Hasn't eaten (on his own) in 9 MONTHS!!! HELP

[ziggysmom]

In August 2008 Ziggy stopped eating. I took him to the vet, he had parasites. We got rid of those. His appetite never returned. In January 2009....still not eating on his own, I took him back to vet. No parasites, overall seems healthy. Lighting is good, temperatures are good, etc. Here we are April. Still not making any effort to eat anything, veggies, worms, crickets, nothing! I have been feeding him pureed veggies, mashed & whole crickets, etc. by syringe & tongs to keep his weight up. At the vet's advice I stopped and just kept putting food out for him (she thought maybe I'd spoiled him and so now he just expects to be fed). Nothing for 7 days. I don't know what to do. I keep putting food in his tank, hoping the survival instinct will kick in and he'll just get hungry and eat.

Anyone had this experience? Any ideas?

 

[pscaulkins]

Oh yes, I have had two and a half years of this. Magick stopped metabolizing powdered supplements at about 5 months old and developed major MBD. We fixed the issue and have been maintaining her on liquid calcium. We force fed her for a few months. She finally started eating but only if we spoon fed her the salads made up really chopped. She would only eat supers if we put them to her mouth. This went on for two years. Now that she is three, she decided to get hungry. She eats her supers in her tank and will even eat salad. I still give her veg juice (greens, vegs and water) every morning with a plastic spoon. She eats everything else on her own now. I have no clue why she started eating on her own but I have been told once they are force fed for so long that they depend on you. Apparently, this is not true. Granted it took 2-1/2 years to get her to eat on her own but we are very proud that she is. This is a dragon that only had coccidia during the time she wasn't metabolizing powdered calcium and hasn't had other issues. She also lowered a 50+ count of coccidia on her own with no meds once we cleared up the underlying issue.

I just wanted to say hang in there. Keep your dragon hydrated and hopefully one day Ziggy will (wake up) like Magick did.

BTW, if you are syringing Ziggy, I would switch to a plastic spoon. All three of my dragons will drink from a plastic spoon. I don't use syringes anymore. Spoons make it so much easier to give them foods and liquids.

 

[athenacp]

Digger hasn't eaten on his own in about 5 years or so, ever since he had hookworms/pinworms...I am still waiting for the wake-up!

 

[ziggysmom]

Thank you both for your response. Always helps to know that others have experienced the same thing and that your beardies are ok. Ziggy is getting thin, and I am worried about lack of nutrition. I am going to pick up some liquid calcium, go back to feeding him and hope he snaps out of it (hopefully sooner than 2-5 years - thats such a long time!).

Thanks again, and if anyone else has input suggestions, I'd still like to hear it.

 

[darkcirca]

pscaulkins - I'm glad I'm not the only one that has an animal with issues with powdered supplements. I supplemented my leopard gecko and she still developed MBD, and broke her leg. We have since switched her over to liquid calcium and haven't had an issue since. No one really understood how she couldn't use the powdered supplements..

ziggysmom - Have you used probiotics before? I used acidophiliz+ on a few stubborn geckos, as well as other reptiles. Usually they stopped eating after a parasite treatment. I continued to syringe feed carnivore care for them, and gave them acidophiliz+. Within a few weeks they were eating a few worms again.

Wasn't sure if you had tried it, so I wanted to throw it out there. I picked up a big bottle of calcionate syrup online for around $20.

 

[Alix1378]

i never knew beardies got like this. that is crazy that they just stop eating unless fed like a baby. i really hope dino doesnt get like this. i LOVE watching him CHOMP an CRUNCH crickets

 

[ziggysmom]

Darkcirca,

I am using the carnivore care, but haven't heard of the acidophiliz+ before. I will look that up and give it a try. Thank you very much.

 

[darkcirca]

Darkcirca,

I am using the carnivore care, but haven't heard of the acidophiliz+ before. I will look that up and give it a try. Thank you very much.

I picked mine up from Beautiful Dragons awhile ago:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Meds.html

Probiotics replace the good bacteria in the system.

Found this about it:
Pet Authority Acidophiliz+ contains highly potent lactobacillus acidophilus cultures (the healthy cultures found in yogurt that provide essential friendly bacteria) maturing in a natural medium of papaya puree and yucca shidigera. This combination of natural ingredients has been used successfully as a daily dietary supplement to help maintain good health and to help combat unhealthy bacteria.

Personally any time I treat with antibiotics, or for parasites, I use this, especially if the animal is not really eating.

Glad you have carnivore care. I keep some in the fridge at all times, and I always have jumpstart, as well as repti-aid handy for other occasions.

 

[theimmortaljedi]

how do you spoon food a beardie? do you just put it;s mouth up to the spoon? How often does that need to be done?

 

[pscaulkins]

how do you spoon food a beardie? do you just put it;s mouth up to the spoon? How often does that need to be done?

I just use a plastic spoon and spoon the food to her. She would lick the food off the time. It is funny to watch their big tongues come out when they see the spoon. It takes a couple of days for them to know you are just trying to feed them but once they realize the spoon is food watch out. lol I even have my youngest dragon Jada, who is 10 months old drinking veg juice from a spoon. I pretty much can put anything on a spoon and give it to my three dragons. I hate syringes as I have had one aspirate, one bite the whole end off of a syringe.

Once or twice a day depends on the circumstances. I give all three a couple spoons of juice every morning before baths. This keeps them hydrated. They eat salad and feeders in the afternoon.

Greens juice is just greens and water blended to make green juice.

 

[ziggysmom]

Ziggy does not eat off a spoon. He does not want to be fed at all. I have to use a syringe and squirt it onto his tongue whenever he opens his mouth. I do have to be very careful not to choke him, because he is opening his mouth to aspirate, not because he wants to eat. I also use tongs and put worms or crickets into his mouth. If he is in the mood, he will eat it instead of spitting it out. It is extremely time consuming, but what can I do?

 

[theimmortaljedi]

do you feed crickets and veggies off the spoon?

 

[ziggysmom]

No, I have to use tongs and stick them into his mouth when he opens it, and again, he might chew and swallow, or he might spit it out.