Beast is still not eating on his own.

[MsWanda10166]

I have had Beast since January. He has been on and off his food since we got him. He is parasite free, we have been to the Vet multiple times. His beard has a place that looks like it is bruised from us forcing his mouth open to feed him. He bites syringes, and was causing sores in his mouth, I got nipples, but to no avail, What I have been doing for the past few weeks is just wearing soft cloves, so he can't nip me to bad, and feed him with my fingers. He is getting less stubborn about eating now, but still won't eat on his own. He ignores food, closing his eyes if I try to tempt him with it. Does anyone have an idea of how to get him to start eating on his own? He does seem to respond best to Zilla Jump-Start. He is in no danger of getting fat anytime soon he weights 325 grams, and is 16" long. How long can he survive on the Jump-Start? Can I put Karo Syrup over his vegies and worms?

 

[AHBD]

Hi Wanda...I'm sorry that Beast is causing you such stress, it's difficult to understand why they refuse to eat at times. I just want to mention a few things, one....that his weight is completely acceptable for a 16" dragon, so don't be concerned with that. Some dragons are just not big eaters, and he may never be one of them. Although we may feel the need to keep up the nourishment at all costs, it is now in the best interest of the dragon to back off on the force feeding. The fact that he has bruising and some sores starting in his mouth is becoming more of a problem than his refusal to eat. This will definitely cause extreme stress for him, and the stress can negate any good that the nutrients are providing.Was he a rescue ? He may just have had a bad time in life, may have been a runt to begin with, etc. Even if this wasn't the case, he may just be in that slow down mode , like a semi brumation, and force feeding will be detrimental. Just let him relax, you don't want him to associate all interaction with you as unpleasant, so let him be on his little hunger strike. Have you tried different types of worms ? Hornworms, supers, waxworms. Just throw one in next to him and let him decide. Maybe after a few days or a week, or even more....he'll decide he'd like to try something. Sometimes crippling a cricket or dubia so that it's feebly crawling around can get their attention as well. But don't worry about making him eat. They can go months in brumation without a drop of nourishment, so just see how he does without any intervention for a while. If you feel the need to give him the jump start, you might make a slurry of some nutritious greens to make up a better diet, and maybe add some feeders, too. Avoid Karo syrup, but pure honey from the health food store [ unpasteurized ] is good for them, so add a few drops to a slurry and he may like that. My dragons like honey. For hydration, just a soak every few days and/or dribbling water on his snout once a week to see if he'll drink. Hopefully Beast will come around for you. But as far as his weight + length, they are in the normal range although he's a small dragon.

 

[MsWanda10166]

Thanks, AHBD. Yes Beast is a rescue. All my girls eat like pigs, so his not eating bothers me, but I do hate that he is getting skittish of me coming to his viv, so I am will not force him to eat, and give it a month and see what happens. He gets to go outside, almost daily, and is acting better as far as energy goes. I guess having a juvie, that is twice the size of him, makes me think he should eat more. We have Dubias, and Supers as staple live food, and they are all offered fresh veggies from the beautiful dragon web site daily. I am growing my own cactus pad, and dandelions for them, and all other vegies are organic, that I get at the farmers market or store.
I have honey I got from Tracie from here. All of their supplements come from either Tracie, Cheryl, or Beautiful dragons. Their Dubias come from Lance, and their supers and other worms I order occasionally, like horn worms come from Mulberry Farms.
They have a water fountain outside to play in, and are also given baths regularly. I have experimented with a battery powered tooth brush on Beast beard to try to help massage it and heal. He does not seem to dislike it, and he certainly has no problems letting me know when I am doing something he does not like, so I am wondering if it is safe? I have only done it a few times, because I am unsure if it is safe or not, but on the occasions I did try it, the electric toothbrush seemed to help. What are your thoughts on the safety?
Thanks for your help!

 

[AHBD]

You're welcome. I know you care a lot about your Beast and you want the best for him. I can't exactly picture a bruised beard. It may be that it's best to leave it to heal on it's own, I guess just like if we have a bruise, it may be tender for a while and just need a bit of time to get back to normal.

 

[MsWanda10166]

I have not been feeding Beast. He is down to 318 grams. How low can his weight go, before I get other serious problems? Is not eating a sign of old age in dragons?

 

[AHBD]

Hi Wanda...I'm sorry that he's still not eating. Does he just lay around ? Do you know his age ? He may be trying to brumate. He is not at all dangerously thin, and I still think that the combination of stress from force feeding, and whatever stress he had in his former home have just caused him to lack a good appetite. It's O.K. to still let him decide when he wants to eat, and if he likes the Zilla jump start, let him have that once a week mixed with a about 5cc's of water and if you can make a slurry of veggies or get some Oxbow Critical Care to mix in with it then at least he'll get some more nutrients. Another way to quickly add greens is to microwave a few leaves [ without any stems ] until they are actually crispy, then just crumble them with your fingers until they are like a powder and can be added to the jump start mix.

 

[MsWanda10166]

Sorry AHBD, my last post did not get on here. I have both OxBow Critical Care, and Carnivore Care. He does not like them. I have also tried several kinds of baby food.
Beast does not lay around right now. My 10 yr old granddaughter has come to visit, and the dragon room was converted to a temp bedroom for her, and all the dragons are currently in my bedroom. So Beast has three girls, he must make sure he is the boss of all day. (lol) They are all in separate vivs, but no real way to keep them from seeing each other. The girls are over it, and just turn their backs on him when he starts head bobbing. Beast stands on top of his rock, nice and tall all day long, always on high alert. Before I moved the girls in my room, he was laying about all the time, and wanting to sleep. I did leave him alone for a couple of months to brumate, when he started getting up and about around the first of May, I took him in to the vet, and found out he had parasites and coccidia again.
I am going to give you a rundown of Beast care, and maybe you might have some different ideas for me to try.
I got him in early January, as a rescue. I had him for 4 days, and he was not eating, so we went to the Vet. He had pin worms, and we got meds for him, gave him those, and acidophilus. The Vet gave him a shot of Vit B, and Beast did start eating, I think it was a couple of things, I got roaches, and he seemed to love those, and we also moved him from the dragon room to my husbands office. It was a temp move till I got my bedroom redecorated, he did fine in the office, the walls are painted a light green in there. I moved him to my bedroom, but I am not sure if it was before or after the move that he stopped eating again. My room is painted blue. I am not sure if dragons even care about the color of rooms or not (lol). I hope not though, because if the do, I will have to repaint their room again, because I painted it light purple for my granddaughter.
I am still waiting to feed him, my husband said he saw him eat 3 roaches a few days ago while I was gone, out of town, so things may be looking up, but I am not sure. I was out of town for 5 days, and Beast did not get a bath during that time, and when I got home he was looking thirsty. I put him in a bath, and he drank so much he puked some back out, when I put him on his rock. He has puked a couple of times before, when I have forced fed him, and given him to much. His poor little tummy just can not handle much food or water at one time.
I am noticing a small amount of mucus in his mouth? Is that normal? Non of my girls have it. It resembles baby slobber, but just a tiny bit. Do you know what that could be, and if it is related to him not eating?
This is a pic, back when I was force feeding him. I will post another tomorrow.