Baby Not Eating! *HELP!!!!* NOW HE PUKED!!

[bdgal]

My beardie baby Sherman doesn't seem to be interested in his food the last few days. The 60W bulb was only producing heat of about 95-100F so I switched to a 75W Halogen and it was cooking! So My hubby built a dimmer switch and we are now playing around with the 75 Halogen for the proper temp.

I bought fresh butternut squash, boiled it, squashed it and he won't even lick it. His greens haven't been touched and I am pretty sure that all of the crix are accounted for. It will be one week tomorrow since I have had him. Since day one he has been eating like a champ. Now this....
Should I be worried? I bought organic canned butternut squash babyfood. But how is this different from what I have prepared?

He is even passing on butterworms (which he LOVES).

He has pooped every morning. But today he hasn't gone since this morning. Some days I find 3 or 4 poops. But there has only been one a day for the last few days. Should I be worried? What should I do to try to get him to eat?

He is afraid of the tweezers and so I can't hand feed him (he wouldn't even take it from my fingers...he just starts to back up. AGHH!!! WHAT CAN I DO???!!!

 

[vickson420]

Topic moved to Health
Sorry to hear about your beardie.What type of uvb are you using?How old is it?How old is Sherman?So where are you temps now?Have you tried giving him a bath in case he is dehydrated?Since you said your temps are off he may be and this would affect the appetite or cause a possible impaction.The reasoning behind the babyfood is when you have to force feed you can give it to them off a spoon or a needless syrunge.You can also just put some right on their "snout" which generaly makes them lick it off.

 

[bdgal]

My current temps are 108F on the basking log and about 95F on his favorite ledge (right beside basking log). There is a brand new ReptiGlo 8.0 strip light and I have been adding calcium w/Vit D every day to one feeding and herptivite Mon-Fri for another feeding. He gets a bath every night (with dechlorinated water) and then snuggles in a beardie burrito with me for about an hour after (before putting him to bed). I also spray his veggies with dechlorinated water.

Sherman is 13 weeks old and already has a little pudge on him (he has had it since I got him last week). Should I try to smoosh baby food on his snout? He just lays on his basking log or on his ledge all day practically. What should I do? Could he be impacted? The butterworms I give him are small...but when they stretch out to their full length they are a little bigger. There isn't any sand in his enclosure. I use tiles.

WHAT DO I DO!!!???!!!

 

[vickson420]

My current temps are 108F on the basking log and about 95F on his favorite ledge (right beside basking log). There is a brand new ReptiGlo 8.0 strip light and I have been adding calcium w/Vit D every day to one feeding and herptivite Mon-Fri for another feeding. He gets a bath every night (with dechlorinated water) and then snuggles in a beardie burrito with me for about an hour after (before putting him to bed). I also spray his veggies with dechlorinated water.

Sherman is 13 weeks old and already has a little pudge on him (he has had it since I got him last week). Should I try to smoosh baby food on his snout? He just lays on his basking log or on his ledge all day practically. What should I do? Could he be impacted? The butterworms I give him are small...but when they stretch out to their full length they are a little bigger. There isn't any sand in his enclosure. I use tiles.

WHAT DO I DO!!!???!!!

Ok dont panic.I dont want to say he is impacted as of yet because its only been one day and since he isnt eating it wouldnt be uncommon.Your not leaving the crix in the tank with him are you?

You can try to make him a babyfood slurry with some squash and chicken babyfood or apple and chicken.Mix that with a tiny amount of water and a pinch of calcium.Fior good measure just in case he is having trouble you can also add a drop or two of olive oil to his slurry.Warm the mix in the microwave for a few seconds and see if he will take it willingly from the spoon or from his nose.Usually once they get a taste they will start to lick it off but if he doesnt you can feed from a needless syringe but that will require some effort as you will have to get his mouth open which isnt as hard as it may seem if you go in from the side carefully.This is where I would start and see if it jumpstarts his appetite.If not we can try some other things as well but I think this should be step one.If there are any crix in his tank you should remove them.What other feeders have you tried besides crix and butters?

 

[bdgal]

Just crickets and butters so far. I bought phoenix worms and then put them in the fridge (*****!) and they all died. That was the last container that the reptile store had (I will have to order them online to get more). Should I try wax worms? He just doesn't seem interested in ANYTHING!!

I just gave him a bath and then stuck a blob of squash babyfood on his nose. After a few minutes of just sitting there he licked a little off. Not enough to matter...but at least he licked a bit! So tomorrow I should go to the grocery store and get chicken and squash/ chicken and apple baby food...mix it with a little oil and water and a pinch of calcium w/vit D? How often should I try to get him to eat this mixture?

I try to get all of the crix out of his tank everynight...but they are good at hiding. I have even removed just about EVERYTHING from his tank but 3 basking items...and I STILL find one or two in the morning!!

We are currently building a 4ft*2ft*2ft enclosure for him where I will be using an MVB and a reptiSUN strip light. But for now..he is just in a 20G long.

Thank you for the advice. I am still new at this...and still have TONS of questions that even I don't know I am going to ask yet!! I guess that is what is to be expected with Sherman being my first beardie...and a BABY nonetheless!!

Now what do I do?

 

[vickson420]

Well I am glad to hear he at least licked a bit of it off.Thats good.It can be a slow feeding process but he will learn and do it more easily.Try giving him .5ml per 50 grams of his body weight 2-3xper day.So for example if he weighs 100 grams you would give 1ml,ok?
Great that your building him a new enclosure.One thing I did notice if you plan on using an MVB dont put any other UVB in there.MVB are fantastic and very strong so nothing else is needed and could actually do damage.

 

[bdgal]

OMG! I just found the grossest stuff on Shermans basking log!! It looks like pieces of undigested butterworms and greens!!! I think he puked it up because it looks bubbly (like spit)! Is this possible? Do beardies puke??

Is he going to be okay? i guess I should stop feeding butterworms. HOLY CRAP!! I cannot believe that this poor little guy puked THAT much up!!! I am uploading pics now..I will post in a minute!! Does he need to go to the vet?

 

[vickson420]

OMG! I just found the grossest stuff on Shermans basking log!! It looks like pieces of undigested butterworms and greens!!! I think he puked it up because it looks bubbly (like spit)! Is this possible? Do beardies puke??

Is he going to be okay? i guess I should stop feeding butterworms. HOLY CRAP!! I cannot believe that this poor little guy puked THAT much up!!! I am uploading pics now..I will post in a minute!! Does he need to go to the vet?

Yes they do vomit.I will wait for pics to see what exactly it was.It is starting to sound as if he is indeed impacted.Get him in the bath and start massaging the abdomen working from the armpit down in a circular motion towards the vent.If you feel any lumps concentrate more in that area.He may need the vet and definately dont give him any more solid feeders until he poops.Keep him on the slurry.

 

[bdgal]

 

[vickson420]

Definately undigested vomit.How are you measuring your temps?Where are you measuring them?When was the last time he ate butters?

 

[diamc]

Sorry to hear that he is not acting right. I have to ask, what type of thermometer are you using to check the temps? You mentioned that you're giving vitamins Mon - Friday, that is too often, cut it back to 2 days a wk, 1 feeding a day. How does his color look, are his beard and/or tail darkened at all? How close is he to the UVB light & is the basking bulb a white or colored bulb?

 

[bdgal]

I found about 3 butters in his puke and some collard greens.
The breeder told me to give the multivitamin 5days a week while he is a baby, and Calicum w/VitD every day (one feeding per day).
I usually give him 4 butters once a day. He did not eat all of them yesterday (he left one) and did not eat any today. He is NOT getting butters again until he is a big boy!!

I gave him another bath and massaged his tummy. Now he is sitting on his ledge. I am including pics to show you my thermometers.

The first one is a National Geographic Indoor/outdoor thermometer. I leave the main base on the cooler side to measure the "indoor" temps and you can see the white sensor leaned up against the basking rock that measures the "outdoor" temps.

In this pic you can see the red foam on the back of the sensor that reads the temp on his ledge. This one is usually around 85-95F. It is a little cooler since switching to the 75W hallogen as it is more of a spot light directed at his basking spot.

The inside of the tank was fully lined with computer paper and only recently we removed the pages on the front of the tank. I was told to do this by the breeder as Sherman has never seen glass before and that he would be spooked by his reflection or try to get out of the glass (glass dancing).

What should I do now? Do you think he needs to go to the vet? Should i just make the slurry for him to eat?

Sherman has never showed me his beared. He hissed once or twice at me when we first brought him home...but that was it. He is also a Hypo Snow (with white nails) and his beard doesn't seem dark. He is part Hypomelanistic as well as leucistic. Only the very tip of his tail has always been a more "dark" color so far. Is he not getting enough UVB? I was told NOT to get an MVB while he is in a 20G as it will burn him. Unfortunately the weather out here has been crappy so we can't get his new enclosure finished (we need to take it outdoors to sand it, stain it and seal it.

 

[bdgal]

The basking bulb is a 75Watt halogen spot light bulb. It is clear on the front (front frosted).

 

[diamc]

Is the red probe actually touching (resting on) the ledge? If not, that's where it needs to be to get the actual temp of the basking area. You also have to bare in mind that his body is a little higher than the ledge itself so that will also make the temp higher on his body. The ledge looks like it is quite high, you might want to consider dropping it down a little and also moving the UVB light over then so he can get the benefits of both bulbs at the same time.

I know you said that the breeder recommended that you give the vitamins 5 days a wk, but that really isn't a good idea. Too many vitamins can be over powering to them and make them sick, I suggest you cut it back to 2 days a wk. The calcium should be given 5 days a wk, one feeding a day and then the vitamins the other 2 days a wk, one feeding a day.

It would be a good idea to give him baby food squash mixed with a smaller portion of chicken baby food and diluted with a little water or Pedialyte to thin it slightly, try putting drops on his nose for him to lick off. Since his stomach has been upset, it would also be a good idea to pick up some soy yogurt and mix a little of that in the baby food mixture, it will help settle his stomach. I agree to lay off the butterworms for a while. Let us know how all this goes.

 

[bdgal]

The red probe usually does sit on the ledge. I just opened the tank to take pics of the vomit and didn't reposition it properly. The ledge actually isn't under the basking light. The "rock" on the bottom of the cage is directly under the spot light. The ledge only gets a little bit of light/heat from the basking light but it is on the back wall and the basking light is towards the front of the tank. Like I said before...the ledge only gets to be about 85-95F.

I ran to the supermarket just now and bought more veggie babyfood jars as well as the Chicken with Broth jar. It was the only one with plain chicken in it. I did see one that was veggies and turkey (no additives) would this also be good for protein?

I made up the Slurry with about 2tbs of squash, 1tsp of chicken, a little bottled water, and a sprinkle of the calcium with Vit D. He didn't want to lick it off my finger this time. So I used a small syringe without the needle) and he actually ate from it! He only ate about 0.3ml until he turned away. I don't want to push him as I know he just puked.

I did not get the last post in time and didn't get any soy yogurt. I will check tomorrow to see if our supermarket carries any. Should I still give it tomorrow?

I don't have a food scale, so I am going to go to walmart tomorrow to pick one up. Then I will weigh him to find out how much to feed him at each feeding. So the rule of thumb is 0.5ml per 50 grams of body weight 2-3x per day?
Tonight I am going to leave his basking light on a little longer so that he can digest that little bit of slurry I gave him. I will probably turn it off in an hour or so. Is this okay? How long after they eat do they need to "heat up" for? to digest the food I mean.

So should I lay off the crix tomorrow too (not like he is eating any right now anyways), but should I even try to give him any? How long do I stay on the forcefeed slurry for? If he poops...is this a good sign? He did have a nice big bowel movement and urination this morning. I hope that I see another one tomorrow morning. If not should he go to the vet?

Thank you so much for the wonderful advice. I don't know what I would be doing right now without it!! Probably going to the veterinary emergency clinic and paying $250 for an exam (I have a cat that is a regular....he has literally cost me almost $10,000!!)