bearded dragon skipping days eating

[curtbone123]

hi everyone im just tryna figure out why my nina not eating everyday she would skip days like today and yesturday she didnt eat at all she is a year and some months old, she's 12 inches and i talked to a breeder he said give her some panacur and reptaid so does anyone else know what i can do and whats causing her to skip some days eating?

 

[scipherneo]

How often does she pass bowel movements?

 

[Goonie]

[Moved from General to Feeding (until Health issues are determined)]

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Why would the breeder suggest giving your beardie Panacur without a medical diagnosis like a positive fecal test??

Depending on how much she eats on the days that she does eat, perhaps she over stuffs herself and doesn't have much of an appetite the day after.
What are you feeding her?

 

[curtbone123]

How often does she pass bowel movements?

she doesnt pass bowel movements regulary because she not eating everyday sometimes she go a week without eating

 

[curtbone123]

[Moved from General to Feeding (until Health issues are determined)]

************************
Why would the breeder suggest giving your beardie Panacur without a medical diagnosis like a positive fecal test??

Depending on how much she eats on the days that she does eat, perhaps she over stuffs herself and doesn't have much of an appetite the day after.
What are you feeding her?

i have no idea but thats what josh told me from bloodbankdragons.com im feeding her superworms the most she would eat is like 1-3 on the days she do eat

 

[snazzyglasses]

Superworms are actually probably too big for a 12 inch beardie from what I've seen and read. Bearded dragons have a "kink" in their digestive tract until they reach about 16inches in length and it straightens out. Maybe the supers are getting a bit stuck in the kink (but not enough to cause full-blown impaction), so she doesn't feel like eating until her system finally works them through?
You could also try giving her some probiotics for her tummy. Medications like antibiotics and de-wormers (including Panacur) will kill off the good bacteria in human and animal digestive tracts. Probiotics put the good flora back in! Some brand names of probiotic supplements are Acidophiluz or Benebac. A more accessible/less expensive option is to get some non-dairy soy yogurt from the grocery store or a health food store. If you're worried about sugar content, you can get Plain flavored soy yogurt and mix it with unsweetened applesauce. Beardies have a hard time digesting dairy though, so make sure it's soy yogurt. Probiotics are good for appetite and healthy digestion. And they helped my adult's appetite when I first got him, and he hadn't even been medicated! (I just did plain soy yogurt + unsweetened applesauce back then; these days I have the powdered probiotic supplement from Beardeddragon.co, which is also awesome). So I definitely recommend giving the probiotics a try!
It may sound silly, but the idea just occurred to me. So me so I thought I'd include it just in case! Maybe she's been filling up on "salad" (or whatever you call her daily dish of greens and veggies/fruits. I've always called it salad ), and doesn't have any room for bugs? You could keep an eye on her salad intake each day and see if that has anything to do with how many bugs she eats. I don't think I've heard of a beardie regularly not having room for bugs because of salad, but you never know! There's a first time for everything lol
Also (and sorry if you already know this!) make sure your little lady is well-hydrated too, from baths and drinking water. Misting doesn't work for hydration since dragons don't absorb enough (if any) water through their skin. Sometimes beardies who aren't hydrated enough, feel a little icky and won't want to eat.

That's my two cents anyways (more like a novel actually. Hopefully one of those ideas does the trick ). Good luck!!! For such sweet little critters beardies can be so stressful sometimes lol :shock:

 

[Lenewen]

Experienced breeders do their own diagnostics and often prescribe medication based on their experience that is often not damaging. If you trust Josh, go ahead and take his advice.

BUT.... a fecal does not cost much money from a vet and since we are talking about a baby as opposed to an adult, it would, in my opinion, probably be best to test her for parasites before treating. Adult dragons are not terribly affected by Panacur in my experience but babies can be very sensitive. I am a breeder and yes, I treat without fecals on occasion. I have yet to be wrong on a diagnosis however and I have yet to hurt one of my animals in doing so. That is not a decision to undertake on your own unless you work with animals on a constant basis and have contact with the veterinarian on a frequent basis (I call, he prescribes, no need for an office visit after awhile)

The probiotic acidophiliz suggested is a very good idea. I order mine from beardeddragon.co and it really does make a difference. My herps are barely affected by their antibiotics when they are given them as long as I administer the acidophilus at the same time.

*Small* superworms are fine to feed and I recommend them but big supers may be too much for your dragon's digestive system. We had a leopard gecko help herself to a bin of large superworms when I wasn't watching and she was impacted for 3 days afterward; they were just too much for her. Supers can be addicting so youll want to make sure you feed her other things in between like phoenixworms, dubia roaches, hornworms or silkworms.

Also-are you feeding her greens? Didnt see anything about that mentioned.

 

[curtbone123]

Experienced breeders do their own diagnostics and often prescribe medication based on their experience that is often not damaging. If you trust Josh, go ahead and take his advice.

BUT.... a fecal does not cost much money from a vet and since we are talking about a baby as opposed to an adult, it would, in my opinion, probably be best to test her for parasites before treating. Adult dragons are not terribly affected by Panacur in my experience but babies can be very sensitive. I am a breeder and yes, I treat without fecals on occasion. I have yet to be wrong on a diagnosis however and I have yet to hurt one of my animals in doing so. That is not a decision to undertake on your own unless you work with animals on a constant basis and have contact with the veterinarian on a frequent basis (I call, he prescribes, no need for an office visit after awhile)

The probiotic acidophiliz suggested is a very good idea. I order mine from beardeddragon.co and it really does make a difference. My herps are barely affected by their antibiotics when they are given them as long as I administer the acidophilus at the same time.

*Small* superworms are fine to feed and I recommend them but big supers may be too much for your dragon's digestive system. We had a leopard gecko help herself to a bin of large superworms when I wasn't watching and she was impacted for 3 days afterward; they were just too much for her. Supers can be addicting so youll want to make sure you feed her other things in between like phoenixworms, dubia roaches, hornworms or silkworms.

Also-are you feeding her greens? Didnt see anything about that mentioned.

yea i try to give her collard greens and mustard greens but she wont touch them its like she doesnt wanna eat veggies and i tried to feed her the small superworms but she just ignore them she wanted the bigger ones instead :roll: but with the panacur how much do i give her because i dont know her weight

 

[curtbone123]

Superworms are actually probably too big for a 12 inch beardie from what I've seen and read. Bearded dragons have a "kink" in their digestive tract until they reach about 16inches in length and it straightens out. Maybe the supers are getting a bit stuck in the kink (but not enough to cause full-blown impaction), so she doesn't feel like eating until her system finally works them through?
You could also try giving her some probiotics for her tummy. Medications like antibiotics and de-wormers (including Panacur) will kill off the good bacteria in human and animal digestive tracts. Probiotics put the good flora back in! Some brand names of probiotic supplements are Acidophiluz or Benebac. A more accessible/less expensive option is to get some non-dairy soy yogurt from the grocery store or a health food store. If you're worried about sugar content, you can get Plain flavored soy yogurt and mix it with unsweetened applesauce. Beardies have a hard time digesting dairy though, so make sure it's soy yogurt. Probiotics are good for appetite and healthy digestion. And they helped my adult's appetite when I first got him, and he hadn't even been medicated! (I just did plain soy yogurt + unsweetened applesauce back then; these days I have the powdered probiotic supplement from Beardeddragon.co, which is also awesome). So I definitely recommend giving the probiotics a try!
It may sound silly, but the idea just occurred to me. So me so I thought I'd include it just in case! Maybe she's been filling up on "salad" (or whatever you call her daily dish of greens and veggies/fruits. I've always called it salad ), and doesn't have any room for bugs? You could keep an eye on her salad intake each day and see if that has anything to do with how many bugs she eats. I don't think I've heard of a beardie regularly not having room for bugs because of salad, but you never know! There's a first time for everything lol
Also (and sorry if you already know this!) make sure your little lady is well-hydrated too, from baths and drinking water. Misting doesn't work for hydration since dragons don't absorb enough (if any) water through their skin. Sometimes beardies who aren't hydrated enough, feel a little icky and won't want to eat.

That's my two cents anyways (more like a novel actually. Hopefully one of those ideas does the trick ). Good luck!!! For such sweet little critters beardies can be so stressful sometimes lol :shock:

thanks for the info! and she doesnt eat her salad so i stop giving it to her and i try to hydrate her like every 2 weeks or 1 week she looks healthy her color is bright and everything she just refuses to eat sometimes if she's impacted ill try to put her in some water and see will that move it out

 

[Lenewen]

Give her a bath a few times a week. I bathe my dragons every day but I know it's not necessary to do so.

As for the panacur, go to beardeddragon.co and email Cheryl. She can sell it to you and give you dosing information. If you really don't know what youre doing though, call a vet. They can run a fecal without charging you for an office visit (around $20 usually) and they can tell you how much panacur to give if its even necessary based on the results of the fecal.

As well, Id like to add Reptaid is probably the Life Elixer for dragons. Not a bad idea to treat her with that before trying the panacur. And make sure when you give the panacur that you get the acidophilus or probiotic to keep from harming her. Also, antibiotics can initially cause a dragon to not eat. You will need to force feed her if this happens.

 

[curtbone123]

Give her a bath a few times a week. I bathe my dragons every day but I know it's not necessary to do so.

As for the panacur, go to beardeddragon.co and email Cheryl. She can sell it to you and give you dosing information. If you really don't know what youre doing though, call a vet. They can run a fecal without charging you for an office visit (around $20 usually) and they can tell you how much panacur to give if its even necessary based on the results of the fecal.

As well, Id like to add Reptaid is probably the Life Elixer for dragons. Not a bad idea to treat her with that before trying the panacur. And make sure when you give the panacur that you get the acidophilus or probiotic to keep from harming her. Also, antibiotics can initially cause a dragon to not eat. You will need to force feed her if this happens.

thanks good info! i need as much as i can get so i can get her to eat normally again

 

[Lenewen]

I have my fingers crossed she does

 

[snazzyglasses]

Has your little lady started to eat a bit more regularly yet? I'm thinking even bathtime a few times a week will make a big difference Beardies may be "desert" creatures but even in the wild they still have access to water every morning (dewdrops on plants), and also get a fair amount of hydration from the bugs and vegetation they eat.
We bathe our dragons every other day and offer them water to drink on non-bath days, and it works well