My beardie wont eat crickets, worms or other live stuff

[dragoslav]

So what alternative protien foods can I feed him? I read that organic baby food was ok to suringe into his mouth but i am afraid of mouth rot with that. I made cooked salmon and blended it into a puree coz it is high protien and a good source of fat. He wont eat on his own and doesnt seem to be eating his pellets.He is however eating a few greens every so often. His mouth and tounge look normal. Also, should I consider that he may be going into burmation? He is still under a year. Another concern is he is only pooping once a week (looks normal) and recently in the last 3 days he is opening his mouth a lot. Help. This little fella is new to our family and already a big part of us. :?
Dragoslav

 

[ErinMeetsMachine]

I'm sure everyone will want these questions answered before they know any answers..

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?


Hope everything goes well!

 

[dragoslav]

Ok here are my answers but i find it very confusing coz between my vet, pet shop and this site, there are so so so many different points of view. My guess is these beardies are like children and each has its own personality, likes and dislikes.So I need to figure out my guys moods and things. Thanks to anyone who can offer advise. (My vet said not to dust the crickets and see if he will eat them). He may not like the powder taste.


You aHow old is your dragon? pet shop said 5- 6 months
How long have you had your dragon? 1 month
How long is your dragon? from head to top of tail 6 inches
What is the sex of your dragon? looks like a male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? a 45 gallon for now
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? paper
Do you use UVB lights? yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? Mercury vapour
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?powersun UV 100watt
How old is your UVB bulb? 1 month
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? within 4-6 inches
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? no it is an all in one, pet shop where i bought him has same
What are the basking temps? 95F-110F
What is the cool side temp? 80-85
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? stick on coz I cant get othersWhere exactly are you taking your basking temps? almost directly under the lamp where my beardie sits
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? heat pad
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. crickets, kale, rocket, broccoli, apple, carrot,some pellets, some organic baby food when he wont eat anything else
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? I feed one hour after he wakes, once a day fresh greens and once evry other day crickets(he takes about 7 -10 medium brown)this is what the vet and pet shop told me to do
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? sometimes with oranges or dry baby rice
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?He wont eat anything with calcium powder so I have to suringe it into his mouth with water 2 times a week
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? Yes but only once a week
Do you bath your dragon? How often? yes,2 times a week
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? small mist everyday, shallow water bowl in vivarium but he doest drink from it
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? no
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?Not yet, my working hours are not compatable with the vet. I have phoned in for advice but am finding it hard to get there with a poo sample. Vet is 50 km from me.i dont want to panic coz he seems heathy just odd behaviour

 

[ikkie78]

I know there are others on here that can answer much better than I can...maybe Tracie (Drache613) can help out. From what I can tell he might be overheating...a MVB should be a minimum of 12" from the basking spot as they put off a large amount of UV so I would move that up as soon as possible! Also be very careful with the undertank heater as bearded dragons can't sense heat from below and can overheat very quickly! Also when they are that young they should be getting live food at least twice a day. He may not be eating because he is getting overheated and dehydrated. Also you need to get a better thermometer as the stick on ones are not accurate at all. Check walmart or stores like that for an acurite thermometer with a temp probe. That way you can measure temps directly on the basking spot (right where he sits). I'm guessing he is getting too hot and thats why his mouth is open all the time. I'm sure you'll get some other responses that will help out as well!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ryan is correct with assessing the lighting issues.
The Zoomed Powersun which is a mercury vapor bulb, while it is not the strongest one on the market it is recommended to keep it at least 10-12 inches from him. If you need additional heating, you can always use a low wattage household lightbulb in conjunction with the Powersun.
However, you mentioned that you are using a stick on type of thermometer? They are notorious for reading inaccurately, for up to 20 degrees off in some instances. They do not measure the basking spots very well, but can measure the ambient temps or the glass temperatures that they are stuck onto.
Also, the undertank heating will overheat him especially being used in combination with overhead heating. As suggested, they do not have heat sensors on their belly & do not always move in time before they get burned or just too hot.
So I suggest that you look into getting a digital probe thermometer or a temp gun for reading the temperatures more accurately. So the temps that you are reading right now may not be accurate. If he is too cold or too hot, he will not have an appetite.
Why can you not get a different type of thermometer? Can you go to the petstore to see if they have a digital probe, or at walmart? There is a brand, Acurite, that walmart carries you might be able to find. If not, try to order a temp gun. You can order a temp gun from:

http://www.reptileuv.com/reptileuv-mini-temperature-gun.php

You can order a digital probe from:

http://www.reptilesupply.com/index.php?cPath=31_58

Please note, that one of the most important aspects of keeping reptiles is maintaining the proper temperatures & temperature gradients for them. It is vital for their overall health. So I urge you to try to get one of those thermometers so you can better measure the temperatures. Also please move the light to at least 10-12 inches from him.

Tracie

 

[dragoslav]

Thanks for the suggestions. I live in rural Ireland and we dont have walmarts but i will look to order a proper thermometor on line. He is getting enough water coz i syringe his calcium and vitamins into him ever second day with water plus he gets a daily mist. He wont eat the calcium on his live prey so the vet said to give it to him as drops..... I have moved the lamp further away so he comes within 10 inches of it. The vet also suggested to put the box of crickets within his view so he gets a big desire for them. so I have done this and he is watching them with great interest as I write! I will try to feed him later and see if it works. I'm happy he has at least been eating his greens. He also did a big poop so that means he should be getting something inside, I hope. Thanks again. I let you know when he eats his crickets again. He seems to be a cranky guy anyway so I hope he just having a moody week. :?

 

[dragoslav]

Thanks to everyone who has responed. My beardie is eating normally now. He doesnt eat a lot at one time but he will eat up to 10 crickets per feed and every second day. I moved him further away from the lamp and he is trying to climb higher to get closer (it seems) but i will keep it that way as he seems better. i suppose he is just a finicky one. We exercise him(let him run around the room) nearly every day and he loves that too. Maybe he was not handled well at the pet shop and needed extra time to settle with me. All in all, he's much better now.
Bye for now
Dragoslav(an old traditional name from Croatia)

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Good you have moved the lamp a little further away from him, it will be safer. He will be fine. Hopefully you will be able to find a better thermometer soon as well to make sure the temps are good for him.
Good that he is eating normally now maybe it was just a little phase he went through. He might not have been handled very well at the petstore.
Let us know how he is doing!
Croatia huh? How's the weather there?

Tracie