New baby beardie not eating

[Hallerback]

Hi everyone, this is my first post on the forum, and first time as a beardie owner. I received my little guy in the mail about two weeks ago on Wednesday. Since then he's had 5 crickets a day tops, along with a few waxworms and greens, but I know that's nowhere near enough. At first I chalked it up to relocation stressed, but now I'm getting worried. I've tried feeding him in a separate tank with white paper on the sides and the results don't change. He eats one and then just let's them crawl on him. There's a privately owned pet store below my apartment and I was told that the problem might be that the fluctuation of temps between night and day are to drastic... thoughts?

 

[daughterofMyou]

It can take a while for a new beardie to overcome the stress of a new home.

How old is your dragon? How big? Is he shedding? What kind of greens are you offering him?

Incorrect temperatures could definitely be upsetting your lizard. The cool side of the viv should be around 80-85f (26-29c). The basking spot should obviously be warmer: 95-102f (35-39c) for adults, 105f/40c for juveniles, and 105-110f (40-43c) for babies. As for nighttime heating, the temperature is fine to drop as low as 65f/18c - though babies do like it a little warmer! You may want to consider getting a Ceramic Heat Emitter and thermostat for overnight, to keep it a stable temp.

 

[kingofnobbys]

if you've had your baby (hatchling) for two weeks , he should be well and truly settled in now and eating his three meals of live bugs like there is no tomorrow .

This flow chart will likely help you identify most the usually causes for a hatchling to refuse food , which is a very serious situation for a very small and very young hatchling.

Also worth a very detailed and thorough examination of your hatchling's setup , diet , feeding and lighting schedule, UV AND BASKING lights & their exact brands & setup , temperatures and how you measured them , bedding and other husbandry issue. The chances are you've been given very poor advise by who ever sold the hatchling to you and by the shop you bought you beardie's viv ( probably one of starter viv kits which are never setup properly) and lights from (pet shop staff rarely give good advise and often sell shop brand lights.
You are not the last of the Mohicans wrt to these being a noob to beardies.

Here's my Cheat Sheet :
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=234738&p=1806050#p1806050
It covers :
>heating & lighting
>UV
>substrates
>lighting schedule
>feeding schedule
>feeder insects
>and other husbandry issues.

If you work through it methodically , the chances are there are likely a lot of issues that need to be tweeked or changed and they will pop right out at you, if you can give very detailed answers we will then be in a position to offer help. Is impossible to help you if you don't provide thorough details .

It may prove necessary to involve a reptile vet if your bearded dragon has serious health issues.Are you in a position to afford to take him to a good reptile vet should this prove necessary ?

 

[kingofnobbys]

Hi everyone, this is my first post on the forum, and first time as a beardie owner. I received my little guy in the mail about two weeks ago on Wednesday. Since then he's had 5 crickets a day tops, along with a few waxworms and greens, but I know that's nowhere near enough. At first I chalked it up to relocation stressed, but now I'm getting worried. I've tried feeding him in a separate tank with white paper on the sides and the results don't change. He eats one and then just let's them crawl on him.
How old is he ? heavy in grams is he ?

How big are the crickets ?

what's the feeding and lighting schedule ?

5x small (1/4 size) crickets per day for a 4-6 week old is OK.

you are better off feeding him in his viv , a couple of crickets at a time , he'll be less stressed , make sure he is nice and warm before his first live insect feed of the day, he should be really hungry by then.

There's a privately owned pet store below my apartment and I was told that the problem might be that the fluctuation of temps between night and day are to drastic... thoughts?

wasn't this posted elsewhere ? see responses there.

 

[Hallerback]

Hi guys, thank you so much for the responses! One thing I need to correct is that I've only had him for 1 week, not 2! I recently started a new job and things got a little hectic this past weekend, so I'm sorry for the incorrect info! I've included two pictures for you to get a better idea of his tank/what he looks like.

Here's some info:
- My beardie is roughly 2 months old, his clutch hatched on 7/11/17. He's 10 grams.

- His tank is a 40 gal breeder, I use a Powersun 160W mercury vapor bulb and keep it at least 12 inches from highest basking spot. The temp stays within 100-105 degrees on the hot side and around 80 on the cool side. At night the temp usually sits at around 73 degrees, though last night it dropped to 70. His substrate is repti-carpet. He has a night light but I've never used it.

- Tank light is on a timer. Lights turn on 7:30am and turn off 7:30pm. Halfway through the week I realized I needed to let him get properly warmed up before feeding, and so now I usually feed 1-2 hrs after lights turn on.

- I offer him diced green beans and a mixed salad (no iceberg!) before giving him feeders.

- I was directed by the breeder to mist him with warm water every morning and night, though I've read that this can be overkill and have recently only been misting once a day. I've never physically seen him drink-- tonight I will be trying putting droplets on the end of his nose to lap up.

- He enjoys sitting in one spot but likes to explore and doesn't seem to be lethargic. Likes to sit in water dish and artificial plants. Also is quick to skitter away from my hand whenever I rest it beside (not above!) him, but we're working on bonding slowly

- His hydrometer stays between 30-50% most days, though last night it rocketed to 70! I turned my air conditioner on and it dropped after an hour back to 38%.

- He poops every other day, the stool isn't watery and is usually a good amount.

Update:
I switched to dubai's two days go and he seems to like them a lot more. I got him to eat two half inch ones (dusted in repti-calcium) today from my tweezers (I did the eye measurement test for sizing and they passed), but after that he was done. He ate the same amount yesterday. As far as greens and wax worms its still hit or miss, some days he eats them, some he doesn't. I was thinking of trying new fruits and veggies, maybe blending them up and dropping the "smoothie" onto his nose.

I know his breeder fed (and raised?) him and his hatch-mates in a large white bin. It's taken him a while to even eat around me and I'm wondering if that might be part of the problem. Also considering taking him to the local herp vet for a check up... thoughts on any of this? Anyways thank you guys, I appreciate your help so so much!