My beardie is on a hunger strike...possible overly attatched

[johnnyd13]

I have a beardie that was given to me by my sister who is the type to buy pets and get bored....I recieved him in poor health. His name is D'Argo (meaning unforgivable sinner) He wont eat unless he is hand fed and is becoming increasingly lathargic...he holds out on eating until i feed him live crickets or feed him by hand he was very neglected and is now becoming very attatched to me and does not want anything to do with food unless it is while in contact with me! How serious is this and how do I break him of the habbit of hand feeding and hunger strikes??? He is a full grown adult and very under weight do to his lack of nutritiuon!!! Suggestions please the lil guy was just starting to turn around and now hit a brick wall!!!

 

[GoFast]

have you tried a different feeder like roaches or phoenixworms?

has he been pooping? what is your set up like? temps, substrate, etc...?

 

[johnnyd13]

I have him in a 55 gal setup with calcium sand substrate, Using proper lighting and temp control. I was very thorough about researching his needs as to his enviorment. Since the recent strike of feeding he has only eaten a few grams of a ready made beardie meal by Healthy Herp and about 15-20 live crickets in the past few days..he will eat waxies but again only from my hand. He hasnt pooped in about 3 days and was going much more frequent before this issue. I tried the healthy herp to get him his nutrition considering it contains nearly everything to bring his health back. In the past 24 I have noticed a serious drop in action and the only action he makes is to get my attention so i will take him out. Once out and in my lap he will eat anything. I dont want to over feed him crickets or cause a habit of hand feeding...but I do want to nurse him back to health. Ive tried several different forms of food. Is he just feeling as though I am mommy??

 

[GoFast]

I applaud your efforts in researching his habitat but feel that you may have been led astray unfortunately. It sounds like you little guy is impacted. i know that petstores will tell you that it's a safe substrate but it is not. as a matter of fact it is quite dangerous and is probably the cause of this impaction. You should be able to get your little guy going again by giving him a few drops of olive oil on his snout for him to lick off a couple times a day. also give him a nice warm bath and gently massage his belly from his right armpit down to his vent. you can also try giving him some unsweetened apple sauce with a little olive oil in there.

You really need to remove that sand immediately though. it truly is dangerous. Try tiles, paper towels or news paper. The problem is that when he is chasing his food and sticks his tongue out he ingests it and it hardens up inside his belly and causes these types of impactions.

 

[johnnyd13]

I went with the finest stuff I could get because that was a concern of mine as well...I planned on using it for his first week or two in hopes that the calcium in the substrate would help revive his health. I recieved him about 2 and a half weeks ago. He was in a 20 gal tank and she used the carpet, I felt it was dangerous as his nails were getting caught in it. I was also concerned about the ink in the newspaper? He has an area to bask about 8'' away from the basking lamp with a burrowing area below it and the other half of the tank consists of his feeding/water area with several areas to climb/hide. Is there any issue with him being overly attatched to me? As he wasnt held very often and seems to crave the attention. He will sit at the edge of the glass and follow along the tank as I move thru-out the room. Once out he wants to stay on my shoulder or climb in between my shirts and refuses to be released into his habitat. I appreciate all the info the Lil guy is an incredible creature and deserves the best! I will start the recomendations immediately!

 

[TazzysMamma]

He's so lucky to have you!!!!

I actually have sort of the same problem with Sunny the beardie I adopted about 2 weeks ago. He used to eat his greens at his old home (at least I think so.... I saw them in his tank there... hmmmm) but he wont for me. Ive had to feed him baby food squash through a needless syringe.... and he laps that up.... still wont touch his greens...

Then there's Eragon who will only eat his live feeders in the bathtub.... and ONLY if they're hand fed after being dipped.... :shock: :roll:

Id be interested as well in seeing what suggestions anyone has for you!

Spoiled dragons are VERY HARD to UNSPOIL!!!! :whip: :laughhard: :laughhard: :laughhard:

 

[Freeie]

Oh gosh good luck unspoiling them. I've been trying with the 6 yr old rescue we have he just gives me the evil eye and ignores me :shock: My daughter has to hand feed him his veggies and spoon feed him his squash babyfood. He will only *alow* me to feed him his babyfood. :roll: They can be set in their ways!

 

[johnnyd13]

He finally pooped again....and oh my was it a lot of poop!! Since yesterdays post and lastnites B.M. he has started acting like himself again with more passing time, which has me feeling better. He is currently chowing down in my lap between my replies to my emails. If I could have taken a picture of him lastnite you would have died! He worked his way out of his tank into my lap and nuzzled up for a nap, though any movement of mine he was in full grizzly adams mode until I sat still allowing him to nap. When I started to daze and went to put him in his home he wasnt having it!! Angry as he was I need my sleep too! Today he and I will be basking in the sun infront of the patio door as soon as the sun reaches its way into my apartment. I guess really I dont mind the bond we have...though he wont allow my girlfriend to pick him up or touch him unless he is already being handled by me. This may become a problem when I have to be gone for any extended period of time. Today Im going to print a picture of myself and place it in his home to see his reaction to it...im kinda curious!

 

[munchkins9802]

PLEASE PLEASE get rid of the calci sand immediately! It is the number one reason (besides feeding crickets too big) for impaction in bearded dragons. Carpet , non adhesive shel liners or rough tile are the best.
If his nails were getting caught in the carpet, it is probably because his nails need a trim. I am glad he is better though.