My bearded dragon wont eat?

[zelphos]

I just got him 8 days ago I had bought him from someone that didnt have time for him and i think hes having relocation stress..im not really sure. He wont eat, i offer him food all the time and he just wont eat it, ive tried all sorts of fruits and veggies, at the most he will lick them and turn his head if i hold them to his mouth, the only thing he will eat is watermelon, his previous owner said that was his favorite so i bought some right when i got him but if he does eat it we will eat 2 or 3 small pieces and no more or he will just take a little nibble out of it and be done or wont eat at all....i dont know what to do, his poop is runny which im assuming is cause only eating watermelon and today his pee was the color of watermelon...hes only pooped 3 times in the 8 days ive had him, the owner before me had sand in his tank which i immediantly took out, hes very alert, i let him run around my bedroom 15-20 minutes a day to get excercise and he seems to just wanna sleep, he wont get up and bask or get under the uv light when i turn it on in the mornings i gotta get him out from under the shoe box i put in there that he loves to be in, i put an old shirt in there and he gets under it when he goes to sleep because i dont have a heating pad yet so i figured that would give him some warmth at night and hopefully my scent off of it would get him used to me but i always have to pick him up and put him on his log or he would sleep the day away and when i get him up he acts just fine, i dont know whats wrong with him if any of you could provide any advice itd be very appreciated!! thank you guys for your time




How old is your dragon? About a year old
How long have you had your dragon? 8 days
How long is your dragon? 12-14 inches
What is the sex of your dragon? Male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 75 gallon tank
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Brown paper
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Its coil till the zoo med powersun bulb comes in the mail because the previous owner had the coil
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? Right now its exo terra 5.0 125 watt
How old is your UVB bulb? Not sure how long the previous owner had it
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? About 10 inches away
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb? For now till the other comes, he came with just an exo terra heat bulb that doesnt produce uv
What are the basking temps? 100+
What is the cool side temp? 70 at the lowest
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Dont have one yet still waiting on the mail
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? at the top his log goes up toward the mesh liner about 4 inches from the basking light
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? still waiting on mail....
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. he wont eat anything except watermelon
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? i try all three times
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? dont have those yet
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? i have the calcium powder from flukers that he came with that ill take a pinch and put it on his medly of reptile food he has in his bowl but he wont touch it
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? hes pooped 3 times since ive had him in the last 8 days
Do you bath your dragon? How often? i bathed him about 6-7 days ago
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? yes everyday
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? no
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? no

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He may still be going through some relocation stress right now.
I would however, go ahead & just turn his coil light off & wait for the Powersun. Which Powersun did you get, the 100 or 160 watt? Be sure to keep that at a safe distance when you mount it.
You can just use a basking bulb on him right now & he will be ok for a short period until your Powersun comes for you.
That is great you have taken the sand out & replaced it with paper instead. The 75 gallon is perfect!
You will need to adjust the distance for the Powersun to be at least 10-12 inches if it is a 100 watt so he can't get too close to that.
What are you trying to feed him, which feeders are you using?

If he is not eating, you can try some chicken or turkey baby food to help him out while he is getting adjusted to his new home.

Tracie

 

[zelphos]

the coil light is about 10 inches from him so I've left it on for him to somewhat get uvb, so should I still turn it off even tho he's not close to it? I got the 100 watt I thought the 160 would be too powerful but wasn't sure or not. I've been trying collared greens, watermelon, bell peppers other greens but he just isn't interested in any vegetables, he has ate a few dead grasshoppers a friend gave me cause im waiting for superworms to come in the mail, but any type of vegetable he completely ignores it and the only fruit he will take a bite out of is watermelon, any tips on getting him to eat greens? I am gonna try the baby food to, any flavor you recommend?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Well, it is optional for the coil bulb but honestly it really isn't doing any good anyway. The coil bulbs are just not effective for UVB but at 10 inches it shouldn't be harming him but it may be glaring in his eyes a little.
The eating of the greens is hard if they are not used to eating them. You can try putting little pieces of veggies & or worms in with the greens to see if that may entice him to try it. Keep offering them & hopefully he will see it as food, eventually.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

 

[zelphos]

well the powersun came in the mail yesterday so the coil bulb is out if there he seems to love the new bulb he's been hanging out under it alot. yeah the previous owner I don't think fed him really any greens but actually I tried squash baby food in the collared greens and he ate them right up so he's doing alot better today im just gonna use a little squash on each leaf till he gets used to the collared greens realizing there not that bad then slowly wean him off the baby food, thanks for your help!!