Bearded dragon moving like a snake

[umfawkit]

My bearded dragon Rafiki is only six inches long, I don't know how old. He isn't drinking but he eats fine. My vet said I should take a seringe and open his mouth and get him to drink that way so I've been doing that multiple times a day. Today when I went to water him I had to wait for him to eat a cricket. I did a few things around my house for ten minutes and then I came back to give him a drink. He was drinking normaly, I just open his mouth and do it one drop at a time until the seringe is out and then I fill it up one more time and do it again like my vet recomended. Thankfully my vet is also my neighbore. She came over a week ago and my lighting is fine and everything in his came is fine and im pretty much doing everything by the book (hes my first bearded dragon so im like an overprotective parent. But today when I got done giving him a drink a reached my hand to put the serenge up and he started moving his body kind of like a snake. Then when I went to put him back in his cage so he could digest his food he tried crawling back up my sleeve like he always does and I moved him and put him back in the cage and he did it again. I was just wondering what this is and I cant seem to find any answers on google.

 

[AHBD]

Sometimes they do that after eating to get the food moving down, esp. if the insect was large. I've seen my own babies do that in the past....nothing to worry about. Just be sure the insects are smaller than the space between his eyes.

 

[CooperDragon]

If he's eating well then he's probably getting the hydration he needs from his food. I would offer extra hydration by dripping water on his nose for him to lick up if he wants it but I wouldn't force it.

Sometimes they slink around like that to avoid something. It's hard to say for sure though in this case. Can you post a video? You can upload videos to a host like vimeo or youtube and link it here.

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Are you using a good UVB light & supplementing calcium on a regular basis?
A video of his movement would be helpful, too.
How long has he been acting this way? Can he support himself well on all four legs & move normally right now?

Tracie

 

[umfawkit]

Sometimes they do that after eating to get the food moving down, esp. if the insect was large. I've seen my own babies do that in the past....nothing to worry about. Just be sure the insects are smaller than the space between his eyes.

Thank you so much and yes he did eat a slightly large cricket. My local pet store where I get him gives me a certain size of cricket and sometimes they are slightly bigger but my pet store insured me they weren't too big and wouldn't harm him.

 

[umfawkit]

Hello,

Are you using a good UVB light & supplementing calcium on a regular basis?
A video of his movement would be helpful, too.
How long has he been acting this way? Can he support himself well on all four legs & move normally right now?

Tracie

Yes lighting is good and I re powder my crickets with calcium powder every pther day. Also the water i give him if he hasn't ate a lot that day is mixed with calcium powder. He's done it twice today and that is it. He can support himself and move normally too.

 

[umfawkit]

If he's eating well then he's probably getting the hydration he needs from his food. I would offer extra hydration by dripping water on his nose for him to lick up if he wants it but I wouldn't force it.

Sometimes they slink around like that to avoid something. It's hard to say for sure though in this case. Can you post a video? You can upload videos to a host like vimeo or youtube and link it here.

He eats good for him, although me vet says she wishes it was more but its not enough to make him weak or unhealthy. I normally don't have to force it the whole time. I put a few drops in his mouth when I open his mouth and normally he starts to open his mouth and close it and I drop the water in each time he opens his mouth. I'm just doing exatly as my vet tells me.

 

[Rankins]

I don't mean to go against your vets advice...but you shouldn't need to give your dragon water with a syringe. If your dragon is eating bugs and veggies it shouldn't be needed. There are complications with giving water this way. It could choke on the water, or get water intoxication. Basically it depletes electrolytes and can kill if it depletes too much. But if your dragon is dehydrated it would change my opinion.

 

[AHBD]

So then that't it, the cricket being on the large side causes the beardie to do the serpentine motion that assists in getting it " down the hatch". No need to worry , I've seen it before.....but definitely keep the crix on the smaller side to avoid the risk of impaction.

And using a syringe for water is fine, same with a spray bottle or eyedropper....just let the dragon drink as it drips on his snout and not by forcing his mouth open. Some dragons will drink more water than others [ my hatchlings sometimes drank a bit twice a day ] but once a day is plenty unless he was actually dehydrated. As the dragons get older they usually won't drink as often.

 

[umfawkit]

I don't mean to go against your vets advice...but you shouldn't need to give your dragon water with a syringe. If your dragon is eating bugs and veggies it shouldn't be needed. There are complications with giving water this way. It could choke on the water, or get water intoxication. Basically it depletes electrolytes and can kill if it depletes too much. But if your dragon is dehydrated it would change my opinion.

Yes he was dehydrated.She said to do this until the white part of his poop turns back to white istead of yellow.

 

[Rankins]

Then the water will be appriciated.
Dripping water with a syringe is much better than opening its mouth and squirting it in. Its hard for a dragon the aspirate on it that way. Also hard to get water intoxication because the dragon will just stop drinking when full.