Help - he wont eat

[proudbeardieowner]

I have a 7 month old beardie that we got at 7 weeks old. From the time we got him up until about 3 weeks ago, we were nervous we would not be able to afford to feed this boy. He ate constantly his crickets, minimealworms, all sorts of greens and some fruit. As he got a little older he would devour his entire bowl of greens and we would have to refill it when we got home from work. He had also cut down on his crickets, but would still eat atleast 10-15 of them a day, in addition to a few superworms and waxworms. Now within the last few weeks he is down to eating maybe 2 or 3 pieces of kale, and loves the horned worms. I went on the internet to find something different because he was refusing everything else, and found he liked these, but I have read they are not very nutritious?? I am not sure what to do at this point. I took him to the vet today, they weighed him at .431 grams and said he looked ok, but I dropped off a fecal and they drew some blood which I will have results back by Monday.

We give him his calcium each morning and his vitamins over the weekend. He is currently in a 36x18x18 tank with a 100 watt basking light and a 10.0 UV bulb.

Please give me any advise, good, bad or in between. We love this boy and I wish I knew why all of a sudden he is acting like this. Is this normal? I thought they ate every day, and alot?

 

[fresnowitte]

I'm sorry that you didn't get any suggestions or advice.
Did you get the results to the tests back?
My first suggestion would have been to take in a fecal.
Also beardies at this age and that size may tend to slow down on eating may go weeks without seeming to eat much at all then out of the blue will begin to devour their food like there's no tomorrow...Maybe you could switch up on his feeders give him a treat like horns or silkworms to give him a boost.

Oh and we all wish and pray for our beardies to eat everyday but regardless they are reptiles and will eat as their bodies need it. So as long as the test come back I'd not worry to awefully much unless he starts dropping weight. :wink:

How is he doing today?

 

[proudbeardieowner]

Hi,

Well the vet called and the fecal and blood tests all came back fine. They suggested I buy a gram scale to check his weight often, but I can tell he is still losing weight. Where do you get gram scales?

He also just ate his last hornworm today, since that is the only thing he will eat, so I ordered 50 today, but they will not be here until Thursday I also ordered 50 of the superworms since he did eat 2 of them yesterday, but nothing else. I am so worried about him.

Today he was pacing around in his cage with his beard black rubbing his nose back and forth and climbing up. He does the pacing often, so I wonder if he just does not like his cage. And yesterday he was in the corner digging, then he went under his log and was digging. He seems to like it best sitting in the window sill up against the screen, but I only do that about 1 hr in the am to warm him up since the sun comes up on that side of the hour. He just loves it! He reaches back at me as I am putting him in his cage when an hour is up and I know he most likely has to go to the bathroom and I am praying he may even eat a few crickets or a piece of lettuce,but although he has been going to the bathroom, no salad is being eaten.

Can anyone post any pictures of their setup, I am thinking maybe that is it. We have a small piece of driftwood that is below the 100 watt light that we have raised up so under it, acts like a cave. Then on the other side we have his water with another log that he can climb on the cooler side, but I think it is too cluddered for him.

Why do dragons get like this, they make their owner very upset

 

[proudbeardieowner]

I keep reading other posts where people are talking about appetite stimulants, however, my vet did not recommend that, she just said to watch his weight... but then what??? I want to do something now so he does not lose any more weight. He looks at the worms and I think he wants to eat them, but does not. What else can I do so that he will want to eat them. This is so sad!

 

[fresnowitte]

I bought my scale from here.... http://www.digitalscalesaz.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=3001P&x=17&y=7
Many of the members have gotten there's from Veronica here... http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Supplies.html

I imagine that you could try some critical care and see if that would stimulate him to eat.

But first let me brainstorm with you...

What type and brand UVB are you using? Tube, coil?
How old is it?
What is the distance from UVB bulb to your beardies basking spot?
What are your temps? Basking spot and cool end.
What type of thermometer are you using to take the temps?

 

[proudbeardieowner]

Thank you for these websites, I have to order one quickly


After you read my comments bElow, let me know if you have any suggestions.

What type and brand UVB are you using? Tube, coil - TUBE WHICH IS 22 INCHES LONG ACROSS THE CENTER OF THE CAGE SCREWED TO INSIDE OF LID IN A 36 INCH LONG TANK
How old is it? - BORN DEC 1, SO HE IS 7 MONTHS+
What is the distance from UVB bulb to your beardies basking spot? 6 INCHES TO TOP OF HEAD WHEN HE IS SITTING THERE, SO ABOUT 8 INCHES TO BODY
What are your temps? Basking spot and cool end. - BASKING AREA 98 TO TOP OF LOG SO A LITTLE HIGHER AT HIS BODY TO TOP OF HEAD, AND 81' AT COOLER END
What type of thermometer are you using to take the temps? - DIGITAL SPRINGFIELD PRECISETEMP FROM WALMART, AND A FOURPAWS DIAL (NONDIGIAL FROM PET STORE)

Thank you for your help

 

[fresnowitte]

Your welcome anytime!

What is the brand name of your UVB bulb? This is important...In the fluorescent style tube bulbs the only ones that I'd recommend is the Reptisun 10.0 an if your not in the US then the Arcadia 12%. These are the only 2 that put out high enough levels of UVB for basking reptiles.

Oh and I meant how old is the bulb not the beardie...I'm assuming the bulb is the same age???
Most the tube styles are needed to be changed out every 6 months whether they still turn on or not the UVB output lessens with the age of bulb.

Your digital thermometer has a probe right?
The dials are useless they really are. I found them to be up to 20* off at times.

 

[proudbeardieowner]

The UVBulb we have is a reptisun, it was more expensive then the reptiglo at the petstore, but they said it was better, is that true? And the buld is only about 3 or so months old, since before this case, he was in a 20 long tank so we had a shorter bulb.

As far as the thermometer, it did not have a probe, so we ran to petco and bought one with a probe, I also raised the basking area by adding ad additional rock under the basking area, so it is closer to the 105 mark now. If it goes over that a few degrees, since it was right on, is that bad, just wondering if I should lower the rock again. If he moves to another area of the log it will be cooler, but just am afraid if it went over that in just that one area directly under the light.

Also, I went to walmart to buy a gram scale, and he did lose a few grams, he is now down to 424, is that bad? I also went to petstore to buy a pinkie hoping maybe he would eat that since his hornworms have not arrived yet. He sat there watching it move around in his bowl, so my husband picked it up with the tweezers to get it to make noise, and he ran down. All he did was kill it though, I think he was not sure what it was since it did not feel like a worm (a bit harder), but then made him hungry so he ran around and ate a few crikets that I threw in there so I was happy. I am hoping tomorrow he will chow down on a few hornworms!

I can tell he is hungry, he is just being a brat! He licks at the food I try to give him in the tweezers but does not want to eat it

 

[pamelacoe]

I am no expert, but may I ask if you are bathing him at least twice a week ( our juvenile gets one everyday)? From what I understand and have been told, BD's get mostly get their hydration that way. You can also get them to drink by putting a drop of water on the the tip of their nose & if thirsty they will lick it off - mine will lick the drop right off your finger tip. I am told you can check for dehydration by giving their skin (on the belly, I guess) a little pinch and if it goes right back when you let go, he is doing good, but if the skin stays sticking up then your BD is dehydrated and that is dangerous and may make him not eat, just a bad cycle.

I hope everything turns out alright. If anything I said above is erroneous, I know a wiser owner will correct it :wink:

Pamela

 

[Buggsy]

Yes the reptiSUNs are far better, in furture get them online at www.petmountain.com, they are cheap here.

I know your getting desperate but please never feed pinkies, they are very hard to digest and soo fatty, there isnt much else to them. You could always get some squash or chicken baby food and put some on his nose, it should help keep the weight on but wont resolve the issue.

Sometimes they just go through this stage, my female will regularly go 2 weeks without eating, she shows plenty of interest but never goes to get it, then one day she will pig out. Keep going with regular baths, baby food and try some different feeders to catch his interest, hopefully he will eat something for you!

 

[proudbeardieowner]

Well the worms arrived today, the large green golith worms, he he devoured 2 of them! I just can not afford to feed him these forever, they are very expensive. Baby food is something I can give to my beardie? Just regular chicken baby food, and if so which stage? Also, when I went to the petstore yesterday they told me to try him on scrambled eggs, have you ever heard of that?

I sure hope he gets out of this stage quickly, I am so nervous!!!

 

[munchkins9802]

they sometimes slow down. Just keep offering him food. PLEASE NO PINKIES! THey arent that great for them

 

[Dargonista]

We are having the same problem with our Bearded Dragon - he is about 6 months old. Has always been a good eater, chases cricktes down like a master, and now he hasn't eaten for 2 days. Had a poop yesterday, I haven't seen one today. He was never a big veggie eater but he loved his crickets.

He still seems pretty lively, moves around his cage, looks at his friend in the other cage. I did notice he hunkers down on the floor of the cage more than he used to, but not all the time. I would think if it was too cold he would stay up close to the lamp - ?

I will keep watching this thread so keep us posted.....

(I say "cage", but they are in aquarium tanks)

 

[proudbeardieowner]

I will not buy the pinkies anymore, I was just trying anything at all and I told myself I would never do that either He did not eat it though, which is good, but he did chomp on it until he realized what it was.

If your 6 month beardie is doing this same thing, try the horned worms, they really like them www.mulberryfarms.com. The are expensive though, does anyone know anyone on this forum that might raise them cheaper?

What is the temp of your basking area, is it atleast 100'? I think mine was slightly lower, so I raised it, and he is staying in that area more then he was the other day.

Good luck to you and your beardie.