Juvie beardie wont eat need help!

[KruegerZ]

Hello everyone, i am new here, and need some major help on what to do. I just bought a BD about a week ago, his name is Drama. He lives in a 40 gallon tank, but i sectioned it off in half with a piece of cardboard because he is small yet. He is about 5 inches long including the tail. I have reptile carpet for him right now, a food dish with Juvie pellets in it, and a basking branch. a UVA/UVA bulb, and a basking spot light. I mist him daily, i also supply him with cabbage, and carrots, and try bananas as well. But the problem is this, HE WONT EAT! T.T when i first got him, for the first couple days he ate 4 or so small crickets (which i gutloaded), and ate them, but never ate the pellets. So the days past and he starts refuse to eat. I have tried canned crickets (which smell HORRIBLE) and he still wont even look at those.from time to time i would hand feed him the pellets and he ate those ( about 4-5). But than today, he ate his vegies that i gave him (which wasnt much before he stopped) and than wouldnt eat the pellets either. So i need help. Should i revert to force feeding? and when i feed the crickets to him, should i take him out of the cage? or hand feed them to him? or just drop them in? im at a loss right now and i REALLY dont want him to die. please help T.T

 

[jscott]

hi, welcome to this site. has he shed yet? sometimes they stop eating before or during a shed.

refer to this website to find out what is safe for your dragon:
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

not every veggie/fruit is good for dragons, try some of the safer ones. im sure hell like one of them eventually.


however you feed him, dont leave crix in his cage for long periods. crix are ominivorous and will eat almost anything, even if its still alive :shock: . if you feed in the cage, count the crix you drop in and the ones he eats. make sure to remove all outstanding ones and youll be fine. i think some dragons get frightened by the whole feeding tub thing. also, BDs dont like big changes. its possible what your experiencing is relocation stress.

i hope its a shed or relocation jitters. i think hell be ok though, try some of the safe vegges/fruits from that site. my dragons personal favorites are mustard greens, collard greens, yellow squash and ripe red cactus fruit(that last one peeled and deseeded).

good luck with everything. ill be watching for updates :wink: .

 

[LJean]

If he is not eating because of relocation stress, I think force feeding would make things worse. Just keep offering food. My youngest dragon was a stubborn one for eating when I first got her. It took a month for her to start eating a good amount of food. She just would not eat when I was looking, LOL I put her in a ten gallon tank with some crickets, and would leave the room for a few minutes at a time.

 

[whiskersmom]

Like was said above, it could be relocation stress but just in case could you please tell us a few things, like what kind of UVB are you using and how far away is it? What are your temps and what are you taking the temps with? If the temps are off it could effect their appetites.

 

[KruegerZ]

Hi thank you everyone. He did just shed when i got him, but he hasnt shed in about 2 days. Temps are all normal, using a probe therm. Ill try some other greens n veg. today on my way home from work. I will also try the whole leaving the room for a few minutes at a time as well, i really hope he can start eating soon =\ thank you all, will keep updates

 

[KruegerZ]

update :

Drama's cage was cleaned today, i put him back in, and i went away for a while. He ended up pooping (about 1 inch long) and he had some spilled food out of his dish. He seem to have eaten a little, but we will see. He still seems active, running around the cage from time to time. He didn't shed today, so he might be done and hopefully his appetite returns. Some pictures coming later. Thanks

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

We do need to know the type & brand of UVB light you are using. There are several out there that are not very good. What are you measuring the temps with, a stick on thermometer, a digital probe or a temp gun?
How is he doing tonight?

Tracie

 

[KruegerZ]

Update: Everything is going good now. I tried decided to buy 20 more crickets last night, and fed him today, and he ate em all in like 5 minutes lol, so im gonna go to the petstore on monday when they open and buy a good 60 for the next day or so, he is growing well, and is still getting used to me, gets stress marks when i first walk into the room. Thanks again all.