Beardie not eating possible conclusion

[jc555]

Hi i had posted recently my bearded dragon (Baby) had not eaten for about 4 days and the past week or two he has been barely eating, and i had determined throughout these forums that he was either sick of his daily mealworms (Wont eat crickets ever since first week i got) or his basking spot was too hot. He looked completely healthy and everything. I had two thermometers one said the basking spot was 93 the other said 109, i hadnt got another thermometer yet to test this, nor had i got crickets to seenif he’d eat them again and miraculously he ate two mealworms yesterday, and 5 or 6 today but somethings changed, hes not disabled or anything, but he wont hunt them anymore i have to put them right where hes basking on his basking log for him to eat them, and as well there could be some vision problems i believe maybe he may not be seeing them but its weird i can tell hes hunting he points his head right at a mealworm i just dropped on the ground but then he disregards it, why do i think he may have some vision issues? I was freaked out for the first time when i saw him closing his eyes bulged out super far but i had heard that meant it may had stuck shed on its eyes. Let me know what you guys think thanks.

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[kingofnobbys]

This will help you work out what is going on. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=236150&p=1815390#p1815390

Mostly likely relocation stress BUT there is a change you've been given some very bad advise.

I would make sure the temperatures are right (warm zone about 35 degC, cool zone about 28 degC, basking spot NOT HOTTER THAN 40 degC) .

What is the photoperiod ?
what is the current UV source and how is it installed and where (how far from basking spot, under / ontop mesh lid) ? photos of setup please.

Using mealworms as a your protein source for your hatchling is far from idea. I suggest you refer to this : viewtopic.php?f=18&t=237167
mealworms have a very poor Ca/P ratio, bite back !!, have very hard to digest exoskeleton is very likely to cause impaction and GIT blockages if used as a staple insect for dragons under 12 months old, and mealworms have a high fat content.
Only freshly shed mealrworms or pupae can safely be used (as a treat).

If he's really keen on mealworms , substitute with silkworms .... they are MUCH more nutritious and ARE suitable to use as staple feeder insect and most lizards LOVE silkworms.
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=234999&p=1807834#p1807834

At his age : two meals of live insects per day (MINIMUM , just a couple of bugs at a time, let him catch and eat them , then let him see you deposit another 2 , repeat til he looses interest (is full) , as many as he wants in each meal , three feeds of live insects per day is better until he is about 6 months old then it's two per day.
and get some much more nutritious live feeder insects such as
BSFL (phoenix worms)
silkworms (small to medium size)
crickets ( perhaps 1/4 size) or roaches or locusts (suitable sizes).

 

[jc555]

Its not relocation stress hes been here for a month and was eating a ton at the beginning and for the past 2 weeks he wouldnt eat that much maybe like 2 a day or two but recently hes eating and it happens to be he dosent like to hunt i have to place them right in front of him as i said. I am working on determining which thermometer is right, i guess the lower one right now because he rarely to never leaves his basking spot (Isnt something unusual for a beardie but maybe), his photoperiod is 12 hours a day (assuming that means lighting period) hes normally asleep at about 11-12 hours a day. UVB source is a powersun 100W bulb UVB UVA and basking. It is a cheap setup being ziptied into the wall, its about 8-10 inches away from his basking spot id say. I will try other foods with him, he just dosent seem to want to hunt them which is very odd, so we will see i will keep this updated.

 

[CooperDragon]

That is about the right distance for the 100w powersun. Do you see signs of him shedding? Sometimes that can put them in an odd mood and change their appetite. He looks pretty healthy and alert in the photos so that's a good sign.

 

[jc555]

That is about the right distance for the 100w powersun. Do you see signs of him shedding? Sometimes that can put them in an odd mood and change their appetite. He looks pretty healthy and alert in the photos so that's a good sign.

No, he was though shedding during that time period i think hard to tell because i couldnt find shed and my animal keeper was there because i was out of town, also his eyes were bulging out. But hes eating decently now, just wont hunt.