Baby won't eat :(

[Kaitrinsullivan]

Hi everyone!
This is my first time posting and also my first bearded dragon. I was hoping someone could help me out.

I have a 3 month old male bearded dragon. He was born on July 7th 2015. I bought him from a breeder on October 1st. He was 7 inches long, and .60 oz. He is now 8 inches long, and .90 oz. He was eating about 10 crickets a day, and I offered him greens but he would not touch them. I still offer them anyways. He has a bowl of water that I see him drink out of from time to time, but I also mist him regularly as well as baths.

He just had a full body shed that is fully completed as of November 1st evening. Since yesterday, he hasn't been eating. I put crickets and lettuce in, and he ate one cricket. I gave him some butternut squash baby food which he took. I weighed him and he has gone down from .90 oz to .80 oz. Today I put crickets in and he would not touch them. He only ate a small amount of squash.

I gave him a nice warm bath last night and massaged his belly, although he has been having regular poops. He poops once a day and they are well formed. His urates have been quite runny though, along with a liquid substance.

Although he isn't eating, he is still acting like his normal self. He scratches to get out when he sees me, is very active in and out of his tank, and is basking as normal. Bright eyes and alert, no concerns or issues with his behaviour.

I am just wondering, does anyone have any ideas as to why he has lost his appetite the past two days? I am a concerned (and maybe slightly paranoid) momma!

Some extra info:

His basking spot is about 110 degrees, cool side about 80 degrees.
He has a reptisun 10.0 bulb.
His substrate is paper towel which I change as he soils it.
His diet is crickets and collard greens or dandelion greens.
I dust his crickets with calcium dust Monday-Friday, and Multivitamin Saturday-Sunday.
He drinks his water, along with regular misting (about once a day) and baths (a few times a week).

Please help I am concerned!

 

[haileytaco]

Hello,

Sorry to hear he's not eating. It sounds like you are doing everything right. Some beardies tend to go off feed for a few days around their shedding time so that could easily be the case. Reptiles can go for very long periods of time without food so I would bath him every day to keep his hydration up and continue offering greens and feeders. The runny poop could be caused by the squash but still keep an eye on it as there s always a small chance that he could have parasites or a bacterial infection. Try post a picture on here of fresh poop if you can as it would help us see if it is normal or bad looking. Hopefully he will start eating again within the next week or so but if not then I would reccomend taking him to your nearest reptile vet.

Hope this info helps,
Hailey

 

[Kaitrinsullivan]

Thanks for replying Hailey! I will post a pic of his poop tomorrow morning when he goes again. You made me feel a little better! I think I may just be paranoid.

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. What kind of uvb is it ? Coil/compact or tube? How are you taking the temps? Lettuce makes the poop runny.He might be tired of crickets. I'd try Phoenix worms, silk worms or dubia. Also he should be fed 2x a aday for 10 mins. 10 crickets a day is not enough food for a growing dragon. Salads don't worry about too much. He needs 80% protein and 20% salads. Pictures are welcome

 

[Kaitrinsullivan]

Its a tube light, not a coil. I check with a digital thermometer gun. I am in Canada and I cannot buy dubias I have also looked for silk worms and phoenix worms, but I cannot seem to find any. Before he stopped eating a few days, I was offering him them twice a day but he would only eat about 10 a day on average.

 

[Kaitrinsullivan]

I'm not sure how to post a photo!

 

[CooperDragon]

You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and then add them to your post using the XIMG button.

 

[Kaitrinsullivan]

 

[CooperDragon]

He looks pretty healthy to me. It's also a good sign that his activity is normal. It's possible that he's getting ready for a shed which can put them off of food for a bit. You may be able to get some good feeders from The Worm Lady http://thewormlady.ca

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I will be sure to PM you when I get home, I am on a short business trip for the day.
He is a very cute dragon!
He just finished a shed recently? How large are the crickets he is eating?
Where are you taking his temperatures for his basking, directly under his basking spot?

You can also consider getting a fecal done, just in the case he may have worms or parasites. This is a common problem when coming into a new home, just due to the stress of them relocating to a new home also.

Tracie