Little dragon refusing protein.

[pechadm88]

Hey guys,

I have a question for ya. I got a baby dragon the end of June (20th). He was really picky to begin with and then started eating like no tomorrow. Recently he has stopped eating any protein I give him. I've tried crickets, dubias, small horn worms, bsf larvae, and even resorted to the tiny super worms (I know these aren't the greatest, but they are rather small). He went and ate a normal amount of the superworms for one day and then refused them since. His temps cool and warm are fine and his basking is 100-110 depending on the day. His pooping looks fine, no diarrhea or anything. I have had him 3 months now and he has only shed twice. He eats his greens daily with no issues. I'm at a loss. It's been about two weeks now that he has declined protein, but I can't figure out why. He used to eat 100 a day and now maybe eats 1-3 every few days. He is bright colored and isn't showing a black beard. He is active most of the day, but likes to be lazy too.

He has the Reptisun 10.0 UVB T5HO bulb with the reflective hood also. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, what's his name ? When you say he ate a normal amount of superworms, how many was that ?


Also very important, what size is he ? Be specific, include pics of him as well. [ And of his set up ] Here's how :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them

 

[kingofnobbys]

In situations like this ( a lizard who is unwilling to eat , or has an injury to the mouth that makes this difficult ) the only options are :
>> try different (sized) bugs or worms
>> try changing the feeding schedule
>> feed by hand (often it's enough squeeze some of the insects insides out and gently press this gooy end against the side of it's mouth near pointy end ….if it gets a taste of the goo or good smell of it, this should be enough to get it to eat, or start eating for each meal.
>> force feed by hand see viewtopic.php?f=18&t=235583
>> syringe feed the lizard , involves mashing up the insects and drawing the now slightly chunky puree of insects into a syringe and getting the food into it's mouth using one of the techniques and gear shown here : viewtopic.php?f=45&t=232687
>> using a feeding /crop needle to deposit it's food as a liquid or slurry into it's stomache (extreme and stressful but effective , I'd suggest several small feeds rather than large feeds (ie maybe 1ml/100g body weight)

How is the 10%UVB tube installed , and where is hood positioned (ie ontop or under the lid)?
How far from the basking spot ?

is this hatchling sharing the tank ?

 

[kingofnobbys]

Hey guys,

I have a question for ya. I got a baby dragon the end of June (20th). He was really picky to begin with and then started eating like no tomorrow. Recently he has stopped eating any protein I give him. I've tried crickets, dubias, small horn worms, bsf larvae, and even resorted to the tiny super worms (I know these aren't the greatest, but they are rather small). He went and ate a normal amount of the superworms for one day and then refused them since. His temps cool and warm are fine and his basking is 100-110 depending on the day.<<< how is this measured ?
I'd make adjustments the try to keep the maximum temperature he's experiencing under 100F.

His pooping looks fine, no diarrhea or anything.
<<< if he's pooing daily he's eating daily.
I have had him 3 months now an d he has only shed twice.
<<< should still be on 3 meals per day of insects.

He eats his greens daily with no issues.
<<< are you offering the greens before he get's most his insects for the day ? I had a similar issue with one of mine as hatchling , so I simply held back the salad + grated veg + softened mashed lizard pellets until after the 2nd meal of insects and gave it with the last insect meal of the day - problem solved.'\\ was pigging out on the greens and veg and pellets and was too full to want the live insects as a result//

I'm at a loss. It's been about two weeks now that he has declined protein, but I can't figure out why. He used to eat 100 a day <<<< how big were these insects ?
Try going up a size or two , when the insects are very small , it's not worth the hatchling's effort to catch them and eat them, larger insects (so long as the insects are smaller than the space betwee the hatchling's eyes solves the problem).
This will help viewtopic.php?f=45&t=244111&p=1859195#p1859195
and now maybe eats 1-3 every few days. He is bright colored and isn't showing a black beard. He is active most of the day, but likes to be lazy too.

He has the Reptisun 10.0 UVB T5HO bulb with the reflective hood also. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[pechadm88]

Sorry for the late reply. Been busy with life recently!

Here is a picture of his setup from today. (Don't mind the mess, it's his cleaning day today) I was told with how strong my UVB lamp is, it can sit on top of the screen as long as he has variation on different heights to let him determine which is best for him. I also upgraded the screen on top so it's not super tiny mesh holes. These are a lot larger than that.

Here are a couple pictures of him I just took a couple minutes ago. His name is Hiccup...Little stinker is too cute. He's about 10-11inches and I have had him 3 months. He won't sit still long enough for me to get a super accurate measurement. I have not weighed him, but he isn't frail looking yet, he still has meat on his bones. Like I said. He still eats salad, just not bugs. Think he is going vegetarian on me

His temps are measured with a digital probe thermometer. I was informed for younger dragons, they like it a little hotter. So I try to keep it around 105F (basking temp).

I feed him 3x a day when I can, otherwise it is two, and I leave a bowl in there with dead crickets for the day for him to munch on. He does not chase his food, moving food seems to scare him. He used to chase it, but after a couple he gave up. I only feed him things that are smaller than the space between his eyes. I don't feed him anything super tiny, other than the super worms (so he doesn't get impacted)

I offer his crickets and greens together at the same time. I did not offer him greens this morning and left crickets in there, so we will see how it goes.

He is housed alone in his own tank and likes to run around sometimes and others he just hangs out doing whatever. I am upgrading to tile in a week or so...Just have to get it cut to the right measurements.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Sorry for the late reply. Been busy with life recently!

Here is a picture of his setup from today. (Don't mind the mess, it's his cleaning day today) I was told with how strong my UVB lamp is, it can sit on top of the screen as long as he has variation on different heights to let him determine which is best for him. I also upgraded the screen on top so it's not super tiny mesh holes. These are a lot larger than that.


<<<< the uv tube and hood is sitting on top of a very fine mesh lid …. VERY BAD SETUP …. will be blocking in excess of 50% of the UVA & UVB
ref viewtopic.php?f=34&t=235210&p=1809330#p1809330
, a lack of UVA will DEFINITELY be contributing to this , and is very easily fixed by removing the mesh obstruction , a couple bits of stiff will be more than sufficient to support the hood and tube if you remove the mesh that us under the hood's reflector , even better mount the hood & UVB tube UNDER the mesh lid , hung from it using cable ties.
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[kingofnobbys]

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I feed him 3x a day when I can, otherwise it is two, and I leave a bowl in there with dead crickets for the day for him to munch on.
<<<< Crickets go off pretty quick in a warm spot (like prawns left in the sun ---- black and stinky and unedible (even the fish wont touch rotten prawn used as bait) .
Your options are
> cool the prawns enough to make slow but not dead, and offer a few at a time , let him eat them , offer a few more , repeat til finished.
> handfeed the crickets to him.... it's easy using your fingers (just expect a figure tip nips til he gets the hang of the new feeding process....
> try silkworms ….. he'll take silkworms up to 2" long .
(12x MED crickets = 3g)
A medium sized silkworm will be about 2in long and is a lot of protein cf a medium sized cricket

A 30mm long silkworm is 0.5g = 2-3 medium crickets
A 40mm long silkworm is 1.3g = 5-6 medium crickets
a 2 inch long silkworm is 1.8g
a large silkworm about 3in is 2.3g = 8 - 10 medium crickets

He does not chase his food, moving food seems to scare him. He used to chase it, but after a couple he gave up. I only feed him things that are smaller than the space between his eyes. I don't feed him anything super tiny, other than the super worms (so he doesn't get impacted)

I offer his crickets and greens together at the same time. I did not offer him greens this morning and left crickets in there, so we will see how it goes.
<<< what size crickets are you offering ?
... I've found if the insects are too small most lizards ignore them (not worth the effort to eat them I expect).

He is housed alone in his own tank and likes to run around sometimes and others he just hangs out doing whatever. I am upgrading to tile in a week or so...Just have to get it cut to the right measurements.