How long can a beardie go without food?

[Shally07]

Hi all

I have a beardie that is approx. 6 months old and he was upgraded to a larger vivarium earlier this week. Since then, I've noticed that he hasn't been eating as much as usual. I offer him some veges/ insects with tweezers and he eats some of it, but not a lot. I put out one small bowl of fresh veges/ fruit every day and another small bowl of Fluker's Buffet Blend (for Juveniles), but they are untouched. I don't want to spoil him by hand-feeding him every day instead of him feeding from the bowls, but I'm worried that he's not eating enough since he's still growing. The stress of being introduced to a new environment might also be causing the loss of appetite, but how long should I wait before worrying?

Thanks.

 

[bunnyrut]

it sounds like the new viv is stressing him out.
is it in the same spot as his old one? when i moved tasty treat from the dining area to the living room she was so stressed out she wouldn't even move. so i had to put her back :/

as long as he is eating something i wouldn't stress - yet. if his appetite doesn't come back in another week then i would start force feeding him baby food.

if you added new items to his viv try taking them out. likewise if you left an old item out from his other viv try putting it in the new one - something familiar should help.

how is the heating since you moved him?

 

[Shally07]

The new viv is in exactly the same spot as the old one, only much bigger - his 'view of the outside world' is the same. Behaviourally, he is more or less his normal self, so that's quite a relief. He spends most of his day either under the heat lamp or the UVB tube, so pretty much the same as before. Occasionally he will roam around, but he has stopped scratching at the sides of the viv (which he did in the old one) - apparently it's a sign that he wants out?

As for the items in the viv, it's a mixture of old and new lol. Everything that was in the old viv has gone into the new one, with a couple of new pieces of wood.

The heat gradient has improved in the new viv because of its size. The old viv's temperature fluctuated a bit because it was smaller and I had to set the heater on a timer so that it wouldn't overheat. Now the basking spot is constantly at 40 deg C. and the cool side is approximately 24 deg C. The cool side's temperature fluctuates a bit because we are heading towards winter now, so when the ambient temperature in the house dips, so does the cool side in the viv. Having said that, it does not drop below 20 deg C. while the heat lamp is on and at night it only drops to a minimum of 17 deg C.

 

[bunnyrut]

you might have to wait it out then.

it can take around 2 weeks for them to get used to a change.

he should eventually get hungry enough to go after the food on his own. hand feed him 1 or 2, then drop the rest nearby for him to see.

 

[pogvitt]

Have you tried offering different worms? Butterworms have an appetizing colour and aroma, and may entice him to eat.