Beardie Cranes neck 90 degrees and refuses to eat

[peera]

Get the bulb off of petmountain.com, it's only $20. At Petco it costs almost $50.

 

[kvwillia]

That's all he would take and he was healthy. These were about 1 cm in size, about the distance between his eyes.

 

[kevincease]

I generally feed them a salad in the morning, then about 6 roaches each, then about 6 more in the afternoon. They are much better than crickets, more meat and no smell in the containers, unlike crickets which were stinking up my closet! Every other day i throw in superworms if they are lucky . When I was feeding them crickets, each one got two dozen in the morning and 2 dozen in the evening.

 

[Menolly]

Howdy,
How big is your dragon? You say he is 6 months old right?
You need to feed him from anywhere to 30-100 crickets a day. As many as he can eat in about 5-10 minutes. You are seriously underfeeding him. Have you ever tried feeding him anything else?
Can you see his ribs at all? You beardie probably does have a serious calcium deficiency.
Do you offer him a vitamin supplement at all? If not you should at least 2 times a week. Herptivite by Rep-Cal is pretty good.
The veggies you are feeding your bearded dragon are the best for a staple. What you really need is collard green, mustard greens, endive, and many more. Here is a good nutrition chart that I and many on this website can atest to http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutritionframeset.html.
I know this is a lot of information to take care of, but please make these changes. They are necessary for your beardie to be happy and healthy.
Mel

 

[kvwillia]

Several people have mentioned quantities of food like that but that would be more volume in a day than he can physically contain. He would explode! And he was never that big of an eater anyway. He would chase down 5 or 6 and then go back to basking. I'll definitely try to increase his intake assuming I get him eating again at all. No visible ribs. Been giving him Flukers Repta-Calcium since from day one. In any case, thanks for the advice.

 

[kevincease]

could you post a picture of him?

 

[Menolly]

Could you answer my questions please?
I'm talking about the veggies. You need to change the veggies you feed your dragon. What you are giving him as a staple right now isn't the best for him at all. Go to the website I put up earlier.
No offense, but your dragon certainly wouldn't explode. Mine manages to eat 5 times the amount yours eats in one sitting without having any issues. I don't see him exploding any time soon.
Mel

 

[kvwillia]

Have had him outside in full sun for two days and while he's out there he perks up and moves around the cage, even cocks his head like he's noticing the crickets, but eats nothing. Out of desperation I put some pillbugs in with him and he immediately began chasing them, even tried to eat a few but missed every time and gave up. Why would the pillbugs get his attention? When the sun goes down and I bring him back inside he goes completely lethargic and barely moves. I have purchased a Reptisun 10.0, but if he's not responding to full outside sun I don't expect anything from that. I've also tried mixing the calcium supplement with water and giving it to him in a syringe to give him a boost, but he won't open his mouth. Occassionally laps a few drops off his face, but inconsistent and tiny amounts. Won't touch veggies either. I'll continue putting him in the sun, but running out of options.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

One main reason that he is still lethargic is because he has been under that bad bulb. Remember, reptiles respond very slowly to changes & they get better very slowly. So, please be patient with him. That Zilla bulb is very hard on their eyes & their systems.
What type of basking light are you using, is it a bright white light or a colored bulb?
You have turned that Zilla bulb off right? Great you have purchased the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb.
He is probably still having some trouble absorbing the calcium. How long do you keep him outside for?
Are you getting fluids into him?

Tracie

 

[kvwillia]

Haven't turned off the Zilla because I don't have the Reptisun hooked up yet. My enlcosure is more vertical than horizontal and I haven't figured out how to mount it. The 24" bulb will most likely need to go vertically along the wall. Is it imperative I turn off the Zilla because that's his only UVB inside right now.

I've been keeping him outside for nearly the entire day since Friday, say 10 hours per day. Bright and sunny here in Texas too.

I have been hand feeding him a calcium supplement suspension from a dropper every day, but he takes very little. Licks a little from his mouth each time.

His basking bulb is a Critter Culture 75W dark bulb.

 

[peera]

It's better to have NO light that to keep the Zilla light on him. It's hurting him, not helping even a little.

 

[Judah'sHuman]

Hello!
I am sure your very worried and I hope we all can help with our tid bits of info!

It is really difficult to get youngins to thier eat veggies so dont be supprised about that. My guy was really lazy about chasing down his food, if he had to chase it much he would get board and give up. I think this is because he was pretty much hand feed before I got him. Try getting a big plastic tub, one tall enough so the crickets/roaches etc. dont jump out. Place him in there along with some crickets. He maybe more apt to eat them if he doesnt have to chase them too much. Also, try babyfood in a baby med syringe, such as carrots, squash, peas, green beans etc. Drop a few drops on his nose and see if he will lick it off. You can also put the vits in there along with some pedialite or water, this is called a slury. you can also do chicken veggie medly, just dont over do the chicken because it is high in protien and can cause some problems, so mix it up a bit. Judah loved the babyfood carrots he woudl latch on to the syringe and shake it to get the stuff out. :lol: now that he is older he will just lick it off his nose. Anyways give him as much as he will eat! Sometimes Judah would eat a whole syringe when he was 6 months old. Be carefull about shooting stuff into their mouth, only little bits at a time, otherwise it could asperate him.

Since you just took the coil bulbs out, it will take a little while for him to adjust. Those bulbs spike levels of radiation, so it will take a bit for him to get well. Oh Tracie already said this opps, (oh well backin her up on that one.) You also need to get the basking temp up to about 105 at the hotest point, 100 is ok for some points in the basking area but he needs to have a spot to go to at 105-110. Also, I would reccomend that you try some probiotics these are good bacterium cultures with good healing properties. Try acidophiliz+ you can get this at beautifuldragons.com it may help improve his eating.

Also, I had that same calcium and it has phospherius in it. I have read several times that the calcium should be phospherius free. Although I am not sure why, it may have soemthing to do with the absorbtion? Also, a good multi vit it Sticky Tounge Miner all, if you use this brand it has D3 & Calcium, but you still need a plain calcium supp. with no D3 to go along with it.

I wish you luck! I really hope he starts feeling better.
Stacey

 

[kvwillia]

Anyone know how long an 6-month old dragon can survive with minimal food (only water mixed with calcium power and small bits of fruit baby food)?

 

[Denise Bushnell (RIP)]

I would suggest that you have him seen by a vet experienced in treating reptiles as soon as possible. Being in a position where his head is constantly raised, so that he looks like he is staring up at his lights, is called "stargazing", and its actually one of the first symptoms that you'll notice when a beardie has contracted an Upper Respiratory Infection.

Sitting or laying in that position, with their heads held straight up like, that helps their sinuses to drain and helps them breathe more easily when they're all congested. I would try to get him an appointment as soon as possible, so that he can be given an oral antibiotic to knock out the infection. If the infection is left unchecked, he may develop pneumonia, which could be life threatening.

Until you can get him seen by a vet, be sure to keep him warm, especially during the overnight hours. Raising the temps in his tank at night to around 80 degrees should be sufficient. You can do this by using either a Ceramic Heat Emitter, which screws into his lighting fixture where the light bulb would normally go, or by purchasing a black light bulb at your local pet shop. Don't let them talk you into purchasing the red or blue night light bulbs, as they will disrupt his sleep patterns, and right now he need all the rest he can get.

Also, be sure to keep him well hydrated, which will help to thin out the congestion in his respiratory tract. The easiest way to do this is to bathe him a couple of times a day in very warm (not hot) water, making sure that his vent area is down in the water. Beardies have the ability to absorb water through their vents, so this is an excellent way to keep him well hydrated without stressing him out by forcing fluids into him. Make sure to dry him well before putting him back in his tank, so he doesn't get chilled.

You can also try giving him some sort of juice that he likes with a feeding syringe, if he'll take it for you, but if he won't, then don't force him, as it may cause him to choke. If you can get some juice into him, the Vitamin C in it may help to bolster his immune system and help him to fight the infection. Any sort of low sugar juice is fine, as long as it isn't from any type of Citrus Fruit. I usually use Apple juice for mine, which they all seem to like.

An Upper Respiratory Infection, left unchecked, can be dangerous, but most beardies respond very well to the antibiotics given to them, and recover fairly quickly, with the proper care.

Good luck, and please keep us posted on how he's doing!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Please do turn off the Zilla it is causing him more stress than he needs, ok?
Also, the UVB light that you ordered, the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb will need to be mounted directly overhead. Do not mount it vertically. That is too harsh on the eyes & causes glaring straight into the eye causing damage. The light will need to be 6-8 inches from him, so start thinking on how you are going to rig that up.
I agree, if he is still raising his head up, he may have the starting of a respiratory infection. The bad UVB lighting has lowered his immune system & most likely is a large culprit of the problems.
As suggested, keep him a little warmer at night to help boost his immune system too.
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie