He's Not Eating

[PastelBeardie]

A few months ago Baldric decided that he isn't going to eat crickets, that's over and done with. I started feeding him superworms along with his salad instead. He ate those with his salad for several weeks, then he decided he's had enough superworms and isn't going to eat those, either.

For about a week now he's hardly eaten anything except for the one roach I fed him and a few bites of his salad. I don't have the roach colony up and going yet, and besides, he's not 18 months old yet, so I don't want to make the roaches a regular food item. His approx. hatch date is 7/1/2012, and he's 21 inches long. The temps are 106 on the warm side and 76 on the cool side. His Reptisun UVB tube was traded out in February and for the warm side I'm using a Reveal full spectrum crystal clear bulb. That's what the bulb says on the package, but it looks sort of clear blue instead of just clear.

His bugs get coated with Calcium withe D3 every day except for Mondays and Fridays, when I use Herptivite multivitamins, but he hasn't been eating them for the past week or two.

I know that the general rule with reptiles is if he's pooing he's eating, and he's been pooing every 2-3 days lately. The poos look normal, except that the white part is partly yellowish. Is this normal eating behavior with beardies when they get to be about full size? He was such a glutton when he was smaller that he has me worried.

 

[brittani299]

Do he think he is brumating?

 

[PastelBeardie]

I'm no beardie expert, but I think he's still too young for that. He's only nine months old. Don't they usually brumate in the fall and winter?

 

[brittani299]

Ok so he is probably going through slow down. Mine did that at that age. It is like a small scale bruamte. He will get over it soon

 

[PastelBeardie]

Oh good, it should be nothing to worry about then. Thanks. I think I'll go give him some stink eye for worrying me.

 

[brittani299]

hahaha Just watch him for the next couple days but I am pretty sure he is ok

 

[allisonm]

You mentioned you didn't want to start a roach colony because he isn't 18 months and you didn't want to make the roaches a constant food. Is there a reason you are waiting til he is older? Are you talking about a dubia colony or different roaches. You can feed dragons dubias at any age/size. The only food you want to wait to feed them is super worms, and meal worms. A lot of people say not to feed meal worms at all though. Anyways, as far as dubia go, you don't have to follow the rule about size (not feeding anything longr than the width between their eyes) especially with older dragons. I feed my 18month old my extra male dubia. I also have 2 babies. I have one who is healthy and an eating machine. He eats 3/4 in dubia and can put away 30+ in 10 min. I also have another baby who doesn't eat very well, hasn't shed. I'm having problems with her but when she does eat she eats 1/2in or a little smaller. On a good day she can eat 20. I hope this helps. And since your dragon is 21 inches you can feed him 1in+ and he would be fine. On this forum in the for sale section, KimbrellsColdBlooded has dubias for a good price. Also, if you are wanting to start a colony Twobeardieguy has starter colonies for cheap also. Hope this helps some, and I hope he starts eating

 

[daner923]

You actually should heed the space between the eyes rules with dubia until your dragon is 16 inches long. The key is to keep stuff from getting stuck in the digestive tract before the kink straightens out.

 

[PastelBeardie]

Here's an update. A few days ago I was reading some threads on this forum and saw something about how beardies are sensitive to air fresheners. I don't use air fresheners because geckos are sensitive to them too, but it occurred to me that I have an Easter lily near his cage. I put it there about the time he decided to stop eating. It made the room smell nice, but maybe this was bothering him. I moved the lily and he started eating a little salad, not much. A few minutes ago I put a dubia in his viv and had to take him off his basking spot and make the roach wiggle around on his back for a bit before he finally decided to eat the bug. Last night I was finally able to find some completely clear bulbs, and I replaced the full spectrum one with a clear one.

Dubia is what I meant when I was talking about roaches. He's a good size for a 9 month old beardie, but isn't there still a kink in their innards until they get to be about 18 months old? I could be wrong on this.

I don't think he's impacted. He pooed yesterday and today, but the poos were not as long as usual (OK diameter-wise), which is to be expected if he's not eating.

 

[PastelBeardie]

He ate all but a few bites of his salad today! Yay!! It's the first time he's eaten in weeks. Could it have been the light bulb?

 

[brittani299]

Yes it is possible. Mine are sensitive to lighting

 

[PastelBeardie]

After eating that day, he went right back to not eating. I'm worried. Any thoughts?

 

[brittani299]

Can you answer these questions

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb?
Di you have any type of night time heat source (ceramic heat emitter, colored bulb, etc)?
How long are lights on each day?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
What is the night time temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bathe your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....so you have a newer Reptisun 10.0 tube ? And temps. seem good. I would suggest extra hydration, yellowish urates can point to dehydration. How often do you soak him or offer water ? I know Britt has that question in the big questionnaire up there, and it's important. He could have a soak every other day, and offer extra water with an eyedropper, needleless syringe or gently spray his snout with a spray bottle. You can also lessen the calcium, using it only twice a week,[ or just use less each feeding ] too much calcium can also cause yellowish urates. Be sure that you only use a very light powdering of vitamins, too. Sometimes when they are a little dehydrated they lose their hearty appetite. By the way, Baldric has grown extremely fast, and they can definitely go through a very picky phase. They don't eat anywhere near the number that they did as juveniles. He is big enough to only eat bugs every other day [ when he gets back to a routine ] He will be fine eating more salad/ less insects now. Have you ever tried hornworms ? That might spark his appetite again.

 

[PastelBeardie]

How old is your dragon?

9 ½ months

How long have you had your dragon?

6 months

How long is your dragon?

21 inches

What is the sex of your dragon?

Male

What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?

40 gallon breeder

What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?

Shelf liner

Do you use UVB lights?

Yes

If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?

Fluorescent tube

What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?

Reptisun 10

How old is your UVB bulb?

2 months

How close can your dragon get to the UVB?

10-11 inches

Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb?

Yes, clear 100 watt

Di you have any type of night time heat source (ceramic heat emitter, colored bulb, etc)?

No

How long are lights on each day?

8 am-8 pm

What are the basking temps?

102-106

What is the cool side temp?

77-79

What is the night time temp?

68-72

Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?

Temp gun

Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?

On the surface of his basking log

Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?

No

What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?

Salad, using collard greens, peeled cactus pad, different types of squash, sometimes endive, occasional bits of green bell peppers, cactus fruit, and apple

He won’t eat crickets or superworms any more, but I’ve been putting superworms in fromt of him every day hoping he’ll eat them.

When he was younger I fed first thing in the morning and then at noon, leaving enough for him to eat while I was at work. Now I feed mid-morning and leave enough for the day.

Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?

Yes

Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?

Repti Calcium with D3 5 days a week, Herptivite 2 days a week

Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?

Not as often since he’s been eating very little lately.

Do you bathe your dragon? How often?

Yes, about 3 times a week.

Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?

No.

Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?

Yes, right after he arrived.

Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?

No.


AHBD, I’ll go a bit easier on the calcium and give him more bath time, thanks. I keep a humidifier going in the house all the time to keep the humidity up for the geckos and my harps.

Today I offered him 3 adult male dubia and he ate two, then the third dubia snuggled up to him and they both took a nap. He’s active and worries about his reflection, so he’s not sluggish or anything.

Tomorrow someone who raises dubia will be bringing me 100 adult males. Right now dubia are about the only thing he’ll even think about eating, so maybe that’ll jumpstart his appetite again.

He’s not eating anywhere near what he did up until February. He was a real glutton. Now he goes for days or even a week or more barely eating if he eats at all.

I haven’t tried hornworms. If he turns up his nose at the dubia, I’ll order some.