Feeding help needed....

[LanierSpots]

Hi guys, I put this on another page but I think it should be here. My little guy is not eating and I want to make sure I am doing everything I can.


Hello all. I am another new guy looking for some help. I have purchased a small beardie and setup and would like some suggestions. I have only had him for two days and he has not really eaten much. I have gotten him to take on some water and I actually gave him a bath tonight per your instructions. I used a plastic container and put in just enough warm water to get close to his back level. Kind of bathed him around in there and put some droplets on his head. I left him in there for about 10 mins or so until the water started to cool.

This is my setup

20 gallon long tank
Zilla Brown reptile liner for a substrate
Zilla - Desert 50UVB light on top (I did not change the bulb)
"All living things" - Neodymium 75W basking bulb
Stone fixture with driftwood on top for basking - Approx 6" from light
For Night time - 75W Infrared heat glo fm Exo-Terra


I tested the basking area with a thermometer with temp probe and it is keeping around 105-108 deg. I have a Analog (you can see in the pics) on the back glass and it is keeping 90 deg most of the time in the day. At night, I turn off the basking light and the UVB and turn on the 75W infrared. The tank temps seem to hold about 80 deg.
I feel like the cool side of my tank is around 80 deg. I am keeping the lights on 14 hours per day and turning them off 10 hours.

I will put a few pics below. They are kind of dark because I used my phone. Sorry for the bad pics but I hope you can get a idea on my setup.

The first day, I put a few small crickets in there and he ate two of them. I put in 4 or 5 more and after a few hours, he had not eaten them so I took them out. Yesterday and today, he would not eat anything. I have had him three days and he has only eaten 3 or 4 crickets total. I am obviously worried about the little guy.

He seems to sleep very well at night. He just gets under the driftwood and sleeps there. I I did pick out one small turd (can i say that here) from the tank the first day.

The pet store (PetCo) also sold me some meal worms but from reading here, that is not a good idea for him so I have not given him any of them. I tried some collard greens and Kale tonight but he did not seem to be interested.

How should I offer the crickets to him? Just dump 5 or 6 in the tank or feed them to him by hand?

Any recommendations on my set up or bulbs or anything would be great. I do not have the calcium or vitamins yet but will have them early in the morning.


LanierSpots
Newbie Poster

Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 6:22 pm

 

[Damkat]

I would change the uvb bulb first since you do not know how old it is. It is very important to help digest food. I would recommend a repisun 10.0. It is the best on the market. Make sure your dragon can get within 6 inches of the light.

Do you offer him veggies, the are also important as his diet should consist of protein and veggies. Try some squash, collard greens and some fruits like strawberries and apples. Make sure you cut them up small. I use a grater to prepare mine so I know it is small enough.

Also he could have some relocation stress. My girl did not eat for almost a week after I got her home. Be patient and build a bond with him.

If these do not work try to give him stage 1 baby food. Mine likes apple, chicken, and sweet potatoes. I add calcium to the baby food and a little bit of water. Just put it on his nose close to his mouth and he should lick it off.

If your guy is small are you feeding him pinhead crickets. They should not be any bigger than the space between his eyes.

Be patient and keep offering him food, my girl is very picky and will only eat when she feels like it so learn his feeding attitude. so when he becomes really active try to feed him.

Hope this helps, please keep us updated!!

 

[LanierSpots]

Thanks so much for the advice. I ran down and got the Repti-sun 10 last night. he is under it today. It is a 18" bulb and my tank is 30" long but it is within 8" of him while he is on the basking area. I cant get it right over the highest point due to my basking light taking up that space.

I put 4 or 5 small crickets in there this morning when I left. I am going to check on him at lunch. This will be the 4th day I have had him and he did eat a few the first two days so I will be patient.

Thanks so much for your help..

 

[LanierSpots]

A little update on my little guy. I have had him 6 days now and he is starting to eat some. I am feeding him crickets twice a day and he is eating anywhere from 2-4 crickets at a time. I am dropping a few in there in the morning after his lights have been on for a hour or so and he is eating a few of them very quickly. Then he is either full or just loses interest. I usually leave 3 or 4 in his tank during the day and sometimes he will eat another one. Then I come back in the afternoon and offer him a few more. He will usually take a few. He actually ate one from my hand yesterday which was nice.

I am putting a small bowl of chopped collards, chopped carrots and a few apple pieces in there but it does not look like he is eating them any or much. I will keep trying that. I started dusting his crickets yesterday once a day and that did not seem to change anything. He ate three pretty quick and then got back on his perch.

Its picking up but does it seem like he should be eating more?

 

[Cheline101]

I would suggest feeding your little guy crickets smaller than the space between his eyes. If you got the lizzard from petco, he's probably only about a month old, so you'll most likely need pinhead crickets... I don't know about where your from, but the petcos in Oregon don't even sell pinhead crickets. I've found that (at least in my area) the smaller pet stores have more sizes than the big name petstores like petsmart and petco (which only have large and small crickets). You can check out ghann.com they are a huge cricket supplier located in georgia where you can buy crickets in bulk (you probably won't want them in bulk until your guy gets bigger) but you can order pinhead crickets from them. they have like 10 different sizes and they're very prescise. The only problem is that the shipping charges can suck if you live far away from there.

When beardies are babies they say their diet should be about 20% veggies and 80% protein (bugs) and as they grow the percentages change and by the time they are adults their diet should be about 80% veggies and 20% protein. I have a beardie that is about a year and a half old and he still loves his crickets way more than his veggies.

 

[Cheline101]

I would suggest feeding your little guy crickets smaller than the space between his eyes. If you got the lizzard from petco, he's probably only about a month old, so you'll most likely need pinhead crickets... I don't know about where your from, but the petcos in Oregon don't even sell pinhead crickets. I've found that (at least in my area) the smaller pet stores have more sizes than the big name petstores like petsmart and petco (which only have large and small crickets). You can check out ghann.com they are a huge cricket supplier located in georgia where you can buy crickets in bulk (you probably won't want them in bulk until your guy gets bigger) but you can order pinhead crickets from them. they have like 10 different sizes and they're very prescise. The only problem is that the shipping charges can suck if you live far away from there.

When beardies are babies they say their diet should be about 20% veggies and 80% protein (bugs) and as they grow the percentages change and by the time they are adults their diet should be about 80% veggies and 20% protein. I have a beardie that is about a year and a half old and he still loves his crickets way more than his veggies.

 

[LanierSpots]

Cheline, I got some very small crickets from the pet shop. I will plan to buy them in bulk once he starts eating them. I did get him from Petco and I am not sure his age but he is very small. The crickets I am feeding him are much smaller than between his eyes. Thanks, I will check for the pinhead crickets.

I think he took a step back yesterday. I dont know what I am doing wrong but he is not looking good. He is very inactive and wont eat anything now. He does not seem interested in anything. I am very worried now. I have had him 8 days now and he has only eaten 8 or 9 crickets the whole time. He wont touch the veggies or apple either. He looks to me that he is losing weight. I am putting him in warm water about every other day but it does not seem to help. He is pooping about every other day though.

I really do not know what to do next. After I turned the lights on this morning, I let him warm up for about a hour and a half and then put 5 small crickets in there and he is not interested in the least. They are crawling right in front of him and he just closes his eyes. I dont know how long he can go without eating but I am very worried...

 

[Cheline101]

Maybe look for a vet where you can drop off a fecal sample. My vet made me take my beardie in for a visit because he was a new patient, and now I can just drop off the poop and have them test it, but if your short on money you could probably call around to all the vets in your area to see if you can just take the poop in and test for a parasite or something... Really All I can do is make sure that you've got good lights, the right temperature, the right size food, and make sure that the food is dusted with calcium and gut loaded so that he gets the most possible nutrients in what he will eat. I have a book on bearded dragon care and common diseases, and there is something that fits the description your giving, not eating, weight loss... does it have diarrhea? It says it could be Coccidosis. (a parasite) It's probably best if you just google it and see if it sounds right, but I would definitely see if you can take a fecal sample in. It seems to be pretty common though.

You may also try using a pair of tweezers and basically force feeding some crickets....

one more thing... if your new beardie does have a parasite, you may want to use news paper as bedding and replace it every day until the beardie gets better. It sounds really sick

 

[LanierSpots]

Thanks for your advice Cheline. Ever since I changed the tank around two days ago, he really seem energetic. He is running around the tank at times and when I get him out and put him on the bed, he is very fast and strong. He "seems" much healthier since I change the lighting. I put the uvb directly over him and not going through the screen top. His basking temps are ranging from 100-108. The cool temps are ranging from 75-80

He still is only eating a few crickets per day but is pooping just about every day or every other day. It is decent size with some kind of white stuff on top of it. If you put water on your finger, he will lick it off. I have been bathing him every other day or so but I think I will try to give him some water with a eye dropper tonight and see if he takes it...

I ordered some small phoenix worms and should get them today. I will see if he will go for those.

Thanks for all the advice. I like the fact that he is very energetic but would love to see him munch out soon

 

[runningguy]

He still is only eating a few crickets per day but is pooping just about every day or every other day. It is decent size with some kind of white stuff on top of it.

The white stuff you are referring to is completely normal and is healthy. Pooping everyday or every other day is good.

 

[Cheline101]

The white stuff is like their urin. Since they are desert animals, their bodies do what they can to preserve water; that's why they don't pee. Instead, a little white substance comes out before the regular poop. Every beardie does it. I love not having to clean up urin. It's so much less of a mess