Baby Not Eating, Beginning Shed

[SirBeardie]

I have a baby dragon, approximately 3-4 months old and around 7 inches, purchased from a pet shop around a month ago. Until this week he appeared to be a very happy, healthy baby with a voracious appetite. Now I'm noticing signs of an impending shed, and he's been refusing food in all forms. At what point should I be worried?

Husbandry:
- 20 gallon tank
- 24" ReptiSun 10.0 tube lamp for UVB
- 113 degree basking spot temp, 76 degrees at far end, measured by digital probe thermometer
- reptile carpet substrate
- basking rock, log, shallow water dish, small fake plant he likes to sleep on

Diet:
- daily offered shredded collard greens, dandelion greens, endives and butternut squash, dusted daily with calcium powder (used to use D3 supplement every other day, stopped after reading about possible toxicity)
- daily offered as many 3/8" dubia roaches as he can eat; dubias are from my own colony and are fed Repashy bug burger and scraps from the beardies' veggies
- occasionally offered small waxworms and chopped fruit as treats

Images:

Tank setup

That tail is definitely ready to shed

So it's clear to me that he's going to start losing old skin soon, but the fact that he's not had more than a nibble of his greens (and he's turned his nose at dubias and waxworms) in three days has gotten me very concerned. He has been pooping normally in that time, and today is the first day without a bowel movement, though it's hardly a surprise because there's probably nothing left in his belly. He has been drinking water from his bowl and off his head when I mist him. He still regularly waves to the other baby we keep in a nearby tank. And when take him out for short excursions, he's still eager to run about and, to all appearances, seems normal. He's just not eating. I'm ready to take him to the vet, but any assurances in the meantime that this is not unusual would be helpful.

 

[SirBeardie]

We snapped a photo of his belly to catch the so-called stress marks.

They don't seem very dark and, if memory serves, they've been there the entire time we've owned him, but the more information I can give, the better.

We've also just had some luck feeding him prune baby food. He was a little reluctant but ultimately lapped up a few milliliters of the stuff from a spoon. No indication that he's ready to take live prey, though.

 

[CooperDragon]

I would hold off on the vet for now. He looks like he's in good shape and your setup looks great. His diet is also very good. It's a good sign that he is active and alert. Sometimes they can act moody or go off of food right before and during a shed cycle. It's not uncommon for them to go without food for a while. Try providing daily warm baths to help ease the shed along. My guess is that once he has the majority of the shed behind him, his appetite will pick right back up.

 

[SirBeardie]

I appreciate you putting my mind at ease. We'll obviously continue to keep a close eye on him and report back if anything else seems amiss. Thank you for the advice.

 

[Ofthelime]

They get grumpy sometimes when they shed and wont eat. Give it some time and if the issue persists inform us or see a vet. 113 might be a little high for his age by the way. Some like it hot though.

 

[SirBeardie]

Thanks for the reply. As a matter of fact, at this point the tail is almost completely shed and he's returned to eating his dubias with gusto. We had him on prune and chicken baby food for about a week, and he actually seemed to enjoy it, but I'm happy to have him on live prey again.

As far as the temperature is concerned, I've had trouble finding a way to nail 105 degrees right on the nose. With a 75-watt bulb, his basking spot hovers around the high 90s. At 100-watts, I get up to 113-114. If I move the bulb off the basking spot to lower the temperature, he hops off and basks on the floor of the tank. These temps are measured with one of those Zoo-med digital probe thermometers, and I just picked up an Etekcity IR thermometer that seems to agree with those temps within a degree or so. Again, he's in a 20-gallon tank and the basking spot is probably about 8" below the bulb.

Since this little guy recognizes his water dish and will drink out of it, and he seems to gladly run over to climb on the branch in the cool side, I think I'd rather leave it warmer and avoid impaction or other digestion risks.

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm glad to hear he is back to eating bugs again. As for the temperatures, it's pretty close. I know it's tough to get the temp gradient down in such a small tank. You may want to get an adjustable lamp stand or lamp dimmer so you can use the higher wattage bulb but control it a bit by changing the height. I change the heights of the lights along with seasons as the room temp changes.

 

[Taterbug]

Dimmers are an easy way to adjust the them, as well as adjusting the distance. However, If the basking area offers a range of temps and 113-114 is the highest, but he has other options that should be ok too. He will know best what temp he wants to be - so long as he has choices