Need help from experienced owners please!

[nalani84]

Hi, I'm really hoping someone can help me:
I have 2 beardies in separate enclosures. One is older (Seze) and growing rapidly, the other is tiny (Mushu) and hasn't grown at all in a couple weeks. Here is my setup info: viewtopic.php?f=44&t=195001 The only big change I've made since posting is keeping them a few inches further from the light since I have a Powersun.

Seze eats nearly 100 large reptiworms per day and now weighs nearly 160g at 5.75months. Poor little Mushu won't touch bugs or veggies and only weighs 18g at 3.75months! I've had him for over a month now and he has never really shown interest in food. He also came to me very small at 9g at 2.5months I assumed he was going through relocation stress during the first two weeks. I gave him another week grace period. After that I got scared and took him to the vet.

I took them both to the vet for an exam and fecal and they both had coccidia and pinworms. The exotic vet said the amounts were very small but she wanted to treat anyway just because Mushu had no appetite. She gave them both Albon. They both seemed to take the medication just fine and their health didn't decline at all. I disinfected the cages almost daily, as instructed. Once finîshed with the medication, Mushu still didn't gain an appetite for bugs or veggies.

I then purchased Reptaid, Benebac, Carnivore Care and Critical Care. I've had him on this new mixture (3x/day) for the past few days. I offer him reptiworms everyday before I attempt the (forced) syringe feeding of the mixture, but he won't touch the worms. I'm also soaking him 20-30mins/day for hydration.

My questions are:
1. How long should I have him on this supplementation before attempting something new? Or how long until I know I'm going to see results?
2. I'm giving him calcium power in the formula daily. Could his Powersun light be faulty? ie: the basking UVA portion works but the UVB is out? The light is <1mo old so I'm thinking it should be fine though right?

I really appreciate any suggestions from those with experience in this matter. I'm getting really really worried! :/

Thanks!
Nalani

 

[nalani84]

Also, what do you recommend for feeding portions of the carnivore and critical care? For now, since he's so small, I'm doing a pinch of each type at each feeding. Although one feeding per day I'll do two pinches of the carnivore care instead. I hope I'm not overdoing it! He poops 2-3x/day, so I know he's not getting "stuck" from all the protein.

 

[nalani84]

Also forgot to say that since giving him Reptaid 2 days ago, he seems a bit more active than normal. Hope this is a sign that he'll eat soon!

Edit: This is a photo comparison of him. 2.5 months was when he was shipped to me. 3 months was his thinnest...after attempting to feed him bugs 3-5x/day, he barely touched them. I just assumed it was relocation stress. 3.5 months was when I began supplementing food for him. He looks very healthy now, but he's just so tiny for his age...plus he still won't touch the bugs.

 

[Drache613]

Hello!

He is a nice looking dragon, great colors!
Is he off of all meds now?
What morph is Mushu, do you know?
How far is the Powersun from him & they are housed separately correct?
Continue with the carnivore/critical care formula along with the benebac. The reptaid seems to be helping out a little bit?
Since he is so small, he doesn't need a lot of food, but he does need to gain though. How much in mls are you getting into him? I would try to get at least 1 mls into him if you can. That is not much but he doesn't weigh much either. You can give more if he is willingly taking more.

Tracie

 

[nalani84]

Hello!

He is a nice looking dragon, great colors!
Is he off of all meds now?
What morph is Mushu, do you know?
How far is the Powersun from him & they are housed separately correct?
Continue with the carnivore/critical care formula along with the benebac. The reptaid seems to be helping out a little bit?
Since he is so small, he doesn't need a lot of food, but he does need to gain though. How much in mls are you getting into him? I would try to get at least 1 mls into him if you can. That is not much but he doesn't weigh much either. You can give more if he is willingly taking more.

Tracie

Hi Tracie!

Thanks! Yes he's off the Albon now. Just on the Reptaid & Benebac, if that counts as meds. Mushu is a hypo trans. He is housed in a completely different tank...has been since day one. He has been about 12 inches from the light, but previously about 8. I started him on the formula of the 4 parts at around the same time, but the Reptaid was a few days later, so I'm assuming his extra energy is coming from the Reptaid. But who knows, it could be any of the 4 substances right? Before this new mixture, I was feeding baby food and crushed juvenile dragon food...could do about 4mls/day. With this new mixture, I can only feed him 2...maybe 2.5-3mls/day. He seems to get full a lot faster on this.

Thanks for your reply!
Nalani

 

[Drache613]

Hello Nalani,

That is great he is off of the Albon now!
How is the Reptaid working along with the Benebac? They should be a good combination for him. Is he eating well right now?
So Mushu is a hypo trans? I am glad he is housed alone also.
The Powersun should be fine at 12 inches in distance from him. The 8 inches was a little close for sure.
The reptaid works very well for a lot of them so hopefully it will continue to help him out.
The critical care/carnivore care is very loaded so that is why he gets filled up faster with it than he did with the baby food!
Is he gaining weight also?

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[nalani84]

Hi Tracie!

He has his moments of great energy and other moments of lethargy. He still isn't eating any bugs though. I feel so helpless!

I actually traded out his Powersun today for a basking light and brand new Reptisun 10.0 fluorescent tube UVB. Although the Powersun works PERFECTLY for my other dragon, it kiiiinda seems like it might be too strong for little Mushu. I keep hearing great reviews about the Reptisun here so I thought I'd give it a shot. He's also under a zoomed 100w basking bulb. Closest distance is about 7-8in away from both lights. Since they're new lights and I just turned them on I'll check the temps with my gun tomorrow.

I'm also taking him outside in the natural sun for 20 mins a day now. I'm hoping that will help. He seems to love the sun and raises himself up for about 5 mins but then wants to go in the shade. It's probably because we live in Arizona and it's about 110 outside! I'll have to take him out later in the day for sun that's less intense.

He seemed a little extra tired than normal today. I'm hoping it was only a one time thing and he's not getting worse. :/

He had diarrhea for the first time today. (EDIT: now that I think about it, it was probably vomit since it really looked exactly like the formula). Kinda just looked like the formula ran right through him. Prior to that he had two solid poos this morning though. I'm thinking it may have been because he ate 2mls this morning instead of 1. His stomach still looks kinda full though so I'm afraid to feed him again tonight or he'll pop.

He hasn't gained any weight in a couple of weeks, which scares me. :/

What else can I do to help him?

Nalani

 

[nalani84]

I think the lights have been on long enough (1.5hrs) so I checked the temps. His basking log temps range from about 90 (the lowest end away from the lights) and close to 105 (at the very top of the log, nearest the lights).

Edit: Not as hot as the Powersun (>5 degrees difference) so hoping that'll help him.

 

[nalani84]

I hate posting after myself so much but I thought it best to keep things updated as much as possible.

After reading in a few places that you can try hand feeding bugs I decided to give it a shot this morning. I cut back on the critical/carnivore care formula feeding (with the exception of the Reptaid and Benebac, which is still going), and gently opened his mouth. I put a small reptiworm halfway into the very front part of his mouth and waited. He ate it! I continued to feed him this way until he ate 20 worms! That's more than he's ever eaten in a day, back when he used to actually eat. Granted, a few times during the process, he did seem a bit stressed out and closed his eyes, but I felt it best to continue for a few minutes longer. I fed him two more times since then and he's had a total of a little more than 30. Considering my other dragon has eaten 50-150 bugs a day since I got her, I'd say Mushu is off to a good start; I plan on feeding a little more than that tomorrow, and gradually increase every day.

If I continue down this path of hand feeding him, will it ruin his natural instinct to hunt them on his own? Will I be destined to hand feed him for the rest of his life? There's no way he'll eat any on his own at this point, but I feel like it's so much more healthy for him to eat bugs than be fed formula for so long. He's not skinny, but he's not gaining weight. Hasn't gained anything for weeks. I'll see how he does with the bugs for a week and if he doesn't gain any, I'll be stumped and probably have to take him to the vet again.

Anyway, just thought I'd say how excited I am that he's actually eating bugs again...even if I have to hand it to him!

Edit: he's been on the carnivore/critical care for 10 days, so it's about time to give it a break anyway.