new baby beardie sleeps all day, won't eat.

[Stax]

You can use squash, green bean, sweet potato, chicken [ but no gravy or salty broth ] mixed together. Or just buy one type of baby food, smash a cricket like I mentioned and mix it together. Put it on her nose/lip area + see if she'l lap it up.

The Repashy grub pie that the other poster mentioned is also a good choice , really good stuff.

The only kind the corner store around me has is peas or turkey and gravy so I guess it's peas with mashed crickets . Thanks so much for all your help everyone. I'm going to do everything suggested. I'll keep you updated.

 

[Stax]

ok so I'm home finally. I set her up in this for now. It is about 36 x 12. With no screen so I'm hoping this helps. I am going to let her soak up the light and heat for a bit then try feeding her a little later.

 

[AHBD]

That looks good. You can put in a small object for basking, even a 8-12" rock from outdoors if you don't have anything else handy. Just wash it in hot soapy water , rinse well with hot water and you'll have a nice spot, or a small branch that you can bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes at 225F. It's nice to see her with her head up. She's a sweetie. Remember to offer water on her snout for a drink.

 

[Stax]

That looks good. You can put in a small object for basking, even a 8-12" rock from outdoors if you don't have anything else handy. Just wash it in hot soapy water , rinse well with hot water and you'll have a nice spot, or a small branch that you can bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes at 225F. It's nice to see her with her head up. She's a sweetie. Remember to offer water on her snout for a drink.

thanks so much for all your help. your an amazing person. I smashed up some crickets and mixed them in the peas baby food and sprinkled a little reptile calcium supplement powder with vitamin D3 on it and mixed it in. I put a tiny bit on her nose and she didn't react at first. So I sort of put a tiny bit of pressure from the tip of the spoon into the crack between her lips and she finally opened up and took a few licks of the sauce. I continued to do that off and on for about 2 hours now but instead of the spoon I'm using the tip of my finger. Sometimes she will lick a little off and others she gets up and walks away. She definitely seems more alert and has moved more then I've saw her move since we got her on Tuesday. Hopefully she keeps improving. Thanks so much for all your help and I'll post back tomorrow after work.

 

[AHBD]

O.K, good, I'm glad to hear of a little improvement.

 

[Stax]

O.K, good, I'm glad to hear of a little improvement.

okay so I put a small strip of wood wide enough for her to crawl up and down and out something under the one end so it's up about 6" and she immediately climb up it to the middle where it's right under the basking bulb last night.

I left the lights on all night for her just because I don't have another heat source for her in the temporary cage and I didn't want her getting cold last night. I hope that's okay to do for now. when I woke up this morning and checked on her she was the most alert I've ever seen her. she immediately noticed I was there when I walked up to the cage. she did that cute little turn of the head they do when they see something move. So there is definitely improvements being made. I cannot thank you enough.

It angers me that a pet shop would sell a sick reptile to a family like this one did to me. It angers me even more that they didn't notice it was sick. I definitely won't be going there again.

Oh and by the way my daughter named her Yoshi. Have a great day.

 

[AHBD]

That's great ! Beardies love to climb so that is a good sign. You will need to get a CHE [ ceramic heat emitter ] it gives off heat but no light. Leaving the lights on at night will definitely disrupt her sleep and will be detrimental to her.

 

[EllenD]

I just wanted to make sure that you got a Digital Probe Thermometer for her finally, I'm sure that most of the issue was a combo of a lack of UVB light from it being blocked by the mesh lid and too far away from her (a T5 UVB tube must be within 11" of her, a T8 must be within 6" of her and unobstructed by anything at all, the T8 tubes are very weak), and then not having any thermometer at all is very dangerous with a Bearded Dragon, whether the 3 temperature zones be too high or too low, it will effect every bodily function, including absorbing any nutrition at all.

BASKING SPOT SURFACE TEMP: Between 105-110 degrees F max for a baby/juvenile up to a year or so old; between 100-105 degrees max for a year old adult and older

HOT SIDE AMBIENT (AIR) TEMP: Between 88-93 degrees F max

COOL SIDE AMBIENT (AIR) TEMP: Between 75-80 degrees F max

****Please set the Probe from the Digital Probe Thermometer directly on the Basking Spot/Platform that is within the Hot Side of the tank and that is located directly underneath both the UVB tube and the bright-white colored basking bulb, and allow it to sit there for at least 20-30 minutes before reading the temp. Then, using the suction cup that comes with the Probe Thermometer, put it on the wire right below the Probe, and then stick it to the glass of the tank on the Hot Side, about 2" above the floor of the tank, wait 20-30 minutes, then read it...Then move it to the glass on the Cool Side of the tank, about 2" above the floor, wait 20-30 minutes, and read the temp.

You can make minor temperature adjustments by raising or lowering ONLY THE BASKING LIGHT closer to the basking spot or further away. If the temps are off by more than 10 degrees, then you'll need to go to a higher or lower wattage of bright-white colored basking bulb or regular, Halogen Indoor Flood bulb, like you buy at Lowes or Tractor Supply

****Bearded Dragons need their tanks to be both Pitch-Black and considerably cooler at night than their daytime temperatures in order for them to sleep soundly and comfortably, just like the Australian Desert they come from is. Any lights on at all at night or temperatures that are not cooler then their daytime temps with keep them awake, which will cause health and appetite/lethargy issues. AS LONG AS HER TANK IS AT 65 DEGREES OR WARMER AT NIGHT, SHE NEEDS ABSOLUTELY NO NIGHTTIME HEAT SOURCE AT ALL, AS THAT'S ABOUT THE TEMP THAT THEY LIKE IT. Most home are kept above 60 degrees at night, and if so then she's fine at night and needs no nighttime heat source at all. If for whatever reason your house is 60 degrees or colder at nighttime, which I doubt, then you'll need to get a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE), very, very low wattage, that emits only heat and no light at all. Realize that you're only trying to bump the nighttime temp up between 65-70 degrees, so a very low wattage CHE is all you need, though most people need no nighttime heat source at all, unless their dragon is sick or injured and needs the tank warmer than normal for an immune system boost.

 

[AHBD]

Some good added info from Ellen on taking temps. As for the night temp., the baby has been showing signs of not being well so a temp. of 70-80 but no higher is good for night.

 

[Stax]

Thanks for the info ellen. I ordered a thermometer from Amazon because my local pet store didn't have the kind I needed. I also have great news. i bought some fresh crickets for her and put a few in a Tupperware container for her and she immediately ate one once she saw it crawling around her. I left her in there with about 10 more and she didn't seem interested in eating anymore but I'm happy she at least ate one for now. it's a improvement none the less considering when I got her she wouldn't even open her eyes or move.

 

[AHBD]

Yes, that is good news ! Yoshi is getting better, slowly but surely. The next time , put about 3 crix in a jar with a pinch of calcium powder, shake them until they'r weak + wobbly and drop them near her right in the tank. Babies are more willing to eat in their homes. The crickets being shaken + dizzy are easy pickin's and most babies will take them that way. The ones she doesn't eat are easy to pick up + put back in their container.

 

[Stax]

Yes, that is good news ! Yoshi is getting better, slowly but surely. The next time , put about 3 crix in a jar with a pinch of calcium powder, shake them until they'r weak + wobbly and drop them near her right in the tank. Babies are more willing to eat in their homes. The crickets being shaken + dizzy are easy pickin's and most babies will take them that way. The ones she doesn't eat are easy to pick up + put back in their container.

Hello again AHBD,

since we last spoke yoshi has definitely become more aware and active. She still isn't eating much and maybe drinks once a day. I think she has a eye infection now too. On her right eye she keeps it closed all the time and the eyelids right where the top touches the bottom are a bruised/black color. there doesn't seem to be swelling in the eye from what I can tell and no discharge coming from the eye. I put her in a warm bath and wet the end of a Q-Tip and gently rubbed the eye with it a few times and she opened it for a few seconds then would close it again. from what I could see it looked like a stringy white Goo was on her eyeball itself. I have been doing the Qtip thing the past two days and I read somewhere honey mixed with water helps a lot so I was going to stop and grab some today.

anything else you suggest? I will also take a pic and post it here when I get home from work later.

Oh and the thermometer came in from Amazon, turns out her basking bulb was a little to close because the temp was 125 degrees on her basking platform. I got that down to 98 now. her cool side is at 78 but she never goes over there. and her night time temps are 67 degrees.

 

[AHBD]

O.K, still not eating much be her activity level is a plus. God thing you got the temp. down, although they know how to get themselves out of the heat in most case unless they're extremely disoriented.

The raw honey in the eye is the best thing for it. Just mix it with about 3 parts warm [ not hot ] water and apply 2-3 X a day with a Q-tip or using an eyedropper.

Has she gone after crickets on her own when they are shaken up ? Any Phoenix worms ?

 

[Stax]

O.K, still not eating much be her activity level is a plus. God thing you got the temp. down, although they know how to get themselves out of the heat in most case unless they're extremely disoriented.

The raw honey in the eye is the best thing for it. Just mix it with about 3 parts warm [ not hot ] water and apply 2-3 X a day with a Q-tip or using an eyedropper.

Has she gone after crickets on her own when they are shaken up ? Any Phoenix worms ?

I've seen her go after 1 cricket since we last spoke it was on her own. I did leave 3 crawling around her cage over night because they got under the news paper and i couldn't find them without taking everything out the cage first so I just left them and I havnt seen them in about a day. So I'm not 100 percent sure if she ate them or not. she's been laping up some of the peas baby food though.

Do I actually apply the honey to her eyeball itself of just the outside lids of the eye.

 

[AHBD]

It can go directly in the eye. I've done it for my own beardie's eye infection in the past and it cleared up very quickly.

So she likes the pea baby food ? Try sneaking in a smashed baby cricket when she's eating that.