wrong with his mouth that makes him not want to chew?

Thanks for any help you guys can give!

 

[CooperDragon]

I can think of a few possibilities on this one. The de-worming medication can be harsh on their stomachs. It's recommended that you provide probiotics during treatment and for a little while after to replenish their cut flora. Try feeding some bene-bac for birds & reptiles and see if that starts to help (it may take a week or so). It could also be a lingering problem with the setup. What are the temperatures in your enclosure? What kind of UVB light did you pick up? Can you post a photo of your setup? I'll be glad to look it over to see if anything stands out as a possible problem. My third thought is directly related to the chewing. When he opens his mouth, do you see any signs of wounds or reddishness? Perhaps somethings is wrong inside his mouth that is causing pain when he tries to chew.

 

[Chipinators]

Okay I'll definitely get him some of the Bene-Bac and see how that works.

Temperatures: Hot side(right) is 95-100 and the cooler side(left) is around 78-82.
UVB: Zilla Slimline Desert 50 UVB T8 Fluorescent Fixture

My apologies for the picture quality, my phone camera isn't the best

Also have a new hammock coming in today so I'll post an updated picture once it's in.

When he opens his mouth nothing looks out of the ordinary. It still looks like the same pinky color as when I got him.

 

[CooperDragon]

That all looks pretty good to me. The reflective slimline fixture and the Desert 50 bulb should provide good exposure 6-8'' down from the fixture so he should be able to get plenty of UVB now, especially on that twisted branch that juts up. What are you using in the dome fixture to the left? Is that just a household bulb for additional lighting on the cool side (cool side temps are fine)? Since there are no obvious issues with his mouth, I'd try the bene-bac and see how that goes after a week or two of treatment.

 

[Chipinators]

Both of the bulbs in the dome fixtures are Zoo Med Repti Basking Spot Lamps, the left one is a 50w turned down so it provides just a little heat + lighting and the one on the right is a 75w turned slightly down because it was a little too hot on full.

For the Bene-Bac what size would you recommend getting (Amazon)?

Updated with the new hammock:

 

[CooperDragon]

I hope he enjoys his new hammock! It sounds like your temps are dialed in nicely so I wouldn't change it. I just don't usually see two low wattage basking lights used in conjunction which is why I asked. I'd get the 15g syringe http://www.amazon.com/PetAg-Bird-Bene-Bac-Pack-15grams/dp/B0002ASS34/ It's more than enough for one round of treatment and is easy to dose out. It keeps pretty well too.

 

[Chipinators]

Thank you so much for your help! I'll keep you posted on how he turns out!

 

[johnnyze]

Hey,

Is he doing any better? Mine went on a hunger strike awhile back, and he would just eat worms. (Phoenix worms are the best for smaller dragons because of the calcium and they can't get impacted)
Also, if you're feeding him outside of the cage try just dropping crickets in front of him, mine is annoying like that and doesn't eat outside of his tank so I just crush the crickets head so their legs just moves and he eats those. But yeah, try dropping in a few Phoenix worms, and let me know how that goes!

Johnny