Baby is not eating and lost a LOT of weight! Dying???.

[goomysmom]

Hi so i made a post in health a while ago about my dragon Goomy having coccidia and pinworms but otherwise being asymptomatic. i had a few replies asking for the count/load of the worms and coccidias as well as photos of my reptiles set up. i replied with all the info but never got a reply back. i did a lot of research so i hope his cage is set up correctly and that im feeding him the right stuff. I have taken my dragon to the vet and the dr said he looked good and hes been steadily gaining weight. She is not a reptile specialist however and there is not one in my location (closest one is two hours away) She said that she personally wouldnt treat for coccidia at this time bc it is probably due to stress that he had it. BUT two days ago I weighed him and he was 47.4 grams. When i got home from work today I looked at him and his skin looked a little loose and he seemed smaller to me. I weighed him again and he was 42.94. I immediately called the vet I took him too but she isnt in today and wont be in tomorrow either! I took another stool sample in two days ago (same day i weighed him) but havent gotten results back, when i called the vet today they said they havent gotten them yet... I am really really worried about him. He is not eating much. I offered him like 6 crickets and he only ate one. I offered him some collard greens and bok choy as well and he only ate a small piece of the bok choy. he wont eat crickets if i try to hand (or tweezer) feed them. Ive offered organic sweet potato baby food as well but he wont eat that either. i syringe fed him .2ml of the baby food just to make sure he was getting calories but Im just worried that he wont make it. This is my first ever reptile and I really do not know what to do. i just want him to be okay. please check my coccidia and pinworms post for photos of his set up and stuff.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, sorry that Goomy is not too well. It may be that the coccidia count is higher.See what the results are + it may shed some light. Is there anything different at all that you've done with his tank to cause stress ? Have you tried any other feeder insects like Calci or Phoenix worms ?

You can offer the baby food by dripping it on his snout. You can also try smashing a cricket until the guts come out [ I know, gross ] and rubbing it lightly on his snout, that sometimes works.

A few grams is not much, but you're right to be concerned since he should be gaining a bit rather than losing.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Hi there, sorry that Goomy is not too well. It may be that the coccidia count is higher.See what the results are + it may shed some light. Is there anything different at all that you've done with his tank to cause stress ? Have you tried any other feeder insects like Calci or Phoenix worms ?

You can offer the baby food by dripping it on his snout. You can also try smashing a cricket until the guts come out [ I know, gross ] and rubbing it lightly on his snout, that sometimes works.

<<<< definitely works , another trick I've adopted along with squishing the head only of the crickets is to pluck off the two big rear hopper legs (I call these drumsticks) and to get the stubborn little lizard to eat I first grab a drumstick and slip it's thick end (might need to press it firmly !!) between the lips on the side of it's mouth near the snout and then while it chewing the drumstick (need to have good timing here and good hand/eye coordination) I firmly press the gooy end of the cricket against the side of it's mouth (yes until it gets the hang of the hand feeding the risk if getting a finger tip nip is high) , they will usually take the cricket when they taste it.
There are also some useful video clips showing how to "force" feed hatchlings too that are worth watching , the better ones show how to pull down on the lower front lip to open the mouth and deposit an insect in the mouth (looks very rough - but if it's it works and the hatchling gets food into it , it's worth the stress IMO).
Another trick I saw one of the reptile handlers at the Gosford Reptile Park's Hospital use to feed a sick and stubborn lizard several years ago , was to take a plastic coated playing card, fold it in half , cut a small hole just big enough to slip a food item/insect through in the middle of the crease, then slip the folded card between the lizard's upper and lower lips and teeth and about 1/2 to the back of the mouth, while the card in the lizard's mouth, open the folded card enough to slip a food item/insect through the hole into the lizard's mouth, remove the card, insect is eaten , repeat ....

If AHBD's and my suggestions and the methods shown on UTube don't work, I recommend getting Repashi GrubPie and making a sloppy paste of it and giving it buy syringe using a 2.5mm or larger bore feeding/crop needle , I'd try just getting the paste into his mouth ,
if he stubbornly spit it out and never swallows it, then I'd resort to "crop"feeding .
See viewtopic.php?f=6&t=236049
and viewtopic.php?f=45&t=232687 , there is guidance on the size of feeding needles for different size lizards and also guidance on the lizard's stomach capacities based on their body weight , as well as instructions how to "crop"feed a lizard.
VetaFarm recommend 14Guage crop needles (2mm bore) for hatchlings / juvenile lizards) and 1-4ml of liquid food / slurry / paste per 100g bodyweight (I'd split the difference and try for 2.5-3ml/ 100g BW)


A few grams is not much, but you're right to be concerned since he should be gaining a bit rather than losing.

If he's not eating , he's not getting any calcium either, I suggest buying some vet grade liquid calcium (CalciVet is very good and sweet tasting and I've found lizards take it eagerly because it takes nice, this supplement is given daily , volume based on the lizard's body weight , from the back of my bottle of this , 0.2ml (4 drops) per 100g body weight).

 

[kingofnobbys]

Any news ?

Has the hatchling been taken or seen by a reptile vet ?

 

[goomysmom]

hes not a hatchling really i dont think? but ive taken him to a vet yes but not a reptile specialist bc there is not one anywhere near me. the vet i took him to has called in medication for him to treat the pinworms and coccidia he has. my boyfriend got some small horned worms yesterday and when i offered those he perked up and ate them ALL immediately.... i dont know if horned worms can be their staple food tho? he will still not touch any of the crickets i offer him maybe hes just being a brat will bearded dragons starve themself bc they just prefer one food over another?

 

[AHBD]

No they won't starve, but they will hold out for the new preferred insect once they get a new favorite.

Try Phoenix or calci worms [ BSFL ] The hornworms are way to expensive to be a staple. But it's good to hear that he's eating for you.

 

[kingofnobbys]

No they won't starve, but they will hold out for the new preferred insect once they get a new favorite.

Try Phoenix or calci worms [ BSFL ] The hornworms are way to expensive to be a staple. But it's good to hear that he's eating for you.

Yep eating a big meal is a great sign....

I recommend silkworms for him, much better feeder insect which can be staple (every day feeder) and is easy grown (all you need is access to a mulberry tree to harvest leaves from = free worm food) and you can easily let some worms pupate / make cocoons and turn into moths , and each female silkworm moth will lay 300 - 400 eggs , which can be kept in zip lock bags in the fridge for over a year if needed and hatched as needed.
If you have access to mulberry leaves and harvest your own eggs, the silkworms are FREE.

 

[goomysmom]

can you recommend a site to buy pheonix/calci worms from? ive never bought worms or bugs online. the local pet store i go to for the horned worms doesn have them and the horned worms are expensive yes. 15$ for like ten of them....

 

[kingofnobbys]

can you recommend a site to buy pheonix/calci worms from? ive never bought worms or bugs online. the local pet store i go to for the horned worms doesn have them and the horned worms are expensive yes. 15$ for like ten of them....

Look up the feeder insects you want on Google , that usually works for me.
ie www.reptiworms.com
www.rainbowmealworms.net
https://www.phoenixworm.com
www.mulberryfarms.com
i'm sure there are others...

BTW at small size and so young , he's a hatchling , though some will say a juvenile ( I judge by their development , a juvenile looks more like just a mini adult beardie (head shape and size wise) while a hatchling still looks kinda goofy ( my best word to describe the oversized head on a small body).