My new baby beardie will not eat. Please help!

[StArGaZeD]

Hi.

This is my first bearded dragon. I got him Saturday evening. The guy told me he was healthy and eating great. Well I offered him food Sunday since I figured I would let him settle in Saturday when we got back. I gave him small crickets and he was scared of them. I called the guy back and he said to give him pinhead crickets. So I went out Monday and got them. As soon as he saw the crickets in the "cricket keeper" he started scratching at the glass going crazy. He only ate a total of 6 though. So I offered him more Tuesday and today and he still has not ate. I do give him veggies everyday which he also refuses.

I gave him a bath last night. He liked it and was actually drinking the water.

His cold side is always around 80-85F and his hot side is always around 95-100F. The room I keep him in is actually my reptile room so I leave a heater on 24/7 so the room is never lower then 80F. The UV light says ESU Reptiles Super UV Daylight. So I'm not sure what brand it is. He also is on the 12 day cycle of day and night.

He's such a little guy and I'm just worried about him. He's only 2 months old. I really tried to do a ton of research before getting him. I'm just looking for advice on what I should do or try. Please help!

 

[Gail]

Dragons go through a period of relocation stress that can decrease their apatite, generally lasts for 1-2 weeks. Keep offering food and giving baths, he will come around soon enough.

You set up is good but there are a couple things you need to change. First is the UVB, esu reptile is a bad brand, you want a repti sun 10.0, make sure its a long tube and not a coil or compact.

Can you get the basking temps any higher? It should be 105-110 degrees for optimal digestion.

 

[StArGaZeD]

Thanks for the advice.

I will be sure to go out and get a new UV light, the one you recommended.

I turned his basking spot up to 105-110F. It is on a rheostat and someone told me the maximum was 100F for his basking spot. That's why I had it turned down.

Should I try the baby food thing that I see people recommend for picky eaters?

Thanks again.

 

[lomohart]

The same thing happened to my bd when I first got her. It took a couple of weeks before she started eating and warming up to the place. But now all is good and she is healthy.
Dental Kissimmee | Dentists Kissimmee

 

[bluesoda025]

Well, I'm having the same problem with mine (just got her two days ago!). She doesn't seem to want to hunt crickets at all. However, when I offered crickets directly to her, she would take a few, but only sometimes. Is it bad to feed the crickets directly to them, since they're supposed to hunt for them? It's just that, she isn't hunting for them at all right now! So I'm offering them to her so that she will actually eat something.
Also, is 14 hours of light too much? I am away from home for about 10 hours during the weekdays, so that makes it a bit of a tight schedule for feeding/bathing/etc.

 

[jthmdepp]

I'm having the same problem with my new baby which I've had for about a month now. He wont hunt crickets at all, I need to push them infront of his face and he'll sometimes go for them. If he misses just one cricket he'll give up eating completely for the whole day.

I am going to try the baby food trick I think. I'll let you know how it goes. I've also noticed he seems to eat better (and more quantity) the day after a good long bath. He'll stick his head underwater and drink for about half a minute. I bathe him daily, but he doesn't like to stay in too long on some days.

I too also used to have the ESU UVB light. After researching around this form I ordered the repti-sun 10.0. I've had that for him for about a week now, but he still doesn't eat well.

I guess we just have to keep our fingers crossed that baby food will work? And if not, I've read you could try phoenix worms for babies. They seem to really like them.

 

[bluesoda025]

Just to give an update, my beardie is actually eating very well now, considering I've only had her for a week. What I found worked the best and got her to eat the most crickets without them running all over the tank was to place a small sterlite tote in her enclosure, and then put her in there. After she's in there, I dump in some crickets and she will usually go right for them instantly. I've found that it's best not to pour a whole bunch of crickets in at once, and to have a few at a time, or else she gets a bit stressed and wants to get out of the tote. As for veggies, she seems to prefer dark leafy greens and usually takes those when I try to handfeed a few pieces. She also seems to like squash. I just leave the dish of veggies in there all day. Sometimes she touches them, sometimes she doesn't.. I guess juveniles are just not very enthusiastic about veggies.