Getting beardie to eat, drink, poop and be merry?

[ronni1221]

How do I get my baby Brutus to eat and drink water? I've done the baths, dripping water on his snout, and he still doesn't lick it off. He's been eating a few crickets and pws, but still isn't eating a whole lot. He isn't pooping often, either. However, he has been getting progressively more active, which is good. I want to give him a little pumpkin baby food (or 100% pumpkin) to get him to poop, but I'm afraid I won't be able to get him to eat it. I've also thought about repta-aid since he's not eating much. If I use a syringe to feed him the pumpkin or the repta-aid (to get him to eat more), how do I hold him down? He's pretty frisky.

Overall, I'm a little confused.

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

A couple Qs!

How old is Brutus?
What type of UVB are you using (florescent tube, Mercury Vapor Bulb or compact/coil) Please include brand!?
How old is your UVB light?
What are your temps (basking spot & cool side)?
What are you using to check temps (digital thermometer with probe, analog/stick on therm. or temp gun)?
How long have you had Brutus?
Did he recently change locations or cages, etc?

Wouldn't worry about the water. Mine rarely if ever drink out of their bathes. I think Sinclair has 3 times in almost 2 years and Pele has once in 1.5 years. So... yeah. I actually worry that they're a bit dehydrated if they do!

I use a tiny bit of olive oil to help with BMs. Just a drop works great! The pain really is getting it in the beardie. I cheat and put a waxworm on a dish in some olive oil. How often is he going? and How much is he eating? If he's not eating much, it could be perfectly normal that he's not going all that often!

 

[ronni1221]

How old is Brutus? He is around 4 months old, possibly 5? My brother had him originally and didn't take care of him, so I decided it was my job to get him better. He's definitely not as big as he should be at this age, and hasn't shed yet, at least that I know of
What type of UVB are you using (florescent tube, Mercury Vapor Bulb or compact/coil) Please include brand!? 100W Sun Glo Basking Spot Lamp by Exo Terra
How old is your UVB light? 1 month old
What are your temps (basking spot & cool side)? Around 100F on the hot side, around 60F on the cool side
What are you using to check temps (digital thermometer with probe, analog/stick on therm. or temp gun)? TRex round dial-type thermometer
How long have you had Brutus? I got him from my brother about a month ago
Did he recently change locations or cages, etc? one month ago, he moved into my room. I've noticed since I put more branches in there, he's been a little more willing to come out from under the paper towel.

I put up a posting in the beginning of the month: http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=92693&hilit= . He ate a little yesterday, and just a few moments ago, I gave him a warm bath and got him to eat a little bit of the repta-aid. He's sitting near the lamp right now. I found a poop in there today. He sleeps ALOT. I wake him in the morning and put him under the lamp to bask, and do the same when I get home from work.

 

[ronni1221]

He hasn't been eating much at all. He ate 7 pws last friday. Since then, he's licked up the pws then spits them out. I can get him interested in them now. Sunday he ate 2 crickets and pooped on Monday. Yesterday he ate 3 crickets and pooped today. I offer him food everyday, and he just doesn't want to eat. I suppose if he's not eating then he's not pooping. I tried offering him crickets today as well, but he refused. That's when I tried the repta-aid. I didn't offer more insects afterwards.
He is definitely more active lately than he used to be. Yesterday I caught him doing a few head bobs and arm waves, the first I've ever seen of that.

 

[NegativeCreep]

Do you have a separate basking light and UVB light? By the way you described it, I don't think you have proper UVB. This could make a huge difference, if he's never had one.

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

yeah.. sweetie.. this is gonna require some hardware.

All right- here's the list

1. reptisun 10.0 flourescent tube ($20 at http://www.lllreptile.com)- please note that the brand & style -tube- are extremely important. UVB is what allows proper calcium absorption (crucial to bone development) and essentially fills in for the sun. You know how you have more energy on bright sunny days than cloudy wintry days? Yeah. Same thing. UVB lights need to be replaced every 6 months as the UVB depletes out.
2. Proper fixture for tube flourescent (can be picked up inexpensively at Home Depot or Lowe's)
3. Proper thermometer - you want a digital thermometer with a probe, these run around $12 at any self respecting reptile store
(unfortunately the stick on & analog types are notoriously inaccurate). You need to let it sit about 45 min to get a good read.
4. Calcium powder with D3 (for dusting crickets)

Just for comparison's sake, when my spoiled brat of a beardie was 5 months, he was running through 50+ crickets a day.
Make sure the crickets are appropriately sized (no bigger than the space btwn his eyes)
You also want to be offering veg. Mustard greens, escarole, endive, collards and dandelion are all good staples for beardies. You can also try squash, yams or small offerings of non-citrus fruits.

Heating: You need a hot spot btwn 100-110 and a cool side in the upper 70s.
Caging: By the time your baby hits 8 months and/or 12 inches, you're going to want to upgrade to a minimum size of a 40g breeder tank. The ideal is a 4x2x2.

Ok.. Now that I've given you this somewhat daunting list. GOOD FOR YOU! You are taking care of an animal in need and I'm sure you'll find that Brutus will repay you with a life time of love (beardies are considerably less temperamental than cobalt blues!)


Good luck with everything! And get some pics up for us soon! We love pics!

- Kerry

 

[ronni1221]

Wow,

Thanks so much!

For the digital thermometer, is "ESU Digital Thermometer with probe" a fair choice? Link: http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...-timers/-/esu-digital-thermometer-with-probe/

This LLLReptile store is great!

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

Yep, that'll work great!
In general, I try to stay away from ESU/Zilla products- but I've used their thermometers and have never had an issue- they're consistent with my temp gun (I finally caved and dropped the money after having racked up so many herps!).

LLLreptile is great for hardware! Word to the wise- Never order reptiles from them, they are not well kept or particularly responsible breeders.

I'm glad to help out! It always sucks to tell someone to go spend lots of money! Thanks for taking it so well!

And you need to get some Brutus pics up!

 

[ronni1221]

I will get pics up asap!
I'm not too happy about spending the money, but I care about him and want him to get better! I just can't wait until my stuff arrives!
Thanks again!

 

[ronni1221]

Here's my baby beardie!!!!!!!

 

[ronni1221]

I just realized that it looks like he has stress marks on his belly. maybe he's shedding soon? Maybe there's too many plants in there...

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

Personally I think calling them stress marks is a bit of a misnomer. They are always out when a beardie is darker colored and rarely out when a beardie is lighter colored.
While they may have something to do with emotions, I don't think that's their primary thing.

Darker colors absorb heat better. I think beardies tend to darken when they are trying to absorb more heat. Outside, often out of their cage, sometimes when they are basking. I've also found that when my beardies are in "crazy run around active" mode, they are their lightest. This makes perfect sense with the color thing as they'd probably be heated before being highly active.

 

[ronni1221]

That's really interesting. Thanks for the info!

 

[smaug85]

How do I get my baby Brutus to eat and drink water? I've done the baths, dripping water on his snout, and he still doesn't lick it off..

From the short time I've had Smaug, using a dropper works a treat

 

[zimbabwepegasus]

How's Brutus doing these days?
Have you noticed an appetite increase since getting a UVB?