Don't rush into anything. Sometimes it takes a Beardie awhile to come out of brumation. They will eat when they are hungry and awake enough. My Sly took a couple weeks to be fully functioning enough to want to eat. His appetite is great all because we allowed him to go through the natural process himself. Of course we were there doting on him any time he was out and moving and supplying fresh greens daily. Try a
bath. Sly perked right up after that.
But Lance, he's still brumating but he went down later because I wanted to try and keep this guy moving because he's getting old and this is the one we must syringe feed. We feed baby food not because we want to boost him into wanting to eat. You see, he only has 4 teeth in his mouth and refuses to eat anything. Mind you, there's been some nasty sores around his mouth which have healed up nicely now that he's actually learned how to eat from a syringe. It took a year and a half to master the technique to where both human and lizard can manage well.
Only feed baby food as a last resort. You will want to make sure that you give a vegetable to start off. If they are old enough to brumate most of their diet should be greens. Too much protein when they wake up from brumation is not good for them. It hurts their insides. We feed squash, sweet potato, carrots, peas and beans. We also add in chicken with broth or turkey with broth. The only ingredients on the label should be chicken and chicken broth or for the vegetables, such as squash is should only say squash and water. It only needs to be room temperature but you won't use all a jar. What we normally do is put a couple teaspoons of vegetable into a ramikin and add calcium or vitamins and give it a good stir and suck up the food with the syringe lightly tapping the air out as you go. Then you will want to try to put a dab on the nose. Let it sit there and let him smell it. It might start dripping down but let it. It will be messy at first. He will eventually lick it up. Carefully and slowly approach the side of his mouth with the tip of the syringe. He will probably bite down but if you were smart you bought a plastic one which worse case he cracks it. When he's doing the chewing motion gently squirt a little into his mouth. We always aim for the other side so it's not being forced down his throat which could cause choking. Be very careful when syringe feeding a dragon.
If you need any more help please feel free to PM me. Also, where in Canada are you?
Right now giving the baby pretty much whatever it will eat. I also bought chicken puree babyfood to try to get some protein in her. YUMMY. haha!
