I plan to starve my beardie.....

[ChrisMiller]

Ok, not REALLY but that sounded a lot more interesting than your every day "My beardie won't eat" topics so why not, right?

So it's been 2 weeks now since we picked up Rango and his eating is less than impressive. In those two weeks he's eaten THREE large dubia, and MAYBE 1 cup of greens total.

Rango is 8 months, 480 grams and 18 inches long. He seems very healthy with a nice wide belly but the guy just doesn't want to eat. Dubia in a separate tub, from the tongs, in his cage loose - it doesn't matter! He just closes his eyes and avoids them!

His greens he's been eating off and on, but never ONCE while we're around and we work from home and see everything. It's almost as if he's waiting until we leave to eat the greens.

Last week I added cardboard to the sides of his cage because he seemed to be stressed. It literally turned his attitude around. Now he's always up roaming his cage, trying to climb out, etc. He'll even lick the dubia but then just leaves them.

So how long should I let this go on? I am not interested in catering to a spoiled beardie. I think the previous owners did more harm than good with the way they babied him. At this point I am going to continue to offer roaches the way I want (small bowl, and sometimes tongs) and if he doesn't take them within a few seconds, I am dumping them back in their bin and moving on. I figure he'll eventually get hung and start eating. Right?

Thoughts?

 

[dannysxu]

Sounds like a plan haha I mean if you really feel thats he's been damaged socially then it's definitely going to take a while for him to change personality wise. I have a rescued hedgehog and it took months for me to be able to get it into a healthier way of living. Thankfully, the feeling of hunger will always win in the end. Still if he starts losing weight (He seems great in the photo though!) then I suppose it will be time for you to bend a little and try hand feeding him. Maybe you could try coating the dubias in apple sauce or something he likes?

 

[cr1chard]

My beardie will usually stare at me defiantly, then proceed to fling his greens all over the enclosure. He will then admit defeat and start munching when he realizes his bugs aren't coming.

 

[Jess]

There are some beardies that just hate eating around people for some reason. Last year, Dudley refused to eat his veggies if I was watching him. If he would see me while he was eating his veggies, he would stop dead and return to basking. :roll: He doesn't seem to care anymore though.
When you feed him dubia, you can always leave them in a dish for a couple hours too, to see if he will snack on them while you are gone.

I wouldn't worry. He is a healthy weight, and he could still be a little stressed out from the move.

 

[TwistedTruth]

My oldest dragon, Dexter, will not eat ANYTHING if you're watching. It doesn't matter if he was mid-bite, he'll freeze in place until you look away. And now my newest one won't eat any greens unless they're syringe fed and barely wants to chase crickets, but that's a different story...

 

[cr1chard]

This thread made me try an experiment last night. Surprisingly, my beardie greedily accepted dandelion greens when hand-fed them. I put down the dish with some more greens and beardie bites - and he then flung them all over the enclosure *sigh*

 

[LLLReptile]

What's your cage set up like? Lack of appetite in an otherwise healthy beardie for an extended period may mean there is something lacking in the way the cage is set up. The roaming in addition to lack of appetite also lead me to think maybe he does not like something about the way the cage is set up; could be the basking spot isn't large enough/flat enough for him to bask properly, maybe there isn't a place that he is comfortable hiding in to sleep, maybe he can see something in the room that is bothering him? There is "catering to a spoiled bearded dragon" and then there is tweaking the set up so that it feels comfortable...can you post up a picture of your set up?

As long as there isn't significant weight loss, I would not worry overmuch about the starving thing. That's the general tactic we use at the stores and it rarely takes longer than a week for most spoiled beardies to come around.

-Jen

 

[ChrisMiller]

Hey Jen,

Thanks for the reply. Here is a quick photo. His setup is very basic while we wait for his new cage to come in. Although we plan to keep it pretty basic then too. His basking spot is about 100-105 and the cool end closer to 75-80. I've got him blocked off on 3 sides which seemed to have really helped with his relocation stress. He actually ate real well on horn worms today. Saw those and just went nuts. He still doesn't think much of the roaches or his greens though.

 

[Cowabunga]

You understand that there is a chance he simply doesn't like roaches?

 

[ChrisMiller]

You understand that there is a chance he simply doesn't like roaches?

Well... he was raised on them and came with a full colony.

There is also the chance that if he doesn't like what he's given, he might starve. I don't think he's that dumb though.

I don't spoil my children, or my dogs. I surely won't be spoiling my reptiles. He's going to need to man up or he'll suffer for a bit. He got horn worms today which he gladly accepted, but I don't have thousands of horn worms like I do roaches.

Hopefully he changes his attitude. Putting the food in front of his face to eat is not going to last long either. He either learns to chase his own food, or I will seriously starve the lazy bastard until he does what he needs to do.

Maybe I am a little bitter for getting him from pushover owners. The same kind of people who raise kids who are completely out of hand.

 

[Cowabunga]

You understand that there is a chance he simply doesn't like roaches?

Well... he was raised on them and came with a full colony.

There is also the chance that if he doesn't like what he's given, he might starve. I don't think he's that dumb though.

I don't spoil my children, or my dogs. I surely won't be spoiling my reptiles. He's going to need to man up or he'll suffer for a bit. He got horn worms today which he gladly accepted, but I don't have thousands of horn worms like I do roaches.

Hopefully he changes his attitude. Putting the food in front of his face to eat is not going to last long either. He either learns to chase his own food, or I will seriously starve the lazy ***** until he does what he needs to do.

Maybe I am a little bitter for getting him from pushover owners. The same kind of people who raise kids who are completely out of hand.

They can get into points where they become tired of their staple food.. it happens. Just be prepared because it might not be a battle you'll win. Try and give him roaches along with other things and see if that works. Trust and believe if you are randomly still feeding him things like horn worms you're like a parent who tells their kids they can't have desert till they eat their veggies but you toss them candy bars here and there... lol The way you are doing it wont work.

 

[Paradon]

It's been getting a little cold lately maybe you forgot to compansate for the temperature changes. Maybe he is a little cold.

 

[LLLReptile]

I would adjust his basking area. The tilted light can irritate the eyes, and that combined with a low basking area that is not quite as big as his whole body could be resulting in inadequate basking abilities.

I would suggest pointing the basking light straight down, and providing a larger basking area - maybe a flat piece of cork, or something along those lines, where he can climb up higher. That better meets his needs as an animal that typically climbs up to a warm area to bask, and you may find that he is less stressed and more willing to eat.

This article is one of my favorites for discussing the importance of UVB, but later in the article it also covers the ideal way to set up basking lights and a basking area for your animal. Since it is much more eloquent about it than I ever could be, here it is for you to peruse:

http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-health/reptile-natural-artificial-light.aspx

Otherwise, he still looks fine, but do keep in mind there's a difference between "spoiling" the animal and better adjusting a cage to meet its needs. Try adjusting things in the cage somewhat so he can climb and hide somewhere, he will probably calm down considerably.

-Jen

 

[ChrisMiller]

Thanks everyone. Today is right at the 2 week mark and he decided to completely turn around. He lad 7 large roaches today and about 15 phoenix worms. I finally had to stop feeding him.

I also implemented a couple of the suggestions as a temp fix until his viv comes in. Bigger hide box, bigger basking rock, and the light not at an angle anymore. Here it is:

 

[Paradon]

Wow, your cage looks a lot better than it was. That's a huge improvement. :wink: